WeChat Subscription Account vs Service Account: Differences and How to Register

A WeChat subscription account is built to publish: it can notify its followers once a day and suits media and individual publishers. A service account is built for services and sales: it can notify followers four times a month, adds features such as template messages and web authorization, and is the only type open to overseas companies.

Both are WeChat Official Accounts, but the choice is hard to undo, and many companies also confuse them with WeChat web apps and Mini Programs or WeChat stores. This guide compares the two account types, helps you choose, then walks through the registration. If you would rather delegate the whole process, a WeChat agency in Shanghai can register the account for you.

What is the difference between a subscription account and a service account?

Both types are registered on the WeChat Official Accounts Platform. In the Chinese interface, the subscription account is now labeled 公众号 (Official Account) and the service account 服务号: WeChat’s documentation describes the first as the former subscription account (service account documentation). WeCom, formerly WeChat Work, is a third product for companies, often confused with the other two.

Criteria	Subscription account (公众号)	Service account (服务号)	WeCom (企业微信)
Made for	Media and individuals who publish information	Companies and organizations that offer services	Internal communication and customer contact
Who registers	Individuals and media first, organizations too	Media, companies, government, other organizations	Companies and organizations
Group notifications	1 per day	4 per calendar month	Not applicable
Where followers see updates	Official Accounts section of WeChat	Service Accounts section of WeChat	Chats with employees
Features beyond publishing	Menus, messages, data	Adds template messages, subscription notifications, web authorization, WeChat Pay	Employee accounts, customer contact through WeChat
Registration from overseas	Not available	Company service accounts	Available, with overseas verification

The notification limits count the posts sent with a group notification (群发通知): followers are then alerted in the Official Accounts or Service Accounts section of their app. A post published without the notification stays on the account’s profile page (Tencent rules for group messages). For WeCom, our WeCom registration and verification guide covers the details.

QPSoftware’s comparison from 2018. Several features it lists have changed or disappeared since then: the table above reflects the current rules.

Which account type should your business choose?

Tencent’s own advice is simple: a subscription account if you mainly want to send messages and promote, a service account if you want to sell, because a verified service account can then apply for WeChat Pay (account types explained by Tencent). In practice:

• Choose a subscription account if your organization is registered in mainland China and your plan relies on frequent content: news, articles, updates. One group notification a day keeps you visible, as long as the posts are worth sharing: see how to make a viral WeChat post.
• Choose a service account if you sell or offer services: bookings, member services, customer care, payments. The four monthly notifications are enough for announcements, and the other features carry the relationship.
• Choose a service account in any case if your company is registered outside mainland China: it is the only type available to overseas registrations.
• Add WeCom if your employees talk to customers one to one through WeChat.

Take the time to decide. WeChat’s account migration, which moves followers and content from one account to another, does not support moving an Official Account (the former subscription account) to a service account (account migration guide).

How to register a WeChat Official Account

The steps below follow Tencent’s current registration guide for an entity registered in mainland China, which needs a Chinese business license. The screenshots date from 2018, and the layout has changed since. A company registered abroad follows a different path, described in our guide to open a WeChat Official Account as a foreign company.

1. Open the platform. Go to the WeChat Official Accounts Platform at https://mp.weixin.qq.com and click Register now (立即注册).

   

2. Choose the account type: subscription account, service account or Mini Program.

   

3. Enter the basic information. Use an email address that is not linked to any other WeChat account, enter the six-digit code sent to it, and set a case-sensitive password of at least eight characters. In 2018, the platform asked for a CAPTCHA before sending the code.

   

   

   

4. Choose the place of registration. Pick Chinese Mainland, or your country or region if your company is registered abroad.

   

5. Register the entity and its administrator. Choose the entity type: government, media, company or other organization. Enter the name and registration number exactly as on the business license, then the administrator’s name, mobile number, SMS code and ID number. Mainland entities confirm their identity at this stage, with a small bank transfer or a legal representative check.

   

6. Describe the account. Enter a name of 4 to 30 characters, where a Chinese character counts as two, and a short introduction. The name does not have to match the company name, but it cannot repeat another account’s name (naming rules).

   

7. Apply for WeChat verification when you need the verified name and the advanced interfaces. The review costs RMB 300 per application for a mainland entity, and it is renewed every year.

   

What should you do next?

Pick the type from your goal, then register it with the documents at hand. WeChat changes its procedures without notice, so expect screens that differ from the ones above. For a wider view of what an account can do, read our guide to WeChat Official Accounts for overseas businesses, and once the account is live, our guide on WeChat Official Account management covers publishing and replies.

QPSoftware, founded in 2009 and based in Shanghai, can handle the registration on your behalf. Our WeChat agency also designs what comes next, from content to WeChat store development. Call us and we will explain what we can do for your business in China.

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