# Should we use the subscription-platform migration as an opportunity to renegotiate our subscription app's pricing tier, given our subscriber count has likely changed since we first signed up?

Reviewed by Martin Dejnicki, Director of SEO & AI Search · facts verified October 9, 2026 · canonical: https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/subscription-app-pricing-renegotiation-at-migration

## Short answer

Yes: renegotiate your subscription app's pricing tier before you choose a migration destination, because a credible exit, not your subscriber count, is your bargaining power. Push on the per-transaction rate, not the plan fee. Recharge, Loop Subscriptions and Skio each publish a custom tier with an open rate ([Recharge's pricing page](https://getrecharge.com/pricing/), [Loop's pricing page](https://www.loopwork.co/pricing), [Skio's pricing page](https://skio.com/pricing), October 2026).

- **Recharge per-transaction rates:** 1.49% + 19¢ Starter; 1.34% + 19¢ Plus. On $99 and $499 monthly plans. Plus and Custom run on 12-month terms, and Custom runs on volume-based rates (October 2026) ([Recharge, Subscription pricing plans for every stage of growth](https://getrecharge.com/pricing/); [Recharge, Recharge Subscriptions App on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/subscription-payments))
- **Loop Subscriptions terms:** Month-to-month; Enterprise rate negotiable. Starter $99 + 1.0% and Pro $399 + 0.75%, with no per-order fee; Enterprise lists custom contract terms, and migration is free on paid plans (October 2026) ([Loop Solutions Inc, Loop Subscriptions Pricing: From $99/mo, $0 Per-Order Fees](https://www.loopwork.co/pricing); [Loop Solutions Inc, Loop Subscriptions App on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/loop-subscriptions))
- **Skio Scale plan:** $599 a month, or $5,988 a year, + 1% + 20¢. The yearly price works out to $499 a month, a 17% saving for a 12-month commitment; Skio's Enterprise tier adds volume pricing (October 2026) ([Skio, Skio, a Recharge Company on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/skio); [Skio, Shopify Subscription Software: Transparent Pricing, All Features Included](https://skio.com/pricing))
- **Per-transaction share at volume:** 90% to 99% of the bill. At 10,000 orders a month at $50, Loop's own example, from Loop Pro (90%) to Recharge Starter (99%) (Deploi arithmetic from the figures above) (Deploi arithmetic)

## Deploi's call

Run the renegotiation and the migration scoping in parallel, deliberately. The scoping work is not wasted if you stay; it is the thing that got you the rate.

**BUY: Renegotiate before you pick a destination when**

- A Recharge Plus or Custom term renews within two quarters, because those plans run on 12-month terms and downgrade only at expiry ([Recharge's pricing page](https://getrecharge.com/pricing/), October 2026).
- Monthly subscription revenue has passed a tier crossover: about $267,000 for Recharge Plus over Starter (on Plus's 12-month term), $120,000 for Loop Pro over Starter (Deploi arithmetic from list prices).
- A scoped migration plan names a destination, so the vendor can see the exit is real.
- Your store is on Shopify Plus, which Recharge says may qualify for discounted pricing through its Custom plan ([Recharge's pricing page](https://getrecharge.com/pricing/), October 2026).

**WAIT: Hold off on a longer term while**

- Recharge has not published its combined roadmap with Skio; its April 2026 announcement promises details "in the months ahead" ([Recharge](https://getrecharge.com/blog/recharge-welcomes-skio-to-build-the-future-of-subscription-commerce/), October 2026).
- The only discount on offer is annual billing or a longer term, such as Skio's $5,988 a year ([Skio on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/skio), October 2026).
- The migration is already decided and funded, so a discount only buys months on a platform you are leaving.

## Should you use the migration to renegotiate your subscription app's pricing?

Yes: use the migration to renegotiate, but finish before you choose a destination, because a credible exit is the only bargaining power you have. Run it alongside [the cost-benefit case for leaving Recharge or Skio](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/recharge-skio-to-native-subscriptions-cost-benefit). Your bargaining power is not your subscriber count. It is your willingness to leave, shown by a scoped migration plan with a named destination and [its own risk budget](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/subscription-migration-risk-mitigation-budget). A vendor discounts against a credible exit, so a migration in flight is the strongest signal a merchant sends. Once you commit to a destination, the exit stops being a threat and becomes a schedule.

Timing matters most on Recharge. Its Plus and Custom plans "run on 12-month terms", and a merchant can "downgrade when your term commitment expires" ([Recharge's pricing page](https://getrecharge.com/pricing/), October 2026). So start a quarter before the renewal date, while leaving is still a live option rather than a hypothetical.

## What does each subscription app publish as open to negotiation?

Each paid subscription app publishes a plan fee, a per-transaction rate and a custom tier where the rate is open. Recharge's App Store listing adds a $25 plan with no transaction fees for the first 50 subscribers ([Recharge on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/subscription-payments), October 2026). Its pricing page adds the Custom plan instead ([Recharge's pricing page](https://getrecharge.com/pricing/)). The two pages cover different ends of the range, so both are right. [What each app's fee buys](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/shopify-subscriptions-vs-recharge-skio-loop) has its own answer.

**Each paid app publishes a custom tier with an open rate; terms run from month-to-month at Loop to 12 months on Recharge Plus and Custom**

| App | Published plans (USD a month) | Per-transaction rate | Term | Published as open |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Recharge | $25 plan; Starter $99; Plus $499 | 1.49% + 19¢ on Starter; 1.34% + 19¢ on Plus | 12 months on Plus and Custom | Custom: volume-based rates |
| Loop Subscriptions | Free to 50 active subscriptions; Starter $99; Pro $399 | 1.0% on Starter; 0.75% on Pro; no per-order fee | Month-to-month | Enterprise: negotiable rate, custom contract terms |
| Skio | Scale $599, or $499 billed annually | 1% + 20¢ on orders with a subscription | Monthly or annual | Enterprise: volume pricing |
| Shopify Subscriptions | Free | None | None | Not applicable |

Sources: [Recharge, Subscription pricing plans for every stage of growth](https://getrecharge.com/pricing/); [Recharge, Recharge Subscriptions App on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/subscription-payments); [Loop Solutions Inc, Loop Subscriptions App on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/loop-subscriptions); [Loop Solutions Inc, Loop Subscriptions Pricing: From $99/mo, $0 Per-Order Fees](https://www.loopwork.co/pricing); [Skio, Skio, a Recharge Company on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/skio); [Skio, Shopify Subscription Software: Transparent Pricing, All Features Included](https://skio.com/pricing); [Shopify App Store, Shopify Subscriptions](https://apps.shopify.com/shopify-subscriptions). Verified October 9, 2026.

## Which line of the bill should you negotiate?

Negotiate the per-transaction line, because at mid-market volume it is nearly the whole bill. Take Loop's own worked example: 10,000 subscription orders a month at a $50 average order, which puts Loop Pro at about $4,149 a month ([Loop's pricing FAQ](https://www.loopwork.co/pricing), October 2026). At that volume the plan fee is a tenth of the bill or less on every published plan (Deploi arithmetic at list price). The Recharge and Skio bills themselves, set against Shopify Subscriptions, are in [the native fee math for leaving Recharge or Skio](https://deploi.ca/shopify/faq/recharge-skio-to-native-subscriptions-cost-benefit).

**At 10,000 orders a month at $50, the per-transaction line is 90% to 99% of each plan's bill**

| Plan | Per-transaction share of the bill |
| --- | --- |
| Recharge Starter | 99% |
| Recharge Plus | 95% |
| Skio Scale, billed monthly | 92% |
| Loop Starter | 98% |
| Loop Pro | 90% |

Sources: [Recharge, Subscription pricing plans for every stage of growth](https://getrecharge.com/pricing/); [Loop Solutions Inc, Loop Subscriptions Pricing: From $99/mo, $0 Per-Order Fees](https://www.loopwork.co/pricing); [Skio, Shopify Subscription Software: Transparent Pricing, All Features Included](https://skio.com/pricing). Verified October 9, 2026.

Published tiers also cross over as volume grows, so check your tier before you negotiate anything. Recharge Plus undercuts Starter at list price above about $267,000 a month, but only on a 12-month term. Loop Pro undercuts Loop Starter above $120,000 (Deploi arithmetic). The ask that usually works is a lower per-transaction rate on your current term, in exchange for a case study or a reference call (Deploi's judgment).

## How does the Recharge and Skio deal change what you should sign?

The Recharge and Skio deal makes a longer term the riskiest thing to trade for a lower rate, because the combined roadmap is still unwritten. Recharge announced in April 2026 that "Skio is joining the Recharge team", and its post says "nothing is changing today" for merchants on both platforms ([Recharge](https://getrecharge.com/blog/recharge-welcomes-skio-to-build-the-future-of-subscription-commerce/), October 2026). The same post says details of the combined roadmap are "coming in the months ahead". A multi-year term signed now commits you to a roadmap neither company has published.

Annual billing is a smaller version of the same trade. Skio's yearly price of $5,988 saves 17% against $599 a month ([Skio on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/skio), October 2026). It also spends next year's bargaining power, while Loop bills every paid plan month-to-month ([Loop's pricing FAQ](https://www.loopwork.co/pricing), October 2026). Ask for terms that protect an exit instead. [Deploi's Recharge versus native record](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/recharge-vs-native-subscriptions) says to negotiate export completeness and migration support, and to re-check both if the consolidation changes pricing or ownership (October 2026). Loop includes white-glove migration on every paid plan ([Loop's pricing FAQ](https://www.loopwork.co/pricing)), while Recharge reserves its Migration Services for Plus and Custom plans ([Recharge Migration Services](https://getrecharge.com/migration-services/), October 2026).

## When should you skip the renegotiation?

Skip the renegotiation when the migration is already decided, because a discount is worth months and the migration is worth years.

> **When not to renegotiate**
> - **When the migration is decided and funded.** A quarter spent extracting a discount from a platform you are leaving is a quarter of migration work not done.
> - **When the price of a lower rate is a longer term.** While the Recharge and Skio roadmap is unpublished, a longer term is the exact trade the consolidation makes dangerous.
> - **When no custom tier fits your volume.** Recharge aims its Custom plan at "high-volume subscription brands" ([Recharge's plan list](https://getrecharge.com/pricing/), October 2026), so a small program has little to trade.
> - **When you have no destination yet.** An exit without a named platform and a scoped plan is a bluff, and vendors price bluffs accordingly.

## Deploi's point of view

**What we've seen.** Merchants consistently discover their per-transaction spend exceeds their platform fee, and consistently negotiate the platform fee anyway because it is the number on the invoice.

**Where we disagree.** The category's renewal pitch is that migration cost makes staying rational. It does, at the moment of renewal, which is precisely why the evaluation belongs a quarter earlier, when leaving is still a live option rather than a hypothetical.

**What this page adds.** The parent weighs leaving Recharge or Skio; this page turns that exit into bargaining power: the list-price tier crossovers, the lines Recharge, Loop and Skio publish as open, and the 12-month Recharge term that sets when to ask.

## When this answer changes

- Recharge and Skio publish their combined roadmap, merged pricing or new migration terms.
- Recharge changes the 12-month terms on Plus and Custom, or its per-transaction rates.
- Loop adds a term commitment or a per-order fee, or stops including migration on paid plans.
- Skio changes its annual discount or publishes Enterprise rates.
- Your monthly subscription revenue crosses a tier crossover, such as about $267,000 on Recharge.

## Sources

1. [Recharge, Subscription pricing plans for every stage of growth](https://getrecharge.com/pricing/), checked October 9, 2026
2. [Recharge, Recharge Subscriptions App on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/subscription-payments), checked October 9, 2026
3. [Loop Solutions Inc, Loop Subscriptions App on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/loop-subscriptions), checked October 9, 2026
4. [Loop Solutions Inc, Loop Subscriptions Pricing: From $99/mo, $0 Per-Order Fees](https://www.loopwork.co/pricing), checked October 9, 2026
5. [Skio, Skio, a Recharge Company on the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/skio), checked October 9, 2026
6. [Skio, Shopify Subscription Software: Transparent Pricing, All Features Included](https://skio.com/pricing), checked October 9, 2026
7. [Recharge, Recharge welcomes Skio to build the future of subscription commerce](https://getrecharge.com/blog/recharge-welcomes-skio-to-build-the-future-of-subscription-commerce/), checked October 9, 2026
8. [Shopify App Store, Shopify Subscriptions](https://apps.shopify.com/shopify-subscriptions), checked October 9, 2026
9. [Recharge, Migration Services](https://getrecharge.com/migration-services/), checked October 9, 2026
10. [Deploi Build vs. Buy, Recharge vs. Native Shopify Subscriptions: Worth the Fees?](https://deploi.ca/shopify/build-vs-buy/recharge-vs-native-subscriptions), checked October 9, 2026, Deploi research