Subscription Upsell is a powerful marketing automation that encourages users to upgrade from a lower-tier plan (typically monthly) to a higher-tier plan (typically yearly) with a discount during the checkout process.
This feature helps increase the Lifetime Value (LTV) of your subscribers by collecting more money upfront and reducing churn rates.
NOTE: This feature is currently available on the web platform only, not on mobile or TV apps.
💡 TIP: Subscription Upsells tend to perform best when the annual plan represents a clear long-term commitment to the outcome your content supports (for example: consistency, progress, or transformation), not just a longer billing cycle or discount.
Upsell Process
The Subscription Upsell feature presents users with a special offer after users have entered their payment information and right before completing their purchase.
Here's how the process flows:
A user selects a lower-tier subscription (trigger plan) and proceeds to checkout
After entering their payment information, they see a pop-up with your upsell offer for a higher-tier subscription (target plan)
The user can either accept the discounted upgrade or decline it
If they accept, they'll be charged for the target plan instead of the trigger plan
If they decline, their original trigger plan purchase continues as normal
Set Up the Automation
Setting up a Subscription Upsell is quick and easy. You'll walk through a 3-step wizard to choose your plans, set your discount, and customize your message.
To get started:
Navigate to Marketing
Select Subscription Upsell
Click New Offer
Step 1: Select Your Trigger Plan
Choose the Trigger Plan: this is the lower-tier plan your subscriber is currently purchasing (typically a monthly plan). When someone checks out with this plan, they'll see your upsell offer.
Select your trigger plan from the dropdown.
Step 2: Set Your Target Plan and Discount
Choose the Target Plan: this is the higher-value plan you want to promote (typically a yearly plan).
Then set your discount percentage and choose the discount duration (e.g., first payment only, forever, etc.).
Step 3: Customize Your Upsell Message
This is where you craft the message your subscribers will see in the upsell pop-up.
ℹ️ INFO: The message field comes pre-filled with a ready-to-use template that includes a headline, a benefit checklist, and placeholders for your plan details.
At the top of the template, you'll see a red "HOW TO USE THIS TEMPLATE" instruction block.
This is a reminder to update the following placeholders before publishing:
[discount]: your discount percentage
[Plan Type]: the name of your target plan (e.g., "Annual Plan")
[Discount Amount]: the discount percentage being offered
[Equivalent Monthly Price]: the monthly cost when calculated from the target plan price
📝 NOTE: The template will not auto-fill these values, so you'll need to replace each placeholder with your actual plan details. You're also free to clear the template entirely and write your own message from scratch.
💡 TIP: Use the Subscription Upsell description to focus on the outcome subscribers want to achieve over time, not the features of the plan. The value should be clear even before savings are considered.
Feature-focused descriptions to avoid:
“12 months of access to all content”
“Annual plan with a 20% discount”
“Includes workouts, programs, and community”
🏋️ Fitness Examples
“Feel stronger, move better, and stay on track long enough to see it pay off. Commit for the year and save X% compared to monthly.”
“Build habits that last, see visible progress over time, and commit at a lower cost with X% savings compared to monthly.”
📚 Education Examples
“Move from watching lessons to confidently using the skill in real life. Stay enrolled long enough to practice and apply, and save x% by committing for the year.”
“Build real confidence in the skill, practice long enough for it to click, and actually finish what you start. Commit for the year and save x% compared to monthly.”
🎬 Entertainment Examples
“Watch more of what you love, stop missing new releases, and enjoy the full experience over time. Commit for the year and save x% compared to monthly.”
“Stay current with new releases, watch at your own pace, and enjoy the full catalog over time. Commit for the year and save x% compared to monthly.”
The strongest descriptions make the transformation clear first, then reinforce the decision with the savings percentage.
Step 4: Preview & Publish
Before going live, click Preview to see exactly how the upsell pop-up will look to your subscribers.
When everything looks good, click Create to activate your offer.
⚠️ WARNING: At this time, wallets like Google Pay or Apple Pay will not be shown as payment options on subscriptions with an upsell offer, as we cannot implement the upsell within these wallets.
🔗 Learn more about Digital Wallets
Trial Period
When using Subscription Upsell, the trial period works as follows:
If the target plan (the plan you're promoting) includes a trial period, users who accept the upsell offer will receive the full trial period of that target plan.
If the target plan does not have a trial period, users will be charged immediately for the full price of the target plan, even if the trigger plan had a trial period.
The trial period from the trigger plan is never carried over or combined with the target plan.
This behavior occurs because when users see the upsell offer, they're still in the checkout process and don't have an active subscription yet.
📝 NOTE: The automation uses a coupon to offer a discount, so accepting the offer will replace any coupon applied to the trigger plan.
Track the Performance
You can monitor the effectiveness of your Subscription Upsell campaigns:
Navigate to Analytics > Marketing
Select Subscription Upsell
View the metrics:
Offers sent
The number of upsell offers displayed to users
Offers accepted
The number of users who accepted the upsell offer
Acceptance rate: calculated as offers accepted / offers sent
Note: A low acceptance rate often points to unclear value in the upsell message.
Upsells
The amount of successful upsells and have paid for it
Conversion rate: calculated as upsells / offers sent
Revenue earned
estimated gross sales from upsells, calculated as the price difference between the upsell and original plans for users who converted
💡 TIP: You can filter these metrics by Date Range, Automation Status, or Automation Title.
💡 TIP: Successful creators treat Subscription Upsell as an ongoing optimization, refining messaging and positioning over time rather than setting it once and leaving it unchanged.
FAQs
Can I customize the text in the upsell pop-up?
Can I customize the text in the upsell pop-up?
You can customize the description and discount amount, but other elements of the pop-up are standardized.
How effective is the Subscription Upsell feature?
How effective is the Subscription Upsell feature?
Subscription Upsell has been shown to convert 8% of users into higher-priced plans. Plus, Uscreen customers have generated over $24M from Subscription Upsells.
Can I use Subscription Upsell with PayPal payments?
Can I use Subscription Upsell with PayPal payments?
Currently, Subscription Upsell is not supported with the native PayPal integration. This is due to technical limitations in how PayPal handles payment modifications during the checkout flow. When a customer accepts a subscription upsell, the system needs to replace the original offer with the upsell offer, apply a discount coupon, and process the payment with the new amount. PayPal's checkout flow doesn't allow for this type of modification once the payment process has been initiated.
What happens if a user accepts the upsell but their payment fails?
What happens if a user accepts the upsell but their payment fails?
If a user accepts the upsell but their payment fails, the discount will still be applied when they retry the payment.
💬 We'd love to hear from you, so here's how you can submit feedback.