Custom Shopify App vs Private App vs Public App: Which One You Actually Need

Shopify has three categories of apps. The terminology is, frankly, confusing — "custom" and "private" mean different things to Shopify than they do in English. The decision between them shapes the next two years of your store.

I build Shopify apps for clients monthly. Roughly half the time, the first call is spent unwinding what Shopify, an agency, or a previous developer told them about which app type to use. Let me set the record straight.

The three app types in 2026

Public app

Listed on the Shopify App Store. Anyone can install it. Submitted through Shopify's review process. Subject to Shopify's commerce model (Shopify takes a revenue share). What most people mean when they say "Shopify app."

Custom app

Built for one specific merchant, distributed to that merchant only via an install link. No App Store listing. No Shopify revenue share. Most B2B internal tools and merchant-specific automations are custom apps.

Private app (deprecated, mostly)

Shopify deprecated private apps in 2022. They still technically exist for legacy stores, but new builds should not use them. If a developer tells you in 2026 they're going to build you a "private app," they probably mean "custom app" and are using the old terminology.

From here on, the real choice is custom vs public.

When you need a custom app

• You need to automate internal ops. Order routing, inventory sync to external WMS, custom reporting, finance integrations.
• You need workflows the App Store doesn't cover. A B2B catalog logic specific to your industry, a custom pricing engine for one client tier, an internal portal.
• You don't want to share data with a third party. Public apps require you to grant access to a third-party developer's database. Custom apps live entirely under your control.
• You're already paying for 5+ apps that overlap. Often a single custom app replaces $300–$800/month of App Store subscriptions and pays itself back in 8–14 months.

When you should build a public app

• You want to commercialize it. If 100 other merchants would pay $20/month for it, build a public app.
• You need Shopify's distribution. The App Store is a real sales channel — millions of merchants browse it.
• You're OK with Shopify's revenue share. 0–15% depending on tier and revenue level.
• You're committed to ongoing maintenance. Public apps must keep up with Shopify API changes, security reviews, and support tickets.

What custom apps actually cost

Here's a real range from the last two years of builds:

• Simple custom app ($5K–$15K) — single integration, one or two endpoints. Example: sync new orders to a Slack channel, or push orders into Xero.
• Mid-complexity custom app ($15K–$50K) — multi-step workflow, admin UI inside Shopify, persistent data. Example: a B2B reorder portal with saved templates and tier pricing logic.
• Enterprise custom app ($50K–$150K+) — full internal system. Example: end-to-end OMS integration with custom shipping logic, supplier portal, and inventory orchestration across 12 locations.

Maintenance is real. Budget 15–25% of build cost annually for keeping it up to date with Shopify API changes, bug fixes, and small feature requests.

The decision tree I use with clients

1. Does the App Store already have something that solves 80% of your need? Install it. Don't build.
2. Are you paying $300+/month across multiple overlapping apps? Build a custom app to consolidate.
3. Are you doing something Shopify's APIs allow but no public app handles? Custom app.
4. Do you want to sell this to other merchants? Public app — even if the first version is built for one merchant.
5. Is the use case so specific that no one else would pay for it? Custom app. Always.

Common mistakes I see

Building a public app for a one-merchant use case. You'll spend 30% more on the build to handle multi-tenancy you don't need, and you'll then maintain a billing/auth/support stack for one customer.

Choosing public because "it's safer." Custom apps are not less safe. They're often safer — your data doesn't leave your control.

Trying to replicate an App Store app for $2K. If a public app does what you need and costs $30/month, install the public app. Building a worse version of it costs more in dev time than three years of the subscription.

The honest summary

Custom is right for merchant-specific internal tools. Public is right for products you want to commercialize. If you're confused about which one fits, the question to ask is: "would I pay for this every month if someone else built it?" Yes → public. No → custom. That's the whole framework.

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If you'd rather not do this yourself

This is the work I do for clients. If you want it done properly, the relevant offer is Custom App Development.

Read about Custom App Development  →

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