Recurring Donations on Shopify Are Here: Get Repeat Donations With Donate Now

Most donations on a Shopify store happen once. A shopper sees your cause, feels something, taps a preset amount, and checks out. Then they're gone, and next month you're back to square one. Donate Now just fixed that. This complete Shopify donation app now supports recurring donations. Supporters can give weekly, monthly, or yearly from the same donation widget they already use, and the gift renews automatically.

Here's what's new, why it matters, and how it compares with other Shopify options.

Key Takeaways

1. Donate Now now offers weekly, monthly, and yearly recurring donations alongside one-time gifts, all in one widget.

2. Recurring donors are retained at 78–80% a year, compared with about 32% for one-time donors (Neon One).

3. The average recurring donor is worth roughly twice as much over their lifetime as a one-time donor.

4. Recurring Donations come with Donate Now's Business plan, and every plan starts with a 7-day free trial.

What Are Recurring Donations on Shopify?

Recurring donations are gifts that repeat on a fixed schedule. The donor picks an amount and frequency once, and the donation renews weekly, monthly, or yearly until they stop it.

Shopify has no built-in way to do this. Its only native "donation" option is relabeled checkout tipping, and that's one-time only. So merchants have needed an app. Donate Now by Objects is one of the few apps that solves this recurring donations problem for Shopify store owners.

What's New in Donate Now

Give Once, Weekly, Monthly, or Yearly

The frequency toggle sits at the top of the widget. "Give once" stays the default, so nobody feels pushed. Donors who want to do more get a clear, one-tap way to say yes. Weekly giving is rare among Shopify donation apps, and it suits churches, food banks, and community drives that run on small, regular gifts.

Same Widget, Nothing to Rebuild

Already running campaigns with Donate Now? You don't start over. Your banner, causes, preset amounts, and fee coverage carry straight into recurring giving.

Advantages of Recurring Donations in Shopify

Recurring donations give you predictable income and donors who stay far longer. Here's why.

1. Predictable Income You Can Plan Around

One-time gifts spike during campaigns and vanish in between. Monthly donors give you reliable income, so you can commit to ongoing programs, staff, or supplies.

2. Donors Who Stay for Years

Neon One's data shows recurring donor retention held between 78% and 80% from 2023 to 2025. Retention for one-time donors fell to 32.41% over the same period. The average recurring donor stays engaged for 7.77 years, compared with just 1.7 years for everyone else.

3. Small Gifts, Bigger Lifetime Value

Recurring donors often start small. Their median first gift is around $30. But they keep giving, and that adds up. In 2025, the average recurring donor had a lifetime value of $7,288, compared with $3,607 for non-recurring donors.

4. Less Asking, More Impact

Every one-time campaign means rebuilding the appeal from scratch. A recurring donor says yes once, and your team can focus on the work instead of the next ask.

5. Easier for Donors

$10 a month feels lighter than $120 at once, even though it's the same amount. Recurring giving lets supporters do more without stretching their budget.

6. A Growing Trend

Monthly giving accounted for 31% of online nonprofit revenue in 2024, and it grew another 12% in 2025, according to the M+R Benchmarks study. Donors expect a monthly option. Now your Shopify store can offer one.

Who Offers Recurring Donations on Shopify?

Shopify doesn’t offer recurring donations on its own, so you need an app. Donate Now gives you recurring giving and your full donation setup in one place:

You don’t have to juggle separate apps or hire a developer. Install it, switch on recurring giving, and your supporters can start giving on a schedule.

Why Donate Now Is the Best Recurring Donation App for Shopify

Most options solve one piece of the puzzle. Donate Now is top because it runs your whole donation setup from one place. Here’s what it does.

1. Weekly, monthly, and yearly giving in one widget, next to one-time gifts.

2. One clean line item for every donation, at any amount. No cart full of $1 items.

3. Donors can cover processing fees, so 100% of the intended gift reaches your cause.

4. Online and in-store. Run campaigns on your storefront and at Shopify POS.

5. Round-up at checkout for shoppers who'd rather give spare change.

6. Live goals and a public donor wall that keep momentum going.

7. Flat monthly pricing. Donate Now never takes a cut of your donations.

8. Real human support, rated 5.0 on the Shopify App Store.

Should You Turn On Recurring Donations?

Do you collect donations on Shopify and start every campaign from zero? Recurring giving changes the math. A few dozen monthly supporters give you a dependable base before your next appeal even begins.

And timing matters. Giving Tuesday falls on December 1, 2026, and it's the best day of the year to ask first-time donors to give monthly. Get your setup ready with our Giving Tuesday preparation guide.

👉 Install Donate Now on Shopify and launch your first recurring donation campaign in minutes.

FAQs

Can you accept recurring donations on Shopify?

Not natively. Shopify's built-in tipping is one-time only. A donation app like Donate Now adds weekly, monthly, and yearly recurring donations.

What is the best Shopify app for recurring donations?

Donate Now is the best all-in-one option. It combines recurring and one-time gifts with round-up, POS donations, goal tracking, a donor wall, and fee coverage in a single app.

Which Donate Now plan includes recurring donations?

Recurring Donations are part of the Business plan, starting at 29$. It comes with a 7-day free trial.

Can donors still make a one-time donation?

Yes. "Give once" stays the default. Recurring is an extra option, not a requirement.