Ecommerce OS · Guide8 min readUpdated November 2, 2026

Shopify Checkout Alternative: What Shopify Allows and What an Outside Checkout Changes

What you can change in Shopify checkout in 2026, by plan, what an outside checkout changes for payments and upsells, and what Shopify's terms say.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 10 sources

Article summary

TL;DR

You have three ways to change Shopify checkout: customize it with Shopify's extensions (in-checkout UI only on Plus), swap the card processor inside it (one at a time, with a 0.2% to 2% Shopify fee), or send buyers to an outside checkout. The last one gives you several processors and your own offers, but Shopify's terms restrict processing orders outside its checkout. Read them first.

Checkout UI extensions in the information, shipping and payment steps are "available only to stores on a Shopify Plus plan".
Shopify Scripts stopped running on June 30, 2026, and script tags on non-Plus Thank you pages on August 26, 2026.
Shopify allows "only one credit card payment provider activated at a time"; a third-party one costs 2% on Basic down to 0.2% on Plus.
Shopify's terms, updated October 20, 2026, ask you not to "process orders outside Shopify's Checkout".
Public apps must "Use Shopify checkout"; apps that bypass it are prohibited.

Want to go further? Ask

On this page

This guide is about the checkout itself: what it runs, which offers it shows, which processors sit behind it. For the payment side (Shopify Payments eligibility, high-risk providers), see high-risk payment processing for Shopify stores.

Your three options

Pick by what you need, not by the tool. Most stores only need the first; high-risk stores and funnel-heavy brands look at the second and third.

Option	What you can change	Processors	What it costs you on Shopify	Shopify's rules
Customize Shopify checkout	Branding, blocks, discounts, delivery and payment logic, Thank you page2	Shopify Payments, or one third-party card provider5	Your plan; Plus for in-checkout UI3	Built for it
Change the processor inside Shopify checkout	Who processes the cards	One card provider at a time5	0.2% to 2% per order on top of the provider6	Provider must be supported by Shopify5
Send buyers to an outside checkout	The whole page, offers and payment flow	As many as the checkout supports	Ask Shopify how these orders are billed	Terms restrict orders outside Shopify's checkout7

Fig. 1Three setups, from most native to most open

Extensions in checkout
Shopify's checkout with app blocks and Functions. Every in-checkout UI block needs Plus.
Another card provider
Same checkout, different processor. One at a time, and Shopify's fee on top.
Outside checkout
Your own checkout page and processors. Read Shopify's terms before you switch.

the further right, the more you control and the more you must check

Based on Shopify.dev, the Shopify Help Center and Shopify's Terms of Service, read November 2, 2026.

What you can still change inside Shopify checkout

Less than before 2024, and mostly on Plus. Shopify now calls the toolkit "Shopify Extensions in Checkout", formerly checkout extensibility1.

Tool	What it does	Plans2
Checkout UI extensions, in-checkout	Blocks in the information, shipping and payment steps: fields, upsells, messages	Plus only3
Checkout UI extensions, Thank you and Order status	Blocks after payment: surveys, offers, tracking links	All plans except Starter
Post-purchase extensions	An offer page between payment and Thank you	All plans except Starter; beta, live use on request
Shopify Functions	Discount, delivery and payment method logic	All plans except Starter; some APIs in preview
Checkout branding (GraphQL Admin API)	Fonts, colors, layout beyond the editor	Plus
Web pixel extensions	Tracking events in checkout	All plans except Starter

So a non-Plus store can't add its own block above the pay button. It can add one after payment, change discount and delivery logic with Functions, and track with pixels2.

What Shopify retired

Every way to run your own code in checkout has an end date, and they have all passed.

Fig. 2The end of custom code in Shopify checkout

August 28, 2025checkout.liquid and additional scripts end on Thank you and Order status pages
April 15, 2026Shopify Scripts can no longer be edited or published
June 30, 2026All Shopify Scripts stop running
August 26, 2026Script tags end on those pages for non-Plus stores

anything left in Additional scripts stopped without an error

Shopify.dev, Apps in checkout and developer changelog, read November 2, 2026.

checkout.liquid "is now unsupported for the Information, Shipping, and Payment checkout steps"1. Shopify points Script users to Functions and public apps4.

Watch out

Tracking or upsell code that lived in checkout.liquid or Additional scripts doesn't throw an error when it stops. Orders keep coming in while ad platforms stop seeing them. List what ran there and move it to pixels and extensions.

Payments inside Shopify checkout

One card processor, chosen in Settings, Payments. "You can have only one credit card payment provider activated at a time," and only the store owner can add one5.

Fig. 3Shopify's fee when cards don't go through Shopify Payments

Basic2%
Grow1%
Advanced0.6%
Plus0.2%

Source: Shopify pricing

per order, on top of your provider's own fees

Shopify pricing, read November 2, 2026.

Alternative payment apps work inside this frame. Their buyer flow "must redirect from Shopify's checkout to your app's payment flow, then back to Shopify's order confirmation page"8. The order stays a Shopify order.

Two limits matter for subscription brands. Shopify Subscriptions supports a short list of gateways9, and there's no cascade to a second card processor when the first is down or times out5. Which providers accept high-risk categories, and how to switch: high-risk payment processing for Shopify stores.

What Shopify's terms say about an outside checkout

Shopify restricts it, in two places. Its Terms of Service, updated October 20, 2026, say7:

"You agree not to work around, bypass, or circumvent any of the technical limitations of the Services, including to process orders outside Shopify's Checkout."

Its App Store requirements say public apps must "Use Shopify checkout": "Apps that bypass checkout or payment processing, or register any transactions through the Shopify API in connection with such activity, are prohibited"8. Shopify adds that it "can't guarantee the safety or security of an order that's been placed through an offsite or third party checkout"8.

Watch out

Read both texts before you send any Shopify traffic to an outside checkout, and ask Shopify or your counsel how they apply to your setup. A store that leaves Shopify entirely and runs on a standalone platform is no longer under these terms.

What an outside checkout changes

It changes who controls the page, the processors and the offers. It doesn't change what card networks and processors require of you.

Area	Shopify checkout	Outside checkout
Card processors	One at a time5	Several, with routing and cascade if the checkout supports it
Offers before payment	App blocks, Plus only in the steps3	Order bumps on the page: order bumps
Offers after payment	Post-purchase extension, beta on request2	One-click upsells and downsells: one-click upsells
Page design and tests	Branding and editor; full control on Plus2	The whole page, A/B tests: custom ecommerce checkout
Shopify's terms	Built for it	Restricted7

The cost side is not a simple saving. You add the checkout's own fees, and how Shopify bills orders taken outside its checkout depends on your setup. Compare on your own numbers, with your plan, before you decide. A single-page layout and its trade-offs: one-page checkout.

Before you move checkout

Read Shopify's Terms of Service and App Store rules on outside checkouts, and get an answer for your setup7 8.
List what runs in checkout today: apps, Functions, pixels, post-purchase offers, subscription app.
Check your subscriptions: which system renews them, and on which processor9.
Audit the theme: hardcoded buy buttons, redirects and leftover scripts can send buyers around any checkout.
Rebuild tracking with server-side purchase events, then compare store orders with ad platform purchases for two weeks.
Start with a share of traffic, place test orders and refunds, then widen.

Checks to run on a test store or a small share of traffic first.

By industry

Industry	What changes	Guide
Supplements	One card processor and health-claim rules make a backup processor the main question	Shopify checkout for supplement brands
Skincare	Routine upsells and refill subscriptions push past what non-Plus checkout allows	Shopify checkout for skincare brands
Online pharmacy	Shopify Payments doesn't support prescription drugs, Shopify doesn't support storing health information under HIPAA, and a prescription step needs Plus	Shopify checkout for online pharmacies
Telehealth	Keep health data out of Shopify, and charge only after the clinician decides: a Shopify Payments authorization lasts 7 days	Shopify checkout for telehealth companies
Fitness	Equipment brands hit the installment and delivery limits; sports nutrition brands hit the processor and subscription ones	Shopify checkout for fitness brands
Info products	Access is granted by an app after payment; no bumps in checkout without Plus, and no native plan with a fixed number of installments	Shopify checkout for info product businesses

How Tagada helps

A checkout layer for Shopify stores

Tagada runs on Shopify, standalone, on WooCommerce or headless. On Shopify, it works through a checkout script10:

One script in your theme. Once Shopify is connected, Tagada places a script in the active theme that hands the cart from your Buy now and Checkout buttons to a Tagada funnel checkout10.
A share of traffic, not all of it. The script's setting sends from 0 to 100% of checkouts to Tagada, so you can start small10.
A theme audit flags hardcoded redirects, commented-out buttons or legacy scripts that would bypass the setup10.
Removable. Removing the script returns the store to Shopify's native checkout10.
Checkout: one-click upsells, order bumps, A/B tests, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Payments: routing across TagadaPay and processors such as Stripe, NMI and Airwallex with one logic, and cascade to another processor when one is down or times out.
Already on Shopify? "Drop TagadaPay in." It also works with WooCommerce, ClickFunnels and BigCommerce.
Routing scored in real time: "Every transaction is scored against your live MID network in real time", then sent to the processor most likely to approve it, with a retry on decline. TagadaPay reports a +18% approval uplift.
TagadaPay underneath: onboarding is one KYC, and most merchants are live in under 24 hours. "If you sell something real, we will get you paid."

Setup steps are in the Shopify checkout script documentation. Plans are on the pricing page.

Apply today · Go live in under 24 hours

Start free

Updated on November 2, 2026

Nick Bonnassies

CMO at Tagada

CMO at Tagada. Before Tagada, Nick built direct-to-consumer brands that generated over $115M in sales, raised over $25M in crowdfunding and sold two of them. He also works as a fractional CMO on marketing operations and AI systems.

Frequently asked questions

Can you use a custom checkout on Shopify?

Inside Shopify, you customize with extensions and Functions; in-checkout UI blocks need Plus. A fully custom checkout outside Shopify is technically possible, but Shopify's terms ask merchants not to "process orders outside Shopify's Checkout". Read them and ask Shopify how they apply before you switch.

Is checkout extensibility only for Shopify Plus?

Partly. UI extensions in the information, shipping and payment steps are Plus only. Thank you and Order status extensions, Shopify Functions and web pixels are available on all plans except Starter, and post-purchase extensions are in beta on request.

What replaced checkout.liquid and Shopify Scripts?

Shopify Extensions in Checkout: UI extensions, Functions, branding settings and web pixels. checkout.liquid is unsupported in the checkout steps, additional scripts ended on August 28, 2025, and Shopify Scripts stopped running on June 30, 2026.

Can I use two payment processors in Shopify checkout?

Not two card processors at once: Shopify allows "only one credit card payment provider activated at a time". Wallets and alternative payment apps can sit next to it. Routing or a cascade between card processors needs a checkout outside Shopify's own.

Does Shopify charge a fee with a third-party payment provider?

Yes, per order, on top of the provider's own fees: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus, as listed on Shopify's pricing page in November 2026. Using Shopify Payments removes that fee.

Sources

Checked November 2, 2026

Tagada

Check what your Shopify store can run before you move checkout

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