How to sell a subscription in a Garmin Connect IQ app

To sell a subscription that renews in a Garmin Connect IQ app, use WearCheckout on its Pro or Studio plan, or build it yourself with Stripe Billing. Garmin's Connect IQ Store pages describe no subscriptions, KiezelPay says it has none, and PayToUse sells codes for a set term that don't renew. WearCheckout's Pro plan costs $99 a year with $10,000 of sales included, and Stripe takes $0.41 of a $2.99 monthly charge.

Which Garmin payment options sell subscriptions?

Among the ready-made services, only WearCheckout sells subscriptions that renew, on its Pro and Studio plans. The others sell one payment, sometimes for a set time.

Checked 23 October 2026, on each company's own pages (see Sources).

We make WearCheckout, so weigh our view with that in mind. Every fact about the others links to their own pages. WearCheckout is not affiliated with Garmin.

How does a WearCheckout subscription work on the watch?

The buyer subscribes on the phone, and the watch stays unlocked while the subscription is paid.

• Prices. A monthly price, and a yearly one if you add it. The checkout shows the renewal terms and asks for the buyer's consent. WearCheckout keeps that proof for 3 years.
• Renewals. A paid renewal keeps the watch unlocked. The watch checks 2 hours after each renewal time.
• A declined card. The watch locks, with no grace period, and asks the buyer to update the card. A retry that goes through unlocks it again within about an hour.
• Cancelling. Buyers get a Manage or cancel link to your processor's customer portal. A canceled subscription stays unlocked to the end of the period paid for. The unlocked screen shows the day it ends, such as "Ends on 12 Nov".
• Refunds. Refunding a charge doesn't stop the subscription. Cancel it in your processor too, or it renews.

One subscription can also open several of your apps on one watch, as a collection pass. See what you can sell and refunds, disputes and renewals.

Which payment processors can renew a subscription?

Stripe and Polar. WearCheckout's docs list renewal events for those two only.

• Stripe. Renewals, declined cards, a bank's request to confirm, and cancellations each change what the watch does. See Connect Stripe.
• Polar. Polar is the seller of record, so it adds and pays sales tax and VAT for you. See Connect Polar.
• PayPal. WearCheckout's PayPal docs list payment, refund and dispute events only. Use Stripe or Polar for a subscription.
• Razorpay and Paystack. One-time prices only.

What does a Garmin app subscription cost you?

On a $2.99 monthly subscription paid with a US card, Stripe takes $0.41 a month and you keep $2.58, before WearCheckout's plan.

Checked 23 October 2026, on each company's own pages (see Sources).

• Card fee: Stripe's US rate is 2.9% + 30¢. That is $0.09 + $0.30 = $0.39 on $2.99, and $0.58 + $0.30 = $0.88 on $19.99.
• Billing: Stripe prices recurring billing at 0.7% of billing volume on its pay-as-you-go plan. That is $0.02 on $2.99, and $0.14 on $19.99.
• Monthly or yearly: a yearly price pays the 30¢ once instead of 12 times.
• WearCheckout's plan: Pro is $99 a year with $10,000 of sales included, then 2%. Studio is $299 with $50,000 included. Starter, at $9, doesn't sell subscriptions.
• Polar instead: on Polar's free Starter plan the fee is 5% + 50¢ a payment, $0.65 on $2.99, and Polar handles sales tax. Cards from outside the US add 1.5%.

For 100 subscribers at $2.99 a month, $3,588 of sales a year, Stripe takes 1,200 × $0.41 = $492 and Pro costs $99. You keep $2,997.

Can you build Garmin app subscriptions yourself?

Yes, with your own server and Stripe Billing, and it costs least per payment. You build these parts:

• A checkout that knows the watch. Connect IQ gives each app a device ID that is unique to your app and stays the same across uninstall and reinstall, from API level 2.4.1. Your checkout carries it.
• A webhook. It hears renewals, declined cards and cancellations, and records them against that ID.
• A check from the watch. The watch asks your server with a web request, over Wi-Fi or through the phone. A watch face can ask only from a background service, which Garmin lets run at most every 5 minutes.
• The edge cases. Offline watches, refunds, disputes, and a watch clock set back.
• The buyer's rights. A cancel link, and the renewal consent that consumer law and Garmin's rules ask for.

WearCheckout runs these parts on your own Stripe account. The Stripe guide compares the two paths.

What do Garmin's rules ask of a subscription?

Garmin asks for consent to any automatic renewal, and for clear words on what is free and what is paid. Our terms sum up today's rules like this:

• Complete Garmin's trader verification before you take payments.
• Mark the store listing as needing payment when any primary feature costs money.
• Say from the outset what is free and what is paid, and state a refund policy.
• Get consent for any automatic renewal, and avoid bait-and-switch.

Garmin's own current rules bind you, not our summary of them. The go-live checks cover the store listing.

Sources

Competitor facts come from each company's own pages, checked on 23 October 2026. Where a page didn't say something, we wrote so.

• Garmin: App Sales (one price from a list, payouts, supported watches)
• KiezelPay: FAQ (no subscriptions, time-limited licenses)
• PayToUse: developer manual (codes for a set term, trial period)
• Stripe: pricing (2.9% + 30¢ per US card payment, Billing at 0.7% of billing volume)
• Stripe: how subscriptions work
• Polar: pricing (Starter at 5% + 50¢, 1.5% for non-US cards, merchant of record)
• Garmin: DeviceSettings.uniqueIdentifier (unique per app, stable across reinstall)
• Garmin: Toybox.Background (background events at most every 5 minutes)
• WearCheckout: what you can sell
• WearCheckout: refunds, disputes and renewals
• WearCheckout: plans and fees
• WearCheckout: terms of service (Garmin's rules, your duties as the seller)