Which checkout to use when Shopify ads sell one product

Run your monthly revenue through the checkout cost calculator before you add another subscription.

Prices below come from each company's website. Before judging a checkout I read what merchants have said in public threads, as the research method describes.

Why a store theme gets in the way of an ad

A normal store theme shows menus, collections, and other products. The ad promised one offer, so the click should open that offer and then a checkout.

Shopify's pricing table lists checkout customization as Limited on every plan below Plus. Plus is the plan with a fully customizable checkout. Sellers who want a different checkout layout, an order bump on that screen, or a test of the checkout itself end up on Plus, or on a checkout built outside the theme. Read Shopify Checkout vs a custom checkout for how those two setups differ.

Keep Shopify Checkout for a catalog

Shop Pay is why a catalog store keeps the default checkout. Shopify's checkout page says Shop Pay can recognize a returning buyer by email or device, then take payment in one tap. That is worth keeping when the same customer comes back for another product.

Shopify also cites an April 2023 study, done with a large consulting firm, comparing its conversion rate with other checkouts. It also states how many checkout starts one store can handle. Both numbers come from Shopify. Neither has an independent study behind it.

The same page lists post-purchase pages, tracking pixels, and extra checkout fields as Plus features. People posting on r/shopify say a one-click offer after payment raised average order value more than a heavy upsell inside the checkout. On a catalog store, that later offer adds to the order, and Shop Pay still takes the payment. If you keep Shopify's own checkout, start with the Shopify Checkout review.

A Shopify sales funnel builder beside the store

When the ad promotes one main product, the landing page and the checkout can live outside the theme. Shopify can still hold the catalog and ship the order.

Funnelish's Shopify page says you can keep Shopify for the catalog, or run the funnel with no Shopify subscription. It leads with native upsells on a custom checkout. The cheapest plan includes a visitor cap. Match that cap to your monthly ad traffic before you choose the plan. Funnelish's pricing page says the company does not charge a commission on sales.

One comment on r/shopify says third-party checkouts are no longer allowed, and that Shopify may suspend the store. That is one merchant's report. If you use a funnel, point the ad at the funnel URL, and keep the theme checkout for people who browse the store.

Checkout Champ for higher order volume

A store with a lot of orders needs the checkout, the offers, and the customer record in one system. Shopify can still pack and ship the order.

Checkout Champ's homepage says its funnels and custom checkout work with Shopify, and also with BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Magento. The same page lists pre-purchase order bumps and one-click upsells, with A/B/C split testing. Read the checkout split testing guide before you test a whole checkout on a live ad. For a longer look at the order platform, read the Checkout Champ review.

A Shopify checkout alternative with no store subscription

Some products do not need a Shopify subscription. The sale happens on a hosted payment page.

SamCart's pricing page puts one-click upsells and order bumps on Pro, for pages SamCart hosts. Use it when the product is sold on those pages. Plans, bumps, and processors are spelled out in the SamCart review.

Funnelish can also run with no Shopify subscription. Its Shopify page includes a standalone funnel. SamCart hosts the payment page for a digital product sold there. That standalone funnel keeps landing pages around the offer, and it does not need a Shopify plan.

Bump first, one-click after

A sales funnel builder puts the landing page and the checkout on one path. On a Shopify upsell funnel, the order bump sits on that checkout, and the one-click upsell charges after the buyer has paid.

Checkout Champ lists the bump and the one-click upsell as two offers, and it can split-test them. SamCart includes both on Pro. The bump is a box on the form the buyer completes. The one-click upsell is the next page, and it charges the card the buyer already entered. In the r/shopify thread linked above, merchants said that later page raised average order value more than several upsells on the checkout form. The order bump and upsell revenue calculator turns those two offers into added revenue per 1,000 orders. The custom checkout review covers running your own checkout.

Fees on top of the Shopify plan

You still pay for Shopify if the store stays open. The plan table adds a third-party transaction fee when Shopify Payments is not the processor. Funnel tools charge as well. Funnelish says it takes no commission on a sale. Checkout Champ Growth adds a percentage of sales processed on the platform to its monthly fee. SamCart puts the bumps and the one-click upsells on Pro.

The ad has to point at the funnel URL. If Shopify still ships the product, the order has to reach the store. Put both the store plan and the funnel plan into the calculator linked at the top before you move a live ad.

My take

For cold ads that sell one product, I would use a checkout built outside the store theme. I would start with Funnelish when Shopify still holds the catalog and ships the order. Checkout Champ is the heavier option when bumps, upsells, and split tests sit in the same system as the orders. A catalog whose returning buyers pay with Shop Pay should stay on Shopify Checkout, with the extra offer on the order confirmation page so those buyers can still use Shop Pay.

With no Shopify store and a digital product, SamCart's hosted page is enough.

Your next step

Enter your monthly sales in the checkout cost calculator. Then pick the plan that includes the order bump or the post-purchase offer. The other guides are linked from Best of.

Questions sellers ask

Can a funnel replace the theme checkout?

Point the ads at the funnel URL, and leave the theme checkout for people browsing the store. Replacing Shopify's own checkout with an outside one is what that merchant comment says can lead to a suspension. Funnelish and Checkout Champ both say their checkouts can run with a Shopify store.

Do you need Plus to add an upsell?

Shopify Plus is the plan with a fully customizable checkout, and the checkout page puts post-purchase pages on that plan. An offer on Funnelish, Checkout Champ, or SamCart uses that company's checkout, on the plan shown on its card.

How is an order bump different from a one-click upsell?

An order bump is an extra item on the checkout form, chosen before the buyer pays. A one-click upsell charges again after that payment, on the card already used. Merchants in the thread above said the second charge raised the order total more than upsells placed on the form.

Will Shopify show the order?

Funnelish can keep Shopify as the catalog, or sell with no Shopify plan. Checkout Champ says it works with Shopify stores. SamCart's pricing page describes checkout pages that SamCart hosts.

Sources

• Shopify pricing
• Shopify Checkout
• Funnelish pricing
• Funnelish for Shopify
• Checkout Champ pricing
• Checkout Champ
• SamCart pricing
• r/shopify thread on an external checkout
• r/shopify thread on checkout offers