Can you add upsells to Shopify checkout without Plus?
October 26, 2026 · 3 min read
Not inside the checkout steps themselves. Shopify only lets apps add blocks to the information, shipping and payment pages on Shopify Plus. On Basic and higher you can still use apps on the thank you page, the order status page and the post-purchase page, and everything before checkout, such as the product page and the cart drawer, works on any plan. This follows Shopify's help center as of October 26, 2026.
Many upsell apps advertise "checkout upsells" without saying which plan they need. Shopify's rule is short, and it decides what you can do on a plan below Plus.
What each plan allows, page by page
Shopify's help center says apps that customize the thank you and order status pages are available on the Basic plan or higher, and apps that customize the information, shipping and payment pages of checkout are available only on Shopify Plus. Apps built with post-purchase extensions, which add a page between payment and the thank you page, are available on Basic or higher too.
Where the recommendation appears
Basic and higher (not Plus)
Shopify Plus
Product page, cart drawer, cart page (your theme)
Yes
Yes
Checkout: information, shipping and payment steps
No
Yes
Post-purchase page (after payment, before thank you)
Yes, one app at a time
Yes, one app at a time
Thank you page
Yes
Yes
Order status page
Yes
Yes
The cart is your checkout upsell below Plus
If you're not on Plus, the last place to add something before paying is the cart. The cart drawer or cart page is part of your theme, so recommendations there work on any plan and reach every shopper who is about to check out. If your goal is "one more item before they pay", put it in the cart. Theme settings, then Cart, then Cart type tells you whether your store uses a drawer, a page or a popup notification, which decides where the recommendation goes. The cart drawer guide walks through the setup.
How to add an app block to the thank you page
The thank you and order status pages are edited in the checkout editor, not the theme editor. Install an app that offers a block for these pages first, then:
In your Shopify admin, go to Settings, then Checkout.
In the Configurations section, click Edit next to the configuration you use.
In the editor, choose the Thank you page (or Order status page) from the page menu, and open the Sections sidebar.
Click Add block in the section where you want it and pick the app's block.
Drag it into place if needed, set its options, and click Save.
You should see the block in the editor preview right away. Place a test order to see it on a real thank you page.
The post-purchase page: one app only
The post-purchase page shows an offer after payment and before the thank you page. Shopify allows only one app at a time to add post-purchase features, and the Post-purchase page option only appears in Settings, then Checkout, after you finish setting it up in that app. If you already use one post-purchase app, a second one won't run there. The post-purchase vs cross-sell post covers when an offer after payment is worth adding.
What to recommend at each spot
In the cart, recommend small things that go with what's already there: a refill, a case, a matching piece. The shopper hasn't paid yet, so the item joins the same order. On the thank you page the order is done, so suggest what makes sense next: something that completes what they bought, or a product they looked at and didn't buy. Keep it to a few products; the shopper came to the page to see their order. For a comparison with a dedicated post-purchase app, see Dropr vs ReConvert.
Where Dropr fits
Dropr adds recommendations in the cart drawer and cart page on any plan, and on the thank you and order status pages on Basic and higher (the order status block needs Shopify's new customer accounts). On the thank you page, Add to cart puts the product in the store cart, so the shopper can keep browsing or check out again. On Shopify Plus, Dropr also adds a short list inside checkout that shoppers can add to their order without leaving. It doesn't run post-purchase offers.
Frequently asked questions
Do "checkout upsell" apps work on the Basic plan?
Only on the pages Shopify opens to Basic: thank you, order status and post-purchase. An app that adds blocks inside the information, shipping or payment steps needs Plus. Check the app's listing for which pages it uses.
Can a thank you page recommendation join the order the shopper just paid for?
No. By the thank you page the order is placed, so a recommendation there starts a new cart. Adding to the paid order is what the post-purchase page is for.
