Set usage limits on a discount code in Shopify
Two limits guard a code: a total cap for the budget, and a per-customer cap so one shopper cannot take every use. This tutorial sets up LAUNCH100, worth 15% off orders of $50 or more, with a total limit of 200 uses and one use per customer, running 11 to 30 November 2026.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 4 minutes read
The worked example
| Code | LAUNCH100 |
| Value | 15% off orders of $50 or more |
| Total limit | 200 uses |
| Per-customer limit | One per customer |
| Active | 11 to 30 November 2026 |
| Uses so far | 141 |
| Uses left | 59 |
Download the planner: discount-usage-ledger.csv (110 bytes).
A three-day usage ledger for LAUNCH100 against its 200-use total limit. The uses that day add up to 141, leaving 59.
1Open the discount
From your Shopify admin, go to Discounts and click the discount you want to limit. To set limits while you create a code, use Create discount, then Amount off orders, then Discount code. This tutorial uses LAUNCH100, worth 15% off orders of $50 or more.
2Open the Maximum discount uses section
On the discount page, find the Maximum discount uses section. Discount usage is unlimited by default: if you never open this section, the code can be used without a cap.
3Set the total limit
Check Limit number of times this discount can be used in total and enter 200. The code can then be used 200 times across all customers. With this setting alone, one customer can still use the code more than once.
4Set the per-customer limit
Check Limit to one per customer. Shopify tracks a customer's email address or phone number to enforce the limit, so one customer cannot use LAUNCH100 on order after order.
5Know what happens at the limit
When the 200 uses run out, the code stops working: customers typing it get no discount. The ledger in the download shows the count at 141 uses after three days, with 59 left. Watch the count as the sale runs, and raise the limit or end the code before the uses run out mid-campaign.
6Save
Click Save. Both limits apply from the moment the discount is saved.
The arithmetic
The ledger counts uses against the 200-use total limit.
| Day | Uses that day | Total uses | Uses left |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 November 2026 | 62 | 62 | 138 |
| 12 November 2026 | 48 | 110 | 90 |
| 13 November 2026 | 31 | 141 | 59 |
With the total limit alone, one customer could take many of the 200 uses. That is why this code has both limits: the total cap protects the budget, and the per-customer cap spreads the uses across customers.
Held at the counter
A total limit does not spread the uses. With only a total limit of 200, a single customer can use the code on every order until the 200 uses run out. The per-customer limit is what keeps one shopper from taking the lot.
The per-customer limit is tracked by email or phone. A customer who used the code once and checks out again as a guest with a different email will not be stopped.
A code with no limit set has no limit. Discount usage is unlimited by default. If you never open Maximum discount uses, the code can be used without a cap, however widely it spreads.
Sources
- Amount off discounts — Shopify's help pages: the Maximum discount uses section, the total limit example of 200, and the rule that usage is unlimited by default.