Product Collections

Group related products together for unified checkout experiences, plan selection, and seamless upgrade/downgrade paths within the Customer Portal.

Product Collections let you group related products (e.g., Starter, Pro, Enterprise plans) under one umbrella. Display all options in a single checkout, define upgrade/downgrade paths, and give customers the flexibility to switch plans directly from the Customer Portal.

Key Highlights

• Collection-based structure: Group related products (plans, tiers, pricing options) under a single collection for organized management.
• One collection, many products: Include multiple products like Starter, Pro, Lifetime, etc., each with its own pricing model.
• Dynamic checkout experience: Display all products from a collection in one checkout view, letting customers choose their preferred plan.
• Merchant-level control: Enable, disable, and reorder products within each collection. The first product is automatically pre-selected at checkout.
• Lifecycle awareness: Enable customers to upgrade or downgrade between products in the same collection via the Customer Portal.

Creating a Product Collection

Product Collections are created and managed from the dashboard or via API. Each collection acts as a container for related products.

1. Create the collection

   Define the collection with a name and optional description. Upload an image to visually represent the collection in checkout.

   

   Collection fields:

   • Name (required): Display name for the collection (e.g., “SaaS Plans”, “License Tiers”)
   • Description (optional): Brief explanation shown in checkout
   • Image (optional): Visual branding for the collection
2. Add products to the collection

   Add existing products to your collection. Products can be organized into groups for better structure.

   

   Product organization:

   • Groups: Optionally organize products into named groups (e.g., “Monthly Plans”, “Annual Plans”)
   • Ungrouped products: Products without a group appear at the collection level
   • Ordering: Drag and drop to set the display order

   Each product can only belong to one collection. If a product is already in another collection, you’ll need to remove it first.

3. Configure ordering and visibility

   Control the display order and visibility of products within the collection.

   Configuration options:

   • Product status: Enable or disable individual products within the collection
   • Display order: Drag and drop to set the sequence products appear in checkout

   The first product in the collection is automatically pre-selected as the default at checkout. Reorder products to change which one is selected by default.

Collection Checkout

Collections enable a unified checkout experience where customers can view and select from all available products in one place.

Checkout Types

Type	Description	Use Case
Collection Checkout	Displays all active products within a collection	Subscription plan selection, tiered pricing
Single Product Checkout	Displays only one specific product	Direct purchase, promotional links

Collection Checkout Experience

When using a collection checkout:

1. All active products displayed: Customers see every enabled product in the collection
2. First product pre-selected: The first product in the collection order is automatically selected
3. Product details shown: Each product displays its name, description, and pricing
4. Single selection: Customer selects one product to purchase
5. Standard flow continues: After selection, the checkout proceeds with the chosen product’s pricing and billing settings

Collection checkout is ideal for subscription businesses where you want customers to compare plans side-by-side before purchasing.

API Integration

Create a checkout session for a collection:

const session = await client.checkoutSessions.create({
  product_collection_id: 'pdc_abc123',
  product_cart: [], // Required: pass an empty array for collection checkout
  return_url: 'https://yoursite.com/return'
});

// Redirect customer to the checkout
window.location.href = session.url;

When using product_collection_id, discount codes cannot be applied at session creation. Customers can still enter discount codes during checkout if enabled.

Customer Portal Integration

Customers can upgrade or downgrade between products within the same collection directly from the Customer Portal.

Already have subscription products? Simply add them to a Product Collection to enable upgrade/downgrade flows in the Customer Portal. No need to recreate your products.

Plan Management Actions

Action	Description	Merchant Control
View Current Plan	Display current product name, price, and renewal date	Always available
Upgrade Plan	Move to a higher-tier product in the same collection	Configurable (default: allowed)
Downgrade Plan	Move to a lower-tier product in the same collection	Configurable (default: allowed)
Cancel	Cancel the subscription entirely	Always available

Upgrade/Downgrade Rules

• Upgrades and downgrades are only available between products within the same collection
• Proration is applied based on your subscription settings
• Email notifications are sent to the business on every upgrade, downgrade, or cancellation

Customers cannot change to products outside their current collection. Create separate collections for distinct product lines.

Subscription Settings

Configure how subscriptions and plan changes work across your business from Settings → Subscriptions in your dashboard.

Available Settings

Setting	Description	Default
Allow Multiple Subscriptions	Customers can hold more than one active subscription at the same time	Enabled
Allow Subscription Updates	Customers can upgrade or downgrade their existing subscriptions anytime via Customer Portal	Disabled

Plan changes via Customer Portal are disabled by default. Enable “Allow Subscription Updates” in Settings → Subscriptions to let customers upgrade or downgrade between products in the same collection.

Subscription Plan Changes

Learn more about proration modes and plan change behavior.

Managing Collections

Product Collections can be managed either through the Dodo Payments dashboard or programmatically via API. The API provides full control over collection creation, updates, image uploads, archiving, and managing nested groups and products.

Dashboard Operations

• Create: Set up new collections with products and groups
• Update: Modify name, description, image, and product organization
• Reorder: Drag and drop to change product display order
• Enable/Disable products: Control which products appear in checkout
• Archive: Hide a collection without permanently deleting it (can be unarchived later)

API Management

The following endpoints allow you to create, update, retrieve, archive, and organize product collections programmatically — including managing nested groups and the products within them.

Listing Product Collections

Fetch all product collections associated with your account using a GET request to the /product-collections endpoint. Supports pagination, filtering by brand, and including archived collections.

List Product Collections API

View detailed request and response structure in the List Product Collections API documentation.

Creating a Product Collection

Create a new product collection by sending a POST request to the /product-collections endpoint with details such as name, description, and brand.

Create Product Collection API

View detailed request and response structure in the Create Product Collection API documentation.

Retrieving a Product Collection

Get detailed information about a specific product collection — including its groups and product items — using a GET request to the /product-collections/{id} endpoint.

Get Product Collection API

View detailed request and response structure in the Get Product Collection API documentation.

Updating a Product Collection

Modify a product collection’s details (name, description, brand, etc.) by sending a PATCH request to the /product-collections/{id} endpoint.

Update Product Collection API

View detailed request and response structure in the Update Product Collection API documentation.

Uploading Collection Images

Associate an image with a collection by uploading it via a pre-signed URL. Request an upload URL from the /product-collections/{id}/images endpoint, then PUT the image to the returned URL within 60 seconds.

The pre-signed URL expires in 60 seconds, so the image must be uploaded within that timeframe.

Update Collection Images API

View detailed request and response structure in the Update Collection Images API documentation.

Archiving a Product Collection

Archive a collection by sending a DELETE request to the /product-collections/{id} endpoint. This hides the collection from new use but does not permanently remove it.

Archive Product Collection API

View detailed request and response structure in the Archive Product Collection API documentation.

Unarchiving a Product Collection

Restore an archived collection by sending a POST request to the /product-collections/{id}/unarchive endpoint.

Unarchive Product Collection API

View detailed request and response structure in the Unarchive Product Collection API documentation.

Managing Groups within a Collection

Groups let you organize products inside a collection (for example, “Monthly Plans” vs. “Annual Plans”). Use the groups endpoints to add, update, or remove groups within a collection.

• Create a group: POST /product-collections/{id}/groups
• Update a group: PATCH /product-collections/{id}/groups/{group_id}
• Delete a group: DELETE /product-collections/{id}/groups/{group_id}

Create Group

Add a new group to a product collection.

Update Group

Modify a group’s name or attributes.

Delete Group

Remove a group from a collection.

Managing Products within a Group

Manage the individual product items inside a group — add new products, update existing items (such as display order), or remove them entirely.

• Add products to a group: POST /product-collections/{id}/groups/{group_id}/items
• Update a group item: PATCH /product-collections/{id}/groups/{group_id}/items/{item_id}
• Delete a group item: DELETE /product-collections/{id}/groups/{group_id}/items/{item_id}

Add Products to Group

Add one or more products to a group within a collection.

Update Group Item

Update a product item within a group.

Delete Group Item

Remove a product item from a group.

Best Practices

• Group logically: Organize products by billing interval (monthly/annual) or feature tier (starter/pro/enterprise)
• Order strategically: Place your most popular or recommended plan first, as it will be pre-selected at checkout
• Use clear naming: Product names should clearly communicate value differences
• Enable both directions: Allow both upgrades and downgrades to give customers flexibility
• Consider proration: Choose a proration mode that aligns with your business model
• Test thoroughly: Verify checkout and plan change flows in test mode before going live

You’re ready to create product collections and offer customers a unified plan selection experience.

Products

Create one-time, subscription, or usage-based products to add to collections.

Checkout

Display collection products in a unified checkout experience.

Customer Portal

Let customers upgrade or downgrade within the same collection.

Subscriptions

Manage recurring plans with proration and plan changes.