Annual billing improves cash flow and reduces churn. Building it takes a week.
Annual plans collect 12 months upfront, improve cash flow, and reduce monthly churn. Customers typically get 1-2 months free (15-20% discount). Implementing annual billing in Stripe requires creating annual prices, handling the switch from monthly, and updating the billing UI.
Only monthly billing available — customers asking for annual billing or the business wanting to offer an annual discount to improve retention and cash flow
Annual billing adds two layers of complexity to subscription billing:
Layer 1: Stripe annual prices
Create a new price in Stripe for each plan with interval: 'year'. Stripe handles the annual billing cycle.
const annualPrice = await stripe.prices.create({
product: 'prod_xyz',
unit_amount: 99000, // $990/year (2 months free)
currency: 'usd',
recurring: { interval: 'year' }
});
Layer 2: Monthly-to-annual switching
When an existing monthly subscriber switches to annual, Stripe calculates proration: credits the unused portion of the current monthly billing period, then charges the annual amount.
The implementation:
await stripe.subscriptions.update(subscriptionId, {
items: [{ id: subscriptionItemId, price: annualPriceId }],
proration_behavior: 'always_invoice' // Invoice immediately for the switch
});
The billing UI:
Pricing page with a toggle (Monthly / Annual) that shows the annual price per month and the savings. Annual selected → checkout creates an annual subscription.
"Save 20%" badge next to the Annual toggle is standard conversion optimization.
Reminder: annual plans renew annually
Annual plan customers get one renewal reminder email 30 days before renewal. Stripe doesn't send this automatically — it requires a webhook or scheduled job to trigger the email.
Annual billing option with Stripe annual prices, switch-to-annual flow with proration, and billing UI that presents both options
Annual prices
in Stripe for each plan tier
Pricing toggle
(Monthly / Annual) on the pricing page
Annual checkout
flow
Switch-to-annual
flow for existing monthly subscribers
Annual renewal reminder
email (30 days before)
One honest number to start.
Fixed-scope, fixed-price. The number below is the starting point — final scope is built from your brief.
Annual billing option with Stripe annual prices, switch-to-annual flow with proration, and billing UI that presents both options
Three steps, every time.
The same repeatable engagement on every project. No surprises, no mystery, no billable ambiguity.
Brief & discovery.
We send you questions, then get on a call. Output: a written scope with every step, feature, and integration listed.
Build & ship.
Fixed schedule, weekly reviews. No scope creep unless you change the scope — and if you do, we reprice it transparently.
Warranty & retainer.
30-day warranty on every launch. Most clients stay on a monthly retainer for ongoing features and maintenance.
Why Fixed-Price Matters Here
Annual billing is a defined feature set. Fixed-price.
Questions, answered.
Offer both. Most customers start monthly and switch to annual after experiencing the product. Some prefer to pay upfront from the start. Offering both maximizes flexibility.
Business decision: full refund, prorated refund, or no refund (credit toward future). The most common policy: prorated refund within 30 days of purchase; no refund after. Implement via Stripe refund API.
Tell Ryel about your project.
Describe what you’re building and what outcome you need. You’ll have a written, fixed-price scope within the week.