Recurly Free Plan 2026: What's Included & What's Not
Honest breakdown of the free tier limits and features
Recurly costs Free to $5K per month as of March 2026. Pricing depends on your chosen tier, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: No free tier available
Yes, Recurly offers a free trial plan as of March 2026. The free tier includes 6 features with limits on billingvolume. Paid plans start at $399/month (Recurly Commerce (Shopify)). Pricing verified from 3 sources by CostBench.
Recurly's free offering is a time-limited trial to test the full product.
What's Included in the Free Plan
- Core subscription billing
- Multiple payment gateways
- Coupon and discount management
- Basic analytics
- Hosted payment pages
- API access
What's NOT Included (Paid Only)
- Shopify subscriptions integration
- Multiple subscription models
- Subscriber management
- Dunning and retention
- Analytics dashboard
Free Plan Limits
| Limit | Free Plan | Paid Plans |
|---|---|---|
| billingVolume | $40K monthly payments for first 3 months | Unlimited/Higher |
You'll Need to Upgrade When...
- You exceed the user limit
- You need features like Shopify subscriptions integration or Multiple subscription models
- You require premium support or SLA guarantees
- You need to remove branding or watermarks
- You need advanced integrations or API access
Hidden Restrictions on Free Plan
- Cannot process live payments
- Evaluation/testing only
- Trial duration not specified in sources
Free vs Paid: Which Do You Need?
Free Plan is Enough If...
- You're an individual or very small team
- You need only basic features
- You don't mind usage limits
- Branding on output is acceptable
- Community support is sufficient
You Need Paid If...
- Your team is growing beyond limits
- You need advanced features
- Professional branding is required
- You need priority support
- Integrations/API access is critical
Free vs Recurly Commerce (Shopify) Plan Comparison
| Starter (Trial) $0 | Recurly Commerce (Shopify) $399/month | |
|---|---|---|
| Features | 6 included | 5+ included |
| Support | Community/Email | Priority Support |
| Branding | Recurly branding | Your branding |
| Best For | New businesses testing Recurly's platform during the 3-month trial period | Shopify brands launching subscription products |
Frequently Asked Questions
01 Is Recurly free?
Yes, Recurly offers a free trial plan with 6 core features included. However, there are limits on billingvolume that may require upgrading.
02 What's included in Recurly's free plan?
Recurly's free plan includes: Core subscription billing, Multiple payment gateways, Coupon and discount management, Basic analytics, Hosted payment pages, and 1 more features. Key limits include billingVolume: $40K monthly payments for first 3 months.
03 What's NOT included in Recurly's free plan?
The free plan excludes: Shopify subscriptions integration, Multiple subscription models, Subscriber management, Dunning and retention, Analytics dashboard. You'll also have Recurly branding and limited support options.
04 When should I upgrade from Recurly's free plan?
Consider upgrading when: you hit user or storage limits, need features like Shopify subscriptions integration or Multiple subscription models, require premium support, or want to remove branding. The cheapest paid plan starts at $399/month.
05 Is Recurly's free plan really free forever?
Recurly's free offering is actually a time-limited trial, not a forever-free plan. After the trial period, you'll need to subscribe to a paid plan to continue using the service.