Woo Subscriptions
Woo's official premium extension for selling recurring products, memberships and subscription boxes, with renewals, switching, retries and gifting.
95
Flexible Subscriptions
Free WooCommerce subscriptions plugin from WP Desk with simple and variable subscriptions, trials and sign-up fees, plus low-cost paid add-ons.
Free installs1K+WordPress.org, active
Est. Pro installs~90Likely 45–180
Rating4.6/59 reviews
Price from$39/yrFreemium
Last updated22 Oct 2026Version 1.8.9
Overview
Flexible Subscriptions is a free subscription plugin for WooCommerce from WP Desk, the Polish developer behind Flexible Shipping and other store plugins. It positions itself as a free alternative to WooCommerce Subscriptions and covers the basics without a paid core.
The free version lets you create simple and variable subscription products, tangible or virtual, with daily, weekly, monthly or yearly billing, free trials, sign-up fees and coupon discounts. Renewals run automatically through gateways that declare subscription support, such as Stripe and WooCommerce PayPal Payments, and a setting allows gateways that need manual renewal payments. Admins get a subscription list with status, dates and related orders, and can create or edit subscriptions, change status or payment method and add notes. It is HPOS compatible and works with the Checkout block.
Extra features come as separate paid add-ons, each about $39/year for one site, or together in a Flexible Subscriptions bundle:
- Payment Retry: retry schedule and emails after failed renewals
- Recurring Shipping: shipping cycles separate from billing
- Stock Management: cancel subscriptions based on stock levels
- One-Time Payment: offer selected variations as one-off purchases
- Emails: extra renewal, invoice and status-change notifications
- API Integration: read and update subscriptions through a JSON API
The main limitation is customer self-service. The My Account area lists subscriptions and offers a Cancel button, but there is no pause, skip, plan switching or self-service card update, and no reporting dashboard or importer. WooPayments is not available when a subscription is in the cart. Flexible Subscriptions suits stores that want a no-cost, WooCommerce-native subscription setup and can live without advanced retention tools.
Best for: Stores wanting a free, straightforward WooCommerce subscription setup with optional low-cost add-ons.
Flexible Subscriptions is one of the more capable free options, giving variable subscriptions, trials, sign-up fees and admin editing at no cost. Its thin customer self-service and lack of reporting mean growing subscription businesses will outgrow it.
Pros
- Free core includes variable subscriptions, trials and sign-up fees
- Admins can create and edit subscriptions manually
- HPOS and Checkout block compatible
- Inexpensive add-ons priced individually
- Supports Stripe and WooCommerce PayPal Payments renewals
Cons
- Customers can only view and cancel; no pause, skip or switching
- Failed-payment retries require a paid add-on
- No subscription reports or analytics
- No import tool from other subscription plugins
- WooPayments not available for subscription carts
Key features
What Flexible Subscriptions highlights on its WordPress.org page and its own website, split by version.
Free version WordPress.org
- Simple and variable subscription products
- Daily, weekly, monthly or yearly billing
- Free trials and sign-up fees
- Coupon discounts for subscriptions
- Stripe and PayPal automatic renewals
- Optional manual renewal payments
- Admin subscription list and editing
- Customer subscription list with cancel
- Renewal and expiration emails
- One-time or recurring shipping costs
- HPOS compatible
- Checkout block support
Pro / paid adds From $39/yr
- Payment Retry add-on with retry rules
- Recurring Shipping add-on
- Stock Management auto-cancellation
- One-Time Payment add-on for variations
- Emails add-on with extra templates
- API Integration add-on
- Bundle of all subscription add-ons
- All Plugins Bundle option
Feature checklist
15 of 24 features we track in WooCommerce Subscriptions, feature score 63/100
Billing options 6/7
Recurring billing Key
Sell products that renew automatically on a schedule.
Simple and variable products renew automatically in the free plugin.
Included
Flexible billing intervals
Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly or custom intervals and lengths.
Daily, weekly, monthly or yearly billing cycles.
Included
Free trials
Trial periods before the first payment.
Free trial periods included free.
Included
Sign-up fees
One-off fee charged at the start of a subscription.
Sign-up fee option included free.
Included
Synchronised renewals
Renew all subscriptions on a fixed day (e.g. the 1st).
No fixed renewal-day option in the plugin or add-on list.
Not included
Subscribe & save option Key
Let shoppers choose one-time or subscription on the same product, with a discount.
Paid One-Time Payment add-on ($39/yr) offers selected variations as one-off buys.
Via add-on
Variable subscriptions
Subscription options per product variation.
Variable subscriptions with multiple options in the free core.
Included
Payments & renewals 5/5
Automatic renewal payments Key
Charges saved cards automatically (e.g. via Stripe).
Renews via gateways declaring subscription support, e.g. Stripe.
Included
PayPal renewals
Automatic renewals through PayPal.
Works with WooCommerce PayPal Payments for automatic renewals.
Included
Manual renewals
Customers pay each renewal invoice manually.
Setting allows gateways that need customers to pay renewals manually.
Included
Failed payment retries
Automatic retry schedule for failed renewals.
Paid Payment Retry add-on ($39/yr) with retry rules in hours or days.
Via add-on
Renewal & dunning emails
Reminders, failed-payment and expiry emails.
Free renewal and expiry emails; failed-payment and invoice emails via paid add-ons.
Partial
Customer self-service 1/6
Subscription management in My Account Key
Customers view and manage subscriptions in their account.
My Account lists subscriptions and details; only action is Cancel.
Partial
Pause & resume
Customers can pause and resume subscriptions.
No pause option for customers in docs or add-ons.
Not included
Skip a renewal
Customers can skip the next shipment or renewal.
No skip option documented.
Not included
Upgrades, downgrades & proration
Switch plan or variation with prorated charges.
No upgrade/downgrade or switching feature.
Not included
Change payment method / address
Customers update card or shipping details themselves.
Customers cannot change card themselves; admins can change payment method.
Not included
Cancellation flow & retention
Cancellation reasons or retention offers before cancelling.
Simple Cancel button with no reasons or offers.
Not included
Admin & compatibility 3/6
Admin create & edit subscriptions
Create or modify subscriptions manually in admin.
Admins create and edit subscriptions, status, payment method and notes.
Included
Subscription reports
MRR, churn, renewals and subscriber reports.
No reports or analytics section in docs.
Not included
Gifting
Buy a subscription as a gift for someone else.
No gifting feature in plugin or add-ons.
Not included
Import / migration
Import subscriptions from another plugin or platform.
No importer; the paid API add-on could support custom migrations.
Not included
HPOS compatible
Declared compatible with WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage.
HPOS support stated on the plugin page.
Included
Block checkout compatible
Works with the WooCommerce Cart and Checkout blocks.
Readme states compatibility with the WooCommerce Checkout block.
Included
Pricing
Free
$0On WordPress.org
Single add-on
$39per year1 site
Each add-on (Payment Retry, Recurring Shipping, Stock Management, One-Time Payment, Emails, API) is sold separately. Core plugin is free.
Flexible Subscriptions Bundle
$79per year1 site
All Flexible Subscriptions add-ons for one site. Currency shown varies by region (GBP/EUR also seen).
All Plugins Bundle
$99per year1 site
25 WP Desk Pro plugins; marked as a limited-time price.
All Plugins Bundle (25 sites)
$199per year25 sites
25 WP Desk Pro plugins on up to 25 sites.
Prices are list prices from the vendor's site, checked 14 Oct 2026. Many vendors discount the first year.
How many sites use Flexible Subscriptions?
Free installs from WordPress.org, the vendor's own claim, and our estimate of paid installs.
Free version (WordPress.org)
1K+
Active installations reported by WordPress.org.
Vendor claim
—
The vendor does not publish a total.
Estimated Pro / paid installs
~90
Our estimate, see method below.
How we estimated this: About 1.5K free installs x 6% (the usual share of free sites that also run the paid version when most features are free, and store owners upgrade more often) gives 90. Likely range: 45 to 180. This counts sites running the paid version, including sites whose licence has lapsed. Estimates are rough and based on public figures as of 14 Oct 2026.
Stats & health
Weekly downloads
563 downloads last week, 46K all time
Rating breakdown
| Version | 1.8.9 |
|---|---|
| Last updated | 22 Oct 2026 (12 days ago) |
| Tested up to | WordPress 7.1.4 |
| Requires | WordPress 6.4+, PHP 7.4+ |
| Support threads (2 months) | 5 of 6 resolved |
| On WordPress.org since | 22 Apr 2024 |
Company & policy
| Refund policy | 30-day money-back (source, 5 Oct 2026) |
|---|
Flexible Subscriptions compared
Flexible Subscriptions/SUMO Subscriptions
Flexible Subscriptions/Sublium Subscriptions
Flexible Subscriptions/WPSubscription
Autoship Cloud/Flexible SubscriptionsFlexible Subscriptions/Woo Subscriptions
Flexible Subscriptions/YITH WooCommerce Subscription
Flexible Subscriptions/Subscriptions for WooCommerce (WP Swings) Alternatives to Flexible Subscriptions
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SUMO Subscriptions
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WPSubscription
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Sublium Subscriptions
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YITH WooCommerce Subscription
Freemium WooCommerce subscription plugin from YITH with PayPal renewals free and trials, pauses, subscription boxes and delivery schedules in premium.
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FAQ
Is Flexible Subscriptions free?
Yes. Flexible Subscriptions has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $39/yr.
How many sites use Flexible Subscriptions?
WordPress.org reports 1K+ active installations of the free version. We estimate around 90 sites run the paid version.
Does Flexible Subscriptions have recurring billing?
Yes: included. Simple and variable products renew automatically in the free plugin.
Does Flexible Subscriptions have subscribe & save option?
Yes: via add-on. Paid One-Time Payment add-on ($39/yr) offers selected variations as one-off buys.
Does Flexible Subscriptions have automatic renewal payments?
Yes: included. Renews via gateways declaring subscription support, e.g. Stripe.
Does Flexible Subscriptions have subscription management in my account?
Yes: partial. My Account lists subscriptions and details; only action is Cancel.
Is Flexible Subscriptions really free?
Yes. The core plugin on WordPress.org is free and includes simple and variable subscriptions, trials, sign-up fees and automatic renewals; paid add-ons extend it.
Which gateways handle automatic renewals?
Gateways that declare subscription support, such as Stripe and WooCommerce PayPal Payments. WooPayments is not available when a subscription is in the cart.
Does it retry failed payments?
Only with the paid Payment Retry add-on, which adds configurable retry timing and two email templates.
Can customers pause or change their subscription?
No. The My Account area shows subscription details and a Cancel action for active subscriptions only.
Last updated 5 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit.