How CompareKit billing works
CompareKit offers three plans:
| Plan | Price | Monthly comparisons | BYOK (own AI key) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Development | Free | 25 | All features included |
| Free | Free | 25 | — |
| Pro | From $9/month | 500 – 1,000,000 | Available |
The Development plan is automatically assigned to Shopify development stores and includes all features at no cost. It's designed for testing before you launch.
The Free plan is available to all stores and is a great way to try CompareKit with your live store.
The Pro plan lets you choose your monthly comparison volume using a slider — from 500 up to 1,000,000 comparisons per month. The price adjusts based on how many comparisons you need, starting at $9/month.
You can view all available plans and your current plan on the Plans page inside the CompareKit app.
How usage is tracked
Each time a customer generates a comparison on your storefront, it counts as one comparison against your monthly allowance — even if the result is served from cache.
Your usage counter is aligned with your Shopify billing cycle, not the calendar month. This means your allowance resets on the same day your Shopify subscription renews (every 30 days from when you first subscribed). For stores on the Free or Development plan, the counter resets on the 1st of each calendar month.
You can see exactly how many comparisons you've used, your limit, and the current billing period dates on the Plans page.
Unlimited comparisons with your own AI key (BYOK)
Merchants on the Pro plan (and Development stores) can connect their own AI API key to unlock unlimited comparisons. This is called "Bring Your Own Key" (BYOK).
When you add your own key, your comparisons are processed using your AI account directly, so they do not count against your plan's monthly limit. Your dashboard will show an Unlimited badge instead of the usage progress bar.
BYOK is available on the Pro plan and Development stores only. The Free plan uses CompareKit's built-in AI with the standard 25 comparisons per month.
CompareKit supports the following AI providers:
Google Gemini
OpenAI (GPT)
Anthropic Claude
Mistral
DeepSeek
Grok (xAI)
Alibaba Qwen
For detailed setup instructions and links to get your API key from each provider, see Using Your Own AI API Key (BYOK).
If you remove your API key, your usage reverts to your plan's standard comparison limit. Only non-BYOK comparisons already made during the current billing period count toward that limit. For example, if you used your own key for 500 comparisons and then removed it, those 500 would not count — only comparisons made without your key are counted.
What happens when you reach your limit
When your store hits 100% of its monthly comparison allowance:
New comparisons are blocked — customers will see a friendly "Comparison limit reached" message instead of a comparison table
Email alerts — CompareKit sends email notifications to your store admin when you reach 80%, 95%, and 100% of your limit, so you're never caught off guard
Warning banners — the Plans page and Dashboard show warning banners as you approach your limit
Existing cached comparisons will continue to work — only new comparison requests are blocked.
Stores using BYOK (their own AI key) are never subject to comparison limits, so you won't see usage warnings or hit any cap.
If you're seeing this message unexpectedly, check the Troubleshooting Common Issues guide for help.
Checking your current usage
Open CompareKit in your Shopify admin
Go to the Plans page from the sidebar
You'll see a usage bar showing your current count against your limit (e.g., "750 / 1,000 comparisons used")
Below the bar, the billing period start and end dates are displayed
The usage bar changes color as you approach your limit — green when under 70%, yellow between 70–90%, and red above 90%.
Upgrading your plan
Go to the Plans page
Use the slider to select your desired comparison volume
Click Subscribe
Shopify will ask you to confirm the charge
Once approved, your new plan and limit take effect immediately
Your usage counter carries over — it doesn't reset when you upgrade mid-cycle.
Downgrading your plan
You can downgrade at any time from the Plans page. How the downgrade works depends on what you're moving to:
Downgrading to a lower Pro tier
If you reduce your comparison volume (e.g., from 10,000 to 2,000 comparisons), your new limit takes effect immediately. If you've already exceeded the new limit during the current billing period, new comparisons will be blocked until your next billing cycle.
Example: You're on Pro with a 10,000 comparison limit and you've already used 3,000 comparisons this month. You downgrade to 2,000 comparisons. Since 3,000 > 2,000, new comparisons are blocked for the rest of this billing period. When your next billing cycle starts, your usage resets to 0 and you'll have 2,000 fresh comparisons.
Downgrading to the Free plan
When you move to the Free plan:
Your active Shopify subscription charge is cancelled
Your custom comparison limit is cleared
Your limit reverts to the Free plan's 25 comparisons per month
If you've already used more than 25 comparisons this period, new comparisons are blocked until your usage resets
Example: You're on Pro with 5,000 comparisons and you've used 150 this month. You downgrade to Free. Your limit drops to 25, and since 150 > 25, new comparisons are blocked until the 1st of next month when the Free plan counter resets.
What happens to your BYOK key on downgrade
If you downgrade from Pro to Free and had a BYOK key configured:
Your saved API key is not deleted — it remains stored in your settings
However, BYOK is not available on the Free plan, so your key won't be used for comparisons
All comparisons will count against the Free plan's 25/month limit
If you upgrade back to Pro later, your key will still be there and BYOK will work again automatically
Before downgrading, check your current usage on the Plans page. If you've already exceeded the lower plan's limit, you won't be able to generate new comparisons until your next billing cycle.