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It's a split decision.
Choose Loop if your store runs on Shopify and you want subscription-specific tools: its free plan covers up to 50 active subscriptions, then Starter is $99/month plus a 1% transaction fee. Choose Chargebee for broader billing needs such as usage-based or hybrid pricing; its Flow options are $0 plus 0.80% or $99 plus 0.65%, tied to invoicing volume. Neither publishes annual rates; Chargebee’s free entry is not a like-for-like Shopify subscription plan.
01Side by side
| Loop Subscriptions | Chargebee | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free; Starter costs $99/month plus a 1% transaction fee | Free options; Flow fees vary with invoicing volume |
| Free plan | Up to 50 active subscriptions | Starter is free; Flow offers volume-based pricing options |
| Best for | Shopify brands managing subscriptions | Businesses with usage-based, hybrid, or custom billing |
| Core strength | Portal, payment recovery, cancellation saves, bundles, and upsell | Flexible billing, invoicing, payments, and revenue operations |
| Learning curve | Not published | Not published |
| Integrations/data | Starter lists 30+ integrations | Data exports listed as an add-on |
| Team/seat costs | Seat pricing not published | Seat pricing not published |
| Support | Starter migration help; Pro includes a dedicated CSM | Support terms not published here |
Loop Subscriptions Choose Loop Subscriptions if
- Choose Loop Subscriptions if your store runs on Shopify.
- Choose Loop if you want a free tier capped at 50 active subscriptions.
- Choose Loop if migration help or a Pro dedicated CSM matters.
Chargebee Choose Chargebee if
- Choose Chargebee if you need usage-based or hybrid billing.
- Choose Chargebee if you want its free Starter entry point.
- Choose Chargebee if you need broader billing and revenue tools.
02Pricing compared
Loop’s Free Forever plan covers up to 50 active subscriptions. Above that, Starter is $99 per month with a 1% transaction fee; Pro is $399 per month with a 0.75% fee. Both paid plans list $0 per-order fees. The pricing page lists no annual billing option, and payment processing fees are set by the processor.
Chargebee’s Flow pricing is tied to invoicing volume: the page lists either $0 plus 0.80% or $99 plus 0.65%. It also lists 100 million usage events per month included and a $66,000 monthly-volume breakeven. Chargebee’s free Starter plan includes billing features such as hosted checkout and a self-serve portal, but it is not a like-for-like Shopify subscription plan.
Neither product publishes annual rates. Compare your expected fees against your actual transaction or invoicing volume before switching.
03Features and depth
Loop is built for Shopify brands that need subscription-specific tools. Its feature set includes a customer portal, payment recovery, cancellation flows designed to save subscribers, subscription analytics, bundles and upsells. Starter lists 30+ integrations and white-glove migration; Pro adds API and webhooks access, a dedicated CSM and a multi-language portal.
Chargebee covers a wider range of billing models: flat-fee, tiered, usage-based, subscription and hybrid billing. Its features include billing automation, subscriber lifecycle management, invoicing and tax automation, plus payment retries and machine-learning-powered dunning. Flow includes 100 million usage events per month, according to the pricing details. Other Chargebee products cover quoting and revenue recognition, with features such as multi-product quotes and automated revenue recognition on custom-priced plans.
The practical distinction is focus. Loop’s listed tools center on Shopify subscriptions and subscriber growth; Chargebee’s span billing operations for businesses with varied pricing models. Choose based on the billing model you need, not the size of either feature list.
04Ease of use and learning curve
Loop is the more focused option if your business runs on Shopify and needs subscription management. Its Starter plan lists white-glove migration, while Pro includes a dedicated customer success manager. Those are concrete support provisions, though they do not establish how easy setup will be for a particular store.
Chargebee’s feature set spans usage billing, invoicing, subscription management, quoting and revenue recognition. That breadth may mean more decisions to configure, especially if you only need basic Shopify subscriptions. Its pricing page does not publish a migration service in the published plan details. Our review scores reflect the difference in reported ease: Loop scores 7/10 and Chargebee 5/10. Check migration and support requirements before committing.
Questions people ask
Is Loop or Chargebee better for a Shopify store?
Loop is the more direct fit: it is subscription software built for Shopify brands, with a customer portal, cancellation flows, payment recovery and subscription analytics. Chargebee is better suited when you need broader billing models, such as usage-based or hybrid pricing. Its free entry is not a like-for-like Shopify subscription plan.
Is Loop cheaper than Chargebee?
It depends on volume and which fees apply. Loop starts free for up to 50 active subscriptions, then Starter costs $99 per month plus a 1% transaction fee. Chargebee Flow lists $0 plus 0.80% or $99 plus 0.65%, tied to invoicing volume. Compare using your own billing figures.
Does Loop charge a transaction fee?
Yes. Loop’s pricing lists a 1% transaction fee on Starter and 0.75% on Pro, with $0 per-order fees on both. Enterprise has a negotiable transaction fee. Payment processing fees are handled by the payment processor, and the rates are not published on the vendor's site.
Can Chargebee handle usage-based billing?
Yes. Chargebee lists usage-based and hybrid billing among its supported models, alongside tiered, flat-fee and subscription billing. Its Flow pricing includes 100 million usage events per month, according to the pricing details. The page lists separate volume-based fees, so confirm the cost against your expected invoicing volume.