Subscription prices
This article explains how subscription initial and renewal prices work in the Cleverbridge platform, and how you can influence or recalculate those prices in specific scenarios, including subscription renewal.
Subscription prices in Cleverbridge are determined using two related concepts: the initial price based on the subscription settings and customer’s original cart configuration, and the recalculated price, which is derived from the current product settings, package discounts, price rules, and promotions. Understanding how these two prices are defined, and when each one applies, helps you predict renewal amounts and control your subscription pricing behavior.
Initial price
The initial price (sometimes referred to as the "hard-coded price" or "subscription price") is the price stored on the individual subscription at the time of the initial purchase or the most recent price update.
It is defined using pricing information specific to the customer’s cart configuration, including:
- Product or products
- Quantity
- Applicable package discount
- Price rule
- Promotion
- Recommendation
It also considers prices for future renewals if price changes are defined at specific intervals in the setup (for example, a promotion valid for one purchase only, or a second package discount valid until interval 3 of the subscription).
When the initial subscription price is applied
The initial subscription price applies to any auto-renewal or manual renewal where the customer keeps their current product configuration (that is, the same product ID or IDs, and quantity as before).
In this case, any changes made to the product, package discount, price rule, or promotion setup do not apply automatically. For those changes to take effect, a price recalculation is required.
Recalculated price
The recalculated price, in the context of subscription processing, is the price calculated from the current product settings and any applicable package discount, price rule, or promotion.
This recalculated amount replaces the stored subscription price under certain conditions.
When the recalculated subscription price is applied
The recalculated price is charged whenever the product ID or IDs, or the quantity of products in a subscription changes—regardless of the nature of the change.
This applies to:
- Mid-term subscription upgrades
- Upgrades or downgrades performed during renewal
In addition, entering a coupon code in the renewal cart, or adding one via URL parameter, will trigger a price recalculation.
How to change the recalculated price
By default, the recalculated price is based on:
- The current product pricing, and
- Any package discount or price rule used in the most recent recalculation (often the initial purchase)
You can override the stored package discount or price rule by appending parameters to the subscription renewal cart URL:
&packagediscount=<PackageDiscountParameterName>&pricerule=<PriceRuleParameterValue>
Adding a new package discount or price rule via URL parameter does not trigger a price recalculation. The customer must change their product or quantity for these settings to take effect. These parameters only override the previously used package discount or price rule.
How to force a price recalculation
You can force a price recalculation by adding a coupon code as a URL parameter to the customer’s subscription renewal cart link: &coupon=<CouponCode>
The promotion must fullfil the following requirements to trigger a recalculation via coupon:
- Be new to the subscription (reusing the same promotion will not trigger recalculation)
- Be active
- Be valid
- Have the current subscription interval within the range defined in Apply to subscription billing intervals
The promotion does not need to:
- Match the customer’s selected quantity (setting Discount limit for quantity of licenses:)
- Match the specific product ID or IDs in the cart
- Be a specific promotion type — both cart-level and item-level promotions are supported
As long as the promotion meets the requirements above, the presence of a new coupon code causes the Cleverbridge platform to display and process the recalculated price.
This works even if the coupon offers no discount (for example, 0% off). This can be useful if you want to reassign customers to a new price tier—such as an updated package discount—even when their product configuration remains unchanged.