Addy 
Addly 
Goalify 
Monet 
Reviso 
Key takeaways
- Count the amount that will actually be charged today, not the lifetime value of the subscription. The bar is about this shipment.
- Mixed carts (subscribe + one-time) should use one remaining amount based on the current charge. Splitting two bars is how shoppers stall.
- Do not offer a "free gift with subscription" that only applies on order 4. If it is not in this box, it is not a cart goal.
- Prepaid plans (3-month, 6-month) can use a quantity-style goal ("add a one-time extra") rather than a shipping threshold that the prepaid already clears.
Subscription carts lie to naive progress bars. A $30/month coffee plan looks like a $30 cart, or like a $360 cart, depending on whether the app reads the selling plan or the product price. Both mistakes produce a remaining amount that does not match checkout.
The bar has to follow the money that moves today.
This shipment, not this relationship
Free shipping is about the box leaving today. A 12-month prepaid that ships monthly is not twelve boxes of postage credit. A subscribe-and-save item that charges $28 today is a $28 line, even if the merchant thinks in LTV.
If your goal is "free shipping over $50", a subscriber at $28 is $22 away — unless your policy actually ships subscribers free, in which case the bar should say that and stop pretending they need $22.
Mixed carts
One remaining amount. Always. A shopper with a $28 subscription and a $20 one-time bag of beans has a $48 today-total. If the threshold is $50, they are $2 away. Two bars ("subscription goal" and "one-time goal") is how you lose the add.
If your policy is "subscribers always ship free", the mixed cart is already unlocked. Offer a gift or a one-time extra as the second goal, or hide the bar.
Gifts that arrive later
"Free mug on your third shipment" is a retention offer. It is not a cart goal. Putting it on the progress bar implies it is in this order. When it is not, you get a ticket.
If you want a goal that pulls AOV on order one, the reward has to ship with order one.
Test the ugly cart
Before you launch, add: a subscribe item, a prepaid plan, a one-time SKU, a discount code, and a market with a different currency. If the remaining amount still matches the checkout summary, the bar is safe. If not, fix the total — do not launch a pretty bar on a wrong number.
Frequently asked questions
Should the shipping bar include future subscription charges?
No. The shopper is paying for this delivery. Future charges are not in this parcel and should not unlock this parcel's shipping.
What if subscription items already qualify for free shipping?
Then the bar's job on those carts is a second goal — a one-time add-on or gift — or the bar should hide. A bar that says "$0 away" as a permanent state is dead chrome.
Can I require a subscription to unlock free shipping?
You can. Make that rule explicit in the bar ("Subscribe and this order ships free") so a one-time buyer is not staring at a number they cannot reach without changing selling plan.
Do selling plans break progress bars?
They do if the app totals list price instead of current charge, or ignores selling plans entirely. Test a mixed cart before you ship.
