Joy vs BOLD Subscriptions

Start free. Pay a lower fee as you grow.

BOLD has no free plan, every merchant pays a monthly fee plus a transaction fee from day one, and its cheapest plan carries its highest fee at 2% per order. Joy starts at $0, and even Joy’s standard rate undercuts BOLD’s best-case 0.9%.

  • Free Forever plan
  • Lower fee than BOLD’s top tier
  • Free managed migration

The honest bottom line

Choose BOLD if

you are already inside the BOLD Commerce ecosystem and want to keep your stack together.

Choose Joy if

you want a genuine free plan to start, a lower transaction fee at a lower price point, and advanced retention tools without paying for BOLD’s $399.99 top tier.

Joy vs BOLD, on price

BOLD has no free plan, and its cheapest plan carries its most expensive fee at 2% per order. Joy starts at $0.

Plan
Joy
BOLD
Free
$0/mo Free Forever (50 subs, 0% fee)
No free plan
Entry paid
Starter - $49/mo + 0.75%
Launch - $24.99/mo + 2%
Mid
Pro - $199/mo + 0.5%
Grow $49.99 + 1% · Scale $74.99 + 0.9%
Enterprise
Custom
Ultimate Retention - $399.99/mo + 0.9%
App rating
4.9 stars
4.0 stars (368 reviews)

BOLD has no free plan, and BOLD’s lowest fee (0.9%) is still higher than Joy’s Pro rate (0.5%) at a much lower price. BOLD’s cheap-looking $24.99 Launch plan actually carries its most expensive fee, 2% per order.

Estimate your savings

Joy
$424 /mo
Starter
BOLD
$525 /mo
Scale

You keep $101/mo · $1,212/year with Joy

Feature by feature

Capability
Joy
BOLD
Free plan
Yes
No
Core subscriptions, billing, portal
Yes
Yes
Smart dunning
Yes
Yes
Prepaid / convertible subscriptions
Yes
Yes
Advanced cancellation prevention
Included in retention toolkit
Only on $399.99 Ultimate tier
Build-to-Order
Yes, up to 60 days free
Not headlined
Fee on free / trial
0% on Free Forever
Fees apply during trial; no free plan
Lowest transaction fee
0.5% (Pro)
0.9% (Scale / Ultimate)
App rating
4.9 stars
4.0 stars

Why merchants choose Joy

01

Start free, not at $24.99/mo plus a fee

BOLD has no free tier. Every store pays a monthly fee and a transaction fee from install. Joy Free Forever is $0/mo with 0% fee for up to 50 active subscriptions.

02

A lower fee than BOLD’s enterprise plan, at a fraction of the price

BOLD’s best rate is 0.9%, reserved for its $74.99 Scale and $399.99 Ultimate tiers. Joy Pro charges 0.5% at $199/mo. And BOLD’s cheapest plan, Launch, charges 2%, more than double Joy Starter’s 0.75%.

03

Deep retention without the $399.99 gate

BOLD locks advanced cancellation prevention behind its top Ultimate tier. Joy includes its retention toolkit, dunning, cancellation and win-back flows, far lower in the lineup.

Switching is handled for you

Moving off BOLD should not cost you a weekend or a single subscriber.

Talk to a migration manager
  • Free, fully managed migration. A named manager moves your subscriptions, billing dates and customer data off BOLD, with no disruption to active subscribers.
  • Build-to-Order runway. Building something custom? Up to 60 days free while we build it, so you are not paying two apps during the transition.
  • No lock-in. Cancel anytime. Stay because the math works, not because you are stuck.

Common questions

Does BOLD have a free plan?+
No. BOLD’s lowest plan is $24.99/mo plus a 2% transaction fee. Joy has a genuine Free Forever plan covering up to 50 active subscriptions at 0% fee.
Is Joy’s fee really lower than BOLD’s best rate?+
Yes. Joy Pro charges 0.5%, lower than BOLD’s best-case 0.9%, which BOLD reserves for its $74.99 Scale and $399.99 Ultimate tiers.
Why is BOLD’s cheapest plan not the cheapest to run?+
BOLD Launch looks affordable at $24.99/mo but charges 2% per order, its highest fee. Joy Starter at $49/mo charges 0.75%, far cheaper on every subscription order at any real volume.
What does BOLD do well?+
BOLD is a mature platform and bundles ProsperStack advanced cancellation prevention on its top Ultimate Retention tier.
How does migration from BOLD work?+
Joy assigns a named migration manager who moves your subscriptions and customer data for free, including legacy BOLD V1 stores.

Start free. Keep a lower fee as you scale.

A real free plan, a lower rate than BOLD’s best, and free migration.