Gift card app pricing on Shopify: per-order fees vs flat monthly

Shopify gift card apps charge in one of four ways: a flat monthly fee, a percentage of gift card value, a fee per order or per gift card transaction above an included allowance, or a monthly fee plus one of those. If you want no per-order fees, look for a flat plan. Gift Card Hero's PRO plan is $19.99 a month flat, with no percentage, per-order or per-card fees. Its Pay as you go plan charges 2% of gift card sales, with a minimum of $9.99 and a maximum of $49.99 a month. PRO becomes the cheaper option once you sell about $1,000 in gift cards a month.

How do Shopify gift card apps charge?

Most pricing sections on the Shopify App Store fall into these patterns:

• Flat monthly fee. One price per 30-day cycle regardless of volume. Some apps set the tier by your Shopify plan rather than your sales.
• Percentage of gift card value. The app takes a share of the gift cards you sell or issue. Some apps add this on top of a monthly fee, with a lower percentage on higher plans.
• Per-order or per-transaction fee above an allowance. The plan includes a number of orders or gift card transactions, then charges a fixed amount for each one above it.
• Minimums and caps. A usage plan may have a minimum monthly charge and a maximum (a capped amount), so the bill moves only within a range.
• Tiered plans. Higher tiers add features such as POS tools or an API, or lower the usage rate.

The detail that changes your bill most is what the fee is counted on. It can be the value of gift cards, the number of gift card transactions, or your total store orders. A plan counted on total store orders charges for every order in the store, including orders that have nothing to do with gift cards.

How does billing work for Shopify apps?

Apps published on the Shopify App Store are required to use a Shopify-provided billing solution, so their charges are added to your Shopify invoice. According to Shopify's Help Center:

• Recurring charges (a monthly subscription) and usage charges (fees that vary with how much you use the app) are shown on your regular Shopify bill.
• Each app has its own 30-day billing cycle. Usage charges are added to the next bill, so one app cycle can be split across two Shopify bills.
• Usage-based plans can include a spending limit (the capped amount). Once it is reached, no more charges for that app are allowed until a new cycle starts. You can raise the limit from your Shopify admin.
• When you upgrade an app plan mid-cycle, the higher charge is prorated. When you downgrade, you are offered an application credit.
• Uninstalling stops future billing cycles, but a pending charge already generated can still appear on your next invoice.
• Some third-party apps bill you outside Shopify. Those charges don't appear on your Shopify bill and must be cancelled with the developer.

On the developer side, Shopify's docs define the capped amount as the maximum a merchant is billed during the 30-day cycle, and merchants review the plan's terms when they approve it. Read both the rate and the cap before you approve a usage plan.

What does Gift Card Hero cost at different sales levels?

Gift Card Hero has two plans for stores not on Shopify Plus. Pay as you go (listed on the App Store as "Free to install") is free to install and charges 2% of gift card sales, minimum $9.99, maximum $49.99 a month. PRO is $19.99 a month flat. Here is the monthly cost for hypothetical gift card sales:

The arithmetic behind the table:

• Below $499.50 in sales, 2% is less than $9.99, so the minimum applies.
• The break-even is $999.50: 2% of that is $19.99, the PRO price. Round it to about $1,000 a month.
• From $2,499.50 up, Pay as you go stays at the $49.99 cap, however much you sell.
• At $5,000 a month, PRO works out to about 0.4% of gift card sales and Pay as you go to about 1%.

Shopify Plus stores have one option: $39.99 a month flat. Pay as you go isn't available on Shopify Plus. Every plan has a 7-day free trial, and all charges go through your Shopify invoice.

How do other gift card apps price their plans?

For context, here are four other gift card apps, as listed on the Shopify App Store on Sep 30, 2026. Each uses a different model. Features differ between apps and plans, so this is a comparison of how you are charged, not of what you get.

Three of these listings also link to further pricing options on the developer's site, and listings change. Check the pricing section of each listing on the day you decide.

Which pricing model fits your store?

• Low or uncertain gift card sales: a free tier or a percentage plan with a low minimum costs little while you test demand. Check the minimum.
• Steady or growing gift card sales: a flat fee is predictable and gets cheaper per dollar as volume rises.
• High overall order volume, modest gift card sales: read carefully how a plan counts orders. An allowance based on total store orders can be used up by orders that contain no gift card.
• Strong seasonal peaks: look at the cap, or the per-transaction rate, in your busiest month rather than an average one.

What should you ask before choosing a gift card app?

1. 1What is the fee based on: gift card value, gift card transactions, or total store orders?
2. 2Is there a per-card, per-order or per-transaction fee? Does "transaction" include redemptions as well as sales?
3. 3Do balance reloads (top-ups) count toward the fee?
4. 4Are POS tools included in your plan, or only on a higher one?
5. 5Is there a minimum monthly charge? What is the capped amount on the usage charge?
6. 6How long is the free trial, and does it apply to every plan?
7. 7Is the app billed through your Shopify invoice or charged separately by the developer?
8. 8Is there a different price for Shopify Plus?
9. 9What would you pay in December, not just in an average month?

How does Gift Card Hero handle pricing?

Gift Card Hero keeps pricing to two plans for most stores and one for Shopify Plus, all billed through your Shopify invoice with a 7-day free trial. No plan has per-order or per-card fees. Pay as you go suits stores still testing gift cards. PRO suits stores selling about $1,000 or more a month, and it adds POS tools, unused balance reminders, storefront top-ups and the API. You can upgrade from the plan page inside the app. Full details are on the pricing page and the Shopify App Store listing, where the app is rated 4.9/5 on the Shopify App Store from 174 reviews.

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