Make the Headless App available on the Starter Plan ($5) — Is it possible?

Shopify Apps
1

Hey Shopify community! :waving_hand:

I wanted to raise a point that I think could benefit a lot of developers and entrepreneurs here.

Currently, to use the Headless app on Shopify, you need to be on at least the Basic plan, which comes at a much higher cost. However, many of us who use Headless architecture don’t actually need the full Shopify storefront at all. We simply want to leverage Shopify’s powerful backend (product management, inventory, orders, etc.) and then build our own custom frontend using tools like Framer, Webflow, or any other framework.

For these use cases, the Starter plan at $5/month would be more than enough, since we’re not using Shopify’s native storefront anyway.

So my question is: Would it be possible for Shopify to make the Headless app available on the Starter plan?

This would be a great move for:

  • :technologist: Developers building custom storefronts

  • :rocket: Entrepreneurs who want to use Shopify as a headless CMS/backend only

  • :light_bulb: Anyone experimenting with Framer or Webflow + Shopify integrations

It seems counterintuitive to force users to pay for features they don’t need just to access the Headless functionality. Making it available on the Starter plan would open up Shopify to a much wider audience of developers and creators.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this, and if anyone from the Shopify team could shed some light on whether this is something being considered, that would be amazing! :folded_hands:

Thanks in advance!

2

I agree with your point. At the moment, if the Headless app is not available on the Starter plan, then it looks like a Shopify plan-level limitation, not something that can be fixed from the code side.

The practical solution would be either to upgrade to the Basic plan or use a custom app/API setup if your store has the required API access. I’d also suggest contacting Shopify Support directly and sharing this use case with them. They can confirm the exact plan limitation and maybe pass this feedback to the relevant Shopify team.

3

Hey @Darackk ,
Shopify headless access is not available on the starter plan, and this can not be changed or bypassed using code or workaround.
Upgrade to the Basic plan or higher this is required for Headless
Submit a feature request to Shopify
Use an alternative backend solution if budget is a concern
I hope this will help you
Thank You…

4

Hi @Darackk . I hope you are doing great.

Your point is totally valid. You are not alone in thinking this. It feels weird to pay for the Basic Shopify plan just to access the feature when you are only using it for a backend on Framer or Webflow.

Here is what I think could help:

  1. First, try using Shopify’s Storefront API. It is available on the Starter plan. Lets you get at products, collections, and cart functions. That might work well for your custom frontend.

  2. Next, leave a request on the Shopify Ideas Board. Getting others to upvote it will help push the issue onto their roadmap.

  3. Lastly, talk to Shopify support about your setup. Sometimes they offer alternatives. Make exceptions for special cases.

Using the Storefront API could fulfill your needs for now. Hopefully, Shopify will open up access to lower-tier plans soon.

I hope this helps give you some directions. If my reply worked out for you, hit that like button. Mark it as the solution.

6

Thanks for the clarity on this. I understand the limitation is hard-set and there’s no bypass. The feature request route seems like the most constructive path forward at this point, alongside exploring whether the Storefront API alone can cover the basics.

7

That’s actually a really interesting point about the Storefront API being available on the Starter plan. I wasn’t fully aware of that. I’ll definitely dig into it and see how far it can take me for a Framer/Webflow setup. If it covers products, collections and cart functions, it might actually be a solid workaround for now. The Shopify Ideas Board suggestion is also great, I’ll make sure to post there and share the link here so everyone can upvote it.

8

You’re absolutely right, this is clearly a plan-level decision, not something that can be worked around from the code side. That’s exactly why I think it needs to be addressed directly by Shopify. Contacting support to share this specific use case is a good move and I’ll do that. Hopefully having multiple people do the same will put some pressure on the right team.

9

For sure, it will definitly helps.