Comparison
Recharge vs Skio
Recharge acquired Skio April 30, 2026 for $105M cash. What that means for existing Skio merchants, new deployments, and the migration question — verified May 2026.
Recharge
"The world's leading subscription platform, powering 71% of subscriptions sold on Shopify stores" — Recharge homepage (getrecharge.com, May 2026).
Skio
"The subscription platform top Shopify brands graduate to" — modern, Shopify-native subscriptions.
Affiliate link. Pricing and terms are set by the vendor. details
On this page
At a glance
On April 30, 2026, Recharge announced the acquisition of Skio for $105M cash, per TechCrunch and PR Newswire (Skio at ~$32M ARR, $8M total raised). For Shopify operators, this changes the comparison from "which platform fits the store" to "which side of the consolidation makes sense to deploy on." Skio still operates as a distinct product as of mid-2026, but PR Newswire framed the joint footprint at "more than 20,000 merchants and over $20B in GMV annually." Roadmap convergence is expected within 12-24 months. This page is dated 2026-05-30 and updates quarterly.
Quick stats
Starting price
Recharge
$25/mo
Skio
$499/mo
Rating
Recharge
8.1/10
Skio
9/10
Integrations
Recharge
8
Skio
6
Status (verified 2026-05-30)
Recharge
Acquiring platform; continuing roadmap
Skio
Acquired April 30, 2026 ($105M cash); operates as distinct product, consolidation expected
Entry pricing
Recharge
$25/mo Standard
Skio
$499/mo Pro (small brand) — pricing did not change post-announcement
Affiliate program
Recharge
Yes — Lasso platform (migrated from PartnerStack March 15, 2026); 90-day cookie
Skio
No public affiliate program; treat as catalog entry only
G2 rating + reviews
Recharge
4.5/5 (379 reviews)
Skio
4.9/5 (small footprint, ~60 reviews)
Pricing
Recharge
$25/mo
- up to
- —
- Model
- tiered
Tiers: Starter $25/mo (first 50 lifetime subscribers, new merchants only, no transaction fees); Standard $99/mo + 1.49% + $0.19 per subscription transaction; Plus $499/mo + 1.34% + $0.19 per transaction (annual contract); Custom for high volume Pricing gotchas: Transaction fees apply on every subscription order (1.49% Standard / 1.34% Plus + $0.19/order); Plus and Custom require annual contracts. Free plan: 60-day free trial on Starter plan only Verified 2026-05-30
Skio
$499/mo
- up to
- —
- Model
- flat
Tiers: Monthly Plan $599/mo (or $499/mo annual) + 1% transaction fee + $0.20 per subscription order; Enterprise custom Pricing gotchas: Per-order fee $0.20 adds up fast (10K orders/mo = $2,000 extra); transaction fee 1% on subscription GMV stacks on top of platform fee. Free plan: No—14-day free trial Verified 2026-05-30
Recharge starts at $25/mo vs Skio's $499/mo. Pricing models differ: Recharge is tiered, Skio is flat.
Recharge: Standard $25/mo + 1% + $0.19/transaction; Pro $499/mo + 0.75% + $0.19/transaction; Enterprise custom. Recharge affiliate moved to in-house Lasso platform on March 15, 2026 (stale third-party listings still cite PartnerStack). Skio: Pro $499/mo (small brand); Enterprise $1,499/mo + custom. Skio pricing has not changed post-acquisition announcement; Recharge has not communicated a forced-migration price for current Skio merchants.
Features
Recharge
- Shopify Checkout Integration — Subscriptions run inside Shopify's native checkout (no iframes)
- Concierge SMS — AI-powered SMS lets subscribers skip, delay, swap, or add products via text
- Bundles (curated and customizable) — Static and dynamic subscription bundles with tiered discounts
- Rewards & Referrals — Built-in loyalty/points and referrals tied to subscription behavior
- Cart and Cart Overlay Upsell — Convert one-time orders to subscriptions inside the cart with analytics
- Post-purchase Cross-sell — One-click post-purchase add-on offers for subscribers
Skio
- Native Shopify Checkout (passwordless) — Passwordless login via 4-digit SMS or email code; native checkout (no iframes)
- Build-a-Box (multi-type) — Static, dynamic, and sectioned build-your-own subscription boxes
- Multi-Step Cancel Flows — Convert cancels into pauses / swaps / saves with multi-step retention flows
- Automated Journeys — Welcome flows, win-backs, upsell campaigns on autopilot
- Group Subscriptions / Family Plans — Multi-member subscription support (family plans, gift subscriptions)
- Tiered Discounts and Free Trials — Tiered subscription discounts, free trials, gift subscriptions
Shopify integration
Recharge
Deep native Shopify integration; Shopify App Store; supports Shopify Plus and the Recharge–Shopify Checkout Integration; subscription billing engine native to Shopify checkout
Skio
Deep native Shopify integration; Shopify App Store; built on Shopify's Subscriptions API and native checkout; designed for Shopify Plus; Skio, a Recharge Company
Integrations
Only Recharge
- Amazon
- Google Ads
- Meta
- Shopify Checkout
- Stripe
- Tapcart
- TikTok
Both
- Shopify
Only Skio
- BigQuery
- Rivo
- Sendlane
- Shopify Flow
- Shopify Plus
Customer support
Support rating (aggregated from independent review platforms like G2, Capterra, Shopify App Store): Recharge 8/10, Skio 9.6/10. This is an editorial composite of channel availability, response speed, and resolution quality — see the individual reviews below for specifics.
Pros & cons
Recharge
Pros
- Industry-standard Shopify subscription management
- Customizable customer portal
- Collections & dunning capabilities (9.0 G2)
Cons
- Built on legacy code — causes intermittent issues
- Limited out-of-box checkout customization
- Pricing & 12-month Plus contracts criticized
Skio
Pros
- Native Shopify checkout — no iframes, no password resets
- Build-a-Box for customizable bundles
- Outstanding CSM support
Cons
- $99/mo entry kills testing economics for <100-order brands
- Documentation thin/outdated, troubleshooting requires CS
- Acquired by Recharge for $105M April 2026 — roadmap independence uncertain
When each one wins
Winner: Recharge
New subscription deployment in 2026
Default to the platform with the longer roadmap certainty post-acquisition. Recharge ships the larger merchant base (20k+ combined per PR Newswire), the active affiliate program, and is the consolidation acquirer rather than acquiree. New deployments on Skio inherit the same parent-company question without the price-tier advantage.
Winner: Skio
Existing Skio merchant evaluating stay-or-migrate
No forced migration was announced. If Skio specifically solves a pricing model, CSV-feature, or customer-portal behavior you depend on, stay through 2026 — re-evaluate at Q2 2027 when roadmap convergence signals firm up. The cost of a panic-migration before the parent makes its product decisions is higher than the cost of waiting.
Winner: Recharge
Sub-$50K MRR brand starting subscriptions
Recharge Standard at $25/mo + per-transaction fees scales smoothly from launch through ~$5K MRR subscription revenue. Skio Pro at $499/mo is a step-up commitment without a smaller tier — overkill for an early subscription program where the question is still "do subscriptions work for this catalog."
Our verdict
For new subscription deployments in 2026, default to Recharge — it is the post-acquisition continuing platform with the active affiliate program (Lasso, 90-day cookie window). For existing Skio merchants, no immediate forced migration was announced, but treat the next 12-24 months as a stay-or-migrate window: stay if Skio specifically solves a pricing or feature edge you rely on, migrate if you want long-term roadmap certainty. Either way, evaluate what specifically broke for you on the platform you would migrate FROM before signing a new contract.
Recharge
"The world's leading subscription platform, powering 71% of subscriptions sold on Shopify stores" — Recharge homepage (getrecharge.com, May 2026).
Related comparisons
- Loop SubscriptionsvsSkio
For new 2026 deployments, Loop Subscriptions is the cleaner independent bet — no parent-company question, UX-led subscriber-portal positioning, $99/mo entry tier that scales predictably. Skio is the right pick only when its specific feature set solves something Loop does not, AND with a calendar invite to re-evaluate at Q2 2027 when Recharge-side roadmap signals firm up. Neither is a partner — both pages editorial-only.
Open
- Loop SubscriptionsvsRecharge
For brands under $20K MRR subscription revenue, Recharge Standard at $25/mo beats Loop Essentials at $99/mo on raw cost — the Loop entry-tier price jump made the lower-volume comparison harder to justify. For brands $20K-$100K MRR where per-transaction fees on Recharge add up, Loop becomes evaluable on the price-stability + UX axis. Recharge stays the partner choice (active affiliate program); Loop is editorial-only here.
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- SkiovsStay AI
Neither tool is a partner — both pages render as editorial-only and PartnerAlternatives surfaces Recharge as the partner option in this category. For 2026 new deployments, Stay AI is the cleaner independent bet — published OLIPOP retention math, no parent-company question, AI-driven retention is the explicit positioning. Skio is the right pick only if its specific feature set (CSV pricing, customer-portal behavior) solves something Stay AI does not — and only with a re-evaluation calendar invite for Q2 2027 when Recharge-side roadmap signals firm up.
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- RechargevsStay AI
For brands under $30K MRR subscription revenue, Recharge Standard at $25/mo + per-transaction fees is the only honest choice — Stay AI Pro at $499/mo cannot pay back at that scale. Above $30K MRR subscription revenue where active churn is a measurable revenue leak, Stay AI becomes evaluable: the OLIPOP case study suggests the retention delta covers the price step-up at meaningful scale, but case-study results are top-end outcomes, not median ones. Pilot the migration on a 90-day window with churn instrumented before committing.
Open