AI chat app billing on Shopify: what to check before you install

How does Shopify app billing work?

Most apps bill through Shopify. Subscription charges are fixed amounts charged every 30 days and added to your regular Shopify bill. Usage charges vary with how much you use the app over the same 30-day period. One-time purchases appear on separate invoices. Each app runs its own 30-day cycle, independent of your Shopify plan.

Those definitions come from Shopify's help page on app charges on your invoice, which also explains a detail that confuses many merchants: because each app has its own cycle, one app's usage charges can show up on two different Shopify bills. Shopify bills in advance, so a new cycle is charged at its start, not its end.

Billing worries are not a niche concern. In our study of 233 merchant reviews and forum posts about AI chat and help desk apps, 39 mentioned surprise charges, trials, cancellation or refunds. Most of those problems are avoidable if you know where to look before you approve a plan.

Where do you see app charges in Shopify?

Go to Settings, then Billing, in your Shopify admin. Click View current charges to see what is pending for your next bill, and open Past bills to see charges you already paid. Each app line shows the dates it covers, which is the fastest way to check whether a charge belongs to a cycle you used.

Make this a habit in the first two cycles after any install. Compare the app line with the plan you approved, and if the app has usage charges, compare the usage figure with what the app's own dashboard reports. A mismatch is easier to resolve in week one than in month three. Shopify's app charges page also notes that app credits, for example from a mid-cycle downgrade, can be used against future app charges.

Does uninstalling an app stop the charges?

Uninstalling stops future billing cycles, but it does not always erase a charge that was already generated. According to Shopify's help center, a pending charge can still appear on your upcoming invoice. Apps that bill you outside Shopify are different: you must cancel those directly with the developer, because uninstalling does not reach their billing.

This is the trap behind many "still charged after uninstall" posts. If the app charged by card or through its own website, it is not on your Shopify bill at all, so the Shopify uninstall button cannot stop it. Before you install any app, find out which kind it is. If you are asked for a card number inside the app, or sent to an outside checkout page, it bills outside Shopify, and you should note how to cancel before you need to.

• Billed through Shopify: shown on your Shopify bill; uninstalling stops future cycles.
• Billed outside Shopify: not on your Shopify bill; cancel with the developer first, then uninstall.
• Pending charge after uninstall: check the dates it covers before you dispute it.

Who gives refunds for Shopify app charges?

The app developer does. Shopify's help center says refunds for third-party app charges are handled by the developer, and Shopify Support can confirm where a charge came from but cannot issue the refund itself. To ask, open Settings, then Apps, choose the app, and select Get support to contact the developer.

Shopify's app billing help page adds that if a developer does not respond, Shopify follows up after 3 days. Keep your request short and factual: the charge date, the amount, the dates it covers, and why you think it is wrong. Screenshots of the plan you approved help. If you uninstalled during a trial, say so and include the date.

How do usage charges and capped amounts work?

A usage plan charges per unit, such as per conversation or per ticket, on top of or instead of a base fee. Shopify's developer docs define the capped amount as the most you can be billed for usage in one 30-day cycle. You approve that cap with the plan, and you can change it later in the Shopify admin.

The definition comes from Shopify's guide to usage-based subscriptions, which also lets apps receive an alert when a merchant reaches 90 percent of the cap. Shopify's help center says that once a spending limit is reached, no more charges for that app are allowed until a new cycle starts, and that you can raise the limit under Settings, then Apps.

Do not assume every usage plan has a cap. Shopify's managed pricing documentation currently states that usage caps are not supported in that pricing model. So read the approval screen: if it shows a maximum per cycle, that is your ceiling. If it shows only a per-unit price, ask the developer in writing what limits your exposure.

How do you work out per-conversation or per-ticket pricing?

Multiply your realistic monthly volume by the unit price, add the base fee, then test a busy month. The question is not what you pay in a quiet month but what a sale, a viral post or a delivery problem does to the bill. Also check what counts as one unit, because definitions differ between apps.

For illustration, imagine an invented store that expects 800 chats in a normal month on a plan with a base fee of $50 and $0.40 per conversation above 500. A normal month costs $50 plus 300 x $0.40, which is $170. During a holiday sale traffic triples to 2,400 chats: $50 plus 1,900 x $0.40, which is $810. The same plan costs nearly five times more in the month you are busiest.

Ask how a unit is counted. Some apps count every chat that opens, some count only chats where the shopper writes a message, and some count a ticket each time a case reopens. A greeting that a shopper ignores should not cost you anything, but only the vendor's billing terms tell you whether it does.

What should you check about trials and automatic upgrades?

Write down the exact trial end date and set a reminder two days before it. Then check what happens when you outgrow your plan: whether the app moves you to a larger plan automatically, adds usage charges, or stops working. Any change to what you pay should need your approval on Shopify's screen, not a line in the terms.

Trial rules vary by app, so the approval screen and the app's billing terms are the sources that count. Note whether reinstalling restarts the trial or not, and whether the trial covers every feature or only a reduced set. If a plan says it upgrades you "as you grow", ask exactly when, by how much, and whether you get notified before the charge.

What should you check before installing an AI chat app?

Check six things before you approve: how the app bills, the unit it charges for, the cap per cycle, the trial end date, what happens at the plan limit, and how to cancel. If you cannot answer any of these from the listing, the approval screen or the vendor's written reply, wait until you can.

Use the table below as a checklist. It works for any chat, help desk or AI sales app, and pairs well with our broader checklist for choosing an AI shopping assistant.

How Tycoon is built for this

Tycoon, an AI sales agent for Shopify in early access, is built around one price you approve up front. Each plan is one fixed monthly price shown before you choose, charged through Shopify's billing on your Shopify bill. There are no usage fees and no overage fees, and there is a Free plan.

At the monthly conversation limit, the AI agent pauses until the next month, an upgrade or extra conversations you approve in Shopify; shoppers can still reach your team or leave a message. It never moves you to a bigger plan or charges without your approval. You can switch to Free or uninstall at any time. Plans and limits are on the pricing page, and the full list of merchant worries and how Tycoon answers each is on Why Tycoon.

For the wider picture of what merchants report about these apps, billing included, read what merchants complain about in AI chat apps. If you have a billing question about Tycoon, the help page is the place to start.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Shopify Help Center: App charges on your invoice · checked October 28, 2026
2. Shopify.dev: Create usage-based subscriptions · checked October 28, 2026
3. Shopify.dev: Managed pricing · checked October 28, 2026