Balance Depo alternative: Balance Due vs Depo for Shopify deposits
Depo has been on the Shopify App Store since 2020 and covers more order types than Balance Due, including POS, draft orders and cash on delivery. The main difference is how you pay for it.
In short: Depo and Balance Due both take a deposit at Shopify checkout and charge the balance later from the saved card. Depo adds a 0.5% to 1% processing fee on top of its monthly plan and covers draft orders, POS and cash on delivery. Balance Due is a flat monthly price with no processing fee and handles online orders only.
The short version
Depo charges a monthly subscription plus a processing fee: $9 a month plus 1% + $0.20, $49 plus 0.75% + $0.15, or $149 plus 0.5% + $0.10, according to its listing in September 2026. Balance Due is a flat monthly price with no percentage on any plan. If your deposit orders are high value, that difference is most of the decision; if you need deposits on draft orders or at the till, Depo does things Balance Due does not.
What the processing fee costs
For every $10,000 of orders processed through Depo, its processing fee comes to roughly $100 on Starter, $75 on Lite or $50 on Pro, plus the fixed amount per order, on top of the monthly plan. A furniture maker taking $30,000 a month through deposit orders would pay around $150 to $300 a month in processing fees alone. On Balance Due the same store pays its plan price and nothing else.
Side by side
| Feature | Balance Due | Depo |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Flat monthly in GBP, £0 to £99.99, no processing fee | $9, $49 or $149 a month plus a 1%, 0.75% or 0.5% processing fee, billed in USD |
| Free plan | Yes, up to 3 open payment plans | No, 14-day free trial |
| Deposit at Shopify checkout | Yes, as a Shopify purchase option | Yes |
| Automatic balance charge from the saved card | Yes, on Shopify Payments and PayPal Express | Yes |
| Instalments | On Shopify Plus stores, Growth and Pro plans | Split payments (see its listing for details) |
| Pay link fallback | Yes, with reminders and retries | Invoices sent from its dashboard |
| Fulfilment hold until paid | Shopify's own hold, automatic | Not stated on its listing |
| Draft order deposits | No | Yes |
| Shopify POS deposits | No | Yes |
| Cash on delivery balance | No | Yes |
| Shopify Plus required | No | No |
| App Store status | Early access | Live since 2020, Built for Shopify, rated 4.5 from 98 reviews |
Depo details are taken from its Shopify App Store listing as of 20 September 2026. Pricing and features change, so check the listing before deciding.
When Depo is the better fit
- You take deposits on draft orders or at the till on Shopify POS.
- You sell into cash-on-delivery markets and want the balance collected on delivery.
- You want an app that is live today with a long review history and Built for Shopify status; Balance Due is in early access.
When Balance Due is the better fit
- Your deposit orders are high value and a percentage fee would cost more than a flat plan.
- You want the fulfilment hold, retries, reminders and the customer payment page working without configuration.
- You sell online only and want Shopify's outstanding amount to be the single source of truth.
- You want to start free: Balance Due's Free plan covers up to 3 open payment plans.
Depo vs Balance Due questions
How much does Depo cost?
As of September 2026 its Shopify App Store listing shows three plans billed in USD: Starter at $9 a month plus a 1% + $0.20 processing fee, Lite at $49 a month plus 0.75% + $0.15, and Pro at $149 a month plus 0.5% + $0.10, each with a 14-day free trial. Check the listing for current pricing.
Does Balance Due charge a processing fee?
No. Balance Due is a flat monthly price, from free for up to 3 open payment plans to £99.99 a month, with no percentage or per-order fee on any plan.
Can Balance Due take deposits on draft orders or at POS?
No. Balance Due uses Shopify's deferred purchase options, which work in the online checkout only. If you need deposits on draft orders or Shopify POS, Depo covers both.
Can I switch from Depo mid-flight?
Orders already placed with Depo keep their Depo schedule; Balance Due only manages orders placed on its own plans. Run both until the old orders are paid, then remove Depo.
Do both use Shopify's checkout?
Balance Due takes the deposit in Shopify's own checkout through deferred purchase options. Depo also works with Shopify's checkout and additionally handles draft orders and POS; its own documentation explains how each order type is handled.
Try it on a test order
The fastest comparison is a deposit order on your own dev store with Shopify's test gateway.