Pricing plans

When you set up your subscription plan, you can choose from four different pricing models:

• Fixed
• Quantity, also known as user or seat-based
• Volume-based
• Tiered-based

Fixed-pricing plan

A fixed-pricing plan is a frequency-based subscription plan that charges customers a fixed amount at a fixed frequency.

Sample use cases:

• Video or music streaming services that charge a monthly or yearly fee.
• Gym or club membership.
• Box subscriptions, such as grooming, clothing, beauty, and food.

Examples

• Plan 1: $5 per month for a music streaming service
• Plan 2: $100 per year for a gym membership

Sample request

The following sample request shows how to create a fixed pricing plan. Use this sample to adjust your code when you create a plan.

API endpoint used: Create plan

1curl -v –X POST https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v1/billing/plans \
2        -H "Accept: application/json" \
3        -H "Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN" \
4        -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
5        -H "PayPal-Request-Id: PLAN-18062020-001" \
6        -d '{
7        "name": "Premium Music Plus",
8        "description": "A premium plan with music download feature",
9        "product_id": "PROD-5RN21878H3527870P",
10        "billing_cycles": [{
11        "frequency": {
12        "interval_unit": "MONTH",
13        "interval_count": 1
14        },
15        "tenure_type": "REGULAR",
16        "sequence": 1,
17        "total_cycles": 0,
18        "pricing_scheme": {
19        "fixed_price": {
20        "value": "5",
21        "currency_code": "USD"
22        }
23        }
24        }],
25        "payment_preferences": {
26        "auto_bill_outstanding": true,
27        "payment_failure_threshold": 1
28        }
29        }'

Quantity-based plan

A quantity-based pricing plan charges subscribers by the quantity of goods or services to which they subscribed.

Sample use cases:

• Service company offers remote tech support to small companies.
• A software company charges for the number of software licenses.
• Pet store offers a dog food subscription that charges customers based on the number of bags.

Examples

• Plan 1: $5 per software license per month
• Plan 2: $9 per dog food bag per week

During subscription creation, the subscriber chooses a quantity. That quantity determines the amount charged every regular billing cycle.

• Subscription 1:
  • A subscriber signs up for a plan of $5 per software license per month
  • A subscriber requests 10 licenses when they sign up
  • The net subscription price is 10 x 5 = $50 per month
• Subscription 2:
  • A subscriber signs up for a plan of $9 per food bag per week
  • A subscriber requests 5 food bags when they sign up
  • The net subscription price is 9 x 5 = $45 per week

Sample request

The following sample request shows how to create a quantity-based pricing plan. Use this sample to adjust your code when you create a plan.

In this sample, the quantity_supported parameter indicates that this plan is a quantity-based plan.

API endpoint used: Create plan

1curl -v –X POST https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v1/billing/plans \
2  -H "Accept: application/json" \
3  -H "Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN" \
4  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
5  -H "PayPal-Request-Id: PLAN-18062020-001" \
6  -d '{
7    "name": "Classic treat",
8    "description": "500gm dog food per bag",
9    "product_id": "PROD-6DN21878H3529990P",
10    "billing_cycles": [{
11        "frequency": {
12            "interval_unit": "WEEK",
13            "interval_count": 1
14        },
15        "tenure_type": "REGULAR",
16        "sequence": 1,
17        "total_cycles": 0,
18        "pricing_scheme": {
19            "fixed_price": {
20                "value": "9",
21                "currency_code": "USD"
22            }
23        }
24    }],
25    "quantity_supported": true,
26    "payment_preferences": {
27        "auto_bill_outstanding": true,
28        "payment_failure_threshold": 1
29    }
30  }'

Volume-based plan

A volume-based pricing model defines the subscription's price based on the price per unit of the number of product units within a specified range.

Sample use cases:

• Bulk SMS, email, and voice services
• Bulk SAAS based platform charges for a given number of product licenses
• Cloud based service platform charges for data storage based on volume

Examples

Plan 1

A merchant offers a volume-based monthly plan that provides software licenses to businesses using these defined fees:

During subscription creation, the subscriber chooses a quantity. That quantity determines the amount charged every regular billing cycle.

• Subscription 1

  • A subscriber signs up for plan 1
  • A subscriber requests 14 licenses when they sign up. The price is calculated based on 3rd tier (11-15)
  • The net subscription price is 14 x 13 = $182 per month

• Subscription 2

  • A subscriber signs up for plan 1
  • A subscriber requests 25 licenses when they sign up. The price is calculated based on 5th tier (21 and beyond)
  • The net subscription price is 25 x 11 = $275 per month

Plan 2

A merchant offers a volume-based monthly plan that provides tech support and assistance to relevant businesses with the using these defined fees:

• Subscription 1

  • A subscriber signs up for plan 2
  • A subscriber requests 8 licenses when they sign up. The price is calculated based on 1st tier (1-10)
  • The net subscription price is 8 x 30 = $240 per month

• Subscription 2

  • A subscriber signs up for plan 2
  • A subscriber requests 25 licenses when they sign up. The price will be calculated based on 3rd tier (21-30)
  • The net subscription price is 25 x 28 = $700 per month

Sample request

The following sample request shows how to create a volume-based pricing plan. Use this sample to adjust your code when you create a plan.

In this sample, the pricing_model and quantity_supported parameters indicate that this plan is a volume-based plan.

API endpoint used: Create plan

1curl -v –X POST https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v1/billing/plans \
2  -H "Accept: application/json" \
3  -H "Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN" \
4  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
5  -H "PayPal-Request-Id: PLAN-18062020-001" \
6  -d '{
7    "name": "Standard Plan",
8    "description": "Volume based Software Licenses",
9    "product_id": "PROD-6DN21878H3529990P",
10    "billing_cycles": [{
11        "frequency": {
12            "interval_unit": "MONTH",
13            "interval_count": 1
14        },
15        "tenure_type": "REGULAR",
16        "sequence": 1,
17        "total_cycles": 0,
18        "pricing_scheme": {
19            "pricing_model": "VOLUME",
20            "tiers": [
21                {
22                    "starting_quantity": "1",
23                    "ending_quantity": "5",
24                    "amount": {
25                        "value": "15",
26                        "currency_code": "USD"
27                    }
28                },
29                {
30                    "starting_quantity": "6",
31                    "ending_quantity": "10",
32                    "amount": {
33                        "value": "14",
34                        "currency_code": "USD"
35                    }
36                },
37                {
38                    "starting_quantity": "11",
39                    "ending_quantity": "15",
40                    "amount": {
41                        "value": "13",
42                        "currency_code": "USD"
43                    }
44                },
45                {
46                    "starting_quantity": "16",
47                    "ending_quantity": "20",
48                    "amount": {
49                        "value": "12",
50                        "currency_code": "USD"
51                    }
52                },
53                {
54                    "starting_quantity": "21",
55                    "amount": {
56                        "value": "11",
57                        "currency_code": "USD"
58                    }
59                }
60            ]
61        }
62    }],
63    "quantity_supported": true,
64    "payment_preferences": {
65        "auto_bill_outstanding": true,
66        "payment_failure_threshold": 1
67    }
68  }'

Tiered-based plan

A tier-based pricing model defines the subscription's price and any price changes based on the quantity of product units within a tier.

Sample use cases:

• Bulk SMS, email, and voice services
• SAAS charges for a given number of product licenses priced differently across tiers
• Cloud based service platform changes for data storage priced differently across tiers

Examples

Plan 1

A merchant offers a tiered-based monthly plan that provides software licenses to businesses using these defined fees:

During subscription creation, the subscriber chooses a quantity. That quantity determines the amount charged every regular billing cycle.

• Subscription 1

  • A subscriber signs up for plan 1
  • A subscriber requests 14 licenses when they sign up
  • The net subscription price is 5 x 15 + 5 x 14 + 4 x 13 = $197 per month

• Subscription 2

  • A subscriber signs up for Plan 1
  • A subscriber requests 25 licenses when they sign up
  • The net subscription price is 5 x 15 + 5 x 14 + 5 x 13 + 5 x 12 + 5 x 11 = $325 per month

Plan 2

A merchant offers a tiered-based monthly plan that provides tech support and assistance to relevant businesses with the following fee schedule:

During subscription creation, the subscriber chooses a quantity. That quantity determines the amount charged every regular billing cycle.

• Subscription 1

  • A subscriber signs up for Plan 2
  • A subscriber requests 14 licenses when they sign up
  • The net subscription price is 10 x 30 + 4 x 29 = $416 per month

• Subscription 2

  • A subscriber signs up for Plan 2
  • A subscriber requests 25 licenses when they sign up
  • The net subscription price is 10 x 30 + 10 x 29 + 5 x 28 = $730 per month

Sample request

The following sample request shows how to create a tiered-based pricing plan. Use this sample to adjust your code when you create a plan.

In this sample, the pricing_model and quantity_supported parameters indicate that this plan is a tiered-based plan.

API endpoint used: Create plan

1curl -v –X POST https://api-m.sandbox.paypal.com/v1/billing/plans \
2  -H "Accept: application/json" \
3  -H "Authorization: Bearer ACCESS-TOKEN" \
4  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
5  -H "PayPal-Request-Id: PLAN-18062020-001" \
6  -d '{
7    "name": "Platinum Plan",
8    "description": "Tiered based pricing for technical support",
9    "product_id": "PROD-6DN21878H3529990P",
10    "billing_cycles": [{
11        "frequency": {
12            "interval_unit": "MONTH",
13            "interval_count": 1
14        },
15        "tenure_type": "REGULAR",
16        "sequence": 1,
17        "total_cycles": 0,
18        "pricing_scheme": {
19            "pricing_model": "TIERED",
20            "tiers": [
21                {
22                    "starting_quantity": "1",
23                    "ending_quantity": "10",
24                    "amount": {
25                        "value": "30",
26                        "currency_code": "USD"
27                    }
28                },
29                {
30                    "starting_quantity": 11",
31                    "ending_quantity": "20",
32                    "amount": {
33                        "value": "29",
34                        "currency_code": "USD"
35                    }
36                },
37                {
38                    "starting_quantity": "21",
39                    "ending_quantity": "30",
40                    "amount": {
41                        "value": "28",
42                        "currency_code": "USD"
43                    }
44                },
45                {
46                    "starting_quantity": "31",
47                    "amount": {
48                        "value": "27.5",
49                        "currency_code": "USD"
50                    }
51                }
52            ]
53        }
54    }],
55    "quantity_supported": true,
56    "payment_preferences": {
57        "auto_bill_outstanding": true,
58        "payment_failure_threshold": 1
59    }
60  }'
61
62## See also
63
64* Use the [Plans resource group](/docs/api/subscriptions/v1/#plans) of the Subscriptions REST API to manage plans, including updating pricing, updating the plan, and deactivating the plan.
65
66
67export const _frontmatter = {"title":"Pricing plans","contentType":"Docs","keywords":"subscriptions, pricing plans","productStatus":"Current","apiVersion":"v1","date":"2022-04-06T23:06:12.000Z"}