# Why doesn't Discourse hosting include the Subscriptions plugin on the Starter plan?

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/why-doesnt-discourse-hosting-include-the-subscriptions-plugin-on-the-starter-plan/392570
**Category:** General
**Tags:** subscriptions
**Created:** [January 2, 2026, 8:08pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/why-doesnt-discourse-hosting-include-the-subscriptions-plugin-on-the-starter-plan/392570 "2026-01-02T20:08:35Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 23

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### Author: ![merefield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/merefield/32/176214_2.png) [@merefield](https://meta.discourse.org/u/merefield)
#### Post date: [January 4, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/why-doesnt-discourse-hosting-include-the-subscriptions-plugin-on-the-starter-plan/392570/23 "2026-01-04T14:28:21Z")

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> [@westes](#):
>
> Is there any way for me to use my own back end processor (e.g., Shopify) to offload that work from Discourse?

The subscriptions plugin uses Stripe.

This offloads most of the work from Discourse.

It’s as easy as you could reasonably expect it could be. Stripe work hard to make things as attractive to the B2B client as possible.

Self hosting is not hard you just have to be prepared to learn as much as you need and do need some spare time to devote to it (but is not remotely a full time occupation!)

If you aren’t prepared or able to put in the time (fair enough), buy a professional hosting plan or pay for someone to help you. #Marketplace

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