Cancel your Shopify store directly from your account settings

To cancel a Shopify subscription, log into your Shopify admin, go to Settings, then select Plan and permissions. Click "Change plan" and choose the option to cancel your store. Shopify will ask you to confirm and may offer you a discount to stay — you can decline and proceed with cancellation. The process takes a few minutes and your store will be deactivated immediately, though you retain access to download your data for 90 days after cancellation.

You do not need to contact Shopify support to cancel. The self-service cancellation is available to all account holders and works the same way regardless of which plan you are on — Basic, Shopify, Advanced, or any other tier.

If you cannot find the cancellation option in Settings, check that you are logged in as the account owner or have admin permissions. Store staff with limited access cannot cancel the subscription.

Key Takeaways

  • Cancellation happens in your Shopify admin under Settings > Plan and permissions > Change plan, not through email or phone.
  • Your store stops working immediately after you confirm cancellation, but you can download all your store data within 90 days.
  • Shopify may offer a discount code to keep you subscribed — you can ignore it and complete the cancellation anyway.
  • Only the account owner or someone with admin permissions can cancel; staff accounts with limited access cannot.
  • You are not charged again after cancellation, and any unused portion of your current billing cycle is not refunded.

What happens to your store and data after cancellation

Once you confirm cancellation, your Shopify store goes offline immediately. Customers cannot browse your products, place orders, or access your storefront. Any apps you installed through the Shopify App Store are also deactivated.

Shopify keeps your store data — products, customer information, order history, and settings — accessible for 90 days. During this window, you can log back in and download your data as CSV files or use a third-party tool to export everything. After 90 days, Shopify permanently deletes your store data and you cannot recover it.

If you plan to move to another platform, export your product catalog, customer list, and order history before the 90-day window closes. Many platforms like WooCommerce or BigCommerce have import tools that accept Shopify CSV files.

Billing and refunds when you cancel mid-cycle

Shopify does not refund unused portions of your subscription if you cancel before your billing cycle ends. If you are on a monthly plan and cancel on the 15th of the month, you lose access to the store immediately but are not charged again for the remainder of that month.

Check your billing date before you cancel. Shopify bills on the same day each month, so if your billing date is the 1st and you cancel on the 28th, you have already paid for the full month. Cancelling a few days before your next billing date means you avoid an extra charge.

If you were charged after cancelling, or if you believe you were billed in error, contact Shopify support with your order number and billing statement. Shopify handles refund requests on a case-by-case basis.

Cancelling if you have an outstanding balance

If your account has an unpaid invoice or outstanding balance, Shopify will not let you cancel until you settle it. You must pay the balance first, then proceed with cancellation through Settings.

Check your Billing page to see if you have any unpaid charges. If a payment failed, update your payment method and let Shopify retry the charge. Once the balance is zero, you can cancel normally.

If you dispute a charge or believe it is incorrect, contact Shopify support before cancelling. Cancelling does not erase the debt, and Shopify may pursue collection if the balance remains unpaid.

Reactivating your store if you change your mind

If you cancel and then change your mind within the 90-day data retention window, you can reactivate your store by logging back in and selecting a new plan. Your products, customers, and order history will still be there. You will be charged for the new plan starting immediately.

After 90 days, your store data is deleted and cannot be recovered. If you want to restart after that point, you will need to rebuild your product catalog and customer list from scratch or from backups you downloaded before cancellation.

Reactivation does not restore any apps you had installed. You will need to reinstall them from the Shopify App Store and reconfigure their settings.

Cancelling a trial or free plan

If you are on a free trial or a free plan, the cancellation process is the same: go to Settings > Plan and permissions > Change plan and select the cancellation option. You will not be charged, and your store will be deactivated immediately.

Shopify does not charge you for trial or free plans, so there are no refunds or billing consequences. Your data is still retained for 90 days and can be downloaded during that window.

What to do if cancellation is not working

If the cancellation button is missing or grayed out, check that you are logged in as the account owner. Staff accounts with limited permissions cannot cancel subscriptions. If you are the owner and the button still does not appear, try logging out and back in, or use a different browser.

If you have an outstanding balance, Shopify will block cancellation until you pay it. Check your Billing page and update your payment method if needed.

If none of these steps work, contact Shopify support through your admin dashboard. Click Help in the bottom right corner and select "Contact support." Describe what you see when you try to cancel, and include a screenshot if possible. Shopify support can manually cancel your store if there is a technical issue preventing self-service cancellation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I cancel my Shopify subscription anytime, or is there a contract?

Shopify subscriptions have no long-term contract. You can cancel anytime through your account settings. There is no penalty for cancelling early, though you do not receive a refund for unused time in your current billing cycle.

Will my domain name disappear if I cancel Shopify?

If you registered your domain through Shopify, it remains yours after cancellation. You can transfer it to another registrar or keep it parked. If you pointed an external domain to Shopify, you will need to update your DNS records to point elsewhere or the domain will stop working.

What happens to my customer emails and order history?

Your customer list and order history stay in your Shopify account for 90 days after cancellation. Download them as CSV files before that window closes. After 90 days, Shopify permanently deletes this data.

Do I need to cancel my Shopify apps separately?

No. When you cancel your Shopify store, all installed apps are automatically deactivated. You do not need to uninstall them individually. However, if you reactivate your store later, you will need to reinstall any apps you want to use.

Can someone else cancel my store if they have staff access?

No. Only the account owner can cancel a Shopify subscription. Staff members with limited permissions cannot access the Plan and permissions settings, even if they have admin-level access to other parts of the store.