Subscription renewal software for publishers
“There is no way a single person could operate a business of my size without it!” Scarlett Redenius, Publisher, Florida Country Magazine: read the case study
Subscription renewal software for publishers finds the subscriptions that are about to end, sends renewal notices, takes the renewal payment and keeps the next issue going to the reader. RunMags does this for print and digital magazines: reminder rules pick subscribers by days to expiry or issues left, your team sends the notices by email or print, readers renew from a link that opens their subscription, and the renewal batch charges auto-renewing subscribers' saved cards through your own Stripe account. Your team starts each round; RunMags does not yet run renewals on a schedule or retry failed card payments.
What subscription renewal software does
- Finds who is due. It knows when each subscription ends, whether it runs for a number of issues or for a period of time. In RunMags each order records the first and last issue, so you can see exactly which issues a subscriber is owed.
- Sends renewal notices. Reminder rules pick subscriptions by days to expiry or issues left, send email or print reminders, and cap how many reminders are sent and how often.
- Makes renewing easy. A renewal link opens your branded subscription page with the subscription to renew already selected. A reader who arrives without the link can ask for a code by email and use it to find their subscription.
- Collects the payment. Readers pay by card into your own connected Stripe account. When your team runs the renewal batch, auto-renewing subscriptions are charged to the saved card and each renewal order gets its invoice.
- Keeps copies going. A renewed subscription stays active, and each issue's print distribution list is built from active subscriptions.
- Shows what you kept. Follow renewals and losses in the churn and retention report.
How a renewal round works in RunMags
- Set the reminder rules for each subscription product: how many days before expiry or how many issues before the end, which channel, and how many reminders at most.
- Generate the reminder batch and send it by email or as printed letters. Your team starts each round, for example once per issue.
- Readers renew from the link in the notice, or with a code sent by email, and pay by card. Gift subscriptions keep the payer and the recipient as separate subscribers.
- Run the renewal batch. Subscriptions set to auto-renew are charged to the subscriber's saved card, and each renewal order gets its invoice.
- Follow up the readers who did not renew or whose card failed, and check the churn and retention report.
The steps and settings are in the help article on how to send subscription renewal reminders in RunMags. For the reminder rhythm and the decisions your team should keep, read how to reduce magazine renewal churn.
Two kinds of renewal software
Publishers usually compare two groups of products. Which one fits depends on whether you mail printed issues and how many card payments you renew each month.
| Publishing and circulation software | Subscription billing and dunning software | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Magazines and newspapers with print, digital or both | Any recurring business, including digital publishers |
| Knows issues and mailing lists | Yes: issue-based terms and a list for every issue | Usually not; print needs another system |
| Strength in renewals | Notices by email and printed letter, tied to issues left | Automatic card charging, failed-payment retries and card updates |
| Examples | RunMags, SimpleCirc, Omeda, Multipub, MediaOS | Chargebee, Stripe Billing, Recurly |
How RunMags compares on renewals
Other vendors' cells repeat their own pages, read on ; they are vendor claims we did not test.
| Renewal task | RunMags | Published by other vendors |
|---|---|---|
| Reminders by days or issues left | Yes, with caps on how many and how often | SimpleCirc Pro sends renewal emails as subscribers near expiration (SimpleCirc Pro) |
| Printed renewal letters | Yes, generated in the reminder batch | SimpleCirc Pro sends 4-color renewal letters with QR codes automatically |
| Renewal link with the subscription filled in | Yes, plus a renewal code by email | SimpleCirc and Multipub describe pre-filled renewal links (Multipub) |
| Who starts the round | Your team starts each reminder round and renewal batch | SimpleCirc emails the subscriber, then charges the card two days later (auto-renew) |
| Failed cards | Not retried automatically; your team follows up | Omeda lists an automatic card updater and retry attempts (Omeda); Multipub lists automatic retries and a card updater; Chargebee lists dunning |
| Price basis | Unlimited subscribers; plans sized by legal entities and brands | SimpleCirc charges by active subscribers, from $99 a month up to 2,000 on Essentials (pricing); Omeda and Multipub show no price on the pages read |
When RunMags is the right renewal software, and when it is not
A good fit if you publish a print or print and digital magazine, sell issue-based or time-based subscriptions, and want renewals, invoices and mailing lists in one place, especially if you also sell advertising to some of the same organizations.
Not the best fit if you renew thousands of digital card subscriptions a month and need automatic failed-payment retries and renewals that run on their own. Billing and dunning platforms describe those features on their own pages; RunMags does not have them today.
What RunMags renewals cost
Renewals are included in every plan, with unlimited subscribers and unlimited users. Publishers who do not sell advertising can choose the subscriptions-only plans: Pro EUR 149, Team EUR 349, Publisher EUR 549 and Enterprise EUR 999 per month excluding VAT. The full RunMags plans, which add advertising sales, the flatplan and advertising billing, are EUR 399, EUR 749, EUR 1,299 and EUR 2,499. Prices as listed on 11 November 2026; customers in the United States pay the same numbers in US dollars. Plans are sized by legal entities and brands, from one of each on Pro, and there is a 14-day free trial without a credit card.
Work out what churn is costing you with the free subscription renewal calculator, see the rest of magazine subscription management in RunMags, the subscriber portal and circulation and fulfillment, or compare RunMags with SimpleCirc and Pelcro.
