Public app: is Stripe checkout + Shopify order creation allowed? Also free app linked to a separately billed platform

Shopify App Store
1

Hi everyone,

We are planning a public Shopify app and want to confirm two policy points before we build further.

  1. Off-site checkout
    Our merchants run funnel pages where the buyer pays through Stripe (not Shopify checkout). After payment, our platform creates the order in the merchant’s Shopify store through the Admin API.

App Store requirement 1.1.2 says apps that bypass checkout or register transactions through the Shopify API in connection with such activity are prohibited. Does that mean this flow cannot be part of a public app at all? Is there any approved way to support it for stores outside one Plus organization?

  1. Free app linked to a separate platform
    We also plan a free, read-only public app (dashboard, product/order stats). Merchants can optionally connect it to our own platform, which is billed separately outside Shopify. The app works fully without connecting, and there are no paywalls or upgrade prompts inside it.

Under requirement 1.2.1, is this acceptable, or would the linked paid platform count as off-platform billing for the app?

Extra context:

  • The app is embedded, uses session tokens and token exchange, and is GraphQL only.
  • We are aware that creating duplicate custom apps per merchant is not allowed.

Any guidance from Shopify staff or developers who have handled a similar setup would be really helpful. Thanks!

2

Hey @Owais_Raza,

You are going to run into some blockers with your setup. For the off-site checkout, routing the payment to the Shopify checkout is required.

This type of app is typically categorized as a sales channel. You can see sales channel-specific requirements here.

For the free app, but linked to a separate platform, you will still be required to connect Shopify Billing. A common scenario here is a Shopify merchant installs your app while they are not currently a customer. Then they want to start using your paid platform. That payment will need to go through Shopify billing. If there is any connection from your app to a paid platform, that will get flagged during review if it doesn’t use Shopify billing.