Last updated: August 2026

Search "Shopify plan checkout automation app" and most results blur two different things together: automating what's in the cart before checkout, and customizing the checkout page itself. Only one of those requires Shopify's most expensive plan — and it's usually not the one merchants actually need for gift-with-purchase, BOGO, or cart-upsell automation.

This guide breaks down what each Shopify plan actually unlocks for automation apps, what genuinely requires Shopify Plus, and where cart-level tools like AutoCart fit without an upgrade.

Shopify's plan tiers, quickly

Shopify sells four plans. The naming has shifted recently — the mid tier that used to be called simply "Shopify" is now branded Grow — so if you're searching for "Shopify plan" and landing on a plan called Grow, that's why.

Plan Monthly price (billed monthly) Who it's for
Basic $39/mo Solo merchants and early-stage stores
Grow (formerly "Shopify") $105/mo Growing stores with a small team
Advanced $399/mo Higher-volume stores needing advanced reporting and lower transaction fees
Plus From $2,300/mo (3-year term) High-volume and enterprise merchants needing deep checkout and B2B customization

Pricing drops with annual billing, and Shopify updates these figures periodically — confirm current rates on Shopify's pricing page before quoting exact numbers to a client or team.

Cart automation and checkout automation are not the same thing

This is the distinction that most "which plan do I need" searches miss.

Cart automation happens before checkout — on the cart page, in the cart drawer, or via the storefront's Cart API. Auto-adding a free gift when the cart hits $75, adding a second product for a BOGO offer, or triggering a companion-product upsell all happen at this layer. The Cart API has never been plan-gated; it's part of every Shopify storefront, on every plan, including Basic.

Checkout automation happens on the checkout pages themselves — the information, shipping, and payment steps a customer sees after they click "Checkout." Shopify locked this layer down deliberately when it retired checkout.liquid in favor of checkout extensibility, a framework built on Shopify Functions and checkout UI extensions. Access to parts of that framework is where the plan requirements actually bite.

In practice: if what you want is "add a free gift, bundle, or bonus item to the order automatically," you're in cart-automation territory, and you don't need Plus. If what you want is "build a custom upsell block that renders inside the checkout's shipping or payment step," you're in checkout-automation territory, and Plus is the requirement.

What actually requires Shopify Plus

A few specific capabilities are genuinely locked to Plus:

  • Checkout UI extensions on the information, shipping, and payment steps. Extensions that render during active checkout — not after it — are available only to stores on a Shopify Plus plan.
  • The Checkout Blocks branding editor. Basic visual branding (logo, colors, fonts) is available on every plan except Starter through the standard checkout and accounts editor, but the advanced Checkout Blocks editor for granular, code-free checkout branding is Plus-only.
  • Custom checkout domains and B2B checkout flows. Running checkout on your own subdomain or building distinct checkout experiences for B2B customer segments both require Plus.
  • Unlimited Shopify Functions. Functions (the logic behind custom discounts, delivery customization, and payment customization) are available on every plan, but non-Plus plans have a capped number of active functions per type. Plus removes that cap. Check current per-plan limits in Shopify's Functions documentation, since caps have shifted as the framework has matured.

If an app's pitch involves rendering something new inside the live checkout flow — a custom upsell widget between shipping and payment, for example — assume it needs Plus until the app listing says otherwise.

What works on Basic, Grow, and Advanced — no Plus required

Most of what merchants actually mean by "checkout automation app" falls here:

  • Cart-level auto-add rules — gift-with-purchase, BOGO, bundles, and companion-product upsells added automatically based on cart value, contents, or customer tags. This is cart automation, not checkout automation, and it runs on every plan.
  • Post-purchase extensions on the thank-you and order-status pages. Extensions that appear after a purchase completes are available on every plan except Shopify Starter — order tracking widgets, upsell offers, and review requests on those pages don't need Plus.
  • Basic checkout branding — logo, background, colors, and fonts through the standard checkout editor, available on Basic, Grow, and Advanced.
  • A limited set of Shopify Functions — enough for a single active discount or delivery customization function on entry-level plans, useful for straightforward promo logic.

If your goal is to get a free gift, a bundled add-on, or a BOGO item into the order automatically, you can do it on Basic today.

Shopify plan requirements for automation apps, at a glance

Capability Basic Grow Advanced Plus
Cart-level auto-add rules (gift, BOGO, bundles) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Post-purchase extensions (thank-you / order-status) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Basic checkout branding (logo, colors, fonts) Yes Yes Yes Yes
Checkout UI extensions on info/shipping/payment steps No No No Yes
Advanced Checkout Blocks branding editor No No No Yes
Unlimited Shopify Functions No No No Yes
Custom checkout domain / B2B checkout No No No Yes

Common mistakes when picking a plan for automation apps

  • Assuming any "checkout" app needs Plus. Most cart-automation apps never touch the checkout extensibility framework at all — they work through the cart, which is universal across plans. Read what an app actually modifies before ruling it out over plan cost.
  • Confusing "Shopify" the plan name with Shopify the platform. Since the rename to Grow, searches for "the Shopify plan" can land on stale content. Check an app's listing for current plan language rather than assuming a specific tier by name.
  • Upgrading to Plus for a feature you don't need yet. If the goal is gift-with-purchase or BOGO mechanics, an upgrade from Basic or Grow to Plus is a large jump in cost for a capability the cart layer already provides.
  • Not checking Shopify Functions caps before building custom discount logic. If you're planning custom discount or delivery-customization functions rather than off-the-shelf cart rules, confirm your plan's function limit first — it's easy to hit the cap on Basic.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need Shopify Plus to run a checkout automation app? Only if the app modifies the live checkout pages themselves — the information, shipping, or payment steps. Apps that automate what's added to the cart before checkout, like gift-with-purchase or BOGO tools, work on Basic, Grow, and Advanced without Plus.

What's the difference between cart automation and checkout automation? Cart automation happens on the cart page or cart drawer, before checkout, through the Cart API — available on every plan. Checkout automation happens on the checkout pages themselves and is built on Shopify's checkout extensibility framework, which is more restricted by plan.

Can I customize checkout on the Basic Shopify plan? Yes, to a point. Basic supports logo, color, and font branding through the standard checkout editor, plus a capped number of Shopify Functions. Rendering custom app content inside the live information, shipping, or payment steps requires Plus.

What happened to the "Shopify" plan — is it still called that? The mid-tier plan formerly named "Shopify" is now called Grow. If you're comparing older articles or app documentation to current pricing, expect the name to have changed even though the tier's position in the lineup is the same.

Does AutoCart require Shopify Plus? No. AutoCart auto-adds gifts, bundles, and BOGO items to the cart through the Cart API, which runs on every Shopify plan. It doesn't touch the checkout extensibility framework, so there's no Plus requirement.

Pick the plan for what you're actually automating

The "Shopify Plus for checkout customization" rule is real, but it only applies to a narrow slice of what merchants mean by "checkout automation" — rendering custom content inside the live checkout flow. Gift-with-purchase, BOGO, and bundle automation live at the cart layer, which has never been plan-gated.

AutoCart runs rule-based cart automation — free gifts, discounted add-ons, and BOGO mechanics — on any Shopify plan, no Plus and no developer required. If you're also curious about the checkout side of the equation, our sister app HideShip handles shipping-rate display and sorting at checkout, so the two together cover cart and checkout without an upgrade. For more on what actually moves AOV, see 7 ways to increase average order value on Shopify, and if BOGO is the mechanic you're after, how BOGO works on Shopify covers setup end to end.

Try AutoCart free on your Shopify store: apps.shopify.com/autocart-auto-add-to-cart