Where to Launch a Shopify App: App Store Rules, Custom Distribution and Merchant Communities
Launch a Shopify app through the Shopify App Store if many merchants should install it, or through custom distribution if it is built for one store. The App Store needs a one-time registration fee, passes automated checks and a Shopify review, and lets an organization have only one new app in review at a time. The distribution choice cannot be changed later, so decide before you build the listing.
Public App Store or custom distribution: which one are you launching?
Shopify makes you choose how an app reaches merchants, and its documentation says plainly that you cannot change the choice after you select it. If you keep separate development and production apps, select the distribution method on the production one. The two options differ in ways that decide your whole launch, so read them side by side.
| Public distribution | Custom distribution | |
|---|---|---|
| Who installs it | Many merchants through the Shopify App Store | One store, stores in one Plus organization, or development stores |
| Approval from Shopify | Required | Not required |
| Registration fee | One-time App Store registration fee | None named on that page |
| Shopify’s app billing | Available | Cannot be used to charge merchants |
| Good for | A product you want to sell and grow | Agency work, a client’s private tool |
A custom app is the quickest route to a working customer, since nothing waits on a reviewer. It is also not a launch in the sense this site means: there is no listing to share. If your plan is a product many merchants find, you are on the public path, and the rest of this page is about that path.
Where do merchants actually find and hear about a Shopify app?
The first two entries have rules we could read on Shopify’s own pages. The rest are free channels that reach people who run stores or build for them.
01 Shopify App Store
The official marketplace inside the Shopify admin, where merchants browse and install apps.
- Cost to list
- A one-time registration fee; Shopify’s Get started page gives the amount
- Review
- Automated checks first, then Shopify’s app review team; no fixed time on the pages we read
- Limits
- One new app in review per organization at a time; a published app needs 10 paid installs before the next new app can be submitted
- Screenshots
- 3–6 desktop images at 1600x900 (16:9), at least one showing the app’s UI
The submission flow runs automated tests and asks for mandatory fields before an app can go to a human. Shopify emails you from noreply@shopify.com during review, so add that sender to your allow list. Pass the automated checks cleanly first, because failures add to your time in review.
Shopify calls the listing your biggest marketing tool. It must state pricing and benefits clearly, and screenshots may not include pricing, reviews or outcome guarantees. The Shopify app listing requirements page goes field by field.
02 Custom distribution
A way to install an app on a single store, one Plus organization or development stores without App Store approval.
- Approval
- None needed
- Catch
- Cannot charge merchants through Shopify’s app billing
- Locked in
- The distribution method cannot be changed after you choose it
This suits an app commissioned by one merchant, or a tool you want to test with a few stores before you commit to the public path. There is nothing to launch publicly, and that is the point.
Because the choice is permanent, do not build a prototype as a custom app and expect to flip it to public later. Create a separate app for the public listing when you are ready.
03 Indie Hackers
A founder community with a forum and product pages.
- Account
- Needed to post
- Our check
- We could not read its pages automatically, so this is limited to basics
Posts about pricing, revenue and what a merchant asked for suit a founder audience. A post about what you learned while waiting for Shopify’s review is more interesting than an announcement.
Link the App Store page only once it is live, and say what the app does for a store owner in the first line.
04 Reddit’s ecommerce communities
Subreddits where store owners ask for tools and recommend them.
- Our check
- Reddit refuses automated fetches; read each subreddit’s sidebar rules
- Fits when
- You can answer a store owner’s question without a link
Find threads where merchants describe the problem your app solves and answer them with advice first. Mention your app once, say you built it, and expect moderators to remove anything that reads as an advertisement.
The subreddits for sharing your project page covers how to read a subreddit’s rules before you post.
05 Product Hunt
A large launch site for software, ranked daily.
- Fits when
- The app has a visual demo and a team ready on the day
- Our check
- Its pages blocked our fetch; this entry is basics only
Expect more makers and software enthusiasts than store owners in the comments. That can still bring helpful feedback on the pitch, even if few of them run a shop.
Wait for the App Store listing to be approved, then link it, since the install button is what you want people to press.
06 Post your build ideas (our board)
A free launch board with a shopping category, no account and no queue.
- Role
- A permanent public page to link from your own site
- Limit
- Few merchants browse it; it is a builder audience
Use it while the app is still waiting on review: launch with your own landing page as the link, and add the App Store URL to that page once you are listed. A published launch is final, so the landing page is the part you can keep updating.
It also works in the other direction. If you are still looking for a problem to solve, the shopping ideas on the board and the Shopify app ideas guide show what builders think merchants lack.
How long should you plan for before the first install?
Shopify publishes no review time on the pages we read, so plan in rounds and not in days. A first submission rarely goes through untouched: reviewers return feedback, you fix it, and each exchange adds time. If you fail to address a reviewer’s points after two or more exchanges, Shopify’s docs say the app can be placed in a temporary cooldown during which you cannot submit it.
- Run the automated checks before you touch the listing text.
- Submit your most complete app first, since only one new app can be in review at a time.
- Put a privacy policy in the listing and use only supported API versions; apps using APIs due to be deprecated within 90 days cannot be submitted.
- Use your own landing page and the board to start talking to merchants while you wait.
The Shopify app launch playbook turns this into a calendar, and the app store launch checklist is a good general companion.
Frequently asked questions
Does it cost money to list an app on the Shopify App Store?
Shopify’s distribution page says public distribution requires registering for the Shopify App Store, which has a one-time fee, and points to its Get started page for how to register. We did not copy an amount, since Shopify can change it. Custom distribution has no approval step and the page names no registration fee for it.
Can I switch an app from custom to public distribution later?
No. Shopify’s documentation says you cannot change the distribution method after you select it. If you built a custom app and later want a public listing, create a new app for the public path. Choose carefully before you pick, and use the production app, not a development copy, when you select.
How many apps can I submit at once?
Shopify limits new submissions: only one new app per organization can be in review at a time, and after an app is published it needs 10 or more paid installs before the next new app can be submitted. Updates to apps that are already in review or published are not affected by that limit.
Post your build ideas publishes this page and runs a free launch board that competes with some of the sites it names. Facts about other sites came from their own pages on the date shown above; terms, queues and prices change, so confirm on their sites before you decide. About the publisher.