Subscriptions - Dodo Payments Documentation

Subscriptions let you sell ongoing access with automated renewals. Use flexible billing cycles, free trials, plan changes, and add‑ons to tailor pricing for each customer.

Upgrade & Downgrade

Control plan changes with proration and quantity updates.

On‑Demand Subscriptions

Authorize a mandate now and charge later with custom amounts.

Customer Portal

Let customers manage plans, billing, and cancellations.

Subscription Webhooks

React to lifecycle events like created, renewed, and canceled.

What Are Subscriptions?

Subscriptions are recurring products customers purchase on a schedule. They’re ideal for:

SaaS licenses: Apps, APIs, or platform access
Memberships: Communities, programs, or clubs
Digital content: Courses, media, or premium content
Support plans: SLAs, success packages, or maintenance

Key Benefits

Predictable revenue: Recurring billing with automated renewals
Flexible cycles: Monthly, annual, custom intervals, and trials
Plan agility: Proration for upgrades and downgrades
Add‑ons and seats: Attach optional, quantifiable upgrades
Seamless checkout: Hosted checkout and customer portal
Developer-first: Clear APIs for creation, changes, and usage tracking

Creating Subscriptions

Create subscription products in your Dodo Payments dashboard, then sell them through checkout or your API. Separating products from active subscriptions lets you version pricing, attach add‑ons, and track performance independently.

Subscription product creation

Configure the fields in the dashboard to define how your subscription sells, renews, and bills. The sections below map directly to what you see in the creation form.

Product details

Product Name (required): The display name shown in checkout, customer portal, and invoices.
Product Description (required): A clear value statement that appears in checkout and invoices.
Product Image (required): PNG/JPG/WebP up to 3 MB. Used on checkout and invoices.
Brand: Associate the product with a specific brand for theming and emails.
Tax Category (required): Choose the category (for example, SaaS) to determine tax rules.

Pick the most accurate tax category to ensure correct tax collection per region.

Pricing

Pricing Type: Choose Subscription (this guide). Alternatives are Single Payment and Usage Based Billing.
Price (required): Base recurring price with currency.
Discount Applicable (%): Optional percentage discount applied to the base price; reflected in checkout and invoices.
Repeat payment every (required): Interval for renewals, e.g., every 1 Month. Select the cadence (months or years) and quantity.
Subscription Period (required): Total term for which the subscription remains active (e.g., 10 Years). After this period ends, renewals stop unless extended.
Trial Period Days (required): Set trial length in days. Use 0 to disable trials. The first charge occurs automatically when the trial ends.
Select add‑on: Attach up to 10 add‑ons that customers can purchase alongside the base plan.

Changing pricing on an active product affects new purchases. Existing subscriptions follow your plan‑change and proration settings.

Add‑ons are ideal for quantifiable extras such as seats or storage. You can control allowed quantities and proration behavior when customers change them.

Advanced settings

Tax Inclusive Pricing: Display prices inclusive of applicable taxes. Final tax calculation still varies by customer location.
Generate license keys: Issue a unique key to each customer after purchase. See the License Keys guide.
Digital Product Delivery: Deliver files or content automatically after purchase. Learn more in Digital Product Delivery.
Metadata: Attach custom key–value pairs for internal tagging or client integrations. See Metadata.

Use metadata to store identifiers from your system (e.g., accountId) so you can reconcile events and invoices later.

Subscription Trials

Trials let customers access subscriptions without immediate payment. The first charge occurs automatically when the trial ends.

Configuring Trials

Set Trial Period Days in the product pricing section (use 0 to disable). You can override this when creating subscriptions:

// Via subscription creation
const subscription = await client.subscriptions.create({
  customer_id: 'cus_123',
  product_id: 'prod_monthly',
  trial_period_days: 14  // Overrides product's trial period
});

// Via checkout session
const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [{ product_id: 'prod_monthly', quantity: 1 }],
  subscription_data: { trial_period_days: 14 }
});

The trial_period_days value must be between 0 and 10,000 days.

Detecting Trial Status

Currently, there is no direct field to detect trial status. The following is a workaround that requires querying payments, which is inefficient. We are working on a more efficient solution.

To determine if a subscription is in trial, retrieve the list of payments for the subscription. If there is exactly one payment with amount 0, the subscription is in trial period:

const subscription = await client.subscriptions.retrieve('sub_123');
const payments = await client.payments.list({
  subscription_id: subscription.subscription_id
});

// Check if subscription is in trial
const isInTrial = payments.items.length === 1 && 
                  payments.items[0].total_amount === 0;

Updating Trial Period

Extend the trial by updating next_billing_date:

await client.subscriptions.update('sub_123', {
  next_billing_date: '2025-02-15T00:00:00Z'  // New trial end date
});

You cannot set next_billing_date to a past time. The date must be in the future.

Subscription Plan Changes

Plan changes let you upgrade or downgrade subscriptions, adjust quantities, or migrate to different products. Depending on the proration mode you select, a change may trigger an immediate charge, create credit, or apply no billing adjustment.

You can change subscription plans and update the next billing date directly from the Dodo Payments dashboard. This provides a quick way to adjust subscriptions for customer support requests, promotional upgrades, or plan migrations without making API calls.

Enable self-service plan changes: Want customers to upgrade or downgrade their own subscriptions via the Customer Portal? Add your subscription products to a Product Collection and enable “Allow Subscription Updates” in your Subscription Settings.

Product Collections

Group related products into collections to enable seamless upgrade/downgrade paths in the Customer Portal.

Proration Modes

Choose how customers are billed when changing plans:

Quick comparison of the four proration modes:

	`prorated_immediately`	`difference_immediately`	`full_immediately`	`do_not_bill`
Upgrade	Prorated charge for remaining days	Full price difference charged	Full new plan price charged	No charge — switch immediately
Downgrade	Prorated credit for remaining days	Full price difference as credit	No credit, full charge	No credit — switch immediately
Billing cycle	Stays the same	Stays the same	Resets to today	Stays the same
Best for	Fair time-based billing	Simple tier changes	Billing cycle resets	Free migrations or courtesy switches

`prorated_immediately`

Charges prorated amount based on remaining time in the current billing cycle. Best for fair billing that accounts for unused time.

await client.subscriptions.changePlan('sub_123', {
  product_id: 'prod_pro',
  quantity: 1,
  proration_billing_mode: 'prorated_immediately'
});

`difference_immediately`

Charges the price difference immediately (upgrade) or adds credit for future renewals (downgrade). Best for simple upgrade/downgrade scenarios.

// Upgrade: charges $50 (difference between $30 and $80)
// Downgrade: credits remaining value, auto-applied to renewals
await client.subscriptions.changePlan('sub_123', {
  product_id: 'prod_pro',
  quantity: 1,
  proration_billing_mode: 'difference_immediately'
});

Credits from downgrades using difference_immediately are subscription-scoped and auto-applied to future renewals. They’re distinct from Credit-Based Billing entitlements.

When a customer downgrades with difference_immediately, the unused value becomes a subscription-scoped credit that automatically offsets future renewals:

`full_immediately`

Charges full new plan amount immediately, ignoring remaining time. Best for resetting billing cycles.

await client.subscriptions.changePlan('sub_123', {
  product_id: 'prod_monthly',
  quantity: 1,
  proration_billing_mode: 'full_immediately'
});

`do_not_bill`

Switches to the new plan without any billing adjustment. No proration charges, no credits — the customer simply moves to the new plan. Best for courtesy migrations, free plan switches, or scenarios where you want to absorb the cost difference.

await client.subscriptions.changePlan('sub_123', {
  product_id: 'prod_new_plan',
  quantity: 1,
  proration_billing_mode: 'do_not_bill'
});

Example: Prorated upgrade calculation

Scenario: Customer on Basic (

30/month) upgrades to Pro (

80/month) on day 16 of a 30-day cycle using prorated_immediately.

Unused credit from Basic = $30 × (15 remaining / 30 total) = $15.00
Prorated cost of Pro     = $80 × (15 remaining / 30 total) = $40.00
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
Immediate charge         = $40.00 − $15.00 = $25.00

Next renewal on the original billing date: $80.00/month.

For more detailed calculation examples and edge cases, see our full Upgrade & Downgrade Guide.

Example: Downgrade credit calculation

Scenario: Customer on Pro (

80/month) downgrades to Starter (

20/month) using difference_immediately.

Credit = Old plan − New plan = $80 − $20 = $60.00

The $60 credit auto-applies to future renewals:

Renewal 1: $20 −$ 20 (credit) = ** $0.00** ($ 40 credit remaining)
Renewal 2: $20 −$ 20 (credit) = ** $0.00** ($ 20 credit remaining)
Renewal 3: $20 −$ 20 (credit) = $0.00 (credit exhausted)
Renewal 4: $20.00 (full price)

Learn more about how credits are managed in the Upgrade & Downgrade Guide.

Changing Plans with Add-ons

Modify add-ons when changing plans. Add-ons are included in proration calculations:

await client.subscriptions.changePlan('sub_123', {
  product_id: 'prod_pro',
  quantity: 1,
  proration_billing_mode: 'difference_immediately',
  addons: [{ addon_id: 'addon_extra_seats', quantity: 2 }]  // Add add-ons
  // addons: []  // Empty array removes all existing add-ons
});

Plan changes trigger immediate charges. Failed charges may move the subscription to on_hold status. Track changes via subscription.plan_changed webhook events.

Previewing Plan Changes

Before committing to a plan change, preview the exact charge and resulting subscription:

const preview = await client.subscriptions.previewChangePlan('sub_123', {
  product_id: 'prod_pro',
  quantity: 1,
  proration_billing_mode: 'prorated_immediately'
});

// Show customer the charge before confirming
console.log('You will be charged:', preview.immediate_charge.summary);

Preview Change Plan API

Preview plan changes before committing to them.

Subscription States

Subscriptions can be in different states throughout their lifecycle:

active: Subscription is active and will renew automatically
on_hold: Subscription is paused due to failed payment. Payment method update required to reactivate
cancelled: Subscription is cancelled and will not renew
expired: Subscription has reached its end date
pending: Subscription is being created or processed

On Hold State

A subscription enters on_hold state when:

A renewal payment fails (insufficient funds, expired card, etc.)
A plan change charge fails
Payment method authorization fails

When a subscription is in on_hold state, it will not renew automatically. You must update the payment method to reactivate the subscription.

Reactivating from On Hold

To reactivate a subscription from on_hold state, update the payment method. This automatically:

Creates a charge for remaining dues
Generates an invoice
Processes the payment using the new payment method
Reactivates the subscription to active state upon successful payment

// Reactivate subscription from on_hold
const response = await client.subscriptions.updatePaymentMethod('sub_123', {
  type: 'new',
  return_url: 'https://example.com/return'
});

// For on_hold subscriptions, a charge is automatically created
if (response.payment_id) {
  console.log('Charge created:', response.payment_id);
  // Redirect customer to response.payment_link to complete payment
  // Monitor webhooks for payment.succeeded and subscription.active
}

After successfully updating the payment method for an on_hold subscription, you’ll receive payment.succeeded followed by subscription.active webhook events.

API Management

Create subscriptions

Use POST /subscriptions to create subscriptions programmatically from products, with optional trials and add‑ons.

API Reference

View the create subscription API.

Update subscriptions

Use PATCH /subscriptions/{id} to update quantities, cancel at next billing date, or modify metadata.

API Reference

Learn how to update subscription details.

Change plans (proration)

Change the active product and quantities with proration controls.

API Reference

Review plan change options.

On‑demand charges

For on‑demand subscriptions, charge specific amounts on demand.

API Reference

Charge an on‑demand subscription.

List and retrieve

Use GET /subscriptions to list all subscriptions and GET /subscriptions/{id} to retrieve one.

API Reference

Browse listing and retrieval APIs.

Usage history

Fetch recorded usage for metered or hybrid pricing models.

API Reference

See usage history API.

Update payment method

Update the payment method for a subscription. For active subscriptions, this updates the payment method for future renewals. For subscriptions in on_hold state, this reactivates the subscription by creating a charge for remaining dues.

API Reference

Learn how to update payment methods and reactivate subscriptions.

Common Use Cases

SaaS and APIs: Tiered access with add‑ons for seats or usage
Content and media: Monthly access with introductory trials
B2B support plans: Annual contracts with premium support add‑ons
Tools and plugins: License keys and versioned releases

Integration Examples

Checkout Sessions (subscriptions)

When creating checkout sessions, include your subscription product and optional add‑ons:

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_cart: [
    {
      product_id: 'prod_subscription',
      quantity: 1
    }
  ]
});

Plan changes with proration

Upgrade or downgrade a subscription and control proration behavior:

await client.subscriptions.changePlan('sub_123', {
  product_id: 'prod_new',
  quantity: 1,
  proration_billing_mode: 'difference_immediately'
});

Cancel at next billing date

Schedule a cancellation that takes effect at the end of the current billing period:

await client.subscriptions.update('sub_123', {
  cancel_at_next_billing_date: true
});

On‑demand subscriptions

Create an on‑demand subscription and charge later as needed:

const onDemand = await client.subscriptions.create({
  customer_id: 'cus_123',
  product_id: 'prod_on_demand',
  on_demand: true
});

await client.subscriptions.createCharge(onDemand.id, {
  amount: 4900,
  currency: 'USD',
  description: 'Extra usage for September'
});

Update payment method for active subscription

Update the payment method for an active subscription:

// Update with new payment method
const response = await client.subscriptions.updatePaymentMethod('sub_123', {
  type: 'new',
  return_url: 'https://example.com/return'
});

// Or use existing payment method
await client.subscriptions.updatePaymentMethod('sub_123', {
  type: 'existing',
  payment_method_id: 'pm_abc123'
});

Reactivate subscription from on_hold

Reactivate a subscription that went on hold due to failed payment:

// Update payment method - automatically creates charge for remaining dues
const response = await client.subscriptions.updatePaymentMethod('sub_123', {
  type: 'new',
  return_url: 'https://example.com/return'
});

if (response.payment_id) {
  // Charge created for remaining dues
  // Redirect customer to response.payment_link
  // Monitor webhooks: payment.succeeded → subscription.active
}

Subscriptions with RBI-Compliant Mandates

UPI and Indian card subscriptions operate under RBI (Reserve Bank of India) regulations with specific mandate requirements:

Mandate Limits

The mandate type and amount depend on your subscription’s recurring charge:

Addebiti al di sotto della soglia del mandato (default ₹15,000): Creiamo un mandato su richiesta per l’importo minimo. L’importo dell’abbonamento viene addebitato periodicamente secondo la frequenza di abbonamento, fino al limite del mandato.
Addebiti alla soglia del mandato o superiori: Creiamo un mandato di abbonamento (o un mandato su richiesta) per l’importo esatto dell’abbonamento.

La soglia del mandato è configurabile per ciascun commerciante o per richiesta tramite mandate_min_amount_inr_paise (INR paise). L’importo registrato presso la banca è max(mandate_floor, billing_amount) — quindi la soglia diventa effettivamente il tetto di autorizzazione visibile al cliente quando la fatturazione è inferiore. Per informazioni dettagliate sui mandati conformi alla RBI e sulla soglia del mandato configurabile per i metodi di pagamento indiani, consultare la pagina Metodi di Pagamento in India.

Considerazioni su Upgrade e Downgrade

Importante: Quando si eseguono upgrade o downgrade degli abbonamenti, considerare attentamente i limiti del mandato:

Se un upgrade/downgrade comporta un importo dell’addebito che supera Rs 15,000 e va oltre il limite di pagamento su richiesta esistente, l’addebito della transazione potrebbe fallire.
In tali casi, il cliente potrebbe dover aggiornare il proprio metodo di pagamento o modificare nuovamente l’abbonamento per stabilire un nuovo mandato con il limite corretto.

Autorizzazione per Addebiti di Alto Valore

Per addebiti di abbonamento di Rs 15,000 o più:

Il cliente sarà invitato dalla propria banca ad autorizzare la transazione.
Se il cliente non riesce ad autorizzare la transazione, la transazione fallirà e l’abbonamento sarà sospeso.

Ritardo di Elaborazione di 48 Ore

Sequenza di Elaborazione: Gli addebiti ricorrenti su carte indiane e abbonamenti UPI seguono un modello di elaborazione unico:

Gli addebiti sono iniziati alla data programmata secondo la frequenza di abbonamento.
L’effettivo addebito dal conto del cliente avviene solo dopo 48 ore dall’inizio del pagamento.
Questa finestra di 48 ore può estendersi fino a 2-3 ore aggiuntive a seconda delle risposte delle API bancarie.

Finestra di Cancellazione del Mandato

Durante la finestra di elaborazione di 48 ore:

I clienti possono annullare il mandato tramite le app bancarie.
Se un cliente annulla il mandato durante questo periodo, l’abbonamento rimarrà attivo (questo è un caso specifico per abbonamenti con carte indiane e UPI AutoPay).
Tuttavia, l’effettivo addebito potrebbe fallire e, in tal caso, metteremo l’abbonamento in pausa.

Gestione dei Casi Particolari: Se fornirete vantaggi, crediti o utilizzi di abbonamento ai clienti immediatamente all’inizio dell’addebito, sarà necessario gestire appropriatamente questa finestra di 48 ore nella vostra applicazione. Considerare:

Ritardare l’attivazione dei vantaggi fino alla conferma del pagamento
Implementare periodi di grazia o accesso temporaneo
Monitorare lo stato dell’abbonamento per cancellazioni del mandato
Gestire stati di sospensione dell’abbonamento nella logica dell’applicazione

Monitorare i webhook degli abbonamenti per tracciare i cambiamenti di stato dei pagamenti e gestire i casi particolari in cui i mandati sono annullati durante la finestra di 48 ore.

Migliori Pratiche

Iniziare con livelli chiari: 2–3 piani con differenze evidenti
Comunicare i prezzi: Mostrare i totali, le prorate e il prossimo rinnovo
Usare i trial in modo oculato: Convertire con l’onboarding, non solo con il tempo
Sfruttare i componenti aggiuntivi: Mantenere i piani base semplici e vendere extra
Testare le modifiche: Convalidare i cambiamenti dei piani e le prorate in modalità di test

Gli abbonamenti sono una base flessibile per i ricavi ricorrenti. Iniziare in modo semplice, testare a fondo e iterare in base ai metriche di adozione, churn e espansione.

Getting Started

Features

Integrate

Merchant of Record

Miscellaneous

Documentation Index

Upgrade & Downgrade

On‑Demand Subscriptions

Customer Portal

Subscription Webhooks

​What Are Subscriptions?

​Key Benefits

​Creating Subscriptions

​Subscription product creation

​Product details

​Pricing

​Advanced settings

​Subscription Trials

​Configuring Trials

​Detecting Trial Status

​Updating Trial Period

​Subscription Plan Changes

Product Collections

​Proration Modes

​prorated_immediately

​difference_immediately

​full_immediately

​do_not_bill

​Changing Plans with Add-ons

​Previewing Plan Changes

Preview Change Plan API

​Subscription States

​On Hold State

​Reactivating from On Hold

​API Management

API Reference

API Reference

API Reference

API Reference

API Reference

API Reference

API Reference

​Common Use Cases

​Integration Examples

​Checkout Sessions (subscriptions)

​Plan changes with proration

​Cancel at next billing date

​On‑demand subscriptions

​Update payment method for active subscription

​Reactivate subscription from on_hold

​Subscriptions with RBI-Compliant Mandates

​Mandate Limits

​Considerazioni su Upgrade e Downgrade

​Autorizzazione per Addebiti di Alto Valore

​Ritardo di Elaborazione di 48 Ore

​Finestra di Cancellazione del Mandato

​Migliori Pratiche

What Are Subscriptions?

Key Benefits

Creating Subscriptions

Subscription product creation

Product details

Pricing

Advanced settings

Subscription Trials

Configuring Trials

Detecting Trial Status

Updating Trial Period

Subscription Plan Changes

Proration Modes

`prorated_immediately`

`difference_immediately`

`full_immediately`

`do_not_bill`

Changing Plans with Add-ons

Previewing Plan Changes

Subscription States

On Hold State

Reactivating from On Hold

API Management

Common Use Cases

Integration Examples

Checkout Sessions (subscriptions)

Plan changes with proration

Cancel at next billing date

On‑demand subscriptions

Update payment method for active subscription

Reactivate subscription from on_hold

Subscriptions with RBI-Compliant Mandates

Mandate Limits

Considerazioni su Upgrade e Downgrade

Autorizzazione per Addebiti di Alto Valore

Ritardo di Elaborazione di 48 Ore

Finestra di Cancellazione del Mandato

Migliori Pratiche