Most Shopify app free plans stop at a number you will hit: 50 orders a month for ReConvert and Yotpo, 500 orders for Loox, 250 contacts for Klaviyo and Omnisend, one published page for GemPages and PageFly, and zero linked products for Zendrop. Judge.me’s free plan is the exception: its listing states unlimited reviews with photos and video. The tables below show each limit, the first paid price and the size of the jump, so you can plan the month a free tool starts costing money.
Free-plan limits are from each app’s Shopify App Store listing (checked 28 Sept 2026) as compiled in the StoreCartel app cost dataset; where a vendor’s own page was also read on 29 Sept 2026 it is noted. Vendors change limits, so confirm before you rely on one.
Reviews apps
| App | Free plan limit | First paid plan | Jump | Where it bites |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judge.me | Unlimited product and store reviews, including photo and video | Awesome $15 a month | 0 to $15 | Nothing on the listing forces the upgrade; the paid plan adds features, not volume |
| Loox | Up to 500 orders | Convert $49.99 a month, 300 orders included, $50 per extra 300 | 0 to about $99.99 at 501 orders | The first paid month is already near $100; arithmetic below |
| Yotpo | Up to 50 monthly orders | Starter, listed from $15 on the App Store and priced by orders; the vendor pricing page shows $89 a month for up to 500 orders | 0 to $15 or $89 | The listing and the vendor page disagree on the entry price; get a quote for your order count |
Loox arithmetic (ours): the listing says Convert includes 300 orders and charges $50 for each additional 300. At 501 orders that is 201 over, one extra block: $49.99 + $50 = $99.99. At 1,000 orders it is $199.99 (three started blocks). At 2,000 orders Convert would be $349.99, more than the $299.99 Unlimited plan, so Convert reaches $299.99 at 1,800 orders and Unlimited is cheaper above that. This assumes each started block is charged in full; the listing does not say, so check at checkout. The full cost comparison is in Judge.me vs Loox vs Yotpo.
Upsell apps
| App | Free plan limit | First paid plan | Where it bites |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReConvert | Up to 50 orders or $50 upsell revenue a month | Growth $9.99 a month, from 51 orders, up to 2,000 | Scale is $199 a month above 2,000 orders or upsell revenue, whichever is higher |
| Zipify OneClickUpsell | No permanent free plan (development stores only) | From $9.95 a month while upsell revenue is under $200, 30-day trial | Bill rises with upsell revenue; the listing says never above $999 |
| AfterSell | No permanent free plan (development stores only) | Post-Purchase $34.99 a month, 30-day trial | Flat price per plan |
The ReConvert cliff matters most: $9.99 covers up to 2,000 orders, and one order over puts you on the $199 plan. The reasoning, and the effect at a 10 percent upsell take rate, is in ReConvert vs Zipify OCU vs Rebuy.
Email and SMS apps
| App | Free plan limit | First paid plan | Where it bites |
|---|---|---|---|
| Klaviyo | 250 active profiles and 500 email sends a month (vendor page) | Email from $20 a month for 251 to 500 contacts | Price climbs with list size; the ladder above the first step was not on the listing |
| Omnisend | 250 contacts and 500 emails a month | Standard $16 a month on the listing (the vendor page showed $11.20 billed monthly), 500 contacts and 6,000 emails | Pro is $59 on the listing ($41.30 billed monthly on the vendor page) and starts at 2,500 contacts |
The three-way email cost at 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000 contacts, including Shopify Email, is in Klaviyo vs Omnisend vs Shopify Email. For email the limit is contacts, not orders, so a store with modest sales and a big list pays earlier than the order-based apps above. See email flows that drive revenue for what to send once you are paying.
Dropshipping and page builders
| App | Free plan limit | First paid plan |
|---|---|---|
| Zendrop | No linked products | Beginner $29 a month for 1 to 20 linked products |
| DSers | Basic free; limits not stated on the listing | Advanced $19.90 a month; extra fee if usage passes the level’s limit |
| AutoDS | No free plan; 3-day trial | Import 200 $26.90 a month |
| GemPages | 1 published page | Build $29 on the listing ($23 on the vendor page, regular $29), unlimited pages |
| PageFly | 1 published slot, 10 AI credits a month | Builder $24 a month, from 5 published pages |
| Shogun | Draft mode, no publishing | Build $39 a month, 25 published pages, 10-day trial |
Print-on-demand apps (Printful, Printify, Gelato) are free to install and bill product and shipping per sale; their paid plans ($24.99, $39 and $29.99 a month) buy product discounts of up to 33 percent, so the break-even is orders, not a limit. The Printify case is worked in Printful vs Printify vs Gelato. The supplier-app comparison is in AutoDS vs Zendrop vs CJ vs DSers.
How to use this
- List the apps you plan to run and mark which limit you will hit first (orders, contacts or pages).
- Estimate the month you cross it and add the paid price from that month to your cost plan.
- Where a jump is large (ReConvert $9.99 to $199, Loox to about $100), decide before the cliff whether a different app fits better.
Monthly totals for three example stacks are in the app cost calculator, and what the stack does to profit per order is in break-even ROAS.
Common questions
Are free trials the same as free plans?
No. A trial ends on a date; a free plan lasts until you cross its limit. AutoDS and Shogun list trials only.
Do free plans hide costs?
The listings state limits, not every extra. DSers charges more if you pass a limit, and vendor pages sometimes show different prices from the App Store listing, as the tables note.
Method: researched from Shopify App Store listings and vendor pricing pages, checked 28 to 29 Sept 2026. The Loox worked numbers are our arithmetic, assumptions stated above.
Removing an app later can leave code behind: see the leftover code checklist.