How to choose a Shopify chargeback app: 10 questions to ask before you install

Search the Shopify App Store for chargeback help and you will find a dozen apps that all promise to win your disputes. None of the listings tell you which questions would separate a good fit from an expensive mistake. Ten questions do.

To choose a Shopify chargeback app, ask ten things: how it charges, whether you approve each filing, where its evidence text comes from, what store data it reads, how it handles Australian carriers, what the trial includes, how you leave, who supports you, which disputes it covers and how it helps with deadlines.

This guide is for you if:

• You are comparing two or three Shopify chargeback app options and cannot tell them apart from their listings.
• You have been burned by a subscription you did not use, or a percentage you did not expect.
• You want a scoring sheet you can fill in during a free trial and a decision you can defend.

Last updated: 14 October 2026. Written by the ChargeFix team. Reviewed against sources on 14 October 2026.

The 30-second answer (TL;DR)

• A good Shopify chargeback app is one that costs less than the time and wins it gives you, asks for minimal store access, lets you approve every filing and leaves you free to go.
• Ask ten questions and score each 0, 1 or 2, for a total out of 20. Any 0 on questions 2, 3 or 4 is a reason to walk away.
• Pricing comes in three shapes: a percentage of recovered money, a flat monthly fee or a free plan. Two vendors I saw publish 25% and 20%. I could not verify current prices.
• At A$120 per win, a 25% cut is A$30 a win and a flat A$39 fee is cheaper from the second win each month.
• No app decides the outcome. Shopify says it does not decide disputes and strong evidence does not guarantee a win.
• Many tools are built for US stores. Ask how a Shopify chargeback app handles Australian carriers, the A$25 fee and local dates.
• A three-hour trial costs about A$120 at A$40 an hour. A wrong choice on an A$39 flat plan costs A$468 over 12 months.

Quick note The misunderstanding: the best Shopify chargeback app is the one with the highest claimed win rate. The correct version: win rates are vendor numbers you cannot check, and the bank decides each case. Choose on price, control, honesty, access and fit with how you ship.

The ten questions at a glance

#	Question	What you are checking	A 0 means
1	How does it charge?	Pricing model and what the percentage applies to	You cannot say what a month will cost
2	Do I approve every filing?	Control over what is sent	It files without your review
3	Where does the evidence text come from?	Honesty of the packet	It can write claims you never supplied
4	What store data does it read?	Access scopes	Access is broad and unexplained
5	How does it handle Australian carriers?	Fit for your shipping	It ignores local couriers
6	What does the trial include?	Whether you can test on real work	A trial that hides key features
7	How do I leave?	Exit and data deletion	No clear way out
8	Who supports me near a deadline?	Help when it matters	A contact form only
9	Which disputes does it cover?	Reason coverage	It handles one type well and others poorly
10	How does it help with deadlines?	Alerts and queues	No alerts, no tracker

How do you choose a Shopify chargeback app?

You choose a Shopify chargeback app by testing it against ten questions, not by reading its listing. Score each answer from 0 to 2, run the Shopify chargeback app on a closed dispute during its trial and compare the packet with your own records. The best app is the one that saves more than it costs and leaves you in control.

Shopify's own help centre sets the frame. It says Shopify does not decide the outcome of a dispute, and that strong evidence does not guarantee a win. The bank rules on what you send. So a Shopify chargeback app can improve how fast and how neatly you prepare evidence, but it cannot promise results. Any listing that says it can is making a claim nobody controls.

That changes what you are shopping for. You are buying time, consistency and deadline help, not wins. If you want the sums on whether a Shopify chargeback app pays for itself at all, start with the app vs doing it yourself guide. If you want the access side in depth, read the safety guide. This guide pulls both into one decision tool.

SHOPIFY CHARGEBACK APP SCORING SHEET (score each 0, 1 or 2)

App name: ______________________   Trial started: ____________

 1. Pricing clear and fair for my volume        ___
 2. I approve every filing                      ___   (0 here = walk away)
 3. Evidence comes only from my records         ___   (0 here = walk away)
 4. Store access is minimal and explained       ___   (0 here = walk away)
 5. Handles Australian carriers and A$          ___
 6. Trial lets me test on real work             ___
 7. Clear exit and data deletion                ___
 8. Support near a deadline                     ___
 9. Covers the dispute reasons I get            ___
10. Alerts and deadline help                    ___

TOTAL: ___ / 20     Walk-away flags (Q2, Q3, Q4 at 0): ____
Break-even disputes per month at this price: ____   My disputes per month: ____
Decision and reason: ______________________   Review date: ____________

Question 1: how does the Shopify chargeback app charge?

Ask for the price in writing and ask what the percentage applies to. Shopify chargeback app pricing usually takes one of three shapes: a percentage of recovered money, a flat monthly fee or a free plan with limits. The shape matters more than the number, because it decides how your cost moves as you win.

I saw all three shapes in search results on 14 October 2026. Two vendors publish a percentage, 25% and 20%. One app listed for Australian stores shows a flat monthly price with a free trial. I did not open any pricing pages, I am not naming vendors and prices change, so check current terms yourself.

Pricing model	Cost in a month with no wins	Cost as wins grow	Ask about
Percentage of recovered	A$0	Rises with every win	Whether it also applies to the A$25 fee, and to wins you would have made anyway
Flat monthly	The full price	Stays the same	Whether the price rises with order volume
Free plan	A$0	A$0 up to a limit	What the limit is and what happens at it

Illustration 1: percentage against a flat fee

Say each win recovers an A$120 order. A 25% cut costs A$30 a win, and a 20% cut costs A$24. A flat A$39 a month is an assumption for the sums, not a quote.

Wins in a month	25% of A$120 per win	20% of A$120 per win	Flat A$39
1	A$30	A$24	A$39
2	A$60	A$48	A$39
3	A$90	A$72	A$39
5	A$150	A$120	A$39

The flat fee is cheaper from the second win a month at either percentage. With 25% the break-even is 39 divided by 30, which is 1.3 wins. With 20% it is 39 divided by 24, which is 1.6 wins. A store that wins one dispute a month does better on a percentage. A store that wins five does much better on a flat fee.

Illustration 2: what if the percentage also takes the fee?

Shopify's fee table lists Australia as a country where the A$25 fee is refunded if you win, so each win returns A$145 on an A$120 order. If a vendor takes its percentage of the full A$145, a 25% cut is A$36.25 a win, not A$30. Over three wins that is A$108.75 against A$90. This is why you ask what the percentage is calculated on.

Question 2: do you approve every filing?

You should. A Shopify chargeback app that files without your review puts your name on a statement to the bank that you did not read. Shopify says a dispute whose deadline has passed cannot be changed, and it submits what you have saved on the due date, so a wrong packet cannot be taken back.

Ask four things: can I see the full packet, can I edit it, can I choose to send nothing, and is there a record of what was sent? If the answer to the first three is anything but yes, score 0 and walk away. A review step is also your protection against a tool that gets a fact wrong, such as a date or an address.

Whether a tool auto-files is a setting some apps offer. It can be useful for low-value disputes you would accept anyway, but only if you chose it, and only if you can turn it off. Make sure the default is review first.

Question 3: where does the evidence text come from?

It should come only from your records: the order, the carrier data, your messages and your policies. Ask whether any text is generated, and what stops it inventing a fact. A response to a bank is a statement you stand behind, so every claim in it must be something you can show.

Shopify's own process adds AI-generated insights to the evidence it submits for product not received disputes, according to its help centre. That is Shopify's step, described on its own page. Any Shopify chargeback app that generates text should say plainly what it generates and let you check it, and should never present a guess as a fact.

Test it on a closed dispute. Run it through the Shopify chargeback app and compare every sentence in the packet with your records. If you find a claim you cannot support, such as a delivery date you cannot see, that is a 0. Do not rely on a promise that it does not happen. Check it yourself.

Question 4: what store data does it read?

Read the permissions on the install screen and ask for a reason for each one. A Shopify chargeback app plausibly needs disputes, orders, customers, fulfilments and policies. It rarely needs your product catalogue, staff list or theme. Ask about anything beyond the plausible list, and say no if the answer is thin.

This is covered in full in the safety guide, including a five-minute audit and an email you can send a vendor. The short version is that Shopify shows you what a Shopify chargeback app asks for, and you approve it. A Shopify chargeback app can reach only the access you approve, so you are the check.

If a Shopify chargeback app asks for more than its job needs, or cannot explain why, score 0. I could not verify any vendor's security claims, and I do not make any. The questions are the test.

Question 5: how does it handle Australian carriers and A$?

Ask which carriers it reads and how it shows proof of delivery for Australia Post, Sendle, StarTrack and Aramex. Many tools are built for US stores and assume US carriers and a US$15 fee. A Shopify chargeback app that ignores Australian couriers pushes the hardest part of the work back to you.

I could not verify what proof Sendle, StarTrack or Aramex provide, or how any Shopify chargeback app reads them, so this is a question to ask in writing and test on a trial. Also check that the Shopify chargeback app shows amounts in A$, uses the A$25 fee in its sums and handles Australian dates. If it does not, expect to fix the details by hand.

Ask for an example. Send the vendor an Australian tracking number from a closed order and ask what the Shopify chargeback app would pull from it. A vendor that handles local carriers will answer easily, and one that does not will change the subject. The proof of delivery guide shows what you should save yourself regardless.

Question 6: what does the trial include?

Ask whether the trial includes every feature you will pay for, whether you can run a closed dispute through it and whether it needs a card. A trial that hides key features tells you little, and one you cannot test on real work tells you nothing. A real test is the best protection you have.

A fair trial lets you do three things: connect the store with the same permissions you would keep, run a closed dispute and see the whole packet, and try the deadline alerts. If a feature you need is locked until you pay, ask to see it before you commit.

Illustration 3: what does a trial cost against a wrong choice?

Say you spend three hours testing a Shopify chargeback app, which is A$120 at A$40 an hour. If you pick a flat A$39 plan and it turns out you do not use it, 12 months costs A$468, from 39 times 12. So the wrong choice costs about 3.9 times the time you spent testing. If the test saves you from one wrong choice, it has paid for itself several times over. These are illustrations, not a forecast.

Question 7: how do you leave?

Ask what happens to your data and open disputes if you stop, how to cancel and whether cancelling is immediate. You want to be able to leave without missing a deadline. Removing a Shopify chargeback app ends its connection to your store, but data it already copied sits under the vendor's own policy, so ask about it.

Before you remove any Shopify chargeback app, list your open disputes and their due dates, and finish or save those first. Removing a tool does not move a chargeback deadline. Also ask whether you can export your dispute records. If your history lives only inside the Shopify chargeback app, leaving costs you your own data.

Ask the vendor to say in writing how long it keeps your data and how you can ask for deletion. I could not verify any vendor's retention period. A clear answer is a good sign, and a vague one is a 0.

Question 8: who supports you near a deadline?

Ask how to reach a person, how fast replies come and whether support is available when a due date is close. A tool is only as good as the help you get on a bad day. A contact form with no stated response time is a risk when a deadline is two days away.

Test it during the trial. Send a real question and note how long the reply takes and how specific it is. A good answer names the setting or the step. A poor one repeats the marketing page. Support quality is hard to see before you need it, so a trial question is the only preview you get.

Question 9: which disputes does the app cover?

Ask which dispute reasons it prepares evidence for, such as fraudulent, product not received, not as described, subscription cancelled and credit not processed. Some tools handle one type well and others thinly. Match the answer to the reasons you actually receive, using your own dispute log.

Look at your last three months of disputes and count the reasons. If most are product not received, check that the Shopify chargeback app is strong on delivery proof. If most are fraudulent, check that it helps with authorisation evidence. The product not received guide and the fraudulent chargeback guide show what each type needs, so you can judge a packet.

Question 10: how does the app help with deadlines?

Ask whether it sends alerts, queues disputes by due date and shows your cutoff. Shopify says the deadline is typically 7 to 21 days after filing and that it submits what is saved on the due date. A Shopify chargeback app can remind you, but it cannot move the date, so the help is in how early and how clearly it warns you.

Check that alerts reach two people, that the due date and time are shown, and that you can see which disputes need work today. If the app has no alerts, you still need your own routine. The deadline guide sets one out. A Shopify chargeback app that adds alerts on top of your routine is worth more than one that replaces it.

What do you do once you have chosen a Shopify chargeback app?

Start small. Connect it, run it on one real dispute with your review switched on, and keep your own packet kit alive for a month. Set a date to rerun the sums. A Shopify chargeback app earns its place by saving you time on real disputes, not by looking good in a demo.

Follow this order for the first month:

1. Install with the permissions you approved, and write them down.
2. Set the alert address to two people and test it.
3. Run the next real dispute through the app, read the whole packet and edit anything that is wrong.
4. Time how long the dispute took against your by-hand figure.
5. After 30 days, rerun the break-even with real minutes and the real price.

If the numbers do not work, cancel before the next billing date and note why. Keeping a record of the decision helps the next time you review it, because you will remember what you tested and what you found.

Should you tell your team?

Yes. Anyone who handles disputes needs to know which Shopify chargeback app is in use, who approves filings and where the packet is stored. Write it in two lines on your routine sheet. If the person who set it up is away, the next person should still be able to open a dispute, find the packet and meet the deadline.

How do you compare two apps in a week?

Shortlist two, read each one's permissions and pricing, and test both on the same closed dispute. Score each against the ten questions. Compare the packets side by side. This plan starts on Thursday 15 October 2026 and ends on Wednesday 21 October, and the whole thing takes about three hours.

Day and date	What to do
Thu 15 Oct	Count your disputes and note the reasons for the last three months. Work out your average order value.
Fri 16 Oct	Shortlist two apps. Write down each price, pricing model, trial terms and permissions.
Sat 17 Oct	Send each vendor the written questions for Q1, Q3, Q4, Q5 and Q7.
Mon 19 Oct	Start trial one. Run a closed dispute through it and save the packet.
Tue 20 Oct	Start trial two. Run the same closed dispute and save the packet.
Wed 21 Oct	Score both on the sheet, compare the packets against your records and decide.

EMAIL TO SEND EACH VENDOR

Subject: Questions before I choose a chargeback app

Hi,

I run a Shopify store in Australia and I am comparing chargeback apps.
Could you answer these in writing?

1. Your pricing: model, current price, and what any percentage applies to.
2. Whether I approve each filing before it is sent.
3. Whether evidence text is written only from my records.
4. Which store permissions you request and why.
5. Which Australian carriers you read, and what you show for each.
6. What the free trial includes and whether a card is needed.
7. How I cancel, and what happens to my data and open disputes.

Thank you,
[Name], [Store name]

What do you do if two apps score the same?

Choose the cheaper one at your volume, or the one with the clearer exit. When scores tie, price and exit are the tie-breakers, because they are the two things you can measure and the two that cost you most if you are wrong. Then set a review date and rerun the sums.

You can also choose neither. If your score for both is under 12 out of 20, or if either scores 0 on question 2, 3 or 4, keep doing it by hand. Doing it yourself costs only your time, and the cost calculator tells you what that time is worth. A tool you are unsure about is worse than none, because you pay for it every month.

What's different for Australian merchants?

Australian merchants pay A$25 per chargeback on Shopify Payments, refunded if they win, ship with local couriers and sell under Australian consumer law. Most reviews and comparisons are written for US stores, so check each of those points yourself before you trust a tool built elsewhere.

Three Australian points:

• The fee and the sums are in A$. Many guides use a US$15 fee. Use A$25 in your break-even, and ask whether the app does the same.
• Carriers are local. I could not verify what proof Sendle, StarTrack or Aramex give, or how an app reads it. Test it.
• Consumer law applies. WA Consumer Protection says online orders from Australian sellers must meet consumer guarantees. An app does not change what you owe a customer.

I could not verify how GST or BAS applies to an app subscription or to a disputed sale, so the sums here exclude it. Ask your accountant.

Common mistakes

1. Choosing on a claimed win rate. You cannot verify it, and the bank decides each case.
2. Ignoring what the percentage applies to. Ask whether it covers the fee and wins you would have made anyway.
3. Skipping the trial test. A listing tells you what the vendor wants you to think. A trial tells you what happens.
4. Accepting broad access. Ask why for each permission and say no to thin answers.
5. Letting a tool file without review. Make approval the default.
6. Forgetting Australian carriers. Ask for an example with a local tracking number.
7. Not planning your exit. Know how to cancel and what happens to your data before you install.
8. Never reviewing the choice. Your volume changes. Rerun the sums every quarter.

Frequently asked questions

What should I look for in a Shopify chargeback app?

Look for a price you can predict, a review step before anything is filed, evidence written only from your records, minimal store access, support for Australian carriers, a real trial, a clear exit and help with deadlines. Score each from 0 to 2 and walk away from any app that scores 0 on approval, honesty or access.

Is a percentage or a flat fee better for a chargeback app?

It depends on your wins. At A$120 per win, a 25% cut costs A$30 a win and a 20% cut costs A$24. A flat A$39 fee, an assumption for the sums, is cheaper from the second win a month. A store that wins one dispute a month often does better on a percentage.

Will a chargeback app win my disputes?

No app can promise that. Shopify says it does not decide outcomes and strong evidence does not guarantee a win, because the bank decides. I could not verify any vendor win rate. Judge an app on time saved, packet quality, control and price, and treat any extra wins as a bonus.

How do I test a chargeback app before paying?

Start the trial, connect with the permissions you would keep, run a closed dispute through it and compare every line of the packet with your records. Try the deadline alerts and send support a real question. Three hours of testing costs about A$120 at A$40 an hour, much less than a wrong choice.

Does the app's percentage apply to the A$25 fee?

Ask. Shopify's fee table lists Australia as a country where the A$25 fee is refunded if you win, so a win on an A$120 order returns A$145. A 25% cut of A$145 is A$36.25, not A$30. Get the calculation base in writing before you install, because it changes your break-even.

Should a chargeback app file disputes without my approval?

I would not allow it by default. Shopify submits what is saved on the due date, and a dispute whose deadline has passed cannot be changed, so a wrong packet cannot be taken back. Choose an app where you can see, edit and stop every filing, and treat automatic filing as an option you choose.

Do chargeback apps work with Australia Post and other couriers?

I could not verify how any app reads Australia Post, Sendle, StarTrack or Aramex, and I could not verify what proof those carriers provide. Ask each vendor for an example using an Australian tracking number from a closed order, and test it on the trial. Save the tracking page yourself on delivery day regardless.

What happens to my data if I stop using a chargeback app?

Removing an app ends its connection to your store. Data it already copied is governed by the vendor's own policy, so ask in writing how long it keeps data and how to request deletion. Before you remove any app, list your open disputes and finish or save them, because removal does not move a deadline.

How often should I review my chargeback app choice?

Every quarter is enough for most stores, or sooner if your dispute count changes sharply. Update your disputes per month, minutes per dispute, average order value and the app's current price, then rerun the break-even. A plan that suited two disputes a month may not suit six, and the reverse is true.

Start free trial with ChargeFix

ChargeFix is a Shopify app that helps you prepare chargeback evidence. You review and file it, or let Auto mode handle them. It never invents facts, so you can put it through the same ten questions on a real dispute during the free trial.

Start free trial

Sources

• Shopify Help Center, "Chargebacks and inquiries" (process, fee table, rate and store status)
• Shopify Help Center, "Responding to chargebacks and inquiries"
• Shopify Help Center, "Managing chargebacks in the Shopify admin"
• Shopify Help Center, "Preventing chargebacks and inquiries"
• WA Consumer Protection on online purchases and consumer guarantees (verified earlier in this project; add link at publish)
• Third-party listings and vendor pages seen in search results on 14 October 2026, used only to describe pricing shapes (percentage of recovered, flat monthly, free plan). Prices, vendor claims and win rates were not verified and are not used as facts.
• Stripe, Dispute evidence best practices: further reading on how to format convincing evidence
• Adyen, Manage disputes: further reading on how another payment provider handles disputes