Quick answer: When a customer selects a subscription but Shopify adds the item at the one-time price, the add-to-cart request usually omitted the selected selling_plan ID. Confirm the product has an active selling plan, then confirm the product form or Ajax request submits it.
The real symptom
The product page displays a subscription option and recurring discount, but the cart contains the variant as a normal one-time purchase.
Likely causes
- Product is not assigned to the subscription plan.
- The theme displays purchase options but does not submit selling_plan.
- A bundle or Ajax request omits selling-plan IDs.
- The selling-plan input sits outside the submitted form.
- Quick add uses a separate form.
Confirmed Community fix
Community cases traced the wrong price to custom bundle or form requests that did not send selling_plan. Shopify then correctly treated the line as a one-time purchase.
Exact admin path
- Open Shopify Subscriptions or the subscription app.
- Open the affected plan.
- Confirm the product and variants are assigned.
- Confirm discount and billing rules.
- Open Online Store → Themes → Customize.
- Confirm the subscription app block/purchase-options block is present.
- Test product page, quick add, bundle, and cart separately.
Simple checks
const item = {
id: selectedVariantId,
quantity: 1,
...(selectedPlan ? { selling_plan: selectedPlan } : {})
};
fetch(`${window.Shopify.routes.root}cart/add.js`, {
method: 'POST',
headers: { 'Content-Type': 'application/json' },
body: JSON.stringify({ items: [item] })
});In DevTools, inspect the cart/add payload and confirm selling_plan is present.
Do not do this
Do not fake a subscription discount in theme JavaScript. The selling plan must exist in Shopify and be attached to the cart line.