Subscription Plan
Pronunciation: sub-SKRIP-shun plan
Also known as: Membership Plan, Recurring Plan
Definition
Subscription Plan is a defined commercial package specifying the recurring product, price structure, entitlements, and subscription rules offered to customers. In subscription commerce and customer lifecycle management, it commonly covers features, limits, price, currency, billing interval, trial, usage rules, eligibility, renewal, and cancellation terms. It differs from an individual subscription because the plan is the reusable offer and the subscription is one customer’s active relationship to that offer.
Overview
How it works and where it fits
It differs from an individual subscription because the plan is the reusable offer and the subscription is one customer’s active relationship to that offer. Related operational concepts include Billing Plan, Subscription, and Billing Interval, each of which should retain a separate definition and system owner.
It normally interacts with Billing Plan and Subscription, although the exact system boundaries vary by merchant and platform. Operationally, teams should version plans rather than overwriting sold terms, preserve customer-specific agreements, map entitlements, control migrations, and display conditions clearly. A reliable subscription system keeps commercial terms, billing, payment, and product entitlement synchronized without erasing historical agreements.
In subscription commerce and customer lifecycle management, it commonly covers features, limits, price, currency, billing interval, trial, usage rules, eligibility, renewal, and cancellation terms. The concept commonly includes features, limits, price, currency, billing interval, trial, usage rules, eligibility, renewal, and cancellation terms.
Related glossary concepts
Example
A productivity app offers Starter at $9 per month and Team at $29 per month. A subscription plan defines price and entitlements; the customer's subscription instance records which plan they selected and when it began. An upgrade requires policy for prorated charges and when additional seats become available.
Comparison
Version plan terms instead of rewriting past invoices when prices change. Record currency, tax treatment, billing frequency, trial rules and usage limits. A token-payment quote is not itself the plan price: the required token amount can change with exchange rates unless explicitly locked.
Key Takeaway
Version plan prices and entitlements so later changes never rewrite historical billing obligations.
Sources
- Subscriptions — Stripe (2026-08-02)
- Billing — Stripe (2026-08-02)