How to Sell Video Subscriptions on Shopify

Most guides to selling videos on Shopify stop at the one-time download, or at a video host, a subscription app and a lock app joined together. A subscription works differently. Members pay every month or every year for a library of videos, a new video on a schedule, or a set number of downloads.

This guide shows how to sell video subscriptions on Shopify with Content Vault, for video lessons, workouts, tutorials and members-only videos. It covers which subscription type fits your videos, a full setup with a price example, how members watch or download, and how to protect your videos. Each step says which Content Vault plan it needs.

Can You Sell Video Subscriptions on Shopify?

Yes. Shopify runs the checkout and takes each renewal payment. What it doesn't do on its own is decide which videos a subscriber can get, release new ones on a schedule, and end access when someone cancels. That's the job of a digital subscription app.

Without one, a common workaround is to join apps together: a video host or a download app for the files, a subscription app for the billing, and often a third app to lock the video pages when someone cancels. Someone then has to keep the member list and the locked pages in step. And there are now several apps to keep in sync.

Content Vault does the billing, the video delivery and the access rules in one app. Members subscribe through your normal Shopify checkout and manage their subscription from their customer account page. On Content Drip and Library Access, you can also let them pause or skip.

Three Ways to Sell Videos as a Subscription

Content Vault has three subscription types. Each one suits a different kind of video business.

Your idea	Content Vault type	What subscribers get
A members-only video library	Library Access	Every video in their plan, right away
A video course or a weekly class	Content Drip	New videos on a schedule you set
A pass for stock footage or templates	Content Pass	A set number of downloads that refills on a schedule

A Members-Only Video Library: Library Access

Library Access gives subscribers every file in their plan as soon as they subscribe. It fits:

• A library of workout, yoga or dance classes
• A back catalogue of tutorials or masterclasses
• Members-only extras, like behind-the-scenes cuts or Q&A recordings
• A library you add a new video to every week

New members get every video in their plan on day one. Videos you add to the plan later reach existing members too.

A Video Course or Weekly Class: Content Drip

Content Drip releases new content on a schedule: every month on a day you choose, or every set number of days, such as every 7 days for a weekly class. You can also set a delivery time and a timezone for releases. Each release can hold one video or several files, like a lesson and its workbook. It fits:

• A video course released one lesson at a time
• A 12-week training program that should be followed in order
• A weekly class or a monthly masterclass

By default, each member starts at the first release and moves through the series from their own signup date. That suits a course or a program. With monthly releases, you can instead turn on Send content by month of subscription. Then everyone gets the same month's video, and new members don't get earlier months.

A Download Pass: Content Pass

Content Pass gives subscribers a download allowance, such as 10 files every 30 days, across the files you link to it. The allowance refills on its own schedule. It fits a big catalogue where members pick what they want, like stock footage, video templates or editing presets.

Content Pass has fewer settings than the other two. It has no per-file or IP download limits, and subscribers can't pause or skip. If you want those, choose Content Drip or Library Access.

Not Sure? Run Two

You can run more than one subscription. For example, a library of past classes plus a course that releases one lesson at a time. Pay As You Go, which has no monthly fee, allows two subscriptions, so you can test both. The help center's Which subscription type should I choose? compares the three in more detail.

How to Set Up a Video Membership: A Worked Example

Say you teach yoga online. You have 30 class videos and film a new one every week. You want to charge $19 a month, or $190 a year for members who pay up front (two months free). Every member should get every class as soon as they join.

Step 1: Create the Product

In Shopify, create one product for the membership, such as "Yoga Class Library", and give it a price of $19. You only need one product, even with a monthly and a yearly plan. Members pick their plan on the product page.

Step 2: Create a Library Access Subscription

Go to Apps → Content Vault → Subscriptions and click Create new Subscription. (In your Shopify admin, Content Vault is listed as Digital Subscriptions.) Choose Library Access. Give the subscription a name, which only you see, then click Select product and add your membership product.

Step 3: Add a Monthly and a Yearly Plan

Each plan is a tier with its own name, price and billing frequency. Plan names are what members see, so keep them clear, like "Monthly" and "Yearly".

• Monthly: bill every 1 month. It uses the product's $19 price.
• Yearly: bill every 1 year. Tick Show advanced pricing options and set a fixed price of $190.

Step 4: Choose Delivery and Protection Settings

Each plan has three more panels:

• Customer options: whether members keep their videos after they cancel or pause. This is off by default, so access ends when their paid period ends. Pause and skip are on by default.
• File delivery: a download email, links on the Thank You page and links in the customer account. All three are on by default.
• Download protection: optional limits, covered below.

Step 5: Save, Then Add Your Videos

Click Save subscription, then Configure files. Add your class videos with Upload files, or pick videos already in your file library with Select files. On the Files page you can also upload from a direct file URL, under Upload files → Upload from URL.

One thing to watch: each plan has its own files. Add the same videos to the Monthly and the Yearly plan, or yearly members won't get them.

Step 6: Choose Stream or Download (Plus)

On the Plus plan, you choose how each MP4 or MOV video reaches members. Open the video on the Files page and pick Stream to let members play it online, or Download to send them the file. New uploads start on Download. Your choice saves as soon as you click it and applies everywhere the video is used. On the other plans, videos go out as downloads.

Step 7: Turn On the Widget and Go Live

Check that the Subscription widget app embed is on, under Online Store → Themes → Customize → App embeds. That's what lets members choose a plan on the product page. Also make sure Shopify's customer accounts are on and Content Vault's checkout and customer account blocks are added, so members can find their videos and manage their subscription from their account. See Steps 4 and 5 in the install guide: turn on customer accounts and add the checkout and customer account blocks. Then click Set active on each plan and confirm.

Each week, when you film a new class, upload it and add it to both plans in their Connected files panel. Members who already subscribe get it too.

The full walkthrough, with a screenshot of every panel, is in Setting up a Library Access subscription. For a course instead, see Setting up a Content Drip subscription, or Setting up a Content Pass subscription for a download pass.

What the $19 Membership Costs to Run

Content Vault charges a fee on every successful subscription payment, including the first order. It's never charged on a failed payment. Here's what the fee comes to on one $19 payment, with each plan's storage:

Plan	Plan price	Fee per payment	Fee on a $19 payment	Storage
Pay As You Go	Free to install	4.95% + $0.25	About $1.19	1 GB
Starter	$29/month	1.95% + $0.15	About $0.52	10 GB
Scale	$49/month	0.95% + $0.10	About $0.28	150 GB
Plus	$99/month	0.50%	About $0.10	500 GB

Shopify's own payment processing fee applies on top, as it does on any order. On fees alone, Starter works out cheaper than Pay As You Go once you take about 44 payments of $19 a month. Starter, Scale and Plus each come with a 10-day free trial.

For a video business, two other things often decide the plan:

• Storage. Video files are big, but there's no limit on the size of a single file: only your plan's total storage counts. Add up the size of your videos, leave room for the ones you'll add, and pick a plan that fits. Every plan has unlimited bandwidth.
• Streaming. If members should play the videos you upload in their browser instead of downloading them, you need Plus.

See How does Content Vault pricing work? for the full plan details.

How Members Get Their Videos

With Library Access and Content Drip, a new subscriber gets their download links in three places, all on by default:

• A download email when they subscribe
• The Thank You / Order Status page
• Their customer account

Each new Content Drip release also sends a New drip released email. With Content Pass, members download from the product pages of the files in their pass, and each new file they download counts against their allowance.

Stream or download. On Plus, any MP4 or MOV video can be set to Stream, and members play it in their browser instead of downloading it. MP3 and WAV audio get the same choice. On the other plans, and for any video left on Download, members download the file and watch it on their own device. Other files, like a PDF workbook, always download.

Any file type works. Sell MP4 or MOV videos alongside workbooks, audio or ZIP files. A plan can also deliver a link instead of a file, such as a video you host on Vimeo or YouTube.

Re-editing a video is easy. On the Files page, open the video and click Replace. The new version replaces the old one everywhere it's used. You can also tick a box to email a new download link to customers who downloaded the old file and still have access. See How to manage files.

Emails can match your brand. You can edit every email template and add translations. On Starter and up, emails can also come from your own email address.

How to Protect Your Videos

Once a video is on a member's device, nothing can stop them from copying it, and someone determined can save even a streamed video. What you can do is make sharing harder. Content Vault gives you four layers.

1. Streaming (Plus). A video set to Stream plays in the member's browser instead of downloading, which reduces casual sharing. It isn't DRM, though: advanced users can still try to save a stream with browser tools. The steps are in Setting up video / audio streaming.

2. Download limits. On Content Drip and Library Access subscriptions, you can cap how many times each file can be downloaded (on every Content Vault plan). You can also cap how many IP addresses can download one member's files (Starter and up). Streams don't count toward either limit. The IP limit is the main defense against a member passing their download links around. Start generous, though: an honest member might use a phone, a laptop and a work computer. More in How to limit file sharing.

3. Fraud detection (Starter and up). The paid plans add the IP limit, the option to cancel a subscription when its payment retries fail, and holding orders that Shopify flags as fraud.

4. Access that ends with the subscription. Each plan has one setting for what happens when a member cancels or pauses. Either they keep access to the videos they already have, or they lose access when their paid period ends. Either way, they get no new videos.

There's no stamp for video, because PDF stamping works on PDFs only. If your lessons come with PDF workbooks, those can carry each member's name and email (Starter and up). Our PDF watermarking guide explains how.

None of these layers makes a video impossible to copy. Together, they make casual sharing harder.

What Each Plan Includes for a Video Business

Feature	Plan needed
Content Drip, Library Access and Content Pass	Every plan (Pay As You Go: up to 2 subscriptions)
Video downloads, with unlimited bandwidth	Every plan
Download email, Thank You page and account links	Every plan
Download limit per file	Every plan
Analytics	Every plan
IP address limits and fraud detection	Starter and up
Emails from your own address	Starter and up
PDF stamping, for workbooks	Starter and up
Video streaming	Plus

Tips for Keeping Video Subscribers

• Make the first video one of your best. Members decide early whether a subscription is worth keeping.
• Keep a steady rhythm. A new class every week, or a new lesson on a set day, gives members something to look forward to. With Content Drip, each release goes out on schedule without you.
• Give videos clear names. A file's name is what you, and sometimes your members, see. "Week 12: Hip Openers" says more than "IMG_4412.mov", and you can rename a file on the Files page at any time.
• Offer a yearly plan. It gives members a reason to commit, and you get the year's payment up front.
• Launch with a discount. A plan that uses the product's price can take a percentage off for a set number of billing cycles, like 20% off the first 3 months. Fixed-price plans can't.
• Raising prices later. When you edit the price set on a plan itself, like the Yearly plan's $190, or the Shopify product's price behind a plan, like the Monthly plan's $19, existing members keep the price they signed up at. New members pay the new one.
• Try a free trial. You can also give new members a free trial.
• Ask why people leave. On Content Drip and Library Access, members are asked for a cancellation reason by default. You'll find the reasons on the Customers page.
• Watch your numbers. The Analytics page shows MRR, churn rate and active subscriptions on every plan.

Related Guides

• How to sell ebook and PDF subscriptions: the same setup for ebooks, with PDF stamping
• Content drip marketing: how to plan a release schedule that keeps subscribers
• How to price a digital subscription: set a starting price, then check it against your fees

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can members watch videos without downloading them?

Yes. On the Plus plan, set a video to Stream and members play it in their browser. You can also deliver a link instead of a file, such as a video you host on Vimeo or YouTube. Otherwise, videos go out as downloads.

Which files can be streamed?

On Plus, you can stream MP4 and MOV video, and MP3 and WAV audio. Every other file type is delivered as a download.

Is streaming the same as DRM?

No. Streaming, on Plus, reduces casual sharing, but it isn't DRM. Advanced users can still try to save a streamed video with browser tools.

Can new members watch the earlier videos?

With Library Access, yes: they get every video in their plan right away. With Content Drip, each member starts at the first release by default. With Send content by month of subscription turned on, they don't get earlier months.

What happens to a member's videos when they cancel?

You choose for each plan. Either they keep access to the videos they already have, or they lose access when their paid period ends. They get no new videos either way.

How much storage do I need for videos?

Pay As You Go includes 1 GB of storage, Starter 10 GB, Scale 150 GB and Plus 500 GB. Every plan has unlimited bandwidth. Video files are big, so add up yours and leave room to grow. Content Vault warns you at 80%. If you reach your limit, new uploads are blocked, but existing files keep working. If you need more than your plan includes, upgrade or contact us about a custom plan.

Can I also sell single videos?

Content Vault sells subscriptions only. For one-time video sales, our sister app ABC Digital Downloads handles single downloads.