Stripe | Financial Infrastructure to Grow Your Revenue

Stripe | Financial Infrastructure to Grow Your Revenue

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Update a subscription


Update a subscription

POST / v1 / subscriptions /:id

Updates an existing subscription to match the specified parameters. When changing prices or quantities, we optionally prorate the price we charge next month to make up for any price changes. To preview how the proration is calculated, use the create preview endpoint.

By default, we prorate subscription changes. For example, if a customer signs up on May 1 for a 100 USD price, they’ll be billed 100 USD immediately. If on May 15 they switch to a 200 USD price, then on June 1 they’ll be billed 250 USD ( 200 USD for a renewal of her subscription, plus a 50 USD prorating adjustment for half of the previous month’s 100 USD difference). Similarly, a downgrade generates a credit that is applied to the next invoice. We also prorate when you make quantity changes. You can also use scripts to prorate your billing. To learn more, see Prorations.

Switching prices does not normally change the billing date or generate an immediate charge unless:

  • The billing interval is changed (for example, from monthly to yearly).
  • The subscription moves from free to paid.
  • A trial starts or ends.

In these cases, we apply a credit for the unused time on the previous price, immediately charge the customer using the new price, and reset the billing date. Learn about how Stripe immediately attempts payment for subscription changes.

If you want to charge for an upgrade immediately, pass proration_behavior as always_invoice to create prorations, automatically invoice the customer for those proration adjustments, and attempt to collect payment. If you pass create_prorations, the prorations are created but not automatically invoiced. If you want to bill the customer for the prorations before the subscription’s renewal date, you need to manually invoice the customer.

If you don’t want to prorate, set the proration_behavior option to none. With this option, the customer is billed 100 USD on May 1 and 200 USD on June 1. Similarly, if you set proration_behavior to none when switching between different billing intervals (for example, from monthly to yearly), we don’t generate any credits for the old subscription’s unused time. We still reset the billing date and bill immediately for the new subscription.

Updating the quantity on a subscription many times in an hour may result in rate limiting. If you need to bill for a frequently changing quantity, consider integrating usage-based billing instead.

Parameters

  • automatic _ tax object Automatic tax settings for this subscription. We recommend you only include this parameter when the existing value is being changed.
  • default _ payment _ method string ID of the default payment method for the subscription. It must belong to the customer associated with the subscription. This takes precedence over default_source. If neither are set, invoices will use the customer’s invoice_settings.default_payment_method or default_source.
  • description string The subscription’s description, meant to be displayable to the customer. Use this field to optionally store an explanation of the subscription for rendering in Stripe surfaces and certain local payment methods UIs. The maximum length is 500 characters.
  • items array of objects A list of up to 20 subscription items, each with an attached price.
  • metadata map Set of key-value pairs that you can attach to an object. This can be useful for storing additional information about the object in a structured format. Individual keys can be unset by posting an empty value to them. All keys can be unset by posting an empty value to metadata.
  • payment _ behavior enum Controls how Stripe handles payment when a subscription update requires payment and collection_method=charge_automatically. Possible enum values allow_incomplete This is the default behavior since 2019-03-14. Transition the subscription to status=past_due if payment fails. If you have payment retries configured, Stripe automatically retries the payment. If the payment requires action, you receive an invoice.payment_action_required webhook and must manage additional user actions. For example, SCA regulations might require 3DS authentication to complete payment. See the SCA Migration Guide for Billing to learn more. default_incomplete When payment is required, transition the subscription to status=past_due without attempting payment. You must request explicit confirmation of the Invoice’s PaymentIntent. The resulting Invoice has auto_advance=false, so Stripe doesn’t automatically attempt payment, retry payment, or finalize the subscription. error_if_incomplete If payment fails, return an HTTP 402 status code and don’t update the subscription. This behavior doesn’t support payments that require user action, such as 3DS authentication, because it returns an error instead of creating a PaymentIntent with status=requires_action. To handle payments that require action, use allow_incomplete or default_incomplete instead. This behavior was the default for API versions before 2019-03-14. pending_if_incomplete If payment fails, Stripe creates a pending update, which applies only if the payment eventually succeeds. This behavior doesn’t support all attributes and payment methods. This option is the simplest way to ensure the customer completes payment before Stripe applies the update.
  • proration _ behavior enum Determines how to handle prorations when the billing cycle changes (e.g., when switching plans, resetting billing_cycle_anchor=now, or starting a trial), or if an item’s quantity changes. The default value is create_prorations. Possible enum values always_invoice Always invoice immediately for prorations. create_prorations Will cause proration invoice items to be created when applicable. These proration items will only be invoiced immediately under certain conditions. none Disable creating prorations in this request.

More parameters

  • add _ invoice _ items array of objects
  • application _ fee _ percent number Connect only
  • billing _ cycle _ anchor string
  • billing _ schedules array of objects
  • billing _ thresholds object
  • cancel _ at timestamp | enum
  • cancel _ at _ period _ end boolean
  • cancellation _ details object
  • collection _ method enum
  • days _ until _ due integer
  • default _ source string
  • default _ tax _ rates array of strings
  • discounts array of objects
  • invoice _ settings object
  • off _ session boolean
  • on _ behalf _ of string
  • pause _ collection object
  • payment _ settings object
  • pending _ invoice _ item _ interval object
  • proration _ date timestamp
  • transfer _ data object Connect only
  • trial _ end string, value is "now" | timestamp
  • trial _ from _ plan boolean
  • trial _ settings object

Returns

The newly updated Subscription object, if the call succeeded. If payment_behavior is error_if_incomplete and a charge is required for the update and it fails, this call raises an error, and the subscription update does not go into effect.

Response

{ "id": "sub_1MowQVLkdIwHu7ixeRlqHVzs", "object": "subscription", "application": null, "application_fee_percent": null, "automatic_tax": { "enabled": false, "liability": null }, "billing_cycle_anchor": 1679609767, "cancel_at": null, "cancel_at_period_end": false, "canceled_at": null, "cancellation_details": { "comment": null, "feedback": null, "reason": null }, "collection_method": "charge_automatically", "created": 1679609767, "currency": "usd", "customer": "cus_Na6dX7aXxi11N4", "days_until_due": null, "default_payment_method": null, "default_source": null, "default_tax_rates": [], "description": null, "discounts": null, "ended_at": null, "invoice_settings": { "issuer": { "type": "self" } }, "items": { "object": "list", "data": [ { "id": "si_Na6dzxczY5fwHx", "object": "subscription_item", "created": 1679609768, "current_period_end": 1682288167, "current_period_start": 1679609767, "metadata": {}, "plan": { "id": "price_1MowQULkdIwHu7ixraBm864M", "object": "plan", "active": true, "amount": 1000, "amount_decimal": "1000", "billing_scheme": "per_unit", "created": 1679609766, "currency": "usd", "discounts": null, "interval": "month", "interval_count": 1, "livemode": false, "metadata": {}, "nickname": null, "product": "prod_Na6dGcTsmU0I4R", "tiers_mode": null, "transform_usage": null, "trial_period_days": null, "usage_type": "licensed" }, "price": { "id": "price_1MowQULkdIwHu7ixraBm864M", "object": "price", "active": true, "billing_scheme": "per_unit", "created": 1679609766, "currency": "usd", "custom_unit_amount": null, "livemode": false, "lookup_key": null, "metadata": {}, "nickname": null, "product": "prod_Na6dGcTsmU0I4R", "recurring": { "interval": "month", "interval_count": 1, "trial_period_days": null, "usage_type": "licensed" }, "tax_behavior": "unspecified", "tiers_mode": null, "transform_quantity": null, "type": "recurring", "unit_amount": 1000, "unit_amount_decimal": "1000" }, "quantity": 1, "subscription": "sub_1MowQVLkdIwHu7ixeRlqHVzs", "tax_rates": [] } ], "has_more": false, "total_count": 1, "url": "/v1/subscription_items?subscription=sub_1MowQVLkdIwHu7ixeRlqHVzs" }, "latest_invoice": "in_1MowQWLkdIwHu7ixuzkSPfKd", "livemode": false, "metadata": { "order_id": "6735" }, "next_pending_invoice_item_invoice": null, "on_behalf_of": null, "pause_collection": null, "payment_settings": { "payment_method_options": null, "payment_method_types": null, "save_default_payment_method": "off" }, "pending_invoice_item_interval": null, "pending_setup_intent": null, "pending_update": null, "schedule": null, "start_date": 1679609767, "status": "active", "test_clock": null, "transfer_data": null, "trial_end": null, "trial_settings": { "end_behavior": { "missing_payment_method": "create_invoice" } }, "trial_start": null}

Retrieve a subscription

GET / v1 / subscriptions /:id

Retrieves the subscription with the given ID.

Parameters

No parameters.

Returns

Returns the subscription object.

Response

{ "id": "sub_1MowQVLkdIwHu7ixeRlqHVzs", "object": "subscription", "application": null, "application_fee_percent": null, "automatic_tax": { "enabled": false, "liability": null }, "billing_cycle_anchor": 1679609767, "cancel_at": null, "cancel_at_period_end": false, "canceled_at": null, "cancellation_details": { "comment": null, "feedback": null, "reason": null }, "collection_method": "charge_automatically", "created": 1679609767, "currency": "usd", "customer": "cus_Na6dX7aXxi11N4", "days_until_due": null, "default_payment_method": null, "default_source": null, "default_tax_rates": [], "description": null, "discounts": null, "ended_at": null, "invoice_settings": { "issuer": { "type": "self" } }, "items": { "object": "list", "data": [ { "id": "si_Na6dzxczY5fwHx", "object": "subscription_item", "created": 1679609768, "current_period_end": 1682288167, "current_period_start": 1679609767, "metadata": {}, "plan": { "id": "price_1MowQULkdIwHu7ixraBm864M", "object": "plan", "active": true, "amount": 1000, "amount_decimal": "1000", "billing_scheme": "per_unit", "created": 1679609766, "currency": "usd", "discounts": null, "interval": "month", "interval_count": 1, "livemode": false, "metadata": {}, "nickname": null, "product": "prod_Na6dGcTsmU0I4R", "tiers_mode": null, "transform_usage": null, "trial_period_days": null, "usage_type": "licensed" }, "price": { "id": "price_1MowQULkdIwHu7ixraBm864M", "object": "price", "active": true, "billing_scheme": "per_unit", "created": 1679609766, "currency": "usd", "custom_unit_amount": null, "livemode": false, "lookup_key": null, "metadata": {}, "nickname": null, "product": "prod_Na6dGcTsmU0I4R", "recurring": { "interval": "month", "interval_count": 1, "trial_period_days": null, "usage_type": "licensed" }, "tax_behavior": "unspecified", "tiers_mode": null, "transform_quantity": null, "type": "recurring", "unit_amount": 1000, "unit_amount_decimal": "1000" }, "quantity": 1, "subscription": "sub_1MowQVLkdIwHu7ixeRlqHVzs", "tax_rates": [] } ], "has_more": false, "total_count": 1, "url": "/v1/subscription_items?subscription=sub_1MowQVLkdIwHu7ixeRlqHVzs" }, "latest_invoice": "in_1MowQWLkdIwHu7ixuzkSPfKd", "livemode": false, "metadata": {}, "next_pending_invoice_item_invoice": null, "on_behalf_of": null, "pause_collection": null, "payment_settings": { "payment_method_options": null, "payment_method_types": null, "save_default_payment_method": "off" }, "pending_invoice_item_interval": null, "pending_setup_intent": null, "pending_update": null, "schedule": null, "start_date": 1679609767, "status": "active", "test_clock": null, "transfer_data": null, "trial_end": null, "trial_settings": { "end_behavior": { "missing_payment_method": "create_invoice" } }, "trial_start": null}

List subscriptions

GET / v1 / subscriptions

By default, returns a list of subscriptions that have not been canceled. In order to list canceled subscriptions, specify status=canceled.

Parameters

  • customer string The ID of the customer whose subscriptions you’re retrieving.
  • customer _ account string The ID of the account representing the customer whose subscriptions you’re retrieving.
  • price string Filter for subscriptions that contain this recurring price ID.
  • status enum The status of the subscriptions to retrieve. Passing in a value of canceled will return all canceled subscriptions, including those belonging to deleted customers. Pass ended to find subscriptions that are canceled and subscriptions that are expired due to incomplete payment. Passing in a value of all will return subscriptions of all statuses. If no value is supplied, all subscriptions that have not been canceled are returned.

More parameters

  • automatic _ tax object
  • collection _ method enum
  • created object
  • current _ period _ end object
  • current _ period _ start object
  • ending _ before string
  • limit integer
  • starting _ after string
  • test _ clock string

Returns

Returns a list of subscriptions.

Response

{ "object": "list", "url": "/v1/subscriptions", "has_more": false, "data": [ { "id": "sub_1MowQVLkdIwHu7ixeRlqHVzs", "object": "subscription", "application": null, "application_fee_percent": null, "automatic_tax": { "enabled": false, "liability": null }, "billing_cycle_anchor": 1679609767, "cancel_at": null, "cancel_at_period_end": false, "canceled_at": null, "cancellation_details": { "comment": null, "feedback": null, "reason": null }, "collection_method": "charge_automatically", "created": 1679609767, "currency": "usd", "customer": "cus_Na6dX7aXxi11N4", "days_until_due": null, "default_payment_method": null, "default_source": null, "default_tax_rates": [], "description": null, "discounts": null, "ended_at": null, "invoice_settings": { "issuer": { "type": "self" } }, "items": { "object": "list", "data": [ { "id": "si_Na6dzxczY5fwHx", "object": "subscription_item", "created": 1679609768, "current_period_end": 1682288167, "current_period_start": 1679609767, "metadata": {}, "plan": { "id": "price_1MowQULkdIwHu7ixraBm864M", "object": "plan", "active": true, "amount": 1000, "amount_decimal": "1000", "billing_scheme": "per_unit", "created": 1679609766, "currency": "usd", "discounts": null, "interval": "month", "interval_count": 1, "livemode": false, "metadata": {}, "nickname": null, "product": "prod_Na6dGcTsmU0I4R", "tiers_mode": null, "transform_usage": null, "trial_period_days": null, "usage_type": "licensed" }, "price": { "id": "price_1MowQULkdIwHu7ixraBm864M", "object": "price", "active": true, "billing_scheme": "per_unit", "created": 1679609766, "currency": "usd", "custom_unit_amount": null, "livemode": false, "lookup_key": null, "metadata": {}, "nickname": null, "product": "prod_Na6dGcTsmU0I4R", "recurring": { "interval": "month", "interval_count": 1, "trial_period_days": null, "usage_type": "licensed" }, "tax_behavior": "unspecified", "tiers_mode": null, "transform_quantity": null, "type": "recurring", "unit_amount": 1000, "unit_amount_decimal": "1000" }, "quantity": 1, "subscription": "sub_1MowQVLkdIwHu7ixeRlqHVzs", "tax_rates": [] } ], "has_more": false, "total_count": 1, "url": "/v1/subscription_items?subscription=sub_1MowQVLkdIwHu7ixeRlqHVzs" }, "latest_invoice": "in_1MowQWLkdIwHu7ixuzkSPfKd", "livemode": false, "metadata": {}, "next_pending_invoice_item_invoice": null, "on_behalf_of": null, "pause_collection": null, "payment_settings": { "payment_method_options": null, "payment_method_types": null, "save_default_payment_method": "off" }, "pending_invoice_item_interval": null, "pending_setup_intent": null, "pending_update": null, "schedule": null, "start_date": 1679609767, "status": "active", "test_clock": null, "transfer_data": null, "trial_end": null, "trial_settings": { "end_behavior": { "missing_payment_method": "create_invoice" } }, "trial_start": null } ]}
Last verified 2026-09-24

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