Recharge vs Stay AI for supplement brands (2026)
These are the two real subscription platform choices for supplements. The decision isn't features — both ship the basics. It's churn architecture, total cost at your scale, and which one's roadmap matches the next 18 months of your brand.
TL;DR — pick by job
| If your priority is… | Use | Entry pricing |
|---|---|---|
| $100K+ MRR supplement brands actively fighting churn | Stay AI | $199/mo + 1% of subscription revenue |
| supplement brands prioritizing ecosystem + agency support | Recharge | $99/mo Standard |
| either platform — churn flow layer that compounds with both | Klaviyo | Free under 250 contacts |
| supplement brands above $500K/mo where flat-fee economics win | Bold Subscriptions | $49.99/mo Core |
| supplement brands shipping monthly variety boxes | Subbly | $28/mo Starter (no transaction fees) |
1. Stay AI — best for $100K+ MRR supplement brands actively fighting churn
Pricing: $199/mo + 1% of subscription revenue entry / $499/mo + 0.75% Pro.
What it does: Modern subscription platform for Shopify with AI-driven churn prediction and dunning recovery built in.
Why it's our pick for $100K+ MRR supplement brands actively fighting churn: Stay AI's core IP is the churn-prediction model — purpose-built for the supplement category. Founder-led product velocity ships dunning + cancel-flow improvements faster than Recharge has in 2+ years.
Trade-off: Smaller integration ecosystem than Recharge; revenue share scales with you.
2. Recharge — best for supplement brands prioritizing ecosystem + agency support
Pricing: $99/mo Standard entry / $499/mo Pro + 1% of revenue.
What it does: Subscription billing for Shopify — the default for sub box and replenishment brands.
Why it's our pick for supplement brands prioritizing ecosystem + agency support: Recharge has 20,000+ subscription brands, the deepest integration list, and most subscription agencies built around its data model. Lower risk of vendor-lock surprise; bigger talent pool for hires.
Trade-off: Transaction fees on top of the monthly bill scale with revenue.
3. Klaviyo — best for either platform — churn flow layer that compounds with both
Pricing: Free under 250 contacts entry / $20+/mo at 500 contacts and up.
What it does: Default email + SMS platform for DTC. Templates + automations aligned with how Shopify brands operate.
Why it's our pick for either platform — churn flow layer that compounds with both: Whether you pick Recharge or Stay AI, Klaviyo churn flows produce 15-30% additional retention lift on top of the platform's native dunning. The choice is upstream; Klaviyo is the multiplier on either side.
Trade-off: Pricing climbs sharply once you cross 5K contacts.
4. Bold Subscriptions — best for supplement brands above $500K/mo where flat-fee economics win
Pricing: $49.99/mo Core entry / $199.99/mo Pro.
What it does: Subscription billing alternative to Recharge, with flat-fee pricing (no % of revenue).
Why it's our pick for supplement brands above $500K/mo where flat-fee economics win: Above $500K/mo subscription revenue, Bold's flat-fee pricing saves $60K-$120K/year vs either Recharge or Stay AI revenue share. Worth the migration cost only if you've validated subscription is a durable revenue line.
Trade-off: Smaller integration ecosystem; less aggressive product iteration than Recharge.
5. Subbly — best for supplement brands shipping monthly variety boxes
Pricing: $28/mo Starter (no transaction fees) entry / $57-$220/mo Pro-Enterprise.
What it does: Subscription box platform for Shopify with subscription-first checkout, box curation, and gift subscription flows built-in.
Why it's our pick for supplement brands shipping monthly variety boxes: If your supplement SKU is a curated monthly box (vs replenishment), Subbly beats both Recharge and Stay AI on box-first workflow + cheaper economics at sub-$50K/mo subscription revenue.
Trade-off: Less feature breadth than Recharge for non-box subscription models; smaller integration ecosystem.
What we'd skip
Any "all-in-one" tool that tries to be the best at every category. The honest take: best-in-class for each job (the picks above) beats a single platform that's competent everywhere. The only exception is at sub-$30K MRR, where consolidation matters more than depth — in which case start with the cheapest entry-tier pick and add the rest as you grow.
How we picked
Three filters: (1) is the tool battle-tested by enough DTC brands to surface real edge cases, (2) does the pricing make sense at the stated tier — entry tier must be useful, not bait, and (3) does it integrate cleanly with Shopify (since 90%+ of the brands we work with run on Shopify). Tools that fail any of the three don't make the list, even if their marketing is loud.
Need to test before committing? Use the free Frontier Visions tool to render 3 AI ad creatives for your brand first — confirms the channel is worth a real stack. Want a sample broader comparison? See best AI ad creative tools (2026).
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Disclosure: tool links above may be affiliate-tracked. We may earn a small commission if you sign up after clicking. No effect on what you pay or which one we recommend — picks are based on the actual use cases above.