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Stripe handles subscription renewals automatically. On each renewal date, Stripe charges the member’s payment method. If successful, Ghost extends the member’s access period.You don’t need to do anything for renewals — they’re fully automated.
When Stripe reports a payment failure:
  1. Stripe retries the charge automatically on the schedule configured in your Stripe dashboard (Stripe’s Smart Retries / Subscription settings → Manage failed payments). The retry window and grace period live in Stripe, not in Outpost.
  2. Outpost triggers the payment failure email flow during the retry window, if you’ve set one up.
  3. If a retry succeeds or the member updates their payment method, the member’s status returns to active.
  4. If Stripe exhausts its retries without a successful charge, Stripe cancels the subscription and Ghost moves the member out of paid access.
To change the retry behavior or the grace period, edit your Stripe subscription settings. To change the emails sent during the retry window, edit your Failed Payment Flow in Outpost.
Yes. Members can update their payment method through their Ghost member portal, and Outpost picks up the change automatically.If need be, you can go into Stripe and send a subscriber a payment change form link.
Go to Settings → Publication Details and scroll to the subscription section. Click View invoices and payment method — this takes you to Stripe, where you can update your card on file.Your next billing cycle will automatically use the new payment method.
These are rare and you can handle these from your Stripe account.Refunds don’t automatically cancel the subscription — you can refund and keep the member active, or refund and cancel at the same time.
Outpost and Ghost dn’t have a native “pause” feature. Options for members who want to pause:
  • Cancel and resubscribe later (they lose their billing date and may face a new rate)
  • Upgrade to annual billing to reduce renewal frequency
  • Contact support for a manual comp extension
Outpost and Ghost do not manage tax calculation directly. If your publication needs to collect VAT, GST, or sales tax, enable Stripe Tax in your Stripe account. Stripe Tax calculates and collects the appropriate tax based on the member’s location. Check the Ghost documentation for this.
Yes. When creating a tier, set a trial period (in days). Members who subscribe to a tier with a trial period aren’t charged until the trial ends. During the trial, they have full paid access.You can also create trials via offers — a trial offer applied to a tier without a built-in trial period.