Create a Subscribe button

This product is deprecated and should not be used for new integrations. Use Payment Links and Buttons instead. For information about migrating, visit the Upgrade Hub.

Learn how to create a Subscribe button.


1.	Required	Open the Make a PayPal Button page.
2.	Required	Enter basic subscription information.
3.	Required for subscriptions with different prices	Add subscription options and prices.
4.	Optional	Customize button text and appearance.
5.	Optional	Create user names and passwords.
6.	Required for flat-rate subscriptions	Set flat-rate billing terms.
7.	Optional	Offer a subscription trial period.
8.	Optional	Associate transactions with your PayPal account.

Open the Make a PayPal Button page

Go to paypal.com/buttons.
Log in with the PayPal account you want to use to make the button.
Select the button you want to make.

Enter basic subscription information

In Item name, enter the name of the subscription. For example, you might enter Flower of the Month or Quarterly Newsletter.
(Optional) If you offer different types of subscriptions, such as monthly, quarterly, and annual subscriptions, enter an identifying code for this subscription in Subscription ID.

If you want PayPal to track inventory levels, enter a value that is unique among all the items that you sell by subscription.
(Optional) To change the default currency, click Currency and select a different currency.

The default currency is listed in your Profile, under My Money and PayPal balance.

Add subscription options and prices

You can add subscription options with or without different prices. To sell a flat-fee subscription, see Set up flat-rate billing terms.

To add subscription options with prices:

Click Add a drop-down menu with prices and options to add a drop-down menu with up to 10 subscription options with different prices.
Enter a name for the drop-down menu. For example, you might enter Pricing Tiers.
Enter a name, the price, and the length of the subscription. For example, you might enter Basic Plan and $15.00, and then click Monthly.
Click Add another option, Remove option, or Done.
Preview the drop-down menu in Your customer's view.

To add subscription options without prices:

Click Add drop-down menu to add a drop-down menu with up to 10 subscription options.
Enter a name for the drop-down menu. For example, you might enter Bonus Items.
Enter a name for the option. For example, you might enter Free Sticker.
Click Add another option, Remove option, or Done.
Preview the drop-down menu in Your customer's view.

To add a text field where customers can enter information:

Click Add text field to add up to two text fields where customers can enter information.
Enter a text-box label, such as, Text to engrave:
To preview the drop-down menu in Your customer's view, click Done .
Click Add another text field, Edit, or Delete.

Customize the button text and appearance

You can change the appearance and text of the default PayPal button or you can enter a URL to use your own button image.

Click Customize text or appearance.
To use a smaller version of the default PayPal button, click Use smaller button.
By default, credit card logos are displayed beneath the payment button. To hide the logos, uncheck Display credit card logos.

Note: This option is not applicable to Add to Cart buttons.
To change the default language, click the Country and language for button menu and select a country and language. If you change the country and language, verify that Currency is set appropriately.

The default language is specified in Preferred language, under My Settings in your Profile.
To use your own button (not hosted by PayPal), select Use your own button image and then enter the URL of your button image. If your image is hosted on an SSL-secured server, change the text box to begin with https://.

Create user names and passwords

This feature generates user names and passwords so your customers can access member-only content on your website. It requires writing or editing a Perl script and placing it on your website server. For more information, see Subscription user names and passwords. If you're not comfortable with programming scripts, you can skip this option.

This feature generates user names and passwords so your customers can access member-only content on your website. It requires writing or editing a Perl script and placing it on your website server. For more information, see Have PayPal create user names and passwords for customers. If you're not comfortable with programming scripts, you can skip this option.

Note: To use this feature, you must first enable Instant Payment Notification and disable Auto-Return in your Profile. For more information, see the Merchant Setup and Administration Guide.

Set up flat-rate billing terms

Configure these options for flat-rate subscriptions. For billing cycle descriptions and examples, see How subscription billing cycles work.


Billing amount each cycle	The amount to draw at the beginning of each billing cycle or trial period.
Billing cycle	The number and a duration of the billing cycle. Durations can be daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, depending on the terms of the original subscription.
After how many cycles should billing stop?	The number of billing cycles after which billing stops. To have customers renew their subscription periodically, click a number to stop the billing cycle. Default is Never.

Offer a trial period

You can offer subscribers a free or discounted trial period. The trial period can differ in duration from that of the regular billing cycle.

Click I want to offer a trial period.
In Amount to bill for the trial period, enter the amount you want to charge for the trial period. Leave blank to offer a free trial period.
Under Define the trial period, select a number and a unit of time for the trial period. For example, you might select 1 and month(s).
Under Do you want to offer a second trial period?, click Yes to provide a second trial period. (Default: No)
If you offer a second trial period, enter the amount and length of the trial, which can be for a different length of time and price.

Associate transactions with your PayPal account

By default, transactions from your payment button are associated with your PayPal merchant ID. To associate transactions to an email address instead, click Use my primary email address. If your Profile contains multiple email addresses, click the address to use as the primary email address for this button.

By default, transactions from your payment button are associated with your PayPal merchant ID. To associate transactions to an email address instead, click

Tip: PayPal recommends using the default option so that your email address will not be exposed within the button code.

Choose one of these steps:

Click Create Button on the Create a PayPal payment button page, and then copy and paste the HTML snippet to your web page.
Track inventory, profits, and loss.
Customize advanced features.

Additional information

This product is deprecated and should not be used for new integrations. Use Payment Links and Buttons instead. For information about migrating, visit the Upgrade Hub.

Learn how to create a Subscribe button.


1.	Required	Open the Make a PayPal Button page.
2.	Required	Enter basic subscription information.
3.	Required for subscriptions with different prices	Add subscription options and prices.
4.	Optional	Customize button text and appearance.
5.	Optional	Create user names and passwords.
6.	Required for flat-rate subscriptions	Set flat-rate billing terms.
7.	Optional	Offer a subscription trial period.
8.	Optional	Associate transactions with your PayPal account.

Open the Make a PayPal Button page

Go to paypal.com/buttons.
Log in with the PayPal account you want to use to make the button.
Select the button you want to make.

Enter basic subscription information

In Item name, enter the name of the subscription. For example, you might enter Flower of the Month or Quarterly Newsletter.
(Optional) If you offer different types of subscriptions, such as monthly, quarterly, and annual subscriptions, enter an identifying code for this subscription in Subscription ID.

If you want PayPal to track inventory levels, enter a value that is unique among all the items that you sell by subscription.
(Optional) To change the default currency, click Currency and select a different currency.

The default currency is listed in your Profile, under My Money and PayPal balance.

Add subscription options and prices

You can add subscription options with or without different prices. To sell a flat-fee subscription, see Set up flat-rate billing terms.

To add subscription options with prices:

Click Add a drop-down menu with prices and options to add a drop-down menu with up to 10 subscription options with different prices.
Enter a name for the drop-down menu. For example, you might enter Pricing Tiers.
Enter a name, the price, and the length of the subscription. For example, you might enter Basic Plan and $15.00, and then click Monthly.
Click Add another option, Remove option, or Done.
Preview the drop-down menu in Your customer's view.

To add subscription options without prices:

Click Add drop-down menu to add a drop-down menu with up to 10 subscription options.
Enter a name for the drop-down menu. For example, you might enter Bonus Items.
Enter a name for the option. For example, you might enter Free Sticker.
Click Add another option, Remove option, or Done.
Preview the drop-down menu in Your customer's view.

To add a text field where customers can enter information:

Click Add text field to add up to two text fields where customers can enter information.
Enter a text-box label, such as, Text to engrave:
To preview the drop-down menu in Your customer's view, click Done .
Click Add another text field, Edit, or Delete.

Customize the button text and appearance

You can change the appearance and text of the default PayPal button or you can enter a URL to use your own button image.

Click Customize text or appearance.
To use a smaller version of the default PayPal button, click Use smaller button.
By default, credit card logos are displayed beneath the payment button. To hide the logos, uncheck Display credit card logos.

Note: This option is not applicable to Add to Cart buttons.
To change the default language, click the Country and language for button menu and select a country and language. If you change the country and language, verify that Currency is set appropriately.

The default language is specified in Preferred language, under My Settings in your Profile.
To use your own button (not hosted by PayPal), select Use your own button image and then enter the URL of your button image. If your image is hosted on an SSL-secured server, change the text box to begin with https://.

Create user names and passwords

This feature generates user names and passwords so your customers can access member-only content on your website. It requires writing or editing a Perl script and placing it on your website server. For more information, see Have PayPal create user names and passwords for customers. If you're not comfortable with programming scripts, you can skip this option.

Note: To use this feature, you must first enable Instant Payment Notification and disable Auto-Return in your Profile. For more information, see the Merchant Setup and Administration Guide.

Set up flat-rate billing terms

Configure these options for flat-rate subscriptions. For billing cycle descriptions and examples, see How subscription billing cycles work.


Billing amount each cycle	The amount to draw at the beginning of each billing cycle or trial period.
Billing cycle	The number and a duration of the billing cycle. Durations can be daily, weekly, monthly or yearly, depending on the terms of the original subscription.
After how many cycles should billing stop?	The number of billing cycles after which billing stops. To have customers renew their subscription periodically, click a number to stop the billing cycle. Default is Never.

Offer a trial period

You can offer subscribers a free or discounted trial period. The trial period can differ in duration from that of the regular billing cycle.

Click I want to offer a trial period.
In Amount to bill for the trial period, enter the amount you want to charge for the trial period. Leave blank to offer a free trial period.
Under Define the trial period, select a number and a unit of time for the trial period. For example, you might select 1 and month(s).
Under Do you want to offer a second trial period?, click Yes to provide a second trial period. (Default: No)
If you offer a second trial period, enter the amount and length of the trial, which can be for a different length of time and price.

Associate transactions with your PayPal account

By default, transactions from your payment button are associated with your PayPal merchant ID. To associate transactions to an email address instead, click

Tip: PayPal recommends using the default option so that your email address will not be exposed within the button code.

Choose one of these steps:

Click Create Button on the Create a PayPal payment button page, and then copy and paste the HTML snippet to your web page.
Track inventory, profits, and loss.
Customize advanced features.

Create a Subscribe button

Open the Make a PayPal Button page

Enter basic subscription information

Add subscription options and prices

Customize the button text and appearance

Create user names and passwords

Set up flat-rate billing terms

Offer a trial period

Associate transactions with your PayPal account

Next

Additional information

On this page

On this page

On this page

Create a Subscribe button

Open the Make a PayPal Button page

Enter basic subscription information

Add subscription options and prices

Customize the button text and appearance

Create user names and passwords

Set up flat-rate billing terms

Offer a trial period

Associate transactions with your PayPal account

Next

Additional information

On this page

On this page

Create a Subscribe button

On this page

On this page

On this page

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Create a Subscribe button

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