How to Add Subscription Setup Extra Fees in WooCommerce

Subscriptions bring recurring revenue, but the initial setup often requires extra effort. This use case shows how to add a one-time setup fee for new subscribers using the Extra Fees plugin.

By charging a fixed fee on subscription products at the time of purchase, you can recover onboarding, configuration, or service activation costs. (Plugin Feature: Subscription Fees)

Business Impact Example: Many businesses charge a $20 setup fee for first-time subscribers, which helps increase upfront revenue and covers initial labor or platform setup expenses, without affecting recurring subscription pricing.

Preconditions

• The Extra Fees plugin is installed and activated.
• WooCommerce Subscriptions or subscription products are enabled

Steps to configure

1. Go to Dashboard > Extra Fees
2. Click Add New Fee
3. Name the fee: Subscription Setup Fee
4. Set Fee Type to: Fixed
5. Set Amount to: $20

6. Under Conditions, apply the fee to Subscription Products

   

7. Click Save Fees

8. At checkout, the setup fee is automatically added for new subscriptions

   

Alternate Flow

For renewals or existing subscribers, the fee will not be applied.

Understanding Setup Fees vs Recurring Fees

When using WooCommerce Subscriptions, it is important to understand the difference between setup fees and recurring fees.

A subscription setup fee is charged only once when the customer first purchases the subscription.

It will not appear on renewal orders generated by WooCommerce Subscriptions.

If you want to charge customers during every billing cycle, you must configure the fee as a recurring fee instead.

Why Setup Fees Do Not Appear on Renewal Orders

Customers sometimes expect setup fees to appear on renewal orders.

However, WooCommerce Subscriptions treats setup fees as a one-time charge.

Renewal orders are created automatically by WooCommerce Subscriptions and include only recurring charges.

Because of this:

• Setup fees appear only during the first checkout
• Renewal orders do not include setup fees

This behavior is expected and matches how subscription billing works.

How to Test Subscription Setup Fees

If you want to confirm that the setup fee is working correctly, follow these steps.

Step 1: Create a Test Subscription

Add a subscription product to the cart and complete checkout.

Step 2: Verify the Setup Fee

During checkout, confirm that the setup fee appears in the order summary.

Step 3: Check the First Order

After placing the order:

1. Go to WooCommerce → Orders
2. Open the order
3. Confirm the setup fee appears in the order total

Step 4: Trigger a Renewal Order

Renewal orders will not include the setup fee, which is expected behavior.

Compatibility with WooCommerce Subscriptions

The Extra Fees plugin supports WooCommerce Subscriptions, but the fee behavior depends on how the rule is configured.

Supported behavior

✔ Setup fees on the first subscription order

✔ Recurring fees on renewal orders

✔ Conditional rules during checkout

Important note

Renewal orders are generated automatically by the WooCommerce Subscriptions plugin, so some cart-based conditions may not apply during renewals.

If you want the fee applied to each billing cycle, configure it as a recurring fee rule.

Expected Outcome

Helps you recover setup costs and increase revenue from new subscribers

FAQs

Why does the setup fee only appear during the first purchase?

Setup fees are designed to apply only to the initial subscription checkout.

WooCommerce Subscriptions does not include setup fees in renewal orders.

If you need the fee applied to every billing cycle, configure it as a recurring fee.

Why is the fee visible during checkout but missing from renewal orders?

This usually happens because the fee is configured as a setup fee instead of a recurring fee.

Setup fees are charged only once.

Renewal orders include only recurring subscription charges.

How do I add a fee to every subscription renewal?

To apply a fee to every renewal payment, you must configure the fee as a recurring payment rule.

Follow the guide here:

How to Set an Extra Fee as a Recurring Payment

Can I charge both a setup fee and a recurring fee?

Yes.

You can configure:

• A setup fee for the initial subscription purchase
• A recurring fee is applied to every billing cycle

Both fees can be used together, depending on your store's requirements.

Why is the fee calculated differently for subscription products?

Subscription products are processed differently from normal products.

Renewal orders are generated automatically by WooCommerce Subscriptions and may not include certain checkout conditions.

Make sure your fee rule is configured correctly for subscriptions.