Closing your Shopify store means canceling your subscription and removing your storefront from the internet

Shopify does not require you to keep a store running indefinitely. You can close it at any time by canceling your subscription plan through your account settings. When you do, Shopify will stop charging you, your store will go offline within 48 hours, and your domain will stop pointing to your storefront. Your data remains accessible for a limited time, but your customers will no longer be able to browse or purchase from your site.

The process itself takes about five minutes. You do not need to contact Shopify support unless something goes wrong. However, there are a few decisions to make before you cancel — about your domain, your data, and whether you want to keep your store paused instead of fully closed.

Key Takeaways

  • You cancel a Shopify subscription by going to Settings > Plan and Billing, clicking "Cancel subscription," and confirming the cancellation in an email Shopify sends you.
  • Your store goes offline within 48 hours, but you can read your product data, customer information, and order history before or after cancellation.
  • If you own your domain name separately from Shopify, you must update the domain's DNS records or it will point nowhere after your store closes.
  • Pausing your store (available on some plans) keeps your data intact and costs less than a full subscription, but your store still goes offline.
  • Shopify keeps your account data for 90 days after cancellation, giving you time to read anything you need before it is permanently deleted.

How to cancel your subscription in Shopify admin

Log into your Shopify admin dashboard using your email and password. Click the settings icon (gear symbol) in the bottom left corner, then select "Plan and Billing" from the menu. You will see your current plan displayed with a button labeled "Cancel subscription" or "Change plan." Click "Cancel subscription."

Shopify will show you a cancellation form asking why you are closing the store. You can select a reason from the dropdown menu or leave it blank — your answer does not affect whether the cancellation goes through. Click "Cancel subscription" again to confirm. Shopify will send you a confirmation email within a few minutes. Click the link in that email to finalize the cancellation. Your subscription will end at the end of your current billing cycle, and you will not be charged again.

If you are on a monthly plan, your store will go offline on the last day of that month. If you are on an annual plan, you can request a refund for unused time, though Shopify's refund policy varies. Check your confirmation email or contact Shopify support if you want to discuss a refund before you cancel.

What happens to your domain when you close

If you purchased your domain through Shopify, you still own it after you close your store. The domain will not be deleted, but it will stop pointing to your Shopify storefront. You can keep the domain registered (Shopify will continue to charge you the annual renewal fee) and point it to a different website later, or you can let it expire by not renewing it.

If you registered your domain elsewhere — through GoDaddy, Namecheap, Google Domains, or another registrar — Shopify has no control over it. However, you will need to update your domain's DNS records so it no longer points to Shopify's servers. If you do not change the DNS records, visitors who type your domain name will see an error page. Log into your domain registrar's account, find the DNS settings, and either delete the Shopify nameservers or point the domain to a new host. Your domain registrar's support team can walk you through this if you are unsure.

Downloading your data before or after closing

Shopify lets you read your store data in CSV format (a spreadsheet file that opens in Excel or Google Sheets). You can do this before you cancel, after you cancel, or even after your store goes offline. Go to Settings > Data and Privacy, then scroll to "read your data." Click the button to request a read. Shopify will prepare a file containing your products, customers, orders, and other store information and email you a read link within a few hours.

This read is useful if you want to move your store to a different platform, analyze your sales history, or straightforward keep a backup. The file will remain available for seven days. After that, you will need to request a new read. If your account is fully deleted (which happens 90 days after cancellation), you will no longer be able to read your data through Shopify, so read it sooner rather than later if you think you might need it.

Pausing your store instead of closing it

Some Shopify plans offer a "pause" option that costs less than a full subscription but keeps your store data intact. When you pause your store, it goes offline just like a closed store, but you can reactivate it later without losing your products, customers, or settings. Pausing is useful if you are taking a temporary break from selling or want to keep your store ready to restart without rebuilding everything from scratch.

To pause instead of cancel, go to Settings > Plan and Billing and look for a "Pause subscription" button. Not all plans offer this option — Shopify Basic, Shopify, and Advanced plans do, but some older or specialized plans may not. If you do not see a pause option, cancellation is your only choice. A paused store still costs money each month, so this is only worth doing if you plan to reopen within a few months.

What happens to your store after cancellation

Your store will go offline within 48 hours of your subscription ending. Customers who visit your domain will see a blank page or an error message, depending on your domain setup. Your Shopify admin account will remain accessible for 90 days, during which you can still read your data or reactivate your subscription if you change your mind. After 90 days, your account will be permanently deleted, and you will not be able to recover any data.

If you reactivate your subscription within the 90-day window, your store will come back online with all your products, customers, and settings intact. You will be charged for a new subscription starting from the reactivation date. After 90 days, you would need to rebuild your store from scratch if you wanted to use Shopify again.

Handling apps and third-party integrations

If you installed apps from the Shopify App Store — for email marketing, inventory management, accounting, or other functions — those apps will stop working when your store closes. Some apps may continue to charge you even after your Shopify store is offline, so you should uninstall them before you cancel your subscription.

Go to Settings > Apps and Channels in your Shopify admin, find each app you installed, and click "Remove" or "Uninstall." This will stop the app from charging you and remove its access to your store data. If an app continues to charge you after your store is closed, contact the app developer or your credit card company to dispute the charge. Third-party services like email marketing platforms or accounting software that you connected to Shopify will also stop receiving data from your store, so you may want to export your customer list or order history to those services before you close.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I reopen my store after I close it?

Yes, within 90 days of closing. Log into your Shopify account, go to Plan and Billing, and click "Reactivate subscription." Your store will come back online with all your data intact. After 90 days, your account is deleted and you would need to create a new store from scratch.

Will I be refunded for unused time on my subscription?

Shopify's refund policy depends on your plan and how much time is left. Monthly plans typically do not receive refunds, but annual plans may. Check your confirmation email or contact Shopify support before you cancel if you want to know whether a refund is possible for your specific situation.

What if I registered my domain through Shopify and want to keep it?

You own the domain even after your store closes. Shopify will continue to charge you the annual renewal fee to keep it registered. You can point it to a different website by updating the DNS records, or let it expire by not renewing it when the renewal date arrives.

Do I need to contact Shopify support to close my store?

No. You can cancel through your account settings in about five minutes. Contact support only if you have questions about refunds, need help with your domain, or encounter an error during cancellation.

What happens to my customer data after I close?

Your customer information stays in your Shopify account for 90 days. read it before that important date if you need it for another business platform or your records. After 90 days, the data is permanently deleted when your account is removed.