Pause or close your store in Shopify
A seasonal store does not need to keep paying the full plan while it is closed, and a store that is finished does not need to keep paying at all. This tutorial pauses the example store on the Pause and Build plan, a legacy plan still open to stores already on it, and shows the close path beside it. If your store is not on the Pause and Build plan, the way to take a break is to deactivate the store, which keeps its information for two years.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 6 minutes read
The worked example
| Action in the example | Pause, on the Pause and Build plan |
| Billing cycle ends | 30 November 2026 |
| Selling days left | 19 |
| Data kept after deactivation | 2 years |
| Who can pause | Store owner, past the free trial, on a paid plan |
Download the checklist: pause-close-checklist.csv (132 bytes).
A pause-or-close checklist for the worked example. The billing cycle ends 19 days after the pause, and the store data is kept for 2 years, 731 days.
1Open Plan
From your Shopify admin, go to Settings then Plan.
2Check the requirements
Check the requirements first. Your store must meet the following: you must be the store owner, your store needs to be past the free trial period, and your store needs to be on a paid plan. The Pause and Build plan is not available to stores on the Shopify Plus plan. The Pause and Build plan is also a legacy plan: a store not already on it cannot switch to it, and the break path for that store is deactivation, covered in the last step.
3Click Cancel plan
Click Cancel plan. The pause and close options sit behind that button, so do not stop at the label.
4Pick Pause and build
If the Pause and build plan is offered to your store, select it. Review the details, then click Switch to Pause and build. Your store will be paused and running at a reduced subscription fee.
5Know what stops
After you switch to the Pause and Build plan, your checkout is deactivated across all sales channels, such as the Point of Sale channel. You cannot use online store checkout, POS, discounts, abandoned checkout recovery, gift cards, or third-party integrations such as Facebook and Google to publish your products.
6Know what keeps working
On the Pause and Build plan, you can access your Shopify admin and edit your products, access basic reports about your site performance, and view your online storefront. Customers can still review your products, but they cannot buy them. All your apps remain active after you pause your store.
7Reopen, or close for good
To reopen, log in and select a new plan: when you decide to unpause, you will need to select a new plan, as your old plan is no longer valid. If the Pause and Build plan was not offered to your store, deactivate the store from the same Cancel plan path instead: the store information is kept for two years after deactivation. To close for good instead, use the same Cancel plan path and confirm the cancellation. The store stays live until the end of the current billing cycle, and Shopify keeps its data for two years so you can reopen it.
The arithmetic
| Milestone | Date | Days from 11 November 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Pause chosen | 11 November 2026 | 0 |
| Billing cycle ends | 30 November 2026 | 19 |
| Data kept until | 11 November 2028 | 731 |
The billing cycle ends 19 days after the pause is chosen, on 30 November 2026. Two years of data retention runs 731 days, including 29 February 2028.
Held at the counter
The old plan is gone when you unpause. Selecting the Pause and Build plan means that when you decide to unpause, you will need to select a new plan, as your old plan is no longer valid. Pick the new plan before you need to take orders again.
Pause and Build is not for every store. The Pause and Build plan is a legacy plan, so a store not already on it cannot switch to it; the break path for that store is deactivation, which keeps the store information for two years. The plan is also not available to stores on the Shopify Plus plan, and it needs a store past the free trial on a paid plan.
Pausing does not stop your apps. All your apps remain active after you pause your store. An app with a monthly charge keeps charging, so cancel the apps you do not need before you pause.
Sources
- Pausing your store — Shopify's help pages: the Pause and Build requirements, what stops and what keeps working, and the reopen rule.