Buy Once or Subscribe for WooCommerce Subscriptions

Sell the same product as a one-time purchase or a subscription

In many WooCommerce stores, offering a product as both a one-time purchase and a subscription means duplicating listings, creating extra SKUs, or complicating the catalog. Buy Once or Subscribe for WooCommerce Subscriptions removes that friction: it lets you show both options on the same product page, so each buyer picks the format that suits them without leaving that listing.

The practical result is that a new customer who wants to try the product can buy it once, while someone who already knows it can subscribe with a visible discount, and all of this happens on the same URL, with the same SKU and no extra inventory management.

How subscription plans are set up

The plugin offers three levels for configuring plans, depending on the size and structure of the catalog:

• Global plans: apply to entire product categories, useful for stores with large catalogs that don't want to configure every item individually.
• Product-level plans: let you set individual subscription frequencies for each simple or variable product.
• Variation-level plans: give full control over the frequency and price of each variation within a variable product.

These levels can be combined: you set a global plan and then adjust exceptions at the product or variation level when more precision is needed.

Discounts and incentives to turn buyers into subscribers

Each subscription plan supports a discount, either as a percentage or a fixed amount, shown alongside the one-time purchase price. This direct comparison helps customers immediately see the savings of subscribing versus buying once. On top of that, on the cart page shoppers can compare both options and switch plans before completing checkout, making it easy to convert a one-time purchase into a subscription at the last moment.

Features added in recent versions

• Ability to add products to an active subscription directly from the product page, without going through the cart.
• Plan switching (from one-time purchase to subscription or vice versa) from the cart page.
• Discounts configurable as a fixed amount, in addition to percentage, at both the product and variation level.

Compatibility with subscription boxes and other extensions

Buy Once or Subscribe integrates with Product Bundles and Composite Products, which lets you put together and sell subscription boxes combining several products into a single recurring package. It's also compatible with Self-Service Dashboard for WooCommerce Subscriptions, which gives subscribers control over their own subscription: pausing it, changing the billing date, or modifying quantities or variations, without needing to contact support.

What kind of store this fits

This plugin is especially useful for stores selling skincare and beauty, food and beverages, supplements and wellness products, pet products, subscription boxes, and digital products. In general, it fits any WooCommerce store that wants to generate recurring revenue without reworking its current catalog or multiplying product listings.

Requirements

Frequently asked questions

Do I need another plugin for this to work?

Yes. Buy Once or Subscribe is an extension for WooCommerce Subscriptions, so that plugin must be installed and active before you configure the plans.

Can I use the same SKU for the one-time purchase and the subscription?

Yes. There's no need to create duplicate products: the same listing and the same SKU work for both types of sale.

Can I set different discounts for different products?

Yes. Each subscription plan, whether global, product-level, or variation-level, supports its own discount as a percentage or a fixed amount.

Does it work with subscription boxes?

Yes, thanks to the integration with Product Bundles and Composite Products, which let you create and sell subscription boxes made up of several products.

Can the customer change their mind after adding the product to the cart?

Yes. On the cart page they can compare the one-time purchase and the subscription, and change their choice before completing checkout.