App charges on your Shopify bills

There are four different types of app-related charges and credits that you can receive, either from Shopify services or from third-party apps:

Subscription charges: These charges are for the recurring use of an app, such as a monthly subscription payment. This cost is included in your regular Shopify subscription bill.
App usage charges: These charges vary based on how much you use the app or its services. For example, if an app charges based on the number of customer interactions, then your fee will change accordingly. These charges display on your regular Shopify subscription bill.
One-time app purchases: These are payments for specific services or features provided by an app, such as transferring data from one platform to another, and are billed separately from your regular Shopify subscription.
Application credits: You might receive application credits if you downgrade a paid app mid-cycle, or meet other specific conditions. These credits display on your Shopify subscription bill and can be used for future app-related charges.

App subscriptions charges

You're billed for your app subscriptions and app usage as part of Shopify's 30-day subscription billing period. However, your app has a separate 30-day billing cycle, which impacts the charges that display on your Shopify bill.

Shopify billing cycle

You’re invoiced every 30 days for your monthly Shopify subscription. Payment is made in advance for the upcoming 30-day period. For example, if your invoice is issued on April 5, and April has 30 days, then the billing period will end on May 4. You will be billed for the second month on May 5. The cycle adjusts slightly if the month has 31 days. In this example, the third month’s payment would occur on June 4.

App billing cycles

Apps with subscription charges are billed on an independent, 30-day billing cycle. This billing cycle is charged for at the same time as the Shopify subscription. There are two types of subscriptions:

Recurring pricing plans: These are continuous, fixed-rate plans charged every 30 days.
Usage pricing plans: These plans are variable and are billed based on your usage of the app over a 30-day period.

Recurring pricing plans

When you use apps with recurring charges, the charges and individual billing cycles are included in your Shopify bill every 30 days. For example, if your Shopify payment is due on May 5, then your bill will cover app subscriptions from April 20 to May 20. The next payment on June 4 will cover recurring app charges from May 20 to June 19. This aligns with Shopify’s 30-day billing cycle.

You can view your recurring app charges and subscriptions from your Shopify admin.

Managing your recurring app subscriptions

If you stop paying your bills, or deactivate your store, then Shopify freezes your account and your recurring app charges. If you start your payments again, or re-open your store within 30 days, then Shopify unfreezes your account and your recurring app charges resume.

If outstanding fees remain unpaid for 60 days following the date of suspension, then Shopify reserves the right to terminate your account as per the Shopify’s Terms of Service.

If you pause your store using the Pause and Build plan, then you should consider uninstalling any third-party apps that have recurring charges so that you're not billed for those apps after you pause your store.

Billing for recurring app charges

After you agree to recurring app charges, they won’t be due immediately. They’ll be added to your next 30-day Shopify bill or when you exceed your billing threshold, whichever comes first.

Usage pricing plans

For apps that have charges based on usage, the fees are added to the next bill. For example, if there’s an app usage event on April 26, then it’ll be included in the May 5 bill. Furthermore, the usage record from May 15 displays on the June 3 invoice. Although both usage events are from the same app subscription, they're billed on separate invoices due to the dates the usage occurred.

Uninstalling apps with recurring charges

Make sure that you consider app billing cycles when you plan to uninstall an app. Charges for recurring app fees start when you first approve the app and occur again at the start of each billing period. This means that if you uninstall an app just a few days after installation, then you might still have a charge on your bill because of the timing of the billing cycle.

App usage charges

App usage charges are tied to a 30-day billing cycle specific to each app and reflect the costs incurred from using the app. Because an app's 30-day billing cycle might differ from Shopify's 30-day cycle, usage charges from one app cycle might be distributed across two different Shopify subscription bills. It's important to consider these different billing cycles when reviewing your charges.

Increase app spending limits for usage charges

Apps that charge based on usage can include a spending limit that prevents app charges from exceeding a maximum threshold over the duration of the billing period. If your spending in the app reaches the spending limit that you've set, then no additional charges for the app are permitted until a new billing cycle starts. To avoid this, you can increase the app spending limit.

Steps

From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Apps and sales channels.
Next to the app that you want to increase the spending limit for, click ... and then click View details.
In the Billing and usage charges section, click Usage charges.
In the New app spending limit section of the modal, enter the desired amount.
Select “I acknowledge I am changing the current app spending limit”.
Click Set limit.

One-time app charges

One-time app charges are for apps that you pay for only a single time, not on a regular basis. These charges are displayed on separate invoices, not on your regular Shopify subscription bill.

App prorating, upgrades, and downgrades

If you upgrade or downgrade your subscription with an app, then the app will prompt you to agree to a new recurring app charge. This is required because Shopify allows only one active recurring charge per app at any time. Any existing charge will be cancelled and replaced by the new one.

Depending on the app, the new recurring app charge is either applied immediately, or after the app's current billing cycle ends.

App charges when upgrading your app plan

If you upgrade your app plan to a more expensive version, then the increased charge is prorated based on the difference in price and the number of days remaining in the billing cycle.

For example, if you begin a 30-day billing cycle on a $5.00 USD plan, and upgrade to a $15.00 USD plan on day 15 of the billing cycle, then you're charged $5.00 USD + ($15.00 USD - $5.00 USD) * (15/30) = $10.00 USD

App charges when downgrading your app plan

If you downgrade your app plan to a less expensive version, then you’re automatically offered an application credit based on the difference in price and the number of days remaining in the billing cycle. This application credit can be used towards any future application purchase on Shopify.

App charges as a result of a Shopify plan change

App charges accumulate as pending charges until your next invoice is issued. This includes when you’re issued a new invoice as a result of a plan change. In the event of a Shopify plan upgrade where a new invoice is issued, you’ll be charged immediately for any outstanding app charges.

Deactivating a store with pending app charges

If you cancel your Shopify subscription and deactivate your store, then any outstanding app amounts are charged immediately. Your store is deactivated after payment is successfully received for the outstanding amounts. You can view any outstanding charges in your Shopify admin by going to Settings > Billing, and then clicking View current charges.

When a store is successfully deactivated, app charges billed by Shopify automatically stop, but some apps charge directly. Make sure you uninstall any apps that may charge separately before deactivating your store to avoid incurring any additional charges.

Learn about more billing considerations when pausing or deactivating your store.

App charges on frozen stores

Shopify invoices include all charges that are present at the time the invoice is issued. If an app started billing before your monthly invoice was issued, then those charges are included in that month’s invoice. If an invoice remains unpaid for 28 days, then your store will move to a frozen state.

During these 28 days, you might accumulate more pending charges, such as charges for apps or transaction fees. These charges aren’t due until your next billing cycle, which occurs 2 days after a store freezes due to non-payment, aligning with Shopify’s 30-day billing cycle.

If your store is frozen, then all billing attempts will stop until you decide to reactivate your store. If you decide to reactivate your store after it has been frozen, then you might be asked to pay 2 invoices before reactivation. The first invoice is the outstanding invoice that caused your shop to freeze. The second invoice is for any charges that accumulated during the 28 day period that your store was still active, such as app charges or transaction fees.

Learn more about frozen Shopify stores.

App billing FAQ

Why does it seem that I'm being charged in arrears?

App charges display on your account as soon as you install an app, but fees won't be due until you receive your 30-day bill.

Why am I being billed two times for the same 30 day billing cycle?

If you incur app usage charges after the Shopify cycle has ended but before the apps billing cycle resets, then those usage charges will appear on the next Shopify subscription bill.

Why are taxes applied to my app charges?

If you live in a region where Shopify is required to charge taxes on any of your account charges, these charges appear in your Shopify invoice. This might include your app charges.

How can I dispute a charge related to third-party apps?

To dispute a charge related to a third-party app, contact the app developer. Learn more about getting help with apps.