Checkout upsells without Shopify Plus: what you can actually do
Search for “checkout upsell” and you will find screenshots of offers sitting inside Shopify’s checkout, next to the shipping options or the payment form. On most stores, that isn’t possible: Shopify keeps those spots for its Plus plan. The good news is that the moments around the checkout are open to everyone, and that is where most of the value is anyway.
What needs Plus
Shopify’s checkout is made of steps: contact and delivery information, shipping method, payment. Apps can add content to those steps through checkout UI extensions, but only on Shopify Plus stores. On any other plan, no app can place an offer between the address form and the payment button, whatever its screenshots suggest.
Shopify’s documentation says it plainly: checkout UI extensions for the information, shipping and payment steps are available only to stores on a Shopify Plus plan. Checked on September 18, 2026.
What every plan can use
Four places remain, in the order the customer meets them:
| Where | When | What it can do |
|---|---|---|
| Product page | Before the cart | Show products that go with the one being viewed. Shopify’s free Search & Discovery app lets you pick them, if your theme supports it. |
| Cart page | Just before checkout | Offer an add-on while the order is still open. It can help reach a free-shipping threshold. |
| Post-purchase page | Right after payment, before the thank-you page | A one-click offer added to the same order, without re-entering the card. |
| Thank-you page | Once the order is complete | Show a product or a code for next time. Nothing is added to the current order. |
The cart page does most of what an in-checkout offer would
An offer inside the checkout mostly aims at one moment: after the customer has decided to buy, before they pay. The cart page is exactly that moment. The decision is made, the order is still open, and adding a product costs one click. The only real difference is that the cart page comes before the customer types an address, so the offer can’t depend on the shipping country. For most stores, that is a small loss.
The post-purchase page does something the checkout can’t
Once the customer has paid, the question changes. They are no longer weighing the whole order, only one extra item, and saying yes can’t put the original order at risk because it is already paid. The post-purchase page is available on every plan, with one limit: Shopify skips it for some payment methods, such as wallets and buy now, pay later services.
Which one to start with
- Every order made from the cart page goes past its checkout button: start there if you want the offer seen as often as possible.
- If most of your customers pay by card, the post-purchase page is the gentler choice: nothing stands between them and paying.
- Both at once work well, as long as they never offer the same product twice to the same customer.
Where FlatUpsell fits
FlatUpsell uses the two places that matter and that every plan can use: an offer when the customer clicks checkout on the cart page, and a one-click offer right after payment. No Plus plan needed, and one flat monthly price whatever your volume.