The Checkout Branding API: What You Can Change Without Plus

A merchant asks for a rounded button on the checkout, a different type scale, and a header that matches the rest of the brand. The developer quotes three days. The merchant is on Basic. The answer is that two of those three changes are available in the checkout editor right now, for free, and the third needs the Checkout Branding API, which is Plus-only, and no amount of theme code will get around it.

That is the shape of checkout styling in 2026: a clean split between what every plan gets and what only Plus gets, with the line drawn in a place that surprises people in both directions. Some merchants pay for Plus to change a logo. Some merchants on Plus pay developers to change things the editor already does.

What every plan gets

Every plan from Basic up gets the checkout editor, which covers the logo, colours, fonts, and button styling, and apps that customise the thank-you and order status pages. That is more than it sounds like. Logo placement, the colour system, the typefaces, and the button treatment are the visible brand, and the editor sets them without code. If the complaint is that the checkout does not look like the store, the editor is the first place to look, and it is the place most merchants never open.

Checkout UI extensions for block-based customisation also work on all plans now, for the targets that are not Plus-gated. Banners, custom fields, trust badges, and upsell offers can be placed through installed apps without Plus. The extensions are sandboxed and upgrade-safe, which is the point: they survive platform upgrades without modification, which is precisely what checkout.liquid never did.

What only Plus gets

The Checkout Branding API is Plus-only. It controls the deeper styling the editor does not reach: corner radius, typography scale, header layout, and favicon swaps. If the design system specifies an 8-pixel corner radius on every button and the editor only offers the default, the Branding API is the tool, and it needs Plus. The same applies to checkout UI extensions on the information, shipping, and payment steps: those extension points are Plus-only, while thank-you and order status apps work on every plan.

Custom apps that contain Functions also need Plus, though public App Store apps that contain Functions work on any plan. That distinction matters when a developer proposes a custom app for discount or payment logic: on Basic, the same logic has to come from a public app, or it does not ship. And there are hard limits on every plan: up to three checkout UI extensions per block target, each compiled bundle capped at 64 KB.

The decision, stated plainly

If the styling gap is logo, colours, fonts, or button treatment, fix it in the editor this afternoon. If the gap is corner radius, type scale, or header layout, the honest answer is that it needs the Branding API and therefore Plus, and the cost of Plus is the cost of that radius. If the gap is a custom field or a banner in the checkout steps, it needs a Plus extension point, and the same math applies.

Do not pay a developer to change what the editor already changes, and do not ask a developer to change what only the Branding API can change on a Basic plan, because the answer will be a quote for work that cannot ship. The branding question is a plan question before it is a design question, and the fastest fix is usually the editor, not the upgrade.

Keep reading: Discount Functions: When Two Discounts Stack and When They Cancel, One Page or Multi-Step? The Checkout Layout Question With No Universal Answer, The Thank-You Page Is Part of Checkout: Optimizing the Page After the Order.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Checkout Branding API available on Basic Shopify?

No. The Branding API is Plus-only. It controls corner radius, typography scale, header layout, and favicon swaps. The checkout editor, with logo, colours, fonts, and button styling, is available on every plan from Basic up.

What checkout styling can I change without Plus?

Logo, colours, fonts, and button styling through the checkout editor, plus thank-you and order status page apps, and block-based UI extensions on non-gated targets.

How many checkout UI extensions can I add to one target?

Up to three extensions per block target, and each extension's compiled bundle is capped at 64 KB.

Do custom apps with Functions need Shopify Plus?

Yes. Custom apps that contain Functions need Plus. Public App Store apps that contain Functions work on any plan.