About Subbly
Subbly is the AI-native subscription commerce platform that designs, runs and improves your store, checkout, subscription flow and automations from a description, for subscription businesses that want to be great, not generic.
Founded in Edinburgh in 2014, founder-led and fully remote. From idea to a live store that looks like your brand in less time, with no template stage, no plugin stack and no agency fees later.
- 4.8/5 from 200+ reviews on Capterra
20,000+ founders on Subbly- 11+ years of success
What Subbly does
One platform for the whole subscription business, built and changed by describing what you want.
Your agent
Describe your business and your agent designs the store, the checkout and the subscription flow, then keeps changing them every time you describe a change. You get a first draft in minutes and every revision is one message away.
See how a store gets builtSubscription-first core
Recurring billing, build-a-box, gifting, replenishment, memberships, the customer portal and churn tools are part of the platform, not add-ons. It is the same core that has run subscription businesses for eleven years.
Product overviewStorefront and checkout
Your site and checkout are designed around your brand and your model, so no two Subbly stores look alike. Subscribers see a store that looks like you before they see your product.
Use casesAutomations and integrations
A full API, a public MCP and connectors for Claude and ChatGPT mean workflows and custom integrations are built by describing them. No plugins, no developers, no waiting.
Developer docsLaunch Club and support
Launch Club runs live every weekday until your store is live. Chat and email support run around the clock and a 9,000+ community of subscription founders is a click away.
Join a sessionSubbly X
For brands that want people as well as agents, Subbly X puts engineers and an account manager on your store at software prices. Custom builds, migrations and monthly calls are included.
About Subbly X
What makes Subbly different
On most platforms a decent store is the default and making it great comes later: a template, then a stack of plugins, then agency fees. On Subbly the great version is where you start. From idea to a live site that looks like your brand, in less time.
Where the comparison is factual we name the alternative. The full picture is on the comparison pages.
No templates. Unique websites on demand.
Your agent designs your store, checkout and subscription flow from a description of your business, so no two Subbly stores look alike. A full site costs $20 to $100 in credits and a revision costs cents, against $3,000 to $15,000 and four to eight weeks at an agency.
Versus the alternatives. Shopify, Cratejoy and WooCommerce stores start from a theme, and making one look like your brand means a theme developer or an agency.
No complex, costly plugin stacks.
Subscription billing, build-a-box, gifting, the customer portal, churn tools and automations sit in the core, with no app layer between the store and the billing. One platform, one bill, nothing to babysit.
Versus the alternatives. On Shopify, subscriptions come from an app such as Recharge, with its own monthly fee and per-order charge; on WooCommerce, from a paid Subscriptions extension. On Subbly they are part of the platform.
Ultimate flexibility.
Any change is one message away: site, checkout, portal, workflows and custom integrations, inside Subbly or inside Claude and ChatGPT through the public MCP and full API. Anyone can move like they have a team, and a team gets more from the people it already has, because each person runs their part by describing it.
Versus the alternatives. On Shopify, Cratejoy or WooCommerce, a change the theme does not allow means a developer or another app. On Subbly it is a message.
Dependability you can build a business on.
Eleven years, 20,000+ merchants and hundreds of millions of dollars processed on the same core. The agent changes how you build, not what your store runs on.
Versus the alternatives. A Shopify store with Recharge runs on two vendors' release schedules, with an app layer between the store and the billing. Subbly has one core and no app layer.
Support that stays with you.
Launch Club is live every weekday until your store is live, support is rated 4.9 out of 5 on Capterra, chat and email run 24/7, and 9,000+ founders are in the community.
Versus the alternatives. Shopify, Cratejoy and WooCommerce give you a help center and a ticket queue. Subbly gives you people building with you, live, every weekday.
Our team, when you want people too.
Subbly X puts engineers and an account manager on your store for $499 a month. It is the agency experience, and things that were not possible before, without plugins or agency fees.
Versus the alternatives. Shopify Plus with a subscription app is an enterprise plan, not an engineering team. Subbly X includes engineers who build to your specification.
A great subscription store is the default here, not the upgrade you pay for later.
Subbly compared with the alternatives
| Area | Subbly | Shopify + Recharge | Cratejoy | WooCommerce Subscriptions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Store design | Designed from your description by your agent | A theme, customised by a developer or an agency | A theme | A theme plus a page builder |
| Subscription billing | In the core | A separate app with its own fee | In the platform | A paid extension |
| Changing your store | Describe it, from Subbly or from Claude and ChatGPT | A developer or another app | A developer | A developer or another plugin |
| Live help | Launch Club live every weekday, 24/7 chat and email | Help center and support tickets | Help center and support tickets | Documentation and support tickets |
| Pricing model | Plan from $19/mo plus 1% and a fixed fee per transaction | Shopify plan plus the app's monthly fee and per-order charge | Plan plus a per-transaction fee | Hosting plus the extension's annual fee |
| Leaving | Free, with your subscribers and payment tokens | Depends on the app and the payment gateway | Depends on the payment gateway | Depends on the extension and the gateway |
Platform features change; the comparison pages carry the detailed, dated versions of these rows.
Who uses Subbly
Subscription businesses of every model: boxes, replenishment, memberships and build-a-box, from a first launch to brands with a team.
Founders launching a subscription business
Usually a solo founder or a team of two or three, from a first idea to the first thousand subscribers, with a box, replenishment, membership or build-a-box model. They want a store that looks like their brand from day one and people to build it with, not a template and a support ticket.
Find out if Subbly is right for you
Established brands switching platforms
Brands with hundreds to tens of thousands of subscribers and a small team, on Shopify with Recharge, Cratejoy or WooCommerce Subscriptions, whose app stack, developer backlog and agency retainer make staying great expensive. They migrate in free, payment tokens included, and change anything by describing it.
Compare Subbly
Brands that want it done for them
Established brands and enterprises with a team of ten or more, from D2C names to retailers such as Marks and Spencer, that want people on the account as well as agents. Subbly X adds engineers, an account manager and a shared Slack at software prices.
About Subbly X
Agencies and developers
Agencies, freelancers and in-house developers building for subscription brands on the full API, the public MCP and the connectors. Subbly is open on purpose: experts are welcome, and merchants no longer need one to get a great store.
Developer docs
“We started with Cratejoy, but couldn't make our website look professional no matter how hard we tried. Then we discovered Subbly and were really impressed. Subbly's support team was quick to assist us, and we finally got our website to look exactly as we envisioned.”
Liam BrennanCo-founder, Buster Box “It was easy to migrate to Subbly from Shopify and Bold, and it's been great so far — our MRR is already up 13%! I'm also grateful to the team for helping me with the process. It is hands-down one of the best parts of Subbly.”
Jill LodatoFounder, Kids Baking Club
More in the wall of love, and 220+ reviews on Capterra.
and 1,000s more
The team behind Subbly
Stefan PrettyFounder and CEO. LinkedIn
Stefan was running a digital agency when a client asked for branding and a website for a subscription business. It was the moment Dollar Shave Club, Birchbox and Graze were taking off, and nothing on the market fitted a subscription model within a small business budget.
So he built it. Subbly launched from Edinburgh in 2014 and has been founder-led since. The product has evolved as the industry has, with the same goal underneath: give subscription ecommerce businesses the home they deserve. With AI that goal has become bigger, and the manifesto says where it goes next.
The headquarters have since moved from Edinburgh to the United States, and the company is privately held and fully remote. Bootstrapped for ten years, now raising capital. Stefan still talks to customers most weeks, and the team hosts Launch Club live every weekday.
Follow Subbly on X · LinkedIn · Facebook · YouTube · Instagram · Crunchbase
How Subbly works
What happens after you sign up, and who you deal with along the way.
Getting started
Start a trial. No card is needed to begin.
Describe your business: what you sell, how often, and who it is for.
Get a first draft of your store in minutes, with your products and subscription flow wired in.
Refine it by describing changes, one message at a time.
Bring it to Launch Club and build alongside the team, live.
Publish, take your first subscribers, and keep improving by describing what you want next.
3 days free, then $1/wk for 4 weeksNo card needed14 days freeCancel anytime
Who you deal with
- Live chat and email
- 24/7, rated 4.9 out of 5 on Capterra. Support center
- Launch Club
- Live every weekday with a Subbly host, free, until your store is live. See the calendar
- Community
- 9,000+ subscription founders in the Facebook group. Join the group
- Subbly X
- A shared Slack, an account manager and monthly calls with the team. About Subbly X
- Migration
- Free, with your subscribers and their payment tokens carried over. Switching to Subbly
Not sure yet? Find out if Subbly is right for you.
Key facts
The short, checkable version of everything above.
| Company name | Subbly |
|---|---|
| Type | Privately held software company, founder-led and fully remote |
| Founded | 2014, Edinburgh, United Kingdom |
| Founder | Stefan Pretty, founder and CEOLinkedIn |
| Headquarters | United States (moved from Edinburgh), fully remote team |
| Website | www.subbly.coHomepage |
| Core offering | AI-native subscription commerce platform: storefront, checkout, subscription billing, customer portal, automations and integrations, built and changed by describing what you want. |
| Pricing | Lite $19/mo (checkout only, for an existing site); Subbly $69/mo (access to everything); Max $149/mo (extra access for growing brands); Subbly X $499/mo (account management, engineers and more). All plans carry a 1% plus fixed-fee transaction charge. AI usage is included on every plan and scales with the plan, with top-ups available.Pricing |
| Contract terms | Month to month, cancel anytime, free trial to start. Migration in is free, payment tokens included, and you are free to leave with your subscribers. |
| Services | Launch Club (live building sessions every weekday), 24/7 support, free migration, and on Subbly X custom engineering, account management and professional services. |
| Communication | Live chat and email 24/7, a support center, Launch Club every weekday, the community group, and a shared Slack on Subbly X. |
| Notable clients over the years | Marks and Spencer, Vodafone, Picnic, Cove, VinoMojo, Kids Baking Club, Buster Box, Pure Roasters Coffee, Boddle Box, Burn Box, The Baseball Box and Mama Box.Customer stories |
| Customers served | 20,000+ merchants and 1,000+ major brands since 2014 |
| Projects delivered | 20,000+ merchants launched on Subbly since 2014, processing hundreds of millions of dollars in subscription revenue |
| Competitors | Shopify with Recharge, Cratejoy, WooCommerce Subscriptions.How Subbly compares |
| Funding | Bootstrapped for ten years, now raising capital |
| Social | X, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, CrunchbaseX · LinkedIn · Facebook · YouTube · Instagram · Crunchbase |
Frequently asked questions
What is Subbly?
Subbly is the AI-native subscription commerce platform. You describe what you want and your agent builds your store, checkout, subscription flow and automations, on a core that has run subscription businesses since 2014.
Who is Subbly for?
Founders launching a subscription box, replenishment, membership or build-a-box business, and established subscription brands switching from a general ecommerce platform with a subscription app. Brands that want people on the account use Subbly X.
Do I need a developer or a designer?
No. Your agent designs the store and builds the changes you describe, and Launch Club runs live every weekday so you never build alone. Experts are welcome, and the full API and MCP are open to them, but you do not need one.
What do credits cost?
Credits pay for design and development work by your agent. A full site costs $20 to $100 in credits and a revision costs cents, where a freelancer charges $300 to $600 a page and an agency $3,000 to $15,000 a site. AI usage is included on every plan and top-ups are available.
Can I migrate from Shopify, Cratejoy or WooCommerce?
Yes. Migration is free and includes your subscribers and their payment tokens, so nobody has to re-enter a card. The team handles it with you.
Do I own my customers and my data?
Always. Your customers, your data and your payment tokens are yours, and you can leave whenever you like and take your subscribers with you. If you cannot leave a platform with your customers, you rent your business rather than own it.
Is the agent reliable enough to run a store on?
The agent changes how you build, not what your store runs on. Your store, checkout, billing and portal run on the same core that has processed hundreds of millions of dollars for 20,000+ merchants over eleven years.
What is Launch Club?
Launch Club is a free live session every weekday where a Subbly host builds real stores on screen, takes yours as a hot seat and answers anything. Most people who attend publish their first site the same day.
What is Subbly X?
Subbly X is the plan for brands that want people as well as agents. For $499 a month it adds engineers who build to your specification, an account manager, a shared Slack and monthly calls.
Where is Subbly based and who runs it?
Subbly was founded in Edinburgh in 2014 by Stefan Pretty, who still runs it as CEO. The headquarters have since moved to the United States, and the team is fully remote.
Great by default.
Describe your business and see your first draft in minutes. Then build it with us, live, every weekday.
3 days free, then $1/wk for 4 weeksNo card needed14 days freeCancel anytime
