We’re developing a Shopify app (MergeGuard) that uses Managed Pricing for our subscription plans. Our app helps merchants identify and merge duplicate
customers, with a credit-based quota system.
Our Use Case:
Merchants subscribe to monthly/annual plans via Managed Pricing (e.g., Starter: 100 merges/month, Growth: 500 merges/month)
Some merchants exhaust their monthly quota before the billing cycle ends
We want to offer one-time add-on credit packs (e.g., “100 Extra Merge Credits for $10”) that merchants can purchase on-demand
The Problem:
When we attempt to call appPurchaseOneTimeCreate mutation, we receive an error indicating that “Managed Pricing apps cannot use the Billing API to create charges”.
Our Questions:
Is it possible to use appPurchaseOneTimeCreate for one-time purchases while keeping Managed Pricing for subscriptions? The documentation states that
recurring charges are blocked, but doesn’t explicitly mention one-time charges.
If not currently supported, is this on the roadmap? Many apps need both recurring subscriptions AND one-time add-on purchases.
What is the recommended approach for apps using Managed Pricing that need to sell one-time add-ons? Should we use an external payment provider (Stripe),
or is there a native Shopify solution?
We’d prefer to keep everything within Shopify’s billing system for a unified merchant experience.
Hey @Abhideep_Maity You’re right that the managed pricing docs only mention recurring charges being blocked. In practice, the restriction applies to all Billing API charge creation, including one-time charges. The docs also describe managed pricing as supporting “only fixed, recurring pricing models,” so the error from appPurchaseOneTimeCreate is expected even though the wording could be clearer.
If your app needs both recurring subscriptions and one-time add-on purchases, you’ll need to switch to manual pricing and use the Billing API directly. There’s no way to keep managed pricing for subscriptions while using the Billing API for one-time charges.
For your credit pack use case, appPurchaseOneTimeCreate under manual pricing is the natural fit. The merchant approves each credit pack purchase individually, and the docs describe this exact pattern (multiple one-time charges as pay-as-you-go). You’d handle your recurring plans with appSubscriptionCreate and the credit top-ups with appPurchaseOneTimeCreate, all within Shopify’s billing system.
If you’d prefer metered billing instead of discrete pack purchases, combined time and usage-based billing is worth a look. The merchant approves a spending cap upfront and your app records charges via appUsageRecordCreate as credits are consumed. The cap resets each billing cycle though, so it’s a different model than one-time pack purchases.
You can switch to manual pricing from your Partner Dashboard under your app listing’s pricing settings. Hope this help, let me know if you have any questions on the above!
I can’t promise anything in terms of a roadmap but I’ve noted the feedback internally, since yours isn’t the first app with this combination of recurring plans and one-time add-ons.
For now, manual pricing with the Billing API is the path forward for your use case but keep an eye on the Dev Changelog where we announce upcoming changes.
You’re right that the