Subscription product overview
The plugin adds three subscription product types to WooCommerce: Simple subscription, Variable subscription and Multi-Product subscription. They sit in the same WP-admin product type dropdown as Simple and Variable products. This page explains what each is, when to pick it and how it interacts with the rest of WooCommerce.
TL;DR
- Simple subscription — one product, one recurring price. Default choice.
- Variable subscription — same product offered in multiple cadences or sizes (Monthly / Annual, Small / Medium / Large).
- Multi-Product subscription — one subscription that bundles several real products in one box.
Simple subscription
The product type to reach for first. The customer sees one buy button at one price; behind the scenes the plugin schedules recurring renewals at the cadence you configure.
- When to pick it
- Single-tier offerings: one membership tier, one digital download with renewals, one monthly box at a single price.
- What's in the editor
- A "Subscription" tab next to General / Inventory / Shipping with interval, length, sign-up fee, free trial and anchor day. See pricing fields.
- Stock & shipping
- Standard WooCommerce behaviour — every renewal generates a new order that consumes stock and triggers shipping zones.
- Tax
- Standard WooCommerce tax classes apply. Renewals reuse the customer's billing address for tax calculation.
Variable subscription
The subscription equivalent of WooCommerce's Variable product. Each variation is a separate subscription option with its own price and cadence. The customer picks one variation at checkout; the subscription is created for that variation.
- When to pick it
- You sell the same thing at multiple cadences ("Monthly €9, Annual €90 saves €18") or at multiple sizes ("Small box / Medium box / Large box"). Customers pick once at checkout.
- Plan switching
- Variations within the same product can swap mid-cycle, with optional prorate. See plan switching.
- Stock
- Stock can be set at the variation level or at the parent product level, like any Variable product.
Multi-Product subscription
A subscription that contains several real products. The customer subscribes to a "box" or a "kit"; what's inside is either fixed (curated by you) or customisable (picked by them from a list). One recurring charge, one fulfilment flow.
- When to pick it
- Subscription boxes (coffee, wine, cosmetics), pet-food assortments, B2B office snack plans, membership stacks that bundle several digital products.
- Curated vs customisable
- Curated: you decide the contents per cycle, fixed price. Customisable: customer picks N items from a compatible list, price fixed or computed.
- Stock
- Each picked item decrements its own product stock separately. Out-of-stock items hide themselves from the picker.
- Pricing modes
- Fixed box price · sum of items · sum minus a bundle discount.
Full reference: Multi-Product (Subscription Box) feature page.
Decision table
| If you need… | Pick |
|---|---|
| One offering, one price | Simple subscription |
| Monthly vs Annual on the same product | Variable subscription |
| Sizes / tiers of the same product | Variable subscription |
| A box that contains several products | Multi-Product subscription |
| A one-off non-recurring purchase | Vanilla WooCommerce Simple / Variable product (no subscription) |
Coexistence with regular products
Subscription products and regular WooCommerce products live in the same catalogue, same cart, same checkout. A customer can buy a one-off Simple product and a Simple subscription in the same cart — the renewal cycle applies only to the subscription product.
Relevant hooks
For the technical view of how products are wired:
aswc_subscription_product_types— filter the registered subscription product types.aswc_after_created_subscription— fired when a subscription is created from a checkout.- Full reference: Hooks reference (236 documented).