Small BusinessPaymentsPayment Processing

Step-by-step guide to accepting recurring payments on your website

PayPal Editorial StaffPayPal Editorial Staff

12 November 2025

12 November 2025

5 mins read

Offering subscriptions can be a great way to create a stable, predictable revenue stream.

By following the steps below, you can set up, manage and accept payments for subscription plans. We’ll take care of automating the billing and communication to your customers.

If you need help at any point, please visit our online help centre.

Set up your website to take recurring payments

If you haven’t already, start by opening a PayPal business account. Then, follow the steps below to set up subscription plans and accept PayPal, credit, and debit card payments on your website.

To get started, you’ll need the following:

  • Your PayPal business account username and password.
  • Access to your website’s HTML code.

Step-by-step instructions to accept recurring payments

  1. Create a new subscription plan

    Log into your PayPal business account and navigate to the Manage Subscriptions page. To create a new subscription plan, click Create Plan.

  2. Add subscription information

    Provide details for the product or service you’re including in the subscription:

    • Provide a product name, description, and your product ID.
    • Select the product type: physical goods, digital goods, or service.
    • Choose an industry category that best fits your business.
    • Copy and paste the product page URL.
    • Copy and paste the product image URL.
    • Click Next.

    If you’d like to create additional product or service subscriptions, repeat the steps above.

  3. Choose the kind of plan that you offer:

    • Fixed pricing charges your customer the same price each billing cycle based on the plan they choose.
    • Quantity pricing charges your customer the same pricing each billing cycle based on the quantity they choose.

    Once you’ve made your selection, click Next.

  4. Create a plan name and description

    • Provide a plan name that will be visible to your customers.
    • Provide a plan description that will only be visible to you.
    • Click Next.

  5. Set up pricing for your subscription plan

    • Select the currency.
    • Enter the price.
    • (Optional) Choose whether you will charge a one-time set-up fee.
    • Select how you want to calculate tax for the plan.
    • Enter the tax rate.
    • Click Next.

  6. Set up the billing cycle for your subscription plan.

    • Choose how long you want each billing cycle to last: day, week, month, year. We’ll collect payment at the beginning of each billing cycle.
    • Designate the length of the plan. You can limit the plan to a specific number of billing cycles or as long as the plan is offered.
    • (Optional) You can choose whether you want to offer a trial period.
    • Designate the number of missed billing cycle before PayPal stops collecting payment.
    • Click Next.

  7. Confirm your subscription plan details

    • Review your subscription plan details, and then click Save Plan. If you need to make changes, click the Previous button.
    • Confirm you’re ready to Turn on Plan.

    Once you’ve turned on your plan, you’re ready to add a payment button to your website!

Security and payment compliance

When you accept any recurring payment through PayPal, you automatically benefit from built-in PCI DSS compliance.

This means the sensitive card data never even touches your servers. All billing and tokenisation processes take part within PayPal’s secure platform.

You get to avoid the headache of managing encryption and fraud detection and let the experts handle it.

How to add a recurring payment button to your website

Once you’ve created your subscription plan(s), the last step is adding a payment button to your website, so your customers can choose the plan(s).

NOTE: You can choose to create the buttons now or click Do this later if you’re not ready yet. When you’re ready, you can add buttons by first returning to the Subscription Dashboard from your PayPal business account homepage.

From your business account homepage, select All Tools from the top menu, then get paid in the left navigation, and finally click the Subscriptions tile.

  1. Create and customise buttons

    • Navigate to the Subscription plan tab on the left-hand side of the dashboard.
    • Click Copy code.
    • To create subscription buttons for each plan you’re selling, start by selecting the appropriate API credentials (optional).
    • Set the currency you’ll use to accept payments.
    • Choose a layout: The Vertical layout will display the following buttons vertically on your page: a PayPal button, a debit or credit card button and local payment methods (based on your customer’s location), where applicable.
    • The Horizontal layout will show a PayPal button alongside a PayPal Credit button, where applicable.
    • Colour: Choose a colour scheme for the buttons.
    • Button text: Choose the text to be shown on the buttons.
    • After you make your selections, you can preview how the experience will look on your desktop and mobile website pages.

    • Add the button to your pages

      • Click the Copy Code button.
      • Add the copied code to the page on your website where you want the buttons to appear.
      • Repeat the above process for every page where you want to add the same subscription plan buttons.
      • Finally, test that the buttons work properly by purchasing something from your website, and then checking your PayPal Business account for the transaction.

    What your customers see when subscribing

    • When a customer clicks your subscription button, they’re taken to a branded PayPal-hosted page showing your plan name, price, billing frequency and any trial period details.
    • They choose their payment method (PayPal balance, debit/credit card or saved payment method) and confirm in just a few clicks, thanks to PayPal’s one-page checkout design.
    • Once they hit ‘Subscribe’, they see an Order Confirmation screen summarising the next billing date and the amount, reinforcing transparency and trust.
    • Immediately afterward, they receive an email confirmation outlining their subscription details, payment schedule and a link to manage or cancel at any time.

    This smooth, familiar flow reduces confusion and support inquiries, helping customers feel in control of their recurring plan.

    Tips for successfully accepting recurring payments

    • Be crystal clear on pricing and billing cycles: Display plan names, prices and billing intervals prominently on your sales page and in confirmation emails to set accurate expectations and reduce disputes.
    • Use consistent plan naming: Keep subscription IDs and names identical across your website, PayPal dashboard and customer communications so you and your subscribers never get confused.
    • Send polite reminders before renewals: Email subscribers five to seven days ahead of each billing date to reinforce value, reduce involuntary churn and give them time to update payment details if needed. You can also send them direct payment links as a more direct reminder.
    • Monitor failed payments closely: Use PayPal’s notifications to catch declined transactions immediately then follow up promptly to recover revenue before subscription lapses.
    • Offer a smooth cancellation path: Make it easy for customers to pause or cancel online; transparency builds loyalty and reduces chargeback risk.
    • Leverage dunning management: Implement a structured retry schedule for failed payments. Most providers, including PayPal, can automate retries to increase revenue capture.

    That’s it! You can now sell subscriptions on your website.

    Your customers who have an account with PayPal can manage their subscriptions with your business under Settings > Payments > Manage automatic payments.

    If you’re looking for other ways to accept payments, you can also:

    Related content

    PayPal UK Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an electronic money institution (firm reference number 994790); in relation to its regulated consumer credit activities (firm reference number 996405); and for the provision of cryptocurrency services (firm reference number 1000741). Some products and services, such as PayPal Pay in 3 and PayPal Working Capital, are not regulated by the FCA and may offer a lower level of protection. Please read product terms for further details. PayPal UK Ltd's company number is 14741686. Its registered office is 5 Fleet Place, London, United Kingdom, EC4M 7RD.
    The content of this article is provided for informational purposes only. You should always obtain independent business, tax, financial, and legal advice before making any business decision.

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