Payments · Info Products6 min readUpdated November 2, 2026

Can You Sell Info Products and Online Courses on Shopify?

Yes, with an app. What Shopify Payments allows for courses and coaching, Shop Pay Installments limits, third-party gateway fees and delivery proof.

Nick Bonnassies, CMO at Tagada · checked against 12 sources

Article summary

Yes, with an app

TL;DR

Yes. Shopify sells courses through an app: its free Digital Downloads app for files, or a course app for lessons and student access. Shopify Payments does not list courses or coaching in its prohibited categories. In the US, it applies Stripe's and PayPal's lists, so income promises and fake testimonials are what get stores closed.

Shopify Payments' six prohibited categories do not include education, courses or coaching (read November 2, 2026).
In the US, Shopify Payments' prohibited and restricted businesses "are provided by each Payment Processor".
Shop Pay Installments excludes subscription products and can be suspended for "another category that Affirm doesn't support".
A third-party processor on Shopify adds 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), 0.6% (Advanced) or 0.2% (Plus) per order.

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On this page

This guide is part of our hub on info product payment processing. The general guide, for any business: Shopify payments for restricted products. Processor by processor: Shopify and Shopify Payments for high-risk stores.

How a course sells on Shopify

Shopify is the storefront. The lessons live in an app or in a separate learning platform.

Setup	What it does	Fits
Digital Downloads (free app by Shopify)	Attaches files or links to a product; "send digital asset links after purchase" with access limits3	Ebooks, templates, recorded workshops
Course app inside Shopify	Hosts lessons and student logins in the store	Video courses sold next to other products
External platform synced to Shopify	Shopify takes the order, the platform delivers the course	Creators already on a course platform

Fig. 1Three ways to deliver a course from Shopify

Your Shopify storeTakes the order and the payment

Digital DownloadsFiles or links after purchase: ebooks, templates
Course app inside ShopifyLessons and student logins in the store
External platformSynced to Shopify, delivers the course

Shopify takes the order. Something else delivers the lessons.

Shopify App Store, Digital Downloads, read November 2, 2026.

Pick the setup that gives you student login records. You will need them in disputes (see below).

What Shopify Payments allows

Courses are not on the list. Shopify Payments prohibits six families of products1.

Prohibited category	Touches info products?
Regulated or illegal products and services	Only if the subject matter is illegal
Financial products and services: "money transfers, virtual currencies and cryptocurrencies, check cashing, or credit repair services"1	Credit repair programs; selling crypto itself, not a course about it
Adult products	Adult content courses
Pseudo pharmaceuticals	No
Gambling products and services	Betting systems sold as courses can be read here
Counterfeit products	Resold or pirated courses

Fig. 2Shopify Payments' six prohibited families, read for info products

Regulated or illegal
Only if the subject matter is illegal.
Financial products and services
Credit repair programs; selling crypto itself, not a course about it.
Adult products
Adult content courses.
Pseudo pharmaceuticals
No.
Gambling
Betting systems sold as courses can be read here.
Counterfeit products
Resold or pirated courses.

Courses are not on the list. Their subject can be.

Shopify Help Center, Shopify Payments eligibility, read November 2, 2026.

Shopify adds: "The list of prohibited products and services isn't exhaustive and it varies depending on your region"1. Shopify's Acceptable Use Policy does not mention multi-level marketing or "get rich quick" offers9.

The US layer is the one to read. Shopify Payments in the US runs on processors whose lists apply to you2. Stripe's list prohibits "get rich quick" schemes, "deceptive testimonials" and "high-pressure upselling"8. Full detail: does Stripe allow info products and online courses?

Payment plans and memberships on Shopify

Shopify's built-in installment option is narrower than it looks for info products.

Option	Limit for courses and coaching
Shop Pay Installments	Requires Shopify Payments; can be suspended if your business is in "another category that Affirm doesn't support" (Shopify)4
Shop Pay Installments	Not available on subscription products (Shopify)5
Affirm's own categories	Education (8299) "Restricted"; consulting (7392) "Prohibited" (Stripe Docs)6
Shopify Subscriptions (memberships)	Works with Shopify Payments, PayPal Express, Authorize.net, Adyen and Stripe; Stripe is "Available only to select merchants" (Shopify)11

A business coaching program filed as consulting is unlikely to keep Shop Pay Installments. A payment plan you bill yourself follows Visa's installment rules: see payment plans for info product sellers.

Using another processor on Shopify

If Shopify Payments refuses or closes your store, Shopify says you "can add a third-party payment provider"1. You then pay a Shopify fee on each order on top of the processor's.

Shopify plan	Fee per order with a third-party processor7
Basic	2%
Grow	1%
Advanced	0.6%
Plus	0.2%

On a $2,000 coaching program sold on Basic, that is $40 per sale before processing fees. Some creators move checkout off Shopify for this reason: see Shopify or a sales funnel for info products?

Fig. 3Shopify fee on a third-party processor, by plan

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

Source: Shopify pricing, checked November 2, 2026

On Basic, $40 on a $2,000 program.

Shopify pricing, third-party payment provider fees, checked November 2, 2026.

Proving delivery from a Shopify store

A course has no tracking number. In a "fraud" dispute on digital goods, Visa accepts 2 or more of these items10:

The buyer's IP address and device ID.
The buyer's name and email linked to their customer profile.
Proof the buyer's account was accessed and verified before the purchase.
Proof the buyer accessed your site or app for the purchased content on or after the purchase date.

Fig. 4What a course order should keep on file

Order · recorded video courseSold on Shopify, delivered in a course app

IP address and device ID: Stored with the order
Name and email: Linked to the customer profile
Account: Accessed and verified before the purchase
Course access: Lessons opened on or after the purchase date
Download link only: Proves little

Illustrative record.

Illustrative example. Evidence list: Visa Core Rules, October 24, 2026, table 11-7.

A download link alone proves little. Keep login and lesson-view logs in your course app, with dates. Tagada follows Visa and Mastercard rules and the laws that apply to payments. More: chargebacks for info product sellers.

How Tagada helps

A payments layer beside Shopify for course sellers

Tagada works inside or beside Shopify: "Already on Shopify, WooCommerce, ClickFunnels or BigCommerce? Drop TagadaPay in." TagadaPay's application has a "Digital products" track for "courses, info products, coaching." "If you sell something real, we will get you paid."12

Funnel features in one place: "Checkout, one-click upsells, subscriptions and membership on the same funnel." See the Shopify checkout for info product sellers.
Several processors: "Route to the processor most likely to approve it, retry on decline."
A vault you own: "Switch processors without re-onboarding customers. No vendor lock-in. Ever."
Fraud control: "Native 3DS2, device intelligence, and rules engine."
Onboarding: "Live in 24h. You own your vault."12
Pricing: "From 2.9% + $0.29", "No setup fees, no monthly minimums"; "High-risk verticals and edge cases are priced case by case."12

Apply on TagadaPay.

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A payments layer beside Shopify for course sellers

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 sell digital courses on Shopify?

Yes. Shopify's free Digital Downloads app sends files or links after purchase, and course apps add lessons and student logins. Shopify Payments does not list courses among its prohibited categories. The store must still respect its processors' rules in the US, including Stripe's ban on "get rich quick" schemes.

Does Shopify Payments allow coaching?

Coaching is not in Shopify Payments' prohibited categories. In the US, the processors' lists apply: Stripe prohibits "outrageous claims", "deceptive testimonials" and "high-pressure upselling". A coaching offer with clear pricing and no income promises fits.

Can customers pay for a course with Shop Pay Installments?

Sometimes. It requires Shopify Payments and is not available on subscription products. Shopify can suspend it for categories Affirm doesn't support, and Affirm lists education as restricted and consulting as prohibited.

What does Shopify charge if I use another processor for my course?

2% per order on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus, on top of the processor's own fees. Shopify waives it only when you use Shopify Payments. Compare the total: info product processing fees and reserves.

Is Shopify the best platform for selling courses?

It fits creators who also sell physical products or want one store. Course platforms bundle lessons, logins and payments. Sales funnels add order bumps and one-click upsells. The trade-offs: best ecommerce platform for info product sellers.

Sources

Checked November 2, 2026

TagadaPay

Selling courses on Shopify? Keep checkout on processors that accept you

Tell us what you sell and how you sell it. Each application is underwritten, and approval is not guaranteed.

Apply for processing See pricing

01Tell us what you sell and how
02Underwriting reviews your business
03Process through TagadaPay alongside your other processors