You can cancel your Shopify free trial in about two minutes from your admin dashboard. No charges apply if you cancel before the trial ends, and you don’t need to contact support or submit a request. Here’s exactly how to do it on desktop and mobile, plus what to check before you hit that final button.
Cancel on Desktop
Log in to your Shopify admin as the store owner (only the account owner can cancel). Then follow these steps:
- Go to Settings, then click Plan.
- Click Cancel trial.
- Shopify may show you alternatives like downgrading or pausing. Skip past these if you want to fully cancel.
- Review any Shopify domains you purchased and any pending charges. Select Cancel my plan and uninstall all apps, then click Continue.
- Choose a reason for canceling and optionally leave a comment.
- Click Continue.
- You’ll see an option to save your payment details in case you want to reactivate later. Check or skip it.
- Enter your password and click Cancel trial.
That’s it. If you cancel during the free trial without ever choosing a paid plan, Shopify confirms no additional action is required on your end.
Cancel on Mobile
Open the Shopify app and make sure you’re logged in as the store owner. Tap the three-dot menu (… or ⋮), then tap Settings and Plan. From there, tap Cancel trial and walk through the same prompts: review domains and pending charges, select “Cancel my plan and uninstall all apps,” pick a cancellation reason, enter your password, and confirm.
Check Third-Party Apps First
If you installed any third-party apps from the Shopify App Store during your trial, make sure they’re uninstalled before you cancel. Apps removed within their own stated trial period shouldn’t charge you. But if an app’s free trial has already expired, you could still see a charge even after your store is closed.
To be safe, go to Settings > Apps and sales channels in your admin and uninstall anything you added. If you’re unsure whether an app will bill you, visit its listing in the Shopify App Store and use the “Get Support” link to contact the developer directly. This is worth doing before you cancel, not after, since you’ll lose easy access to your admin once the store is deactivated.
Transfer a Domain Before Canceling
If you bought a custom domain through Shopify during your trial, canceling the store doesn’t automatically give you that domain back. You need to transfer it to another registrar before (or shortly after) you close the store, or you risk losing it and getting hit with a renewal fee.
To transfer, go to Settings > Domains in your admin. Unlock the domain and request an authorization code (sometimes called an EPP code or transfer code). Then go to whichever domain registrar you want to use, start a domain transfer, and paste in the authorization code. The transfer typically takes a few days to complete. If you never purchased a domain and only used the free “myshopify.com” address, you can skip this step entirely.
What Happens to Your Store After Canceling
Once you confirm cancellation, your storefront goes offline and your checkout stops working. Shopify retains your store data for a limited window so you can reactivate if you change your mind. If you saved your payment details during cancellation, reactivating is faster since you won’t need to re-enter billing info. Your “myshopify.com” store URL may or may not remain available if you wait too long, so reactivate sooner rather than later if you think you’ll come back.
You won’t be charged anything for the trial period itself. If you never entered payment information, there’s nothing to bill. If you did enter a card when signing up, Shopify won’t charge it as long as you cancel before the trial expires.
If You’re Not Ready to Fully Cancel
Shopify offers a Pause and Build plan for store owners who want to step away without losing their setup. It keeps your admin accessible at a reduced monthly rate, but it disables checkout across all sales channels, meaning customers can browse but can’t buy. You also lose access to discounts, abandoned cart recovery, gift cards, and third-party integrations like Facebook and Google shopping.
There’s a catch for trial users, though: the Pause and Build plan is only available to stores that have already moved to a paid plan. If you’re still on the free trial, you can’t pause. Your options are either to cancel outright or to pick a paid plan first and then switch to Pause and Build at the end of that billing cycle.