How billing works
How your bill is calculated, with worked examples for every plan. The logic differs between monthly and yearly billing, so read the section that matches your subscription cycle.
Who this page is for
Merchants who installed the app on or after October 27, 2025. Stores installed before that date stay on the legacy pricing (a flat fixed price with no revenue metering on any paid tier).
1. How the app picks your plan
The app reads your Shopify subscription and assigns one paid tier automatically:
| Your Shopify plan | App tier |
|---|---|
| Shopify Basic | Basic |
| Shopify Grow | Grow |
| Shopify Advanced | Advanced |
| Shopify Plus | Plus |
You do not pick the tier yourself. Inside the app you see one paid option (yours) plus the Forever Free plan. The All plans page is the public directory listing every tier.
2. The two billing cycles behave differently
This is the most important point to understand:
Yearly billing has no overage on any tier.
If you pay yearly on Basic, Grow, Advanced, or Plus, you pay the discounted yearly base price once and that is the entire bill for the 365-day cycle. The "revenue allowance" and "overage" rules below do not apply to you.
For monthly billing, the bill has two components:
- Fixed price is the base charge for the cycle. It is the same every month.
- Usage fee is the overage charge that kicks in when "Revenue by app" crosses the plan's monthly allowance.
The formula on monthly billing:
Total monthly charge = Fixed price + Usage fee
Usage fee = (revenue over allowance / $1,000) × overage rateA max cap limits how high the Usage fee can climb, so a viral month never produces a runaway bill. The cap protects the Usage fee only, not the Fixed price.
3. Every plan at a glance
This table assumes monthly billing. For yearly billing, only the Fixed price column applies (no usage fee).
| Tier | Fixed price (monthly) | Fixed price (yearly) | Monthly allowance | Overage rate | Max cap per cycle | Max monthly bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forever Free | $0 | Not applicable | $500 hard limit | None (campaigns expire) | Not applicable | $0 |
| Basic | $19.99 | $191.90 | $5,000 | $5 / $1,000 | $100 | $119.99 |
| Grow | $29.99 | $287.90 | $5,000 | $5 / $1,000 | $100 | $129.99 |
| Advanced | $49.99 | $479.90 | $10,000 | $10 / $1,000 | $200 | $249.99 |
| Plus | $99.99 | $959.90 | $30,000 | $10 / $1,000 | $300 | $399.99 |
Yearly billing saves 20% on the Fixed price compared to twelve months of monthly billing, and waives all usage fees.
4. Worked examples
Basic monthly, under the allowance
Revenue this cycle: $3,000
- Fixed price: $19.99
- Revenue over allowance: $0 (under the $5,000 limit)
- Usage fee: $0
- Total: $19.99
Basic monthly, over the allowance
Revenue this cycle: $8,000 ($3,000 over the $5,000 allowance)
- Fixed price: $19.99
- Usage fee: ($3,000 / $1,000) × $5 = $15
- Cap check: $15 is below the $100 cap, so the full $15 applies
- Total: $19.99 + $15 = $34.99
Advanced monthly, hitting the cap
Revenue this cycle: $35,000 ($25,000 over the $10,000 allowance)
- Fixed price: $49.99
- Usage fee: ($25,000 / $1,000) × $10 = $250
- Cap check: $250 exceeds the $200 cap, so Usage fee is limited to $200
- Total: $49.99 + $200 = $249.99
Plus monthly, under the cap
Revenue this cycle: $50,500 ($20,500 over the $30,000 allowance)
- Fixed price: $99.99
- Usage fee: ($20,500 / $1,000) × $10 = $205
- Cap check: $205 is below the $300 cap, so the full $205 applies
- Total: $99.99 + $205 = $304.99
Advanced yearly, with a high-revenue month
Revenue this cycle: $35,000 (same as the Advanced cap example above)
- Yearly Fixed price: $479.90 (paid once at the start of the year)
- Usage fee: $0 (yearly billing waives all overage)
- Total for the cycle: $0 additional (the $479.90 was already paid up front)
5. The yearly billing advantage
For stores that regularly cross the monthly allowance, yearly billing is the cheapest path. Compare a year on the same plan:
| Scenario | Monthly billing | Yearly billing |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced, $8,000 / month every month | 12 × $49.99 = $599.88 | $479.90 |
| Advanced, $25,000 / month every month | 12 × $199.99 = $2,399.88 | $479.90 |
| Plus, $60,000 / month every month | 12 × $399.99 = $4,799.88 | $959.90 |
| Plus, $100,000 / month every month | 12 × $399.99 = $4,799.88 | $959.90 |
(The third and fourth rows show how the monthly cap protects against runaway bills, while yearly is even cheaper because it has no overage at all.)
6. Tracking your usage
You can see real-time usage inside the app on the Dashboard and the Pricing tab:
- Current "Revenue by app" out of your monthly allowance
- Progress bar color coded
- Blue: under 80% of allowance
- Yellow: 80 to 95%
- Red: 95% or above
- Reset date for the next 30-day cycle
- Estimate tool: enter a hypothetical revenue figure and the app calculates the projected total
If you are on yearly billing the dashboard shows your revenue for reference, but no overage is calculated.
Good to know
- The Max cap is per cycle, not annual. A new cycle starts on the same calendar day every month based on your install date.
- Overage charges (when applicable) are billed separately through Shopify's usage-billing system. They appear as a line item on your Shopify invoice with the label "Usage fee".
- Switching from monthly to yearly mid-cycle prorates the remaining days at the monthly rate. The next bill is the discounted yearly amount, and the overage stops applying from that point onward.
- Switching from yearly to monthly takes effect at the end of the current yearly cycle. You stay on yearly (with no overage) until the renewal date.
Related guides
- All plans: full directory of every plan, including features and pricing per tier
- What counts as Revenue by App: definition of the revenue your bill is based on
- Free plan limits: allowance details for the Forever Free tier
If a charge looks wrong or you need help estimating your bill, contact our support team.