Most comparisons of Joy and Subi try to balance feature lists. That misses the point. Both apps are well-built. Both carry a 4.9-star rating. Both have real merchant traction. The honest framing is much simpler: Subi answers "subscriptions + memberships in one tool" and Joy answers "product subscriptions, done well." Pick based on which question fits your store.
That distinction matters because the membership category is genuinely different from product subscriptions. Envive's 2026 retention analysis notes that subscription-based ecommerce maintains a 67% retention rate vs. the 31% standard baseline — but that benchmark mixes product subscriptions and memberships together. The economics, the customer expectations, and the operational requirements are different for each. An app that tries to do both will be reasonable at both; an app that specializes will be better at one.
We built Joy and have flagged that throughout.
| Category | Joy Subscriptions | Subi Subscriptions |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Product subscriptions | Subscriptions + memberships |
| Product subscriptions | Deep feature set | Functional, not the primary focus |
| Membership / content access | Not supported | Core feature |
| Subscribe & Save | All plans | Available |
| Build-a-box bundles | All plans | Not a primary feature |
| Smart dunning | Full automation, all plans | Basic dunning available |
| Branded customer portal | Full customization, all plans | Customer portal included |
| Pricing model | 0% fees for first 6 mo. or first $1M revenue, then 1.5%; no monthly fee | Structured plans (check subi.co) |
| Free plan | Core features, no MRR cap | Check current plan details |
| Analytics | Starter plan (not on Free) | Included |
| 24/7 live chat support | All plans | Support available (check tiers) |
| Managed migration | Free, named contact | Limited migration support |
| App rating | 4.9 ★ (379+ reviews) | 4.9 ★ |
| Merchant base | 5,000+ merchants | 9,000+ stores, $100M+ GMV |
Joy charges no monthly fee. The Starter plan charges 0% transaction fees for the first 6 months or first $1,000,000 in subscription revenue, then 1.5%. No feature changes at any level — you always have the full product.
Subi uses structured monthly plans. Exact pricing changes over time — check subi.co for current rates before committing.
| Monthly Subscription MRR | Joy Subscriptions Cost | Subi Subscriptions Cost |
|---|---|---|
| $500 MRR | $0 (0% during intro period) | Check subi.co |
| $1,000 MRR | $15/month (after intro period) | Check subi.co |
| $3,000 MRR | $45/month (after intro period) | Check subi.co |
| $5,000 MRR | $75/month (after intro period) | Check subi.co |
| $10,000 MRR | $150/month (after intro period) | Check subi.co |
Joy's model is transparent. During the introductory period (first 6 months or first $1M in subscription revenue), Joy costs $0 in transaction fees. After that, costs scale proportionally with revenue. A flat monthly fee can be cheaper at high MRR if you are on a capped plan — run the numbers against Subi's current pricing at your actual MRR to make an accurate comparison.
Before any feature comparison, answer one question: are memberships part of your business model? If yes, Subi. If no, Joy. Everything else is secondary.
A product subscription is a recurring delivery of a physical or digital product — coffee every four weeks, skincare every six weeks, supplements monthly. The value sits in the product itself. The subscription is just the delivery mechanism. Eightx's 2026 DTC benchmark shows subscription customers generate 3–5x the lifetime value of one-time buyers at equivalent gross margins — and most of that lift comes from product-category subscriptions like consumables, beauty, and CPG.
Joy is built for this model. Subscribe & Save discounts, Build-a-box customization, flexible billing intervals, smart dunning to recover failed payments, and a branded portal where subscribers manage their own deliveries — every feature is designed around recurring product commerce.
A membership is recurring access — to exclusive content, a members-only community, tiered pricing, or loyalty program benefits. The value sits in the access, not in a physical delivery. The economics are different: high gross margin, lower fulfillment cost, retention driven by perceived community value rather than product consumption.
Subi handles this model alongside product subscriptions in a single app. If your business charges for ongoing access — gated content, exclusive member areas, loyalty tiers — Subi's membership infrastructure is purpose-built for it. Joy doesn't replicate this functionality.
Most Shopify stores selling physical products don't need membership tooling. Consumables, beauty, food and drink, supplements, pet — these are product subscription categories, and Joy is the more focused fit. If you genuinely operate both a product subscription program AND a membership program, the question becomes whether Subi's product subscription depth is enough for the product side (it's functional but not its primary focus), or whether you'd be better off with Joy plus a dedicated membership tool. The answer depends on how complex each side is.
Joy includes Build-a-box on all plans. Subscribers can customize their recurring box with product selections — a feature that increases average order value and subscriber engagement for product subscription businesses.
Subi does not focus on Build-a-box functionality. If curated or customizable recurring boxes are part of your model, Joy covers this more completely.
Involuntary churn — subscribers who cancel not by choice but because a payment fails and recovery doesn't happen — is one of the biggest avoidable losses in a subscription business. FlyCode's 2026 payment recovery analysis reports failed payments account for 20–40% of all subscription churn.
Joy's smart dunning runs automatically on all plans: configurable retry logic, customer notification emails, and recovery sequences that work without manual intervention. PayRequest's 2026 benchmark shows comprehensive dunning recovers 70–80% of failed payments vs. 20–31% for basic retry-only systems. Subi covers basic dunning. For product subscription operations where margin pressure makes every recovered payment matter, Joy's approach is more sophisticated.
Joy's customer portal is fully branded and customizable on every plan — subscribers can pause, skip, swap products, change quantities, and update billing details without contacting your team. The portal is designed to reflect your store's visual identity.
Subi includes a customer portal. For product subscriptions, Joy's portal is more feature-complete and customizable. For membership-specific self-service (managing access tiers, member benefits), Subi's portal is purpose-built.
Both apps offer Subscribe & Save — customers lock in a discount by committing to recurring orders. This is standard functionality and both apps handle it well.
Joy includes MRR tracking, churn rate, subscriber growth, and order history on all plans. Subi includes analytics covering both subscription and membership activity. For product subscription analytics specifically, Joy's reporting is focused and accessible. Subi's analytics cover a broader model including membership metrics.
Subi has the longer track record by merchant volume: 9,000+ stores and $100M+ GMV processed. Those are meaningful numbers that reflect a platform that has operated at scale.
Joy launched in August 2024 and reached 5,000+ merchants in its first eight months — strong early growth that reflects genuine product-market fit. Both apps carry a 4.9-star rating.
If track record and GMV processed are important factors in your evaluation, Subi's numbers are stronger today. If you weight early growth trajectory and review quality, both apps perform well.
Joy offers 24/7 live chat on every plan, including the free tier. Merchant reviews consistently cite support responsiveness as a standout feature. You do not need to be on a premium plan to get fast, useful help.
Subi's support is available, with plan-tier-based access. Check their current support offerings for response time expectations at your plan level.
Joy provides free, fully managed migration from any subscription app. You get a named contact who handles the technical transfer — active subscribers, plans, billing intervals, billing dates — and stays with you until everything is confirmed working. Most migrations complete in 3 to 5 business days.
Subi's migration support is more limited. If you are moving from another app with an established subscriber base, Joy's managed process substantially reduces the risk of disruption.
One important note: if you are migrating from Subi specifically and your model includes membership data (access tiers, content entitlements), that data does not transfer to Joy — Joy does not replicate membership functionality. Product subscription data transfers cleanly.
Pick Subi if memberships are central to your business — gated content, exclusive member areas, loyalty tiers, access-based pricing. The 9,000+ stores and $100M+ GMV Subi has processed are concentrated in models where memberships are part of the offering, and Subi's membership infrastructure is built specifically for that use case.
Pick Joy if you sell physical or digital products on subscription and don't need membership management. The depth Joy puts into Build-a-box, dunning recovery, branded portal, and managed migration is exactly what product subscription operations need — and you don't pay for membership features you'll never use. Joy's no-monthly-fee model (0% transaction fees through your first 6 months or first $1M in revenue, then 1.5%) is also more aligned with the typical product subscription growth curve, where revenue scales but margins are tight.
The exception case: if you genuinely need both deep product subscriptions AND deep memberships, neither app is going to be best-in-class at both. The honest call is to compare Subi's product subscription depth against your specific requirements (it's functional, not its primary strength), or to run Joy plus a separate membership tool and accept the integration overhead.
For a broader view of the subscription app landscape, see the best Shopify subscription apps comparison. The Joy vs. Appstle comparison, Joy vs. Seal Subscriptions, and the best ReCharge alternatives guide are also useful if you are evaluating multiple options.
No. Joy is built for product subscriptions — recurring physical or digital product deliveries, Subscribe & Save, Build-a-box. It does not support content access control, exclusive member areas, or loyalty membership tiers. If memberships are your core model, Subi is the purpose-built choice.
A product subscription = recurring deliveries of a product. A membership = recurring access to something (content, community, exclusive pricing). Some stores need both. Most product-focused e-commerce stores need product subscription tools, not membership management.
Yes, if your model is primarily product subscriptions. Joy handles the transfer of active subscribers, subscription plans, billing intervals, and billing dates. Membership-specific data does not transfer, as Joy does not offer membership functionality.
Subi handles product subscriptions adequately. But its primary differentiation is memberships. For a store where recurring product orders are the core model, Joy is more focused and feature-complete — particularly on Build-a-box, smart dunning, and portal customization.
Subi can cover both in a single app. Joy specializes in product subscriptions and does not support membership access management. If you genuinely need both, evaluate whether Subi's product subscription depth meets your needs, or whether running Joy plus a separate membership tool gives better outcomes.
Both carry a 4.9-star rating. Subi has 9,000+ stores and $100M+ GMV. Joy has 5,000+ merchants and launched in August 2024. Subi has a longer track record. Joy has stronger early growth and a focused product subscription feature set.
Joy Subscriptions is built for product subscriptions — recurring physical or digital product orders, Subscribe & Save, and Build-a-box bundles. It does not offer the dedicated membership features Subi provides, such as content access control, exclusive member areas, or loyalty program membership tiers. If memberships are your core model, Subi is the more purpose-built choice.
A product subscription means a customer receives recurring deliveries of a physical or digital product — coffee bags every month, skincare every six weeks. A membership means a customer pays recurring fees for access to something — exclusive content, a members-only community, tiered loyalty benefits, or gated pricing. Some stores need both. Most stores need one or the other.
Yes, if your model is primarily product subscriptions. Joy provides free, fully managed migration — a named contact handles the transfer of your active subscribers, subscription plans, billing intervals, and billing dates. Membership-specific data (access tiers, content entitlements) does not transfer, as Joy does not replicate membership functionality.
Subi handles product subscriptions adequately, but its primary differentiation is memberships. If product subscriptions are your core model — Subscribe & Save, recurring boxes, replenishment programs — Joy is the more focused and feature-complete tool. Subi's product subscription depth is functional but not its strongest area.
If you genuinely need both product subscriptions and membership access management, you may need to evaluate whether one app covers both needs adequately or whether running two specialized tools makes more sense. Subi can cover both in a single app. Joy specializes in product subscriptions and does not cover membership access control.
Both apps carry a 4.9-star rating. Subi has 9,000+ stores and reports $100M+ GMV processed. Joy has 5,000+ merchants and launched in August 2024 — a newer app with strong early growth. Both have strong ratings, but Subi has a longer track record by merchant volume.
Joy has no monthly fee. The Starter plan charges 0% transaction fees for the first 6 months or first $1,000,000 in subscription revenue, then 1.5% — with no feature restrictions at any level. Subi uses structured monthly plans — check subi.co for current rates. Joy's model scales proportionally with your revenue. A flat monthly fee can be cheaper at very high MRR on a capped plan. Calculate against your actual subscription MRR to compare accurately.
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