Balance 
Balance Due vs Depositly
Depositly is a newer entrant with a free plan and a low-priced Pro tier. Both apps do deposits and automatic balance collection; the differences are in group payments, holds and support.
At a glance
Competitor details are as of September 2026. Check Depositly's current listing before deciding.
- Both
- Free plan, deposits, automatic balance charge
- Balance Due paid tiers
- GBP £19.99 to £99.99
- Depositly paid tier
- USD, low monthly Pro (check listing)
- Only Depositly
- Instalments, group payments, pay-in-full discounts and badges
- Only Balance Due
- Automatic native hold, retry ladder, overdue flag, merchant alerts
- Support
- UK email, one working day, against check listing
The short version
As of September 2026 Depositly lists a free plan and a Pro plan at a low monthly price in USD, with deposits, instalments, group (shared) payments, reminders and a customer portal. Balance Due has a free plan and three paid tiers in GBP, and does deposits with a single balance: no instalments and no shared payments. Balance Due adds an automatic Shopify fulfilment hold, a retry ladder with payment links, an overdue flag and merchant alerts. Depositly had few or no reviews at the time of writing; check the listing for its current standing.
The honest framing is breadth against depth. Depositly does more kinds of payment. Balance Due does one kind and includes everything that has to happen after it.
Both will take the deposit. The question is which one you trust to get the balance in and keep the parcel on the shelf until it does.
Side by side
| Balance Due | Depositly | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 3 open payment plans | Yes (check listing) |
| Paid pricing | GBP £19.99 to £99.99 | USD, low monthly Pro (check listing) |
| Automatic balance charge | Yes | Yes |
| Instalments | No, a deposit and one balance | Yes |
| Group / shared payments | No | Yes |
| Fulfilment hold until paid | Automatic | Check listing |
| Failed-payment retries | 1, 3, 7 days plus pay link | Check listing |
| Pay-in-full discounts and badges | No | Yes |
| Support | UK email, one working day | Check listing |
Which is the better fit
When Depositly is the better fit
If the payment itself needs to be more than one customer paying one balance, Balance Due does not do that and Depositly does.
- You need one order paid by several people
- You want pay-in-full discounts or storefront badges
- Price is the only criterion and its free plan covers you
When Balance Due is the better fit
If you ship physical goods on a lead time and a missed balance costs you a parcel, the hold and the overdue process are the point.
- You ship physical goods and need the fulfilment hold to be automatic and native
- You want a defined retry and overdue process with the merchant alerted
- You want UK support and GBP billing
What happens after checkout on Balance Due
The part this comparison is really about.
- 1
Order placed
Deposit taken
A Shopify fulfilment hold goes on the order and the customer gets the schedule with a link to their payment page.
- 2
Three days before the balance
Reminder sent
The amount and the date, by email on every plan and by text on Growth and Pro.
- 3
Due date
Balance charged
Charged at 9am store time, receipt sent, hold released, order tagged deposit:paid.
- 4
If the card fails
Payment link sent
A link that accepts any card, and retries after 1, 3 and 7 days. After four failures the order is overdue and you are alerted.
- 5
Paid in full
Ready to ship
The order appears in your morning digest as paid overnight.
Running both to test
Only one app should attach purchase options to a given product. If you want to try both, test them on different products or on a development store with Shopify's Bogus Gateway, where you can place a deposit order and watch what each app does when the balance comes due.
The thing to watch on a test order is not the deposit, which both apps take the same way through Shopify, but what happens on the due date and what happens when you decline the test card.
Balance Due's Free plan is limited to 3 orders with an open balance at any time and carries a small branding line on customer emails. Everything else, including automatic collection and holds, is included.
Related
Pricing
What the free plan includes.
Automatic balance collection
Retries and overdue handling.
SPD alternative
Another multi-feature app.
Depo alternative
Flat monthly price instead of a percentage of every order.
Downpay alternative
Similar model, GBP pricing, holds and reminders on every plan.
Native Shopify deposits (Plus)
What Plus stores get built in, and what every other plan needs an app for.
Questions
Both have free plans. What is the catch?
Balance Due's Free plan is limited to 3 orders with an open balance at any time and carries a small branding line on customer emails. Everything else, including automatic collection and holds, is included.
Can I run both to test?
Only one app should attach purchase options to a given product; test them on different products or a dev store.
Does Balance Due do group or shared payments?
No. One customer, one saved card, one balance. If an order needs to be paid by several people, Depositly is the better fit.
Does Balance Due do instalments?
No. Shopify treats multi-payment schedules as payment-app territory, so Balance Due takes a deposit and collects one balance.
What happens on Balance Due when a balance fails?
The customer gets a payment link that accepts any card, the charge retries after 1, 3 and 7 days, and after the fourth failure the order is marked overdue, tagged in Shopify, and you are alerted.
Is the fulfilment hold automatic?
Yes. It is Shopify's own hold, placed when the deposit order comes in and released when the balance clears, on every plan.
Which currency is Balance Due billed in?
GBP, through Shopify, every 30 days.
Try it on a test order
The fastest comparison is a deposit order on your own dev store with Shopify's test gateway.