Subscription Plans

Subscription plans define what members pay and what content they can access. Create multiple plans to offer different pricing tiers and value propositions.

Creating a Plan

Go to PaywallWP → Plans
Click Add New Plan
Fill in the plan details
Click Publish

Plan Settings

Basic Information

Field	Description
Plan Name	Display name (e.g., "Premium", "Pro", "VIP")
Description	Short description for internal reference
Status	Published (active) or Draft (hidden)

Pricing

Field	Description
Monthly Price	Price per month
Yearly Price	Price per year (optional)
Original Monthly Price	Strikethrough price for promotions (optional)
Original Yearly Price	Strikethrough price for promotions (optional)
Currency	Uses global currency setting

Yearly Discount

Offer yearly plans at a discount (e.g., $99/year vs $9.99/month = 17% savings). This improves retention and cash flow.

Promotional Pricing

Use the "Original Price" fields to show a strikethrough price, creating a visual discount effect on your pricing page.

Access Level

Field	Description
Access Level	1-10, higher levels access more content

Members with this plan can access any content with an equal or lower access level.

Plan Level: 3
Can access: Level 0, 1, 2, 3
Cannot access: Level 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

Features List

Add bullet points displayed on the pricing page:

✅ Access to premium articles
✅ Weekly newsletter
✅ Members-only community
✅ Ad-free experience

Each line becomes a feature with a checkmark.

Display Options

Field	Description
Tagline	Short description of target audience (e.g., "For individuals")
Featured	Highlight this plan on pricing page
Badge Text	Label shown on card (e.g., "Most Popular")
CTA Button Text	Custom button text (defaults to "Subscribe")
Sort Order	Display order (lower = first)

Ad-Free Option

Field	Description
Disable Ads	Hide advertisements for subscribers on this plan

Enable this to make "ad-free experience" a benefit of premium plans.

Plan Examples

Basic Three-Tier Model

Free (Access Level 0)

Public content only
No plan needed

Basic - $5/month (Access Level 2)

Access to basic premium content
Monthly newsletter
Remove some ads

Premium - $15/month (Access Level 5)

Access to all premium content
Weekly exclusive articles
Ad-free experience
Community access

VIP - $50/month (Access Level 10)

Everything in Premium
One-on-one support
Early access to content
Exclusive events

Two-Tier Model

Monthly - $9.99/month (Access Level 5)

Full access to all content
Cancel anytime

Annual - $99/year (Access Level 5)

Same access as monthly
Save 17%
Billed annually

Managing Plans

Editing Plans

Go to PaywallWP → Plans
Click on the plan name
Make changes
Click Update

Changing Prices

Changing a plan's price affects new subscribers only. Existing subscribers keep their original price until they cancel and resubscribe.

Archiving Plans

To hide a plan from new signups while keeping existing subscribers:

Edit the plan
Change status to Draft
Update

Existing subscribers continue with their subscriptions.

Deleting Plans

danger

Deleting a plan does not cancel existing subscriptions, but the plan won't be available for new signups or renewals.

Go to PaywallWP → Plans
Hover over the plan
Click Trash

Payment Gateway Integration

When you create plans, PaywallWP Pro automatically:

Syncs with Stripe/PayPal — Creates corresponding products and prices
Manages Billing — Handles recurring charges
Tracks Status — Updates subscription status via webhooks

Plan IDs

Each plan has IDs for both gateways:

Gateway	ID Location
Stripe Price ID	Visible in Stripe Dashboard
PayPal Plan ID	Visible in PayPal Dashboard

These are created automatically—you don't need to configure them manually.

Pricing Page Display

Plans appear on your pricing page via the [paywp_pricing] shortcode:

[paywp_pricing]

Customizing Display

Shortcode Attribute	Description
`title`	Section heading
`subtitle`	Description text
`show_toggle`	Show monthly/yearly toggle (true/false)
`default_cycle`	Default billing cycle (monthly/yearly)

Example:

[paywp_pricing title="Choose Your Plan" default_cycle="yearly"]

Trial Periods

Configuring Trials

Set up free trial periods:

Edit the plan
Find Trial Period settings
Set the number of trial days
Save

Payment Method Required

Trials typically require a payment method. The card isn't charged until the trial ends.

Trial Behavior

Event	Behavior
Trial Start	Subscription activates, no charge
Trial End	First payment charged automatically
Trial Cancel	No charge, access ends immediately

Plan Changes (Upgrades/Downgrades)

When members change plans:

Upgrades

Immediate access to higher-tier content
Prorated charge for remaining billing period
Next billing continues at new price

Downgrades

Access continues until current period ends
New price applies on next renewal
No refund for remaining time

Best Practices

Pricing Strategy

Anchor Pricing — Show a high-priced option to make others look affordable
Feature Differentiation — Clear value difference between tiers
Annual Discount — Encourage yearly plans with 15-20% savings
Featured Plan — Highlight your recommended option

Naming Conventions

Good plan names:

Basic, Pro, Enterprise
Bronze, Silver, Gold
Monthly, Annual, Lifetime
Starter, Growth, Scale

Avoid:

Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 (not descriptive)
Confusing or similar names

Feature Lists

Keep features scannable (5-8 items max)
Lead with most valuable features
Use concrete benefits, not features
Show what's NOT included in lower tiers

Troubleshooting

Plan Not Showing on Pricing Page

Verify plan status is Published
Check the plan has prices set
Clear cache if using caching plugin

Payment Gateway Errors

Verify API keys are correct
Check webhooks are configured
Review error logs in gateway dashboard

Access Level Not Working

Verify content has correct access level
Check member's subscription is active
Ensure plan's access level is set

Next Steps

Pricing Page for customizing display
Members Management for managing subscribers
Content Protection for using access levels

Creating a Plan​

Plan Settings​

Basic Information​

Pricing​

Access Level​

Features List​

Display Options​

Ad-Free Option​

Plan Examples​

Basic Three-Tier Model​

Two-Tier Model​

Managing Plans​

Editing Plans​

Archiving Plans​

Deleting Plans​

Payment Gateway Integration​

Plan IDs​

Pricing Page Display​

Customizing Display​

Trial Periods​

Configuring Trials​

Trial Behavior​

Plan Changes (Upgrades/Downgrades)​

Upgrades​

Downgrades​

Best Practices​

Pricing Strategy​

Naming Conventions​

Feature Lists​

Troubleshooting​

Plan Not Showing on Pricing Page​

Payment Gateway Errors​

Access Level Not Working​

Next Steps​