How to Create Subscriptions

Set up recurring payments for services

This guide shows you how to create recurring subscription payments using FastStripe.

Problem

You want to charge customers on a recurring basis (monthly, yearly, etc.) for a service or product.

Solution

Use FastStripe’s subscription() method which creates the necessary recurring price and checkout session.

from faststripe.core import StripeApi
from faststripe.page import pages
import os

sapi = StripeApi(os.environ['STRIPE_SECRET_KEY'])

Monthly subscription

# Create a monthly subscription
subscription = sapi.subscription(
    product_name='Pro Plan',
    amount_cents=1999,  # $19.99/month
    success_url='https://yoursite.com/welcome',
    cancel_url='https://yoursite.com/pricing',
    interval='month'
)

print(f"Subscription URL: {subscription.url[:64]}...")

Subscription URL: https://billing.answer.ai/c/pay/cs_test_a1q4GJfynTyGLxkOf1IehI9H...

Annual subscription with discount

# Create an annual subscription (typically discounted)
annual_sub = sapi.subscription(
    product_name='Pro Plan',
    amount_cents=19999,  # $199.99/year (save $39.89)
    success_url='https://yoursite.com/welcome',
    cancel_url='https://yoursite.com/pricing',
    interval='year'
)

print(f"Annual subscription URL: {annual_sub.url[:64]}...")

Annual subscription URL: https://billing.answer.ai/c/pay/cs_test_a1xC4H6OaKLZUl3HrQreiVLq...

Pre-fill customer email

# Pre-fill customer email in checkout
subscription = sapi.subscription(
    product_name='Pro Plan',
    amount_cents=1999,
    success_url='https://yoursite.com/welcome',
    cancel_url='https://yoursite.com/pricing',
    customer_email='[email protected]'
)

print(f"Subscription with email: {subscription.url[:64]}...")

Subscription with email: https://billing.answer.ai/c/pay/cs_test_a167XV8A7Bxe4O5eZCYqxP2t...

Manual subscription setup

For more control over subscription features:

# Create product
product = sapi.products.post(
    name='Enterprise Plan',
    description='Full access to all features'
)

# Create recurring price
price = sapi.prices.post(
    product=product.id,
    unit_amount=9999,  # $99.99
    currency='usd',
    recurring={
        'interval': 'month',
        'usage_type': 'licensed'  # per-seat billing
    }
)

# Create subscription checkout
checkout = sapi.checkout.sessions_post(
    mode='subscription',
    line_items=[{
        'price': price.id,
        'quantity': 1
    }],
    success_url='https://yoursite.com/success?session_id={CHECKOUT_SESSION_ID}',
    cancel_url='https://yoursite.com/cancel',
    allow_promotion_codes=True,  # Enable promo codes
    subscription_data={
        'trial_period_days': 14  # 14-day free trial
    }
)

print(f"Enterprise subscription: {checkout.url[:64]}...")

Enterprise subscription: https://billing.answer.ai/c/pay/cs_test_b1t6IouoLfFJ5XuLfM1BJsxj...

Managing existing subscriptions

Retrieve and modify existing subscriptions:

# List all subscriptions
subscriptions = pages(sapi.subscriptions.get, limit=100)
print(f"Found {len(subscriptions)} subscriptions")

# Get a specific subscription
sub = subscriptions[0]
print(f"Subscription {sub.id}: {sub.status}")

Found 228 subscriptions
Subscription sub_1S0qf0KGhqIw9PXmGUUxLL6S: active

Best practices

• Always use webhooks to handle subscription lifecycle events
• Consider offering free trials to increase conversions
• Use promotion codes for discounts and marketing campaigns
• Set up proper success/cancel URLs that match your user flow
• Test subscription flows thoroughly in test mode