How to Send a WooCommerce Subscription Reminder Email: Step-by-Step Guide

The WooCommerce subscription reminder email you get by default goes out once per renewal, on the same schedule for every plan you sell.

That may be enough for a $15 monthly plan. But for a $150 annual plan, it means the subscriber gets just one reminder before a charge they agreed to a year ago.

Car insurers have been doing this for years. You get a renewal notice about a month before the payment, followed by another reminder closer to the renewal date.

That way, the charge doesn’t come as a surprise.

Stores that skip these reminders can run into problems.

A customer who has forgotten about a $150 annual plan may see the charge, not recognize it, and ask for a refund or dispute it with their bank.

A dispute can cost you the $150 payment, an extra fee, and potentially the customer.

Send a reminder 30 days earlier, and that same charge is more likely to feel like a normal renewal.

If the customer no longer wants the plan, they can cancel instead.

In this post, you will learn how to set up an automated subscription reminder email for your WooCommerce store.

We’ll also cover when to send each reminder, five WooCommerce subscription reminder email templates you can copy, which renewal notices may be required, and what to check when reminders don’t send.

What a Renewal Reminder Actually Does

A renewal reminder is an automated email sent a few days before a subscriber is charged again.

Memberships, subscription boxes, software licenses, and online courses can all benefit.

People lose track of their subscriptions. In a C+R Research survey, consumers estimated that they spent $86 a month on subscriptions. When they added up each subscription individually, the actual amount was $219.

That gap helps explain why surprise charges happen, and an unrecognized charge can quickly turn into a support ticket, refund request, or payment dispute.

• Fewer disputes: When subscribers know a charge is coming, they’re less likely to ask their bank to reverse it.
• Fewer failed renewals: A reminder gives subscribers time to replace an expired or maxed-out card before the renewal goes through.
• Cleaner cancellations: Subscribers who no longer want the service can cancel before the charge instead of asking for a refund afterward.
• Fewer “why was I charged?” tickets: The renewal date and amount are already sitting in their inbox.
• Easier compliance: California and Visa have requirements around certain renewal reminders. We cover both in the legal section.

Here's an example to show you how it works.

Slack sent this reminder email to its subscribers. They ask users to verify their billing information before finalizing payment.

It's also a good approach to remind customers about their upcoming subscription charges by asking them about their billing information. 

This way, customers learn about the upcoming charge and can update their billing details if needed so the payment goes through successfully.

When to Send a Subscription Renewal Reminder

The right reminder timing depends on the renewal amount and how much time the subscriber needs to take action.

Use the table below as a starting point, then adjust it based on what you see in your support tickets and dispute rate.

WooCommerce’s built-in notifications send only one reminder, so use the first-reminder timing for the plan you sell most.

If you offer monthly and annual plans together, 7 days is still a practical choice.

A 30-day setting would land around the previous charge date for monthly subscribers, which is probably too early.

If you offer free trials, don’t set the reminder for less than 7 days before the first charge either.

How to Set Up Automated WooCommerce Subscription Reminders Email and Reduce Churn?

For this method, we will use Sublium Subscriptions.

This complete subscription plugin handles both physical and digital products. It supports installments, recurring payments, and subscribe-and-save plans, so you are not locked into a single subscription model across your entire catalog.

Beyond creating and managing subscriptions, it has built-in email notifications for renewal reminders, failed payments, and other subscription events. 

The reminder system is one of the more practical features. You can set up two reminder emails per subscription, one a set number of days before renewal and another closer to the date.

Something like seven days out and two days out. Customers get enough notice to update a card or make a decision, and you catch fewer missed payments as a result.

Once it is configured, the whole thing runs automatically without manual follow-up.

Note: Use Sublium Subscriptions to set up subscription products with different plan types. 

Next, the steps you need to follow below to set up an automated WooCommerce subscription reminder email: 

Step 1: Navigate to WooCommerce renewal reminder emails 

First, navigate to Sublium Subscriptions ⇨ Payment Recovery.  Here you will find all emails related to payment recovery and renewal reminders. 

Here, you will find two built-in renewal reminder emails. You can customize how many days before each email is sent.

Plus, you can customize the email subject line, preview text, and content. 

Next, set the “Renewal reminder before days”. Here, we set it to 7 days. 

Step 2: Configure and design the renewal reminder emails

Next, set up From Name, From Email, and Reply-To Email. 

Note: By default, the renewal reminder emails are sent to customers. 

Then set the subject and preview texts. Use merge tags to personalize both. For example, here we are using:

• {{subscriber_first_name}}: Adds the subscriber’s first name to make the email feel more personal.
• {{subscription_end_date}}: Automatically inserts the subscription renewal or end date, so customers know exactly when their plan renews.

To design the email, you can use two template types: 

• Rich Text: A rich text editor that lets you write your emails with merge tags and format text using styling options like headings, bold, links, and more.
• Visual Builder: A drag-and-drop email builder for creating visually appealing emails. It includes multiple content blocks, layout options, and merge tags for personalization.

We recommend going with Visual Builder. For this, select this one and hit Edit. 

You’ll find a prebuilt email template that reminds users about upcoming subscription renewals.

It includes dynamic merge tags for personalization, such as the customer name, next payment date, and subscription details, plus a CTA with a dynamic link to my account card update page. 

Plus,  neatly aligned product details, along with a clear CTA that directs users to review and update their card details.

You can select any section and customize it.

You can also use any of the available blocks to add new content to the existing template. 

Blocks include site logo, text, list, button, image, menu social, along with WooCommerce blocks like Product, Coupon, Subscription Info, Subscription items, and more. 

After making the necessary changes, make sure to hit Save. 

Step 3: Audit and test the reminder email 

Next, audit the email to check for issues like missing URLs, broken URLs, shortened URLs, and email size.

Once everything is sorted, you can send a test email to see what it will look like in a real inbox. 

Step 4: Enable the renewal reminder email 

Once you are happy with the renewal reminder email, activate it. 

Here is what the first renewal reminder email looks like:

And that’s it. This is how you can use a single plugin to create subscription products and send automated subscription renewal reminder emails.

Other WooCommerce Renewal Reminder Plugins Compared

If you need more than one reminder, different messages for different plans, or other reminder types, consider these main options.

Prices below are annual list prices at the time of writing.

You may still come across the free Renewal Reminders plugin in older guides, including WooCommerce documentation.

WordPress.org closed it on January 3, 2026, and it isn’t available to download there as of this writing.

FunnelKit Automations gives you the most flexibility if you need more than a basic renewal reminder.

You can build the renewal sequence alongside card-expiry alerts, failed-payment follow-ups, win-back emails, and SMS, with support for both WooCommerce Subscriptions and Sublium.

5 Subscription Renewal Email Templates You Can Copy

A good subscription renewal email should make five things clear right away: what’s renewing, when it renews, how much it costs, which card will be charged, and how to change or cancel the subscription.

Replace the placeholders in {curly braces} with the merge tags supported by your plugin. Names will vary by tool.

Template 1: Automatic renewal reminder

Subject: Your {plan_name} renews on {renewal_date}

Preview text: No action needed if you’re staying. Here’s what to expect.

Hi {first_name},

Just a quick reminder that your {plan_name} subscription renews on {renewal_date}. We’ll charge {renewal_amount} to your {card_brand} ending in {card_last4}.

Need to make a change before then? You can update your card, switch plans, or cancel from your account.

[Manage my subscription]

Have a question? Reply to this email and our team will help.

Template 2: Manual renewal reminder (payment due)

Subject: Your {plan_name} payment is due on {renewal_date}

Preview text: Renew in one click to keep your subscription active.

Hi {first_name},

Your {plan_name} subscription renews on {renewal_date}. The amount due is {renewal_amount}.

[Renew now]

Don’t want to renew? You don’t need to do anything. If we don’t receive payment, we'll put your subscription on hold.

Template 3: Annual renewal reminder (30 days before)

Subject: Your annual {plan_name} renews in 30 days

Preview text: Here’s what’s included and what renews on {renewal_date}.

Hi {first_name},

Your annual {plan_name} subscription renews on {renewal_date} for {renewal_amount}. It will continue renewing each year until you cancel.

Here’s what your subscription included this year:

{benefit_or_usage_1}

{benefit_or_usage_2}

Want to switch to monthly billing, change your plan, or cancel? You can do that any time before {renewal_date} from your account.

[Review my subscription]

This reminder clearly states the product, renewal amount, billing frequency, and how to cancel, which covers the key information required by California’s yearly reminder rule.

Template 4: Free trial ending reminder

Subject: Your free trial ends on {trial_end_date}

Preview text: Your first payment of {renewal_amount} is scheduled for {trial_end_date}.

Hi {first_name},

Your free trial of {plan_name} ends on {trial_end_date}. Unless you cancel before then, your subscription will start, and we’ll charge {renewal_amount} every {billing_period}.

If you want to continue, you don't need to do anything. To cancel, visit your account before {trial_end_date}.

[Manage my subscription]

Template 5: Card expiring reminder

Subject: Your card on file expires soon

Preview text: Update it before your {renewal_date} renewal to avoid an interruption.

Hi {first_name},

The {card_brand} ending in {card_last4} that you use for your {plan_name} subscription expires at the end of {expiry_month}. Your next renewal is on {renewal_date}.

Update your payment details before then so your subscription doesn't lapse.

[Update my card]

WooCommerce’s built-in notifications don’t include a card-expiry email. For this reminder, you’ll need a tool that supports a card expiry trigger.

Why Your Subscription Renewal Reminders Aren’t Sending

If your WooCommerce subscription renewal reminders aren’t going out, work through these checks in order.

1. The main switch is off

Go to WooCommerce ⇨ Settings ⇨ Subscriptions and make sure 'Send reminder emails to subscribers' is checked.

2. The specific email is disabled

Each reminder has its own setting under WooCommerce ⇨ Settings ⇨ Emails, so check that the email you need is enabled.

3. The site isn’t running in production

WooCommerce Subscriptions doesn’t send notifications when wp_get_environment_type() returns anything other than production.

It can also block them when it detects that the site is a staging or duplicate copy.

4. The subscription doesn’t qualify

Subscriptions with billing cycles shorter than three days don’t receive reminders.

The subscription must also be active or pending cancellation for the reminder to be scheduled.

5. The reminders were never scheduled

Go to WooCommerce ⇨ Status ⇨ Scheduled Actions and search for woocommerce_scheduled_subscription_customer_notification.

If you don’t see anything, run "Regenerate subscription notifications" under WooCommerce ⇨ Status ⇨ Tools.

6. The email was sent but never reached the inbox

Check your WooCommerce email log to see whether it was actually sent.

If it was, set up WordPress SMTP to improve delivery and reduce the chance of billing emails landing in spam.

Automation plugins have one extra point of failure: scheduled triggers usually rely on WP-Cron.

On a low-traffic site, or a site where cron is disabled, reminders can be delayed or may not run at all.

If your host supports it, setting up a real server cron job can make scheduled reminders more reliable.

After the Reminder: Handling Failed Renewal Payments

Reminders can prevent many failed renewals, but they won’t stop all of them.

The table below shows which WooCommerce Subscriptions email the customer receives at each stage.

This helps you keep your renewal reminders separate from your payment recovery emails.

The Customer Payment Retry email is only sent when the Failed Recurring Payment Retry System is enabled.

We recommend turning it on. It automatically retries the card based on your schedule and lets the customer know when the next payment attempt will happen.

The follow-up process for failed payments is usually called dunning.

Automation tools can trigger a workflow when a renewal payment fails, then continue following up by email or SMS until the customer updates their card.

6 Best Practices to Reduce Cancellations and Chargebacks With Renewal Reminders

One of the biggest challenges that store owners face is keeping customers engaged and informed. It’s vital for maintaining strong customer relationships, especially for ensuring consistent renewals.

Nail your email, and you're way more likely to win your customers over. The same goes for sending reminder emails.

Let's break down some key strategies you'll want to master:

• Offer a pause or plan switch before cancellation

Some subscribers who click cancel may only want a break or a cheaper plan. Give them those options before they cancel.

That could mean switching from an annual plan to a monthly plan.

• Keep reminders transactional

Skip the promotional offers in renewal reminders. A billing notice needs to reach subscribers even if they’ve opted out of marketing emails.

• Use a reply-to address someone actually monitors

Subscribers may reply to a reminder with questions about their plan. A no-reply address can turn a simple question into a cancellation.

• Spell out dates and currencies

04/05 can mean April in the US and May in the UK. Write the month in full and show the currency the subscriber will actually pay.

• Keep a record of every reminder

A timestamped email log gives you a record of what was sent if a subscriber later disputes a charge.

• Measure what happens after each email

Track cancellations, card updates, and support tickets during the week after each reminder.

If one email leads to more cancellations, test the wording before changing the reminder timing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Set Up Your Renewal Reminders Before the Next Billing Run

On its own, the built-in reminder is enough for most monthly plans.

The gap shows up with annual plans, where one email has to cover a charge the subscriber agreed to a year ago.

Each step helps you communicate, engage your subscribers, and encourage timely renewals. 

These strategies ensure that your reminder emails are both professional and persuasive, from segmenting your audience and crafting subject lines to personalizing content. 

So start sending great emails, designing good visuals, and optimizing for mobile Sublium Subscriptions.

With these tips in your toolkit, you'll be well on your way to nailing your email campaigns and seeing awesome results.

When you’re ready to add the 30-day reminder, card-expiry alerts, or SMS, FunnelKit Automations lets you manage the whole sequence from one builder.

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