# Does a subscribe & save discount pay off?

> Source: https://zubs.app/tools/subscribe-and-save-calculator
> Title: Subscribe & Save Calculator: Margin and Break-Even — Zubs
> Published: 2026-10-03
> Updated: 2026-10-07
> Language: en

## Short answer

A subscribe & save discount pays off when a subscriber's extra orders bring back more margin than the discount takes from each order. At €30 an order with €12 cost per order and 10% off, a subscription order earns €15 instead of €18, so 2.4 subscriber orders a year match a one-time buyer who orders twice. At 6 orders a year the subscriber brings €54 more margin.

## What does your subscribe & save discount earn you?

Enter your own numbers. The calculator starts on the worked example further down this page.

*Subscribe & save calculator: enter your own numbers on [the page](https://zubs.app/tools/subscribe-and-save-calculator). The worked example below uses the values the calculator starts with.*

All results are estimates from your inputs, not figures from your store.

## How does the subscribe & save calculator work?

It compares one customer buying one-time with the same customer on a subscription, over a year:

- **Margin per one-time order** = price − cost per order.
- **Margin per subscription order** = price × (1 − discount) − cost per order.
- **Margin a year** = margin per order × orders a year, once for a one-time buyer and once for a subscriber.
- **Extra margin per subscriber** = a subscriber's margin a year − a one-time buyer's margin a year. Below zero, the discount costs you more than the extra orders bring.
- **Break-even orders** = a one-time buyer's margin a year ÷ margin per subscription order: the orders a year at which a subscriber earns as much as a one-time buyer.
- **Highest discount that still pays off** = (margin per one-time order − a one-time buyer's margin a year ÷ a subscriber's orders a year) ÷ price.

## What does a 10% discount cost on a €30 order?

**Example (made-up numbers):** €30 per order, €12 cost per order, a 10% subscription discount, a one-time buyer who orders twice a year and a subscriber who orders 6 times a year.

| Result                                 | Calculation           | Value |
| -------------------------------------- | --------------------- | ----- |
| Margin per one-time order              | €30 − €12             | €18   |
| Margin per subscription order          | €30 × (1 − 10%) − €12 | €15   |
| Margin a year from a one-time buyer    | €18 × 2               | €36   |
| Margin a year from a subscriber        | €15 × 6               | €90   |
| Subscriber orders a year to break even | €36 ÷ €15             | 2.4   |
| Highest discount that still pays off   | (€18 − €36 ÷ 6) ÷ €30 | 40%   |
| Extra margin a year per subscriber     | €90 − €36             | €54   |

At 20% off in this example, a subscription order earns €12: the subscriber then needs 3 orders a year to break even and brings €36 more margin instead of €54. The discount you can afford depends far more on how often subscribers order than on the discount itself.

## What does the estimate leave out?

- **Customers who only buy because of the discount.** The calculator compares the same customer buying one-time or on a subscription. A discount can also win customers who would not have bought at all.
- **Fixed costs.** Rent or salaries don't change with the discount, so they stay out of the cost per order.
- **Cancellations during the year.** Count them into a subscriber's orders a year, or the margin comes out too high.

## How does Zubs show the discount?

In a Zubs [subscription plan](https://zubs.app/features/subscription-plans), you give each delivery frequency its own discount, as a percentage or a fixed amount. The [Subscribe & Save widget](https://zubs.app/features/subscription-conversion-offers) shows the saving on the product page, and the cart offer shows it in the cart. A different discount per frequency lets you test what your margins can carry.

If the highest discount that pays off is close to the one you offer, don't go deeper. A gift at a later order, added with [Sequential Flows](https://zubs.app/features/sequential-flows), costs you once instead of on every order.

## Bottom line

A subscribe & save discount pays off when a subscriber's margin over a year beats a one-time buyer's. How often subscribers reorder decides what discount you can afford, so work out the break-even before you pick the number.

## Frequently asked questions

### What goes into the cost per order?

The goods, packaging, payment fees and shipping you pay for one more order. Leave out fixed costs such as rent or salaries; they don't change with the discount.

### Why does the calculator say "Not reached"?

When the discount leaves no margin on a subscription order, no number of orders makes up for it, so there is no break-even. For the highest discount, it means subscribers order no more often than one-time buyers, so any discount costs margin.

### Where do the order counts come from?

They're your own estimates. A subscriber's orders a year follow from the delivery interval and how long subscribers stay; a monthly delivery is at most 12 orders a year.

### Is my data stored or sent anywhere?

No. The calculation runs in your browser, and nothing you enter leaves the page.

## Related

- [Feature: subscription plans and their discounts](https://zubs.app/features/subscription-plans)
- [Feature: subscribe & save on the product page and in the cart](https://zubs.app/features/subscription-conversion-offers)
- [Playbook: turn one-time buyers into subscribers](https://zubs.app/playbooks/convert-one-time-buyers-to-subscribers)
- [Calculator: prepaid plan vs pay per order](https://zubs.app/tools/prepaid-calculator)
- [Calculator: what churn costs you](https://zubs.app/tools/churn-calculator)
- [Help center: create a subscription plan](https://help.zubs.app/docs/subscription-management/create-subscription-plan/)