What are Tiered Subscriptions?
Tiered subscriptions refers to creating multiple subscription plans at different price points, each offering a different level of content access. This structure gives your members a variety of subscription options to choose from that best suits their needs, while also providing a clear upgrade path to gradually upsell them with as they engage with your platform.
Each subscription tier can grant access to its own set of videos, collections, and live events. Lower tiers typically offer limited content access at a more affordable price, while higher tiers include full access to your more premium content.
How to Set Up Tiered Subscriptions
Planning Your Tiers
When planning your subscription tiers, consider the different types of customers who might view your content, as well as what gated content may encourage them to upgrade to a higher tier.
See this example of a three-tier setup:
Tier 1 (e.g., "Basic") → A sample or limited selection of on-demand content.
Tier 2 (e.g., "Standard") → On-demand content plus extras like live streams or special events.
Tier 3 (e.g., "Premium") → Full access to all content, including exclusive materials.
💡 Keep your options simple - 2 or 3 tiers are often more effective than a long list of options.
Creating Your First Subscription
Navigate to the Subscriptions tab of your admin area.
Click on New plan.
Fill out the necessary information for this plan, including the title, description, price, and billing period.
Click Save at the bottom of the page to create your first plan.
Assigning Content to Your Subscription
You can assign content to subscription plans in two ways. In bulk through the Content tab, or on an individual piece of content while editing.
To assign content in bulk:
Navigate to the Content tab of your admin area.
Using the paginated list, select the content you'd like to assign to the plan.
Click Add to plans, then select the desired plan to assign the videos to.
Ensure you click Add at the bottom-right of the page to save your additions.
To assign individual videos to a plan:
Navigate to the Content tab of your admin area.
Click on the specific video you'd like to add to the subscription to access the video's edit page.
Navigate to the Subscription section on the right side, and select your desired plan from the dropdown.
Ensure you click Save changes at the top-right of the page to save your additions.
Duplicate to Build Higher Tiers
Once you've finished setting up your lowest tier, you can easily use this tier as a starting point to build your next one.
Navigate to the Subscriptions tab of your admin area.
Click the three-dots icon next to your desired plan.
Select Duplicate. This will create a new plan identical to the one that was duplicated.
Edit the duplicated plan and modify its information to match your higher tier, including the title, description, price, and billing period.
Follow the steps above to assign additional content to this higher-tiered plan.
Repeat this process to create as many tiers as you'd like.
💡A duplicated subscription keeps the settings and assigned content of the plan it originated from, which saves time when creating tiers.
Subscriber Upgrade Experience
If a subscriber tries to access a piece of content outside of their current subscription plan:
They will see an "Upgrade to watch" prompt.
Clicking it will show a list of tiers that contain the desired content.
If the user chooses to upgrade, they will follow the standard upgrade flow as outlined in our article regarding end-user plan changes.
Users can also choose to upgrade their plan from their User Dashboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What if I have a subscription linked to in-app purchases in my OTT apps?
A: Your in-app subscription should offer the highest tier of access.
Q: Do tiered subscriptions impact the functionality of Reduce Churn or Try Again for Free automations?
A: No. These features will work exactly the same when using tiered subscriptions.
Q: Will recurring coupon codes automatically apply to the new plan when a user upgrades?
A: Not automatically. Admins must manually apply new codes after a member changes plans.