Building and monetizing apps with Shopify's APIs

Shopify's APIs allow you to integrate the Shopify platform with third-party software. With your skills, you can create applications for Shopify merchants and generate revenue.

App distribution

The following are two ways to distribute your app depending on its purpose and your audience:

Custom: Build and sell a custom app tailored to a specific client's needs. You can create custom apps from the Shopify admin for a single store and you can generate an install link for your custom app from your Partner Dashboard to share your custom app with your client and allow installation on multiple Plus stores in an organization. Learn more about selecting a distribution method and installing a custom app on multiple stores. You can use the Shopify API to enhance your client's store with additional features and functionality. You can't use the Billing API to charge merchants for custom apps.
Public: Develop a public app and list it in the Shopify App Store for a broader audience. You can set your app listing visibility to fully visible, or limit the visibility. You can use Billing API to charge merchants for your public app. Learn more about the Shopify App Store review process. Only fully visible apps are indexed and appear in the following places:
- Relevant category pages
- Shopify App Store search results
- Third-party search engine results

Getting started with app building

Learn more in the getting started guide. This guide helps you through the steps, including obtaining an API key, creating a test store, and experimenting with the API. When you create any app, whether custom or public, you can also set the API scopes for the app. Learn more about Shopify API access scopes.

Registering for the Shopify App Store

As an app developer, you can register for a reduced revenue share plan when selling through the Shopify App Store. Key benefits of this plan include the following:

15% revenue share: Shopify collects a reduced rate of 15% on annual gross app revenue, down from the standard 20%.
0% revenue share on initial revenue: Developers who meet eligibility criteria benefit from a 0% revenue share on the first $1,000,000 USD in annual gross app revenue earned through the Shopify App Store starting January 1, 2025.

To learn more about how to sign up, review the registration process.

Submitting your app for Shopify App Store approval

Your app must meet Shopify App Store requirements before you can sell it in the Shopify App Store. During the review process your app changes status: Draft, Submitted, Reviewed, and Published. The app submission email that you provided in the Contact information section of your listing form is where you'll receive emails during review. Learn more about the app review process and submitting your app for review.

Monetizing your public app using Billing API

You can use Shopify's Billing API to facilitate billing for your customers, whether through recurring monthly charges or one-time purchases for your public apps. You can also access detailed revenue and installation metrics for each of your apps on the Apps page in your Partner Dashboard.

Marketing and managing your public app

After your app is approved, enhance your launch using the Go-to-market success guide. You can market your app in many ways to promote and grow your business. Learn more about marketing your app and review case studies to help you grow your business and using Shopify App Store ads.

You can track your Shopify App Store traffic in your Partner Dashboard with Google Analytics 4 or Facebook Pixel. Learn more about tracking your listing traffic.

After a merchant installs your app, they can review it on the Shopify App Store. The overall rating for your app is based on reviews that merchants have left. The overall rating is weighted to prioritize recent, useful, and trustworthy reviews. Positive reviews make your app appear higher in the Shopify App Store search results and category pages. Learn more about managing app reviews in the Shopify App Store.

Performance is an important factor for users when they choose apps. When you build an app, you should build with performance in mind. If your app performance declines, then your app ranking might be affected. Learn more about app performance optimization.

You can also consider working toward Built for Shopify status.

App audit process

Your app might be selected for an audit. If your app is chosen to be audited, then you'll receive an email notification with further instructions to the email that you added as the App submission contact email in your app listing. The required changes are always based on the Shopify App Store requirements.