What is the difference between Discounts and Coupons in Zoho Billing?
Both discounts and coupons let you reduce the amount charged on a subscription, but they are built for different purposes.
Coupons under Product Catalog are associated with specific plans and addons. They are used for promotions and standard offers, like a seasonal campaign or an onboarding deal. A coupon is applied using a unique code (at checkout or manually on a subscription) and can be reused across multiple subscriptions, subject to the redemption limits you set.
Discounts are applied directly on a subscription when creating or editing it — no code needed. They are meant for personalised, salesperson-driven pricing for a specific customer, such as negotiating a custom rate for a high-value account. A discount stays with that subscription and is not shared across others.
Here is how the two compare:
| Coupons | Discounts | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it is set up | Product Catalog > Coupons | Subscription creation or edit page |
| How it is applied | Via a coupon code or manually to a subscription | Directly on the subscription; no code needed |
| Scope | Specific plans and/or addons (defined at coupon creation) | Item-level or transaction-level |
| Reusability | Yes, one coupon can be applied to multiple subscriptions | No, it applies to a single subscription only |
| Redemption Type | One Time, Limited Cycles, or Unlimited | Once (first billing cycle only) or Every Renewal |
| Expiration and limits | Can set an expiration date and a maximum redemption count | No expiration or usage limit |
When to Use Them
Use Coupons when:
- You are running a time-bound promotion for multiple customers, such as a seasonal sale or a product launch offer.
- You want customers to self-apply a discount at checkout using a code.
- You need to limit usage with a redemption count or expiration date.
- The same offer applies to a defined set of plans or addons.
Scenario: Zylker is launching a new project management plan and wants to offer early adopters 20% off for the first three months. They create a coupon code LAUNCH20, associate it to that plan, and set a redemption limit of 200. Any new customer can enter the code at checkout or Zylker’s team can apply it manually to a subscription.
Use Discounts when:
- You are negotiating a custom rate with a specific customer.
- A salesperson needs to adjust the price on a single subscription without creating a public coupon code.
- You want to apply a reduction at the line-item level on a particular plan or addon within a subscription.
Scenario: Brandon, a key customer at Zylker, is renewing his enterprise subscription and negotiates a 25% reduction on one of the addons. Zylker’s sales team applies a line-item discount directly on Brandon’s subscription. No coupon code is created and the offer is private to that account.
Note:
- Coupons and Discounts cannot be used together on the same subscription. If a discount is active, a coupon cannot be applied, and vice versa.
To learn more, refer to Discounts and Understanding Coupons.
Yes
No
Thank you for your feedback!