Migrating WooCommerce subscriptions to Shopify (2026): complete guide

Subscriptions are the hardest part of any WooCommerce to Shopify migration. Unlike products, customers, or orders — which can be exported and imported — active subscriptions cannot be automatically migrated. Payment tokens are locked to WooCommerce's payment gateway, and subscribers must take action to re-authenticate.

This guide covers the complete subscription migration process: what can and can't be transferred, which Shopify subscription app to choose, and how to manage the customer transition with minimal churn.

The core problem with subscription migration

When a customer subscribes through WooCommerce Subscriptions, their payment method is stored as a "payment token" — a reference to a recurring payment authorization held by your payment gateway (Stripe, PayPal, etc.).

These tokens are gateway-specific and account-specific. When you switch payment processors (which you typically do when moving from WooCommerce to Shopify), existing tokens become invalid. There is no technical path to transfer recurring billing authority from one payment account to another without customer action.

What this means for your migration:

• Active subscriptions cannot be automatically continued on Shopify
• Every subscriber must re-enter their payment method on the new platform
• You have a window of time where some subscribers will be on WooCommerce and others on Shopify
• Subscribers who don't act will eventually churn (missed renewal attempt)

Exception: If you use Stripe on both WooCommerce and Shopify, and connect the same Stripe account to both stores, you may be able to use Stripe's subscription objects directly — but this requires custom development and is outside standard migration tool support.

Choosing a Shopify subscription app

Shopify's native subscription API (available since 2021) allows third-party apps to handle recurring billing. The main options:

App	Pricing	Best for	Notes
Shopify Subscriptions (native)	Free	Simple subscribe-and-save	Basic features, no migration tools, limited customization
Recharge Payments	$99/mo + 1.25% transactions	Mid-to-large subscription businesses	Best-in-class, WooCommerce migration support, subscriber portal
Bold Subscriptions	$49.99/mo + 1% transactions	Small-to-mid subscription stores	WooCommerce importer available, good support for box subscriptions
Skio	$499+/mo	High-volume DTC brands	Premium UX, analytics, passwordless login
Ordergroove	Custom pricing	Enterprise	Deep Shopify Plus integration

For most migrating stores: Recharge is the default choice because it has a documented WooCommerce migration path, an existing subscriber import process, and the largest ecosystem for subscription management.

What you can migrate vs. what you can't

Can migrate (via CSV import or managed service)

• Subscription product records (intervals, pricing, trial periods)
• Subscriber contact information (name, email, shipping address)
• Subscription history (past orders, billing dates, status)
• Subscriber notes and custom fields
• Coupon/discount codes applied to subscriptions
• Next billing date (for customer communications)

Cannot migrate automatically

• Payment method tokens (Stripe/PayPal/etc.) — these must be re-authorized
• Active recurring billing (must be recreated by customer action)
• Payment gateway subscription IDs

The migration process: step by step

Step 1: Export WooCommerce subscription data

Before migrating, get a complete picture of your subscription business:

• Use WooCommerce Subscriptions' built-in export (WooCommerce → Subscriptions → Export)
• Or use the WC REST API: GET /wc/v3/subscriptions (with the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin)
• Export columns: subscriber email, status (active/on-hold/cancelled), product, quantity, interval, next payment date, billing/shipping address, payment gateway

Categorize your active subscriptions by status:

• Active: Billing regularly, must be migrated
• On-hold: Paused, customer should be notified but less urgent
• Pending cancellation: Will cancel at next renewal — may not be worth migrating
• Expired/cancelled: No action needed

Step 2: Set up Shopify subscription products

In Shopify + your subscription app:

• Install your chosen subscription app (Recharge, Bold, etc.)
• Migrate your product catalog using k-sync (products, prices, SKUs, images)
• For each subscription product, configure the selling plan (interval, discount if any)
• Set up the subscriber portal (where subscribers manage their subscription)

The subscription product configuration on Shopify must match WooCommerce — same intervals, same prices, same trial periods.

Step 3: Import subscriber records

Import historical subscriber data into Recharge/Bold (without payment methods — those come from customers):

• Create subscriber records with status "pending payment method"
• Map WooCommerce subscription IDs to Recharge customer IDs
• This preserves the subscriber history and allows the subscriber portal to show past orders

Both Recharge and Bold have CSV importer tools for this step.

Step 4: The customer communication campaign

This is the most critical step. Your subscribers need to re-enter their payment method. The messaging must be:

• Clear: "We're upgrading our store. You need to update your payment method."
• Timely: Give at least 2–3 weeks before your first renewal cycle
• Low-friction: Link directly to a personalized re-subscription URL
• Incentivized: Consider offering a small discount (10–15%) to subscribers who complete the transition

Email sequence to send:

1. Announcement email (4 weeks before cutover): "We're moving to a new platform — what this means for your subscription"
2. Action required email (2 weeks before): "Update your payment method to keep your subscription active"
3. Reminder email (1 week before): "Your subscription renews in 7 days — update your payment now"
4. Final reminder (3 days before): "Last chance — avoid subscription interruption"
5. Migration complete (on cutover day): "We've moved! Welcome to our new store — your subscription is [active/needs payment update]"
6. Failed renewal follow-up (to subscribers who didn't act): "We couldn't process your renewal — click here to continue your subscription"

Step 5: Cutover and run parallel for a period

Run both platforms simultaneously during the transition period:

• New subscriptions go through Shopify from the cutover date
• Existing WooCommerce subscriptions continue to renew on WooCommerce until cancelled there
• Use Zapier or a custom webhook to push WooCommerce renewal data to Shopify for order tracking
• Set a sunset date for WooCommerce subscriptions (e.g., 60–90 days after cutover)

Step 6: Sunset WooCommerce subscriptions

At your sunset date:

• Cancel remaining active WooCommerce subscriptions
• Send "final notice" email to subscribers who haven't migrated
• Offer a win-back incentive for lapsed subscribers (1–2 free months, etc.)

Minimizing subscription churn during migration

Based on documented migrations, expect 10–25% subscriber loss during a WooCommerce to Shopify subscription migration. Here's how to reduce that:

• Start communications early: 4+ weeks gives subscribers time to act without urgency panic
• Direct links, not landing pages: Link to the specific re-subscription page for each subscriber's product, not the homepage
• Personalize emails: "Hi [Name], your [Product] subscription renews [Date]" converts significantly better
• Offer a real incentive: A 10–15% discount for re-subscribing on the new platform is standard practice
• SMS reminders: If you have phone numbers, SMS reminders have 5–8× higher open rates than email
• In-store banner: Add a site-wide banner on WooCommerce "We're moving — update your subscription"
• Make the re-subscribe flow simple: One-click if possible; test the mobile experience

Timeline and planning

Week	Activity
Week 1–2	Export subscription data, set up Shopify + subscription app, migrate products
Week 2–3	Import subscriber records, set up subscriber portal, draft email sequence
Week 3	Launch announcement email, soft-launch Shopify store
Week 4	Action required email, monitor re-subscription rate
Week 5 (cutover)	Go live on Shopify, new subscriptions through Shopify, send migration complete email
Weeks 5–12	WooCommerce renewals continue on old platform, monitor migration rate
Week 12+	Sunset WooCommerce subscriptions, send final notice and win-back campaign

What k-sync handles in a subscription store migration

k-sync handles the product catalog migration portion of a subscription store migration:

• Import all subscription products and one-time products from WooCommerce
• Normalize product data (title, description, pricing, images, SKUs)
• Validate subscription product configurations
• Push products to Shopify via API
• Export a Shopify-compatible CSV for subscription app configuration

k-sync does not handle subscription billing records or payment method migration — that's handled by Recharge/Bold's migration tools and your email campaign.

For stores with 50+ subscription products, k-sync's Pro tier handles the full product catalog. Use k-sync for products, then Recharge's importer for subscriber records.