How can I schedule a Stripe subscription downgrade to take effect after the current billing cycle using Node.js?

Below is some guidance on how to schedule a downgrade to take effect at the end of the current billing period.

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Key Points

• cancel_at_period_end Effect
  Setting cancel_at_period_end: true on an update marks the subscription for cancellation rather than transitioning it to a new price. When that flag is set, no renewal occurs; instead, the subscription will end at the period’s end.

• Subscription Schedules
  To have a plan change (downgrade) take effect on the next billing cycle, you need to use a subscription schedule. A subscription schedule lets you define a future phase that starts when the current period ends. This way, the subscription continues seamlessly into the new phase with the downgraded pricing.

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Recommended Approach

If your goal is to have the downgrade take effect only after the current period, you shouldn’t mark the subscription itself as canceling. Instead, keep the active subscription intact and create a schedule that moves the user to the new (downgraded) plan when the current period ends.

For example, the approach would look like this:

JAVASCRIPTCopied
// Create a subscription schedule that starts at the current period's end.
await stripe.subscriptionSchedules.create({
  customer: user.stripeCustomerId,
  start_date: currentSubscription.current_period_end,
  phases: [
    {
      items: [
        {
          price: prod_env, // This is the downgraded price.
          quantity: 1,
        },
      ],
      metadata: {
        plan: productName,
        userId: userId.toString(),
      },
    },
  ],
});

This method ensures that:

1. The current subscription remains active and bills as usual.
2. The new pricing change will only take effect at the start of the next billing period.

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Clarification on Your Attempts

• First Approach:
  You attempted to both update the subscription (with cancel_at_period_end: true) and create a subscription schedule. The immediate update with that flag causes the subscription to be canceled (and not simply moved to another plan) at the end of the period. The schedule creation may not behave as expected because the original subscription is already flagged for cancellation.

• Second Approach:
  Updating the subscription with cancel_at_period_end: true (without a separate schedule) sets it up to cancel at period end and doesn’t automatically continue with the new plan. This will cancel the subscription entirely unless you re-subscribe or schedule a new phase.

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Final Recommendation

To achieve a downgrade that takes effect only after the current billing period, do the following:

1. Leave the active subscription untouched (i.e. do not change its plan or set cancel_at_period_end) so that billing continues normally.
2. Create a subscription schedule that starts at current_period_end with the new pricing plan.

By doing this, you’ll ensure the customer continues on their current plan until the end of the period, and then transitions automatically to the downgraded plan.

I hope this clarifies your approach. Let me know if you have any more questions about managing subscriptions!