Order Limits

Set minimum and maximum order rules at checkout — by order value, total cart quantity, per-product quantity, or per-product value. Block checkout when a cart falls below your minimum or above your maximum, and show a clear error message that tells buyers exactly what to fix.

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What it does

Order Limits lets you create a validation rule that blocks checkout when the cart does not fall inside the range you set. You pick one limit type per rule:

• Order value — minimum/maximum total order subtotal
• Cart quantity — minimum/maximum total items in the cart
• Per-product quantity — minimum/maximum quantity for each product
• Per-product value — minimum/maximum value (qty × price) for each product

Each rule shows a custom error message at a position you choose — either as a banner at the top of the page or inline next to a specific field. Order value and per-product value messages can use {{min}} / {{max}} placeholders that are replaced with the actual amounts at checkout.

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When to use

• Minimum order value — require a minimum subtotal before customers can check out (e.g., to cover shipping costs)
• Wholesale minimums — enforce a minimum cart quantity for bulk buyers
• Purchase caps — cap quantity per product to prevent scalping or stock-outs on limited items
• Per-product value limits — keep a single line item within a value range

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Step 1: Go to Checkout Validations

In the app sidebar, click Checkout Validations, then open the Order limits list.

List page overview

Column / control	Description
Status	Shows the rule's status badge (Active, Test mode, Expired)
Summary	Auto-generated summary of the limit (e.g., "Order value: $1 – $1,000")
Created	The date the rule was created
Actions	Activate/Deactivate, Edit, Delete for each rule
Bulk actions	Select multiple rules to activate, deactivate, or delete

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Step 2: Create a new rule

Click Create rule (top right). The editor opens with these sections: Name & status, Limit Type, Limit settings, Trigger conditions (collapsible), App failure fallback, and Error message — with a live checkout preview alongside.

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Step 3: Set name and status

Setting	Description
Rule name	A descriptive name for your reference. A default name ("Order limits") is pre-filled, with a number appended for each new rule.
Status	Active — rule applies at checkout. Test mode — only triggers when checkout email is [email protected]. Expired — rule is saved but not applied. (You can also pause a rule from the list page to stop it without deleting it.)

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Step 4: Choose a limit type

In the Limit Type section, pick one of the four types. Each rule uses one type — create separate rules if you need more than one.

Limit type	What it limits	Description (shown in the app)
Order value	Total order subtotal	Min/max total order subtotal
Cart quantity	Total items in the cart	Min/max total items in cart
Per-product quantity	Quantity of each product	Min/max qty per product
Per-product value	Value of each product (qty × price)	Min/max value per product

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Step 5: Configure limit settings

The Limit settings section changes depending on the limit type. An info banner at the top explains how the limit is applied:

Limit type	Info banner
Order value	"Orders with subtotal below minimum or above maximum will be blocked at checkout."
Cart quantity	"Carts with total items below minimum or above maximum will be blocked at checkout."
Per-product quantity	"Each product's quantity must be within the specified range."
Per-product value	"Each product's total value (qty × price) must be within the specified range."

Minimum and maximum fields

Each type provides two numeric fields:

Limit type	Minimum field label	Maximum field label	Units
Order value	Minimum order value	Maximum order value	Store currency
Cart quantity	Minimum cart quantity	Maximum cart quantity	Item count
Per-product quantity	Minimum quantity per product	Maximum quantity per product	Item count
Per-product value	Minimum value per product	Maximum value per product	Store currency

At least one of minimum or maximum is required. If you set both, the maximum must be greater than the minimum. Currency-based types (Order value, Per-product value) show your store's currency symbol as a prefix; quantity types accept whole numbers.

Apply to (per-product types only)

For Per-product quantity and Per-product value, an Apply to option appears:

Option	Behavior
All products	The limit applies to every product in the cart
Selected products	Browse and select specific products (or variants); the limit applies only to those

When Selected products is chosen, you must select at least one product, otherwise the rule cannot be saved. Order value and Cart quantity always apply to the whole cart and have no Apply-to option.

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Step 6: Add conditions (optional)

By default, the rule applies to all checkouts. Expand the collapsible Trigger conditions section to narrow down when the rule triggers.

Two modes

Mode	Behavior
No condition	Rule always applies to all checkouts
Set conditions	Rule only applies when all conditions are satisfied (AND logic)

When you choose No condition, the editor reminds you: "Rule applies to all checkouts — All checkouts will be blocked. Use 'Set conditions' to narrow the scope."

Available condition types

Condition	Description
Included product	Rule only applies when the cart contains this product
Excluded product	Rule does NOT apply when the cart contains this product
Subtotal value	Rule only applies when the order value meets the threshold
Customer tag	Rule only applies when the customer has (or doesn't have) a specific tag
Shipping country	Rule only applies for specific countries

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Step 7: Set the app failure fallback

Setting	Default	Description
Allow customer to complete the checkout, if the app fails or experiences a problem	Checked	When enabled, if the app encounters an error or times out, checkout proceeds normally — buyers are not blocked by a technical issue.

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Step 8: Configure error message and position

Error message

Enter the message buyers will see at checkout. A default message is pre-filled based on the limit type and which bounds you set. For a "between" rule (both min and max), the defaults are:

Limit type	Default error message (both min and max set)
Order value	"Order value must be between {{min}} and {{max}}."
Cart quantity	"Cart must contain between {{min}} and {{max}} items."
Per-product quantity	"Each product must have between {{min}} and {{max}} quantity."
Per-product value	"Each product value must be between {{min}} and {{max}}."

If you set only a minimum or only a maximum, the message switches to the matching one-sided default — for example, Order value uses "Minimum order value is {{min}}. Please add more items to proceed" (min only) or "Maximum order value is {{max}}. Please reduce your cart to proceed" (max only). Cart quantity uses "Minimum {{min}} items required to checkout." / "Maximum {{max}} items allowed per order."

Error position

Choose where the error message appears on the checkout page:

Position	Display
Top of the checkout page	Critical (red) banner at the top — most visible
First name	Inline error below the First name field
Last name	Inline error below the Last name field
Company	Inline error below the Company field
Address line 1	Inline error below Address line 1
Address line 2 (Apartment, suite, etc)	Inline error below Address line 2
City	Inline error below the City field
Email or phone number	Inline error below the Email/Phone field
Delivery phone	Inline error below the Delivery phone field
ZIP/Postal code	Inline error below the ZIP code field
Country	Inline error below the Country dropdown
Province/State	Inline error below the Province/State dropdown

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Step 9: Preview and save

The right sidebar shows a live preview of how your error message will appear, with {{min}} / {{max}} already replaced by your configured values. The preview updates in real time as you change the message, position, or limit settings.

When everything looks good:

1. Set the Status to your preferred option
2. Click Save in the top bar

The rule takes effect at checkout immediately. After the first save, you are taken to the rule's edit page.

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Test your rule with Test Mode

Before activating a rule for all customers, test it first:

1. Set the rule Status to Test mode and save
2. Go to your store and add products to the cart
3. Proceed to checkout
4. Enter [email protected] as the checkout email
5. Make sure the cart breaks the limit (e.g., subtotal below your minimum), and all trigger conditions (if any) are met
6. Verify the error message appears at the correct position with the right values
7. Once verified, change the status to Active

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Manage existing rules

Toggle status

Use the Pause / Start action on any rule to quickly toggle its status without opening the editor.

Edit a rule

Click the edit icon (pencil) in the Actions column, or click the rule name to open the editor.

Delete rules

• Single rule: Click the delete icon (trash) in the Actions column
• Bulk delete: Select multiple rules with checkboxes → click Delete rules

Other bulk actions: Activate rules, Deactivate rules.

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Tips

• Start with Test mode — verify the rule works correctly before activating for all customers
• Use "Top of the checkout page" for most limit rules — it's the most visible and avoids field-level confusion
• Keep {{min}} / {{max}} in the message — buyers see the exact threshold they need to meet
• One-sided limits — leave one bound empty for a minimum-only or maximum-only rule
• Scope per-product limits — use Selected products to cap only specific items rather than every product
• Combine with conditions — e.g., "Minimum cart quantity 10" + "Customer tag = wholesale" enforces a wholesale minimum only for tagged customers
• Need more rules? — the free plan includes 1 validation rule (shared across all checkout-validation types). To add more, use the Contact us link in the app and the team can unlock additional rules for you

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FAQs

General

Q: Do I need Shopify Plus for Order Limits? A: No. Order Limits uses Shopify Functions, which are available on all Shopify plans. (Only VAT Validation requires Shopify Plus.)

Q: How many rules can I have? A: The free plan includes 1 validation rule, counted across all checkout-validation types (Custom Rules, Geo Restriction, Address Validation, Regex, VAT, and Order Limits combined — active, paused, and test-mode rules all count). To create more, use the Contact us link in the app and the team can unlock additional rules.

Q: Can I combine multiple limit types in one rule? A: No. Each rule uses one limit type. Create separate rules if you need, for example, both a minimum order value and a per-product quantity cap — both will be enforced independently.

Q: Do rules take effect immediately after saving? A: Yes. Once a rule is set to Active and saved, it applies to all new checkouts immediately.

Limit types

Q: What's the difference between Cart quantity and Per-product quantity? A: Cart quantity limits the total number of items across the whole cart. Per-product quantity limits the quantity of each individual product (or each selected product).

Q: How is Per-product value calculated? A: It's the line value of each product — quantity × price — and each product's value must fall within the range you set.

Q: Can I limit only certain products? A: Yes, for per-product types. Set Apply to → Selected products and choose the products (or variants) the limit should apply to. Order value and Cart quantity always apply to the entire cart.

Q: Do I have to set both a minimum and a maximum? A: No. At least one is required. Set only the minimum for a floor, only the maximum for a cap, or both for a range. When both are set, the maximum must be greater than the minimum.

Error message

Q: How do the {{min}} and {{max}} placeholders work? A: When the error message displays at checkout, {{min}} is replaced with the minimum value and {{max}} with the maximum value you set. For value-based limits the store currency symbol is included automatically (e.g., "$1,000").

Q: Can I use different languages in the error message? A: Yes. Once message editing is enabled for your store, enter the message in any language — it displays exactly as typed, with the placeholders substituted.

Q: Why is the message field read-only? A: Custom error messages are gated by default. Click Contact us in the message banner to have the team enable editing for free; until then, the default message for your limit type is used.

Q: Does the error block checkout or just show a warning? A: The error blocks checkout — buyers cannot complete their purchase until the cart meets the limit.