Squarespace subscriptions let you sell a physical or service product that bills your customer automatically every week or every few months, up to once every twelve months. As of October 2026 you need Squarespace Payments or Stripe, customer accounts switched on and an eligible plan, because PayPal, Apple Pay and ACH can't take subscription payments.
This page is about selling subscriptions to your own customers, not paying for your Squarespace site. The catch I'd flag first is the processor. A subscription is tied to the payment account that took the first payment, so if you ever connect a different Squarespace Payments or Stripe account, every subscriber has to sign up again. Pick your processor before your first subscriber, not after.
Who can sell subscriptions
| Requirement | What Squarespace says, as of October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Plan for physical and service subscriptions | Basic, Core, Plus, Advanced or Commerce Advanced |
| Plan for Digital Product subscriptions | The plans above, plus Business and Commerce Basic |
| Product type | Physical or service products; no subscription download products |
| Payment processor | Squarespace Payments or Stripe only |
| Not accepted for subscriptions | PayPal, Apple Pay, ACH payments and gift cards |
| Customer accounts | Must be enabled |
| Where you build it | On a computer, not the Squarespace App |
A few product rules sit underneath that. You can't create a free subscription product, because subscriptions need automated billing. A product with an add-on can't also have a subscription option. And you can't place test orders on subscription products until you're on a paid service, so if you're still testing on a Squarespace free trial, you won't be able to try the checkout end to end.
Setting up a subscription product
- Open the Pages panel and click a store page.
- Click + to add a product, or open an existing one.
- In the product editor, click Payment Options, then under Subscriptions click Add.
- Choose whether to sell it as a one-time purchase and subscription, or as a subscription only.
- Under Frequency, click Add frequency and pick a weekly or monthly cadence.
- To cap renewals, open Billing cycles and select Expires after, or select Never expires.
- If you offer both purchase options, you can add a subscription discount and more frequencies.
- Click Apply, then Save.
Those steps are for version 7.1. On version 7.0, the setting lives under Inventory, you enter a number up to 12 with weeks or months, and you can't offer a product as both a one-time purchase and a subscription.
Expires after counts payments, and it includes the first one. Squarespace's example: for a three-month subscription that renews monthly, set it to repeat every 1 month and expire after 3 payments.
One thing you can't undo. Turning an existing product into a subscription sets its inventory to unlimited, and the original stock number is lost. Write it down first if you'll need it.
How renewals bill
Monthly subscriptions renew at the same time on the same day each month. Start dates late in the month shift: a subscription started on August 31 renews on September 30, keeps the 30th until February, then moves to the 28th and stays there. Weekly subscriptions renew on the same day each week, and depending on the customer's bank the charge may show a day or two after the renewal date.
Each renewal creates a new order marked Pending in your orders panel, and you get a new order email. You fulfil it like any other order. You can also send customers a renewal reminder 15 days before the renewal date from Customer Notifications, under Products & services, Subscription orders, Subscription renewal. Terms of 11 or fewer weeks, or two or fewer months, don't qualify for that reminder.
How customers buy
Customers can buy only one subscription product at a time, with nothing else in the same transaction. When they click Subscribe, they go to express checkout and must log in or create a customer account. The card they use is saved to that account and charged for every renewal. They get an Order Confirmed email once by default, and you can choose to send it after every renewal in your order email settings.
When a customer's payment fails
This is where most sellers lose subscribers without noticing. When a renewal payment fails, you and the customer both get an email, and theirs includes a link to update their billing details. Squarespace tries again after five days, then a final time five days after that. If the third attempt fails, the order and subscription are cancelled and the customer has to buy the subscription again to restart it. Failed renewals don't appear in your Orders panel at all.
Squarespace lists three causes of a failed renewal: the customer's payment details expire, you change the payment processor account connected to your site, or you downgrade to a plan that doesn't support selling subscriptions. On the Stripe side, keep the same account connected and your bank information up to date, because Stripe may disable payments if your details are out of date.
Helping a customer fix it
Ask them to log into their customer account, click Subscriptions, then Payment Method, then Update Payment Method. If their card is fine, check your Stripe connection. Customers with cards issued in the European Economic Area may need to re-authorise a renewal through their bank, and Squarespace notes that customers whose bank is in India may need to authorise recurring payments with their bank.
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Expired cards that still get charged
Squarespace explains that a card issuer can allow renewal charges on an expired card if the card account is still active, and banks may update card details automatically when they issue a new card. So an expired card doesn't always mean a failed renewal. A closed account does.
Buy now, pay later at checkout
Squarespace Payments marks failed Afterpay, Clearpay and Klarna transactions as pending, then cancels them automatically if the issue isn't resolved within one business day. In-app browsers like Instagram's or TikTok's don't support them, so a customer buying from a social link should switch to a regular browser.
Pauses, skips and site cancellation
- Customers can't skip a renewal. You can cancel their pending order after it's placed, or delay their next renewal.
- There's no pause button, but delaying the next renewal does the same job.
- You can't see a count of active subscriptions, only individual subscription orders.
- To change frequency for current subscribers, you discontinue the product and create a new one.
- To run a free trial, add a discount that covers the first subscription payment in full.
- If your site is cancelled or expires, active subscriptions are cancelled immediately and customers must resubscribe if you reactivate.
My verdict on Squarespace subscriptions
I'd use them for refills, boxes and maintenance packages where the product's the same every cycle and you're happy on Squarespace Payments or Stripe. Switch on renewal reminders and watch the failed payment emails, because three failed attempts end the subscription quietly. I'd skip them if your customers mostly pay by PayPal, which can't take subscriptions here. If you're still choosing processors, here's my comparison of Stripe or PayPal.
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Frequently asked questions
Can I sell Squarespace subscriptions with PayPal?
No. As of October 2026, subscription products need Squarespace Payments or Stripe. You can't sell them using PayPal, Apple Pay or ACH payments.
How often can a Squarespace subscription renew?
As often as once every week, and as infrequently as once every twelve months, based on the purchase date.
What happens when a subscriber's payment fails on Squarespace?
You both get an email. The charge is attempted again after five days and a final time five days later. If the third attempt fails, the subscription is cancelled.
Can I offer a free trial on a Squarespace subscription?
Yes. Add a discount that covers the first subscription payment in full, so customers subscribe and get the first installment free.
Can customers pause a Squarespace subscription?
There's no pause option for customers, but you can delay their next subscription renewal for them.
