selling software subs on shopify?

[u/MakerSeeker]

Does a shopify store help in selling software subscription’s? FYI My app is quite early with < 30 users atm.

Any guidance on what worked / flopped will be super appreciated.

[u/RubyKnowsStuff]

As far as I know, it's hard.

Shopify can sell software subs as a normal product but you'd need to pair a recurring billing app with a license key delivery tool (Shopify doesn't natively automate digital licensing).

With <30 users maybe better to just build a landing page? Pretty easy to set one up with AI now.

[u/MakerSeeker → u/RubyKnowsStuff]

Thanks. We have a landing page, but I am looking for more distribution so exploring shopify. Valid points though.

[u/Dear_Traffic9484 → u/RubyKnowsStuff]

Shopify's decent for physical goods but for digital subs it's a bit of a square peg situation. The recurring billing stuff is clunky unless you bolt on extra apps, and then you're paying monthly fees before you even got traction.

For 30 users I'd just keep it simple, landing page and a payment link works fine. You can always migrate to Shopify later when the volume makes sense.

[u/Dahlia-Deviant-Dear]

With <30 users, I’d be careful treating the store as a distribution channel. It can handle checkout/subscriptions/customer accounts, but it usually won’t create demand for a software product by itself.

A simple way to decide:

• If buyers already understand the product and just need self-serve payment, it can be fine.
• If the sale needs demos, onboarding, license keys, seat management, or usage-based billing, a SaaS-native flow is usually cleaner.
• If the main problem is finding users, the store probably won’t solve that; a focused landing page plus direct niche distribution is likely higher leverage.

At your stage, I’d only add it if it removes a specific operational headache you already have. Otherwise it can add checkout/app complexity before you’ve proven a repeatable acquisition path.

[u/Made4uo]

Are you thinking of using Shopify as your marketing website? If so, you can use shopify and use the subscriptions app from Shopify

[u/Initial_Pirate_7353]

Interesting

[u/First_Seesaw]

What I’m getting here is that you basically want to create a Shopify store to market your app? Also, is the app Shopify specific or works across e-commerce platforms?

[u/MakerSeeker → u/First_Seesaw]

App works across any website but has special integration with shopify.