Skip to main content
Add-ons are additional products that can be attached to your main subscription products, enabling flexible pricing models and enhanced customer experiences. Whether you need seat-based billing, feature upgrades, or custom pricing structures, add-ons give you the power to create sophisticated subscription offerings.

Seat-Based Billing

Create add-ons for additional team seats, user licenses, or capacity upgrades with per-seat pricing.

Feature Upgrades

Add premium features, storage upgrades, or advanced functionality as optional add-ons to your base plans.

Usage Extensions

Extend usage limits, API calls, or data allowances with flexible add-on pricing.

Custom Pricing

Build creative pricing models with multiple add-on tiers and dynamic pricing structures.

​
What Are Add-ons?

Add-ons are supplementary products that customers can purchase alongside their main subscription. They’re perfect for:
  • Seat-based billing: Additional team members, user licenses, or concurrent users
  • Feature upgrades: Premium features, advanced analytics, or priority support
  • Usage extensions: Extra storage, API calls, or bandwidth allowances
  • Service add-ons: Professional services, training, or consultation hours
Add-ons attached to subscription products in the dashboard

​
Key Benefits

  • Flexible Pricing Models: Offer base plans with optional add-ons to create sophisticated pricing structures. You can address diverse customer segments with upgrades that grow as your customers’ needs change.
  • Revenue Optimization: Boost your average revenue per user (ARPU) by presenting relevant add-ons. This enables natural upsell opportunities as customers add features over time.
  • Simplified Management: Manage all pricing components from one dashboard. Add-ons are automatically included in both checkout sessions and subscription management.
  • Customer Choice: Allow customers to customize their subscriptions by selecting only the add-ons they need, which enhances satisfaction and reduces churn.

​
Creating Add-ons

Add-ons are created as separate products in your Dodo Payments dashboard and then attached to your main subscription products. This separation allows you to:
  • Reuse add-ons across multiple subscription products
  • Manage pricing independently
  • Track add-on performance separately
  • Update add-ons without affecting base subscriptions
Creating add-ons in the dashboard interface

​
Add-on Configuration

When creating add-ons, you can configure:
  • Pricing: Set one-time or recurring pricing for the add-on
  • Billing cycle: Match your subscription billing or use different cycles
  • Quantity limits: Set minimum and maximum quantities per customer
  • Availability: Control which subscription products can use the add-on
  • Tax settings: Configure appropriate tax categories

​
Getting Started

Ready to implement add-ons in your subscription business? Here’s how to get started:
1

Plan Your Add-ons

Identify the additional features, services, or capacity that would benefit your customers as add-ons.Consider:
  • What do customers frequently request?
  • What features could be monetized separately?
  • What would create natural upgrade paths?
2

Create Your First Add-on

Use the Dodo Payments dashboard or API to create your first add-on product.

Dashboard Guide

Follow our step-by-step guide to create add-ons in the dashboard.
3

Attach to Subscriptions

Connect your add-ons to the appropriate subscription products where they should be available.
4

Test Integration

Create test checkout sessions with different add-on combinations to ensure everything works correctly.
5

Monitor Performance

Track add-on adoption rates and revenue impact to optimize your pricing strategy.

​
API Management

Dodo Payments provides a comprehensive API for managing add-ons programmatically:
Use the POST /addons endpoint to create new add-ons with custom pricing, descriptions, and configuration options.

API Reference

View the complete API documentation for creating add-ons.
Modify existing add-ons using the PATCH /addons/{id} endpoint to update pricing, descriptions, or availability.

API Reference

Learn how to update add-on details programmatically.
Use GET /addons to list all add-ons or GET /addons/{id} to retrieve specific add-on details.

API Reference

Access the complete listing and retrieval API documentation.
Update add-on images using the PUT /addons/{id}/images endpoint for better product presentation.

API Reference

Learn how to manage add-on images via API.

​
Common Use Cases

  • Seat-Based Billing: Additional team members, user licenses, or concurrent users
  • Feature Upgrades: Premium features, advanced analytics, or priority support
  • Usage Extensions: Extra storage, API calls, or bandwidth allowances
  • Service Add-ons: Professional services, training, or consultation hours

​
Integration Examples

​
Checkout Sessions with Add-ons

When creating checkout sessions, you can include add-ons with custom quantities: 
const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [
    {
      product_id: 'your_subscription_id',
      quantity: 1,
      addons: [
        {
          addon_id: 'your_addon_id',
          quantity: 3 // 3 additional seats
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  // ... other checkout options
});

​
Plan Changes with Add-ons

Modify existing subscriptions to add, remove, or update add-ons: 
// Add add-ons to existing subscription
await client.subscriptions.changePlan('sub_123', {
  product_id: 'prod_new',
  quantity: 1,
  proration_billing_mode: 'difference_immediately',
  addons: [
    { addon_id: 'addon_123', quantity: 2 }
  ]
});

// Remove all existing add-ons
await client.subscriptions.changePlan('sub_123', {
  product_id: 'prod_new',
  quantity: 1,
  proration_billing_mode: 'difference_immediately',
  addons: [] // Empty array removes all existing add-ons
});

​
Dynamic Pricing

Calculate total costs dynamically based on add-on selections: 
function calculateTotalCost(basePrice: number, addons: AddonSelection[]) {
  const addonTotal = addons.reduce((sum, addon) => 
    sum + (addon.price * addon.quantity), 0
  );
  return basePrice + addonTotal;
}

​
Best Practices

  • Start simple: Launch with 2-3 core add-ons and expand options based on customer feedback and usage.
  • Maintain pricing clarity: Clearly communicate add-on pricing and value, so customers understand what they’re getting for the extra cost.
  • Test thoroughly: Validate add-on combinations to ensure pricing calculations remain accurate and checkout flows function smoothly.

​
Design Considerations

  • Clear Value Proposition: Each add-on should have a clear benefit that customers can easily understand
  • Logical Grouping: Group related add-ons together in your checkout flow
  • Flexible Quantities: Allow customers to adjust quantities of add-ons as needed
  • Transparent Pricing: Show total costs clearly throughout the checkout process
Add-ons are a powerful way to create flexible, scalable pricing models that grow with your customers. Start with simple use cases and expand as you learn what works best for your business and customers.
⌘I