Shopify Custom App vs App Store App: Which Does Your Store Need?
Should you install an app from the Shopify App Store or have a custom app built for your store? How each works, what changed with private apps, and how to decide.
Most Shopify stores run on a stack of apps: reviews, bundles, shipping rates, email, inventory. For most needs, an app from the Shopify App Store is the right answer. But sooner or later many stores hit something no app quite does, or find themselves paying for five subscriptions to cover one workflow.
That’s where a custom app comes in. This guide explains the difference between the two, what changed when Shopify retired private apps, and how to decide which one your store needs.
What an app store app is
An app store app is a public app. A developer builds it once, lists it in the Shopify App Store, and any merchant can install it. Shopify reviews public apps before they’re listed, and the developer can charge merchants through Shopify, usually as a monthly subscription.
Because the app has to work for thousands of different stores, it covers the common case well and offers settings for the rest. You can try one in minutes and remove it just as quickly.
What a custom app is
A custom app is built for a single store. It can read and change store data through Shopify’s APIs, react to orders and inventory changes through webhooks, add tools to your admin, or run custom logic in checkout with Shopify Functions. Nobody else can find it, because it isn’t in the App Store.
Instead of a public listing, a custom app is installed with a link generated for your store. Stores that belong to one Shopify Plus organization can share one custom app across them.
What happened to private apps?
If you’ve heard of “private apps”, they’re the old name for the same idea. Shopify replaced them with custom apps, and custom apps are now created in the Dev Dashboard rather than inside the store admin. Custom apps made in the admin before 2026 still work and can be managed there. In practice, you don’t need to do anything: a developer sets the app up and gives you a link to install it.
Side by side
| App store app | Custom app | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Many stores | Your store |
| Time to start | Minutes | Days to weeks |
| Cost model | Usually a monthly subscription, sometimes per order | A one-time build, then hosting and any changes you request |
| Fit to your process | Standard cases, plus settings | Exactly what you specify |
| Who maintains it | The app’s developer | Your developer |
| Where your data goes | Through the app’s servers | Through a system you control |
| Can be shared with other stores | Yes, that’s the point | Only within one Plus organization |
When an app store app is the right call
- The feature is common. Product reviews, back-in-stock alerts, email marketing and loyalty points have mature apps.
- You’re early. While you’re still finding what your store needs, a monthly app costs far less than a build.
- You want to test an idea. Install it, see if it moves your numbers, and uninstall if it doesn’t.
- The settings cover your rules. If the app can do it without a workaround, you don’t need custom code.
When a custom app is worth it
- Your rules are specific. Member-only products, quantity limits, bundles priced by combination, or discounts that depend on customer history.
- You need systems to talk. Syncing orders and stock with a POS, warehouse, accounting tool or marketplace, with retries so nothing is lost.
- Your team does something by hand. A bulk edit, approval or report that could be a screen inside your admin.
- Subscriptions are stacking up. Several paid apps, several scripts slowing the storefront, and one custom app could replace them.
- Per-order fees add up. A custom app’s running cost is mostly hosting, which doesn’t grow with every sale.
A quick way to decide
Things to know before commissioning one
- Ownership. Agree up front that the app and its code are yours, and where it’s hosted.
- Access. Store owners can manage apps by default; staff need the app development permission to do so.
- Upkeep. Shopify retires old API versions on a schedule, so a custom app needs the occasional update to keep working. Ask who will do it.
- Scope. A good custom app does one job well. Define that job in plain words before anything is built.
- Reliability. If the app handles orders or payments, ask how it handles retries, duplicate events and failures.
The last point matters more than it looks. We covered it in Zapier vs a custom integration, and the same questions apply to a custom Shopify app that syncs data.
Next steps
If you’re deciding between the two, write down the one job you want done and the apps you’ve already tried. That’s usually enough to tell whether an app will do or a custom app is worth scoping. For Philippine stores that also sell on Shopee and Lazada, see why your own Shopify store belongs alongside your marketplace shops. To talk through your own case, see our Shopify store development service.