What Is the Difference Between Subscription Purchase and One-Time Purchase?

AethoVPN offers two different membership purchase methods:

• Subscription purchase:
  • Auto-renewal: Automatically renews before the end of each term without manual operation;
  • Payment method restriction: Only supports credit/debit card payment (Visa, Mastercard, UnionPay, etc.);
  • Charge timing: According to Stripe platform rules, typically automatic charges occur 1-2 days before each term ends;
  • Cancellation method: Can cancel auto-renewal service at any time through the website or app;
  • Upgrade/downgrade: Supports upgrade during the current period; downgrade takes effect after the current period ends.
• One-time purchase:
  • One-time payment: Purchase fixed-term membership service without auto-renewal;
  • Diverse payment methods: Supports multiple payment methods including credit/debit cards, WeChat Pay, Alipay, etc.;
  • Expiration reminder: Manual repurchase required after membership expires;
  • No upgrade/downgrade: Cannot directly upgrade or downgrade—requires repurchase.
• Selection recommendation: If you need long-term use, subscription purchase is recommended; if you use occasionally, one-time purchase can be selected.
• Purchase restriction: You can only hold one active membership purchase type at a time. If a subscription membership is still active, you cannot buy an additional one-time membership, and if a one-time membership is active, you must wait for it to expire before starting a new subscription.