Comparing Loop with?
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If you've searched Stay AI vs Recharge, you've probably noticed both platforms now lead with the same promise: retention. Loop leads with something different — verified migration data. Good Protein ran its subscription program on Stay AI, migrated to Loop, and saw churn drop 67% at approximately 40% lower cost. Livingood Daily migrated 130,000 subscribers from Recharge to Loop, and churn went from 10% to 2.26%. Below is what all three platforms offer, what they cost at real order volumes, and what the brands that tested them measured.
Numbers from the Shopify App Store as of March 2026.
Stay AI
Recharge
Loop
For a deeper breakdown of Stay AI's features and pricing, see the complete Stay AI subscriptions guide.
The Stay AI vs Recharge decision used to be straightforward — one focused on retention, the other on billing. Now both claim to do both. Recharge layered retention workflows onto its billing infrastructure. Stay AI built its brand around AI-powered churn prediction. Loop built no-code cancellation flows, reward gamification, and subscriber segmentation into its core — and published the migration data.
That last part is what changes the comparison. Stay AI's marketing says retention. Recharge's marketing says retention. Loop's customer stories page says: here's what brands measured before and after — with names, numbers, and methodology attached. For a closer look at where the feature sets diverge, see 5 subscription features Stay AI brands miss out on.
Good Protein, a Canadian health brand, built its subscription program on Stay AI's AI-powered retention tools. As it scaled, the brand needed more granular control — the ability to segment subscribers by revenue and order history and serve different retention offers based on who was cancelling. After migrating to Loop:
Good Protein's story is part of a broader pattern covered in why brands switch from Stay AI to Loop.
Livingood Daily, a supplement brand with approximately 130,000 subscribers, migrated from Recharge to Loop in under three weeks. Churn dropped from 10% to 2.26%. Platform costs decreased by roughly 50%.
OSEA Malibu, a clean beauty brand, cut churn in half — from 10% to 5% — after implementing Loop's cancellation flows and gamified loyalty experience.
Four Sigmatic saw a 90% increase in subscription save rates after migrating from Recharge to Loop. Instead of one generic discount, cancelling subscribers received multiple simultaneous choices — a discount, a free product, or a pause — personalized by cancellation reason.
What these merchants measured aligns with what Recharge's own Shopify App Store reviewers describe. Ooze, after almost two years on Recharge, described disappointing support and a deceptively designed interface in their January 2026 review — and explicitly stated they were looking to move to Loop. Stillwater Coffee Club described support as "lazy, lacking ownership, slow, and unresponsive" while losing money to unresolved bugs.
Want to see what the switch looks like? Explore Loop's migration process →
The case studies show outcomes. What follows explains why — based on what each platform's documentation, reviews, and product pages say about how the tools work.
When a subscriber clicks "Cancel subscription," what happens next determines whether that subscriber is lost or saved.
Stay AI's RetentionEngine uses machine learning to test and optimize save offers. Stay AI's documentation notes the system requires at least 50 unique cancellation reason notes per month to activate AI-generated insights — many mid-size programs won't reach that threshold. The same docs note that complex subscription rules may require additional configuration or custom setup. Stay AI's 139 reviewers consistently praise the tool's effectiveness for brands with the volume to activate it.
Recharge offers cancellation surveys and retention offers. Shopify App Store reviewers note that flows can't be edited once activated — changes require duplicating and starting over. Sincerely Sarah Jane described how a Recharge update accidentally charged nearly 800 customers shipping on a free-shipping product.
Loop's Cancellation Flows are fully no-code and built around conditional logic — personalized by subscriber revenue, order history, cancellation reason, and custom segments. Flows can be edited live, A/B tested, and built from templates or from scratch, with no minimum data threshold.
Here's what the subscriber actually sees: when they click "Cancel subscription," a drawer opens — "Before you go… here's what you'll be giving up: ✓ 15% off every order ✓ Free shipping ✓ Your upcoming free gift on order #5." If they select "I have too much product right now," Loop serves: "No problem! Skip your next delivery instead." with a one-tap [Skip Next Order] button. That conditional logic — different reasons trigger different offers — is what drove Four Sigmatic's 90% save rate increase and Good Protein's 67% churn reduction. For deeper technical comparison, see the complete Stay AI subscriptions guide.
Failed payments are the largest single source of involuntary churn — subscribers who didn't choose to leave but whose payments didn't go through.
Stay AI includes smart dunning as part of the platform — payment recovery built in rather than outsourced. Stay AI's reviewers consistently cite the all-in-one approach as a reason for choosing the platform. A genuine strength.
Recharge offers retry logic and email notifications. Many merchants that migrated to Loop were using Churnbuster alongside Recharge to manage failed payments, adding a separate vendor and cost. 8 Billion Trees, a Recharge merchant for almost seven years, described in their March 2026 review how fees had grown to over 10% of their recurring revenue.
Loop's smart dunning is built into all paid plans. When a payment fails, the subscriber gets: "Oops! Your payment didn't go through" — with a one-click [Update Payment Method →] button. No support ticket, no portal navigation. Automated retries, SMS and email recovery sequences, and real-time recovery analytics included. Mammaly saw 30% payment updates and 18% reactivations through Loop's dunning within three months.
Stay AI offers a customizable portal with promotion management through ExperienceEngine. Stay AI's documentation notes that complex subscription rules may require additional configuration, and that payment method changes require subscribers to route through their Shopify customer account login rather than updating directly in the portal. These are among the gaps covered in 5 subscription features Stay AI brands miss out on.
Recharge's portal is functional, though Shopify App Store reviewers describe changes that should be simple as often requiring developer time.
Loop's customer portal gives subscribers one-tap access to [Skip], [Reschedule], [Swap], and [Order Now] — all from the subscription card, no extra navigation. Loop Flows enables automated subscriber journeys: after a 4th order, a banner appears — "You're 1 order away from a FREE gift!" — turning routine portal visits into retention moments. The no-code bundle builder adds another layer of flexibility. For brands evaluating Stay AI's scalability, see is Stay AI the best platform for scaling subscriptions.
Base rates are misleading. Per-order fees, transaction percentages, and feature tiers determine the real cost. In the Stay AI vs Recharge pricing debate, the per-order fees are where the gap compounds.
At 5,000 subscription orders per month, $50 AOV:
Stay AI: $499 + $2,500 (1%) + $950 ($0.19 × 5,000) = $3,949/month
Recharge Pro: $499 + $3,350 (1.34%) + $950 ($0.19 × 5,000) = $4,799/month
Loop Plus: $399 + $1,875 (0.75%) + $0 (no per-order fee) = $2,274/month
Loop costs $1,675 less per month than Stay AI and $2,525 less than Recharge Pro. Over twelve months: $20,100 saved versus Stay AI, $30,300 saved versus Recharge. The gap widens with volume — Loop charges zero per-order fees while both competitors charge $0.19 per transaction. Full breakdown at multiple tiers in the Stay AI pricing comparison.
The cost difference shows up in migration data. Good Protein reported ~40% lower platform costs after leaving Stay AI. Livingood Daily cut costs by roughly 50% versus Recharge.
Pricing pages are controlled. Feature lists are curated. Shopify App Store reviews are not.
139 reviews, 5.0-star average — 137 five-star, 1 four-star, 1 one-star. Shopify's AI-generated summary says merchants value Stay AI for "robust subscription management capabilities, which enhance customer retention and lifetime value" and praise "seamless onboarding, intuitive design, and responsive support with dedicated managers."
The sole one-star review comes from ShopSketchBox (August 2023): "Their team scoped out a project, promised they could do it then wasted a month of time to communicate their system couldn't properly handle flat rate bundles." Stay AI's CEO responded directly and apologized — which speaks to the support culture. Stay AI has 613 active installs as of April 2026. The review count represents roughly 22% of that base.
2,118 reviews, 4.8-star average — the largest review base of any Shopify subscription app. Shopify's AI summary says merchants "value this app for managing and scaling subscription programs" with "customer service described as responsive and knowledgeable."
The 116 one-star reviews surface patterns worth reading alongside the positive feedback. All quotes below are verbatim from the Shopify App Store:
On pricing escalation:
"Now we are locked into them since we cannot easily move subscribers, and they have massively raised prices while doing nothing. Their fees amount to over 10% of our recurring revenue."— 8 Billion Trees, March 2026 (almost 7 years on the platform)
On support access:
"We opted to pay for the pro subscription vs the much cheaper $99 one on that basis, so we could get help with installation. 12 months in and a lot of wasted time and money later, we're cancelling the app $6k in the hole having not been able to get it working whatsoever."— Matsudai Ramen, December 2025
On platform stability:
"They push updates and create really critical bugs… Most recently they pushed an updated and grabbed the wrong shipping profile information, accidentally charging almost 800 customers shipping on a free shipping product."— Sincerely Sarah Jane, November 2025 (over 3 years on the platform)
On support responsiveness:
"Really disappointing, almost laughable support team. I keep losing money and time responding to customer experience defects… Support team is generally lazy, lacking ownership, slow, and unresponsive."— Stillwater Coffee Club, January 2026
On looking for alternatives:
"Terrible customer support. Interface is deceptively designed and isn't user friendly. We are looking to move to Loop."— Ooze, January 2026 (almost 2 years on the platform)
632 reviews, 5.0-star average — 4.5x more reviews than Stay AI while maintaining a perfect rating. Shopify's AI-generated summary says merchants "find this app valuable for managing subscriptions" and that "customer support is exceptional, with responsive assistance during onboarding and ongoing support through dedicated account managers and Slack channels."
Here's what merchants who switched to Loop said — in their own words, on the Shopify App Store:
"We were a bit worried about migration, we were moving from the incumbent to LOOP but they proved us wrong, it was very smooth and they took care of everything… The app improved the store churn and LTV of the subscribers."— Circles, April 2026
"Very supportive during and after our migration from another e-commerce platform. Great options for retention and reengagement with robust analytics."— Healthy Gut, April 2026
"They listened to my concerns about the subscription program I was currently using and walked me through how Loop provided all the features I needed… Once I decided to switch to Loop the onboarding process was easy."— Custom Equine Nutrition, April 2026
"Very excited to be on a more nimble subscription platform. Migration was well handled from our previous vendor and already our customers and our staff are thrilled with the changeover."— Harney & Sons Fine Teas, February 2026
"my sales from subscriptions have grown significantly since switching to Loop."— Supplement First, January 2026
The 1,065+ completed migrations — each requiring hands-on coordination — represent the largest validated migration track record in the Shopify subscription space.
Q1. Is Stay AI better than Recharge for retention?
Stay AI offers more native retention tools than Recharge's base platform, and its reviewers consistently praise the AI-powered approach. That said, Good Protein migrated from Stay AI to Loop and measured a 67% churn reduction. More on that pattern in why brands switch from Stay AI to Loop.
Q2. What does Stay AI cost per month?
One visible plan at $499/month + 1% + $0.19 per transaction, with custom plans available. No lower-priced tier. Loop Plus costs $399/month + 0.75% with zero per-order fees. Full cost breakdown in the Stay AI pricing comparison.
Q3. Can I migrate from Stay AI to Loop?
Yes. Loop's migration team handles subscriber data, payment tokens, billing cycles, and portal setup — at no cost. Good Protein's migration resulted in 400% subscriber growth within four months.
Q4. Can I migrate from Recharge to Loop?
Yes. Loop has completed 1,065+ migrations, many from Recharge. Livingood Daily migrated 130,000 subscribers in under three weeks with zero disruption.
Q5. Does Stay AI have AI features that Loop doesn't?
Stay AI uses AI terminology — RetentionEngine, ExperienceEngine, DecisionEngine. Loop takes a different approach: no-code cancellation flows, Loop Flows automation, and subscriber segmentation. Brands that migrated from Stay AI to Loop reported stronger retention metrics after the switch. Details in 5 subscription features Stay AI brands miss out on.
Q6. How many Shopify stores use Stay AI?
Approximately 613 active installs as of March 2026, with 139 reviews on the Shopify App Store. Loop has 632 reviews and 1,065+ completed migrations.
Q7. What's the difference between Stay AI and Recharge?
Stay AI vs Recharge comes down to focus: Stay AI is built around AI-driven retention tools at a $499/month single-tier price point, while Recharge is built around billing infrastructure and integrations with tiered pricing starting at $99/month. Both charge per-order fees. Loop offers retention tools comparable to Stay AI and billing reliability comparable to Recharge — at a lower price point with no per-order fees. The migration data from brands that tested multiple platforms is covered throughout this comparison.
Disclaimer
Source Attribution: Competitor feature descriptions are based on publicly available information, including each platform's official website, help center documentation, and Shopify App Store listings, as of April 23, 2026. Features and pricing may have changed since publication.
Pricing Accuracy: Pricing information reflects publicly listed rates at the time of writing. Actual costs may vary based on negotiated contracts, promotional pricing, or plan changes. Merchants should verify current pricing directly with each platform.
Performance Claims: Case study results cited (e.g., churn reductions, revenue increases) reflect individual merchant outcomes and are not guarantees of typical results. Performance varies based on brand, product category, subscriber base, and implementation.
Editorial Independence: This content is published by Loop Subscriptions. While competitor information is sourced from public documentation, readers should conduct their own evaluation before making platform decisions.
Corrections: Despite efforts to ensure accuracy, platform features evolve frequently. If you are a representative of a platform listed and believe any information is factually inaccurate, please contact us at contact@loopwork.co and we will review and correct promptly.
