Free chargeback app for Shopify: what free gets you

You got a chargeback notice, you do not want to pay a monthly fee to answer it, and you are wondering whether a free tool can do the job. Good instinct. A dispute already costs you the order, the product and a $15 Shopify fee. Adding a subscription on top feels like paying twice.

So, is there a free chargeback app for Shopify that actually works? Yes, several. ChargeFix, DisputeDesk and Chargeback Copilot list free plans that cover a handful of disputes a month, and Shopify's own response form costs nothing. The catch is in the limits: how many disputes a free plan covers, whether it files for you or only drafts, and what happens in the month you go over. This guide reads each free plan side by side, shows the point where free stops being enough, and gives you a simple way to test one on a real dispute before you rely on it.

This guide is for you if:

You run a Shopify store on Shopify Payments and get a few chargebacks a month, or fewer.
You want to try a chargeback tool without spending anything first.
You are comparing free plans and cannot tell what each one leaves out.

Last updated: 30 October 2026. Written by the ChargeFix team. Reviewed against sources on 30 October 2026.

We make ChargeFix, which has a free plan, so we have a stake in this question. We say where other free plans do things ours does not. Plans and prices come from vendor pages and Shopify App Store listings read on 30 October 2026. They change, so check the live page before you commit.

The 30-second answer (TL;DR)

Free plans exist: ChargeFix gives 2 filings a month, Chargeback Copilot gives 3 evidence PDFs a month and DisputeDesk gives 5 evidence packs.
Do The Proof's free plan makes drafts only. You send the response yourself.
Counterproof and Chargeback Buddy list free plans but do not show the limits, so read them in the app before you install.
Shopify's own dispute form is free and always available. It is the baseline every free app is measured against.
A free plan is enough if you get one or two disputes a month. At five or more, a paid flat plan often costs less than the time you spend.
Free tools do not lower your dispute ratio. They help you respond, not prevent.
Mind the monthly limit: it decides whether free is enough in your busiest month.
Test any free app on one real dispute in Manual mode before you trust it with a deadline.

Quick note: "Free" in an app listing usually means free up to a limit. Check three things before you install: the monthly allowance, whether the app files for you or only prepares a draft, and what happens when you pass the allowance.

Free chargeback plans at a glance

App	What the free plan gives	What to check
ChargeFix	2 filings a month	Shopify Payments only, no prevention
DisputeDesk	5 evidence packs	No success fee on paid plans either
Chargeback Copilot	3 evidence PDFs a month	Launched May 2026
Do The Proof	Drafts only	You send the response yourself
Counterproof	A free plan is listed	Limits not shown on the listing
Chargeback Buddy	A free plan is listed	Inclusions not shown on the listing
Shopify's own form	Unlimited manual responses	You build everything by hand

What counts as a free chargeback app for Shopify?

Three very different things get called "free," and mixing them up is how people end up surprised.

A free plan with a monthly allowance. The app costs $0 and covers a fixed number of disputes, evidence packs or filings each month. Go over, and you either stop, pay for a plan or pay per case. This is the most common kind and the one this guide focuses on.

A free tier that prepares but does not send. The app drafts a response for you, and you copy it into Shopify and submit it yourself. Do The Proof's free plan works this way. It is genuinely free, but the last step is yours, and the last step is where deadlines get missed.

A free analytics product. Chargeflow's Insights is free forever, but it shows you data about your disputes. It does not file responses. Useful for spotting patterns, and not a substitute for a response tool. Chargeflow's paid Automation product is the one that files, at 25% of what it recovers.

Then there is the baseline that all of these are measured against: Shopify's built-in dispute form. It is free, it is always there and it works. You upload evidence, write your response and submit. The cost is your time and your skill at building a good response.

A free app earns its place only if it beats that baseline on something you care about, such as speed, structure or confidence.

What does a free plan usually include?

Reading a dozen listings, a pattern shows up. Free plans tend to include the part of the job that is cheap for the vendor to give away, and leave out the part that costs them money or that they want you to upgrade for.

Usually included:

A small monthly allowance of filings, packs or PDFs.
Basic help assembling evidence from your order and shipping records.
A response draft or evidence document to review.
Syncing with your Shopify Payments disputes.

Often left out or capped:

Automatic filing, where the app sends the response without you approving it.
Higher volumes, which sit on paid plans.
Extra features such as analytics or alerts.
Support priority.

We do not know every app's exact exclusions, because several listings do not spell them out. That is a reason to read the plan details inside the app before you rely on it, not a reason to assume the worst.

Which free chargeback plans exist right now?

Here is each one in more detail, as listed on 30 October 2026. We state what the vendor shows and nothing more.

ChargeFix

Free plan: 2 filings a month. A dispute counts as one filing the first time its evidence is saved or filed, and usage resets on the 1st of each month. ChargeFix works with Shopify Payments only, so it does not support Stripe or PayPal disputes. It scores your evidence strength, tells you whether the case looks worth fighting and drafts a letter from your own records. In Manual mode, which is the default, nothing goes to the bank until you say so. Auto mode is on Starter and above. ChargeFix does not do prevention or deflection.

The honest limit: 2 filings is small. A store with three disputes a month will hit the cap in the first half of the month.

DisputeDesk

Free plan: 5 evidence packs. Paid plans are listed at $29 for 20 packs, $129 for 100 and $299 for 400, with no success fee. Of the free plans with a stated allowance, this is the largest on the page we read. If you get four or five disputes a month, it is worth a look.

Chargeback Copilot

Free plan: 3 evidence PDFs a month. Paid plans are $19 for 15, $39 for 25 and $99 for 200. The app launched on 11 May 2026, so it is new. It produces evidence PDFs that you use in your response.

Do The Proof

Free plan: drafts only, and you send the response yourself. The Growth plan is $0 a month plus either $19 per won dispute or 15% of the revenue you win back. That means the free plan has no fee on any outcome, while Growth only costs money when you win.

Counterproof

A free plan is listed, and the limits are not shown on the listing. Paid plans are $29, $59 and $99 a month, with a 14-day trial. It supports Shopify Payments and Stripe.

Chargeback Buddy

A free plan is listed, and so are paid plans at $9, $25 and $49 a month. The inclusions are not shown on the listing. It syncs with Shopify Payments, and you control what gets submitted.

Chargeflow Insights

Free forever, analytics only. It does not file disputes. Chargeflow's other products are charged separately: Prevent at $0.10 per scan after the first 1,000, Automation at 25% of recovered amounts, and Alerts at $29 per deflected chargeback.

A note on reviews

ChargeFix, Do The Proof, Counterproof, Chargeback Buddy and Chargeback Copilot all had zero reviews on the Shopify App Store when we read the listings. That is normal for a new app and it is not a sign of a bad one, but it does mean there is little public evidence of how they behave over time. Chargeflow has 433 reviews, Disputifier has 134 and ChargePay has 27. If you want more proof before trusting a tool, a free plan is how you test one without paying.

How many disputes can a free plan really cover?

Take the three plans with a stated allowance and put them against realistic monthly dispute counts.

Disputes a month	ChargeFix Free (2)	Chargeback Copilot Free (3)	DisputeDesk Free (5)
1	Covered	Covered	Covered
2	Covered	Covered	Covered
3	1 over	Covered	Covered
4	2 over	1 over	Covered
5	3 over	2 over	Covered
6	4 over	3 over	1 over

This table is simple arithmetic on the stated allowances. It shows one thing clearly: the free plans differ by a few disputes, and that few matters because most small stores sit exactly in that range.

Two honest points.

First, an allowance is not the same across apps. A "filing," an "evidence pack" and an "evidence PDF" are not identical units. One dispute might use one pack or more than one, depending on how the app counts. Check how your chosen app counts before you assume 5 packs means 5 disputes.

Second, disputes cluster. A store that averages three a month might get none in one month and seven in the next after a promotion. Free plans are sized for the average, and your worst month decides whether free was enough.

Illustration: three small stores and three free plans

These are assumed figures to show the arithmetic. Your numbers will differ.

Store A: 1 dispute a month, average order $60

One dispute, one filing. Every free plan above covers it. If you win, you get the order value back, plus the $15 Shopify fee that is returned on a win. The decision here is easy: start on a free plan and spend nothing.

Is it worth even using an app at one dispute a month? Possibly. The value is less about time saved, since one dispute is quick to do by hand, and more about structure. A tool that checks your evidence and tells you whether the case is worth fighting helps you avoid sending a weak response by habit.

Store B: 4 disputes a month, average order $90

Four disputes. DisputeDesk Free covers all four. Chargeback Copilot Free covers three and leaves one. ChargeFix Free covers two and leaves two.

Suppose you win half, so two wins at $90 each is $180 back, plus $30 in returned Shopify fees. You have not paid a tool fee on a free plan that covers you. If you pick a plan that covers only two, you either build the other two by hand, upgrade to ChargeFix Starter at $19 for 25 filings, or Chargeback Copilot at $19 for 15 PDFs.

Run the numbers on the upgrade. $19 a month to handle two extra disputes. If the extra tool recovers even one more $90 case a year, it has paid for itself. If you would otherwise spend 30 minutes on each of those two disputes, you save an hour a month. Whether that is worth $19 depends on what your hour is worth.

Store C: 7 disputes a month, average order $120

Seven disputes a month is above every free allowance listed. DisputeDesk Free leaves two over. Your realistic options are a flat plan or building responses by hand.

Compare the options at seven disputes. DisputeDesk at $29 covers 20 packs, with no success fee. ChargeFix Starter at $19 covers 25 filings. Chargeback Copilot at $19 covers 15 PDFs. A 25% success fee on $420 recovered, assuming you win about half, would be $105. A flat $19 to $29 plan is far cheaper. The free plan here has stopped being the cheapest answer, and a small flat fee is.

That is the pattern across all three stores. Free is best at one or two disputes, so a free chargeback app for Shopify is a fair first choice there, still decent at four or five if the allowance fits, and not the cheapest from about six or seven upwards. Our cheapest-app guide shows the arithmetic at 3, 8 and 20 disputes in more detail.

What does a free plan leave out that matters?

Even when the allowance fits, there are things worth checking before you commit.

Auto-filing. Some apps only file automatically on a paid plan. On ChargeFix, Auto mode starts at Starter. If you want the app to submit the response without you approving it, a free plan will not do that, and honestly, on a free plan you probably want to review each response anyway.

Support and speed. Free users are often last in line for help. That matters when a deadline is close.

Overage behavior. What happens in the month you exceed the allowance? Some apps stop, some prompt you to upgrade, some charge per case. Find out before the month it matters. A tool that goes quiet at midnight on the due date is worse than no tool.

Data handling. A free plan still touches your customer data. Check what the app reads and whether it stores it. ChargeFix reads customer data while you review and does not save it, and its data processing agreement is public. Whichever app you choose, look for the same clarity.

Payment processor coverage. Free apps that work with Shopify Payments only will not help if you also take Stripe or PayPal payments. Counterproof lists Shopify Payments and Stripe. ChargeFix is Shopify Payments only.

Evidence quality. An app that drafts a response from thin records produces a thin response. A tool that tells you "this case is weak, consider not fighting it" is giving you real value. Look for evidence scoring or a plain verdict, not just a template.

When does free stop being enough?

Use this checklist. If two or more are true, a paid flat plan is probably the better buy.

You regularly get more disputes a month than the free allowance covers.
You have missed or nearly missed a response deadline because you were busy.
You spend more than 20 minutes assembling each response by hand.
Your average order is high enough that one extra win a year pays for the plan.
You want the app to file without you, or you want it to flag weak cases early.

Redo estimates that assembling one dispute by hand takes 20 to 45 minutes. Redo sells chargeback products, so treat that as one vendor's view, but it matches what most merchants describe. At six disputes a month and 30 minutes each, that is three hours monthly. A $19 plan that cuts that to a ten-minute review each gives back about two hours.

The break-even question is simple: is $19 to $29 a month less than the value of the time and the extra wins? For most stores with six or more disputes a month, yes. For stores with one or two, no, and free is the right answer. Our break-even guide runs the full sum.

Can you rely on a free app for the deadline?

This is where merchants get hurt, so it deserves its own section.

Shopify gives you a response due date. It is typically 7 to 21 days after the dispute opens, and the exact date shows on the dispute. Evidence is final once submitted, so you get one shot. If you submit nothing, Shopify sends your order data on the due date and may add optional AI insights, which is better than nothing and weaker than a prepared response.

A free tool does not change the deadline, and a monthly limit does not pause it either. What it can change is how early you start. Two practical rules help.

Start the day the dispute opens. Even a free tool cannot recover time you spent not looking at the notice.

Use Manual mode first. Any app with a Manual mode lets you review before anything is sent. ChargeFix defaults to manual, so nothing goes to the bank until you say so. If you try Auto mode on a free plan, check it carefully on the first few cases.

You can see the exact timings in our guide to the Shopify chargeback deadline, and a deadline countdown tool is free on this site.

How do you test a free chargeback app safely?

Do not choose by listing. Choose by running one real dispute through it. Here is a five step test that costs you nothing.

Install and connect on the free plan. Confirm it reads your Shopify Payments disputes and shows the due date correctly.
Open a current dispute and let it assemble the evidence. Compare what it found with what you would have gathered by hand.
Read the draft response line by line. Does it use only facts from your records? A good draft never invents tracking numbers or policy text.
Check the verdict or score. Does the app tell you honestly whether the case is strong or weak? Good tools say when not to fight.
Submit only when you are happy. Use Manual mode so nothing is sent without your approval. Then compare the time spent with your usual routine.

If the app saves you time or catches something you missed, upgrade when you outgrow the allowance. If not, delete it. Either way you paid nothing to find out.

Is Shopify's own dispute form enough on its own?

For many small stores, yes. The built-in form is free, supported by Shopify and available for every dispute. If you get one or two a month, have good records and know what each reason code needs, the form may be all you want.

What an app adds is structure and speed. It tells you which evidence a reason code needs, points out what is missing and drafts the letter. If you do not need that, you do not need an app.

Where the form falls short is when you are busy, when reasons vary and you forget what each one needs, or when you want a second opinion on whether to fight at all. Our reason code guides, such as the ones for Visa 13.1 merchandise not received and Visa 10.4 other fraud, cover what evidence each reason needs, and they are free.

Illustration: the cost of choosing a "free" tool that costs you a win

Here is a scenario to keep in mind. These figures are assumed.

You get five disputes in a month, each on a $110 order. You use a free plan with a 3-PDF allowance, so you handle two by hand at the end of the month, in a hurry. One of the two is submitted with a thin response and lost. A lost $110 dispute costs you the order, the product and the $15 fee.

If a $19 plan had covered all five and flagged the weak case early, you might have won that one dispute, which is $110 back plus $15, so $125. The plan would have cost $19. Net, the "free" route cost you about $106 in this one month.

That is one scenario, not a rule. Many months, free would be perfectly fine. The point is that the cheapest price tag is not always the cheapest outcome, and the month you exceed your allowance is the month the difference shows.

Free chargeback app for Shopify or the built-in form: how the time compares

Money is only half the cost. Your time is the other half, and it is where the free options differ most. The figures below are assumptions for a store with good records. Your own times will vary, so time yourself on the next dispute and replace these.

Step	By hand in Shopify	With a free app
Find the dispute and due date	3 minutes	1 minute
Pull order, tracking and policy evidence	10 to 15 minutes	3 to 5 minutes
Check what the reason code needs	5 minutes	Built in
Write the response	10 to 15 minutes	3 to 5 minutes to review
Total	28 to 38 minutes	7 to 11 minutes

At two disputes a month the difference is close to 45 minutes. At five it is about two hours. If your time is worth $30 an hour, two hours is $60 a month, which is more than a $19 plan costs. At two disputes the saving is about $22 and a free plan is the obvious choice. This is the same break-even logic, applied to hours instead of dollars.

Questions to ask before you install any free plan

Put these to the listing, the vendor's help pages or the support chat.

What exactly counts as one use of the allowance: a dispute, a pack, a PDF or a draft?
Does the monthly limit reset on a fixed date, and what happens when it runs out?
Does the app file the response, or only prepare it?
Which payment processors does it read?
What customer data does it read, and is any of it stored?
What does the next plan up cost, and what does it add?

If a vendor cannot answer the first question clearly, treat that as information. A plan whose limit is hard to define is a plan whose bill is hard to predict.

Who should skip the free plan and go straight to paid?

Free is not always the right first step. Three kinds of store do better starting on a low flat plan.

Stores with steady volume. If you get six or more disputes every month, you will pass every free limit listed here. Starting on a plan with 25 filings, like ChargeFix Starter, or 15 PDFs, like Chargeback Copilot, saves you a mid-month upgrade.

Stores with high-value orders. When one dispute is $400 or more, the cost of a weak response is far larger than a $19 plan. Spend on the tool that helps you build the strongest response, and read our guide on whether a small dispute is worth fighting if you are unsure about the low end.

Stores near a monitoring threshold. If your dispute count is climbing toward Visa's or Mastercard's excessive levels, with VAMP excessive at a 1.5% ratio and a count of 1,500, speed and consistency matter more than the last $19. A response tool will not lower the ratio, so also work on prevention.

Common mistakes when choosing a free chargeback app

Assuming the free plan covers your busiest month. Size it for your worst month, not your average.
Confusing drafts with filing. If the app only drafts, make sure you have time to send.
Ignoring the processor. A free app that cannot read your payments is useless.
Skipping the overage rules. Find out what happens at the limit before the limit arrives.
Judging by the pricing page alone. Run one real dispute through the tool.
Expecting a ratio fix. A recovery tool does not lower your dispute rate. VAMP counts disputes when they are filed, and a win does not remove the count.
Fighting every case. Some cases are not worth the effort. A tool that tells you so is doing its job.
Forgetting data privacy. Free does not mean low stakes. Check how customer data is handled.

What about preventing chargebacks for free?

A response tool helps after a dispute arrives. Preventing disputes costs less than fighting them, and some prevention is free.

Make your billing descriptor recognizable. Customers who do not recognize a charge often dispute it.
Send clear order and shipping emails. Fewer surprises mean fewer disputes.
Publish a plain refund policy. Refund before the customer disputes, because there is no refund while a chargeback is open.
Answer customer messages quickly. A fast reply often beats a dispute.

Shopify Protect covers only Unrecognized and Fraudulent disputes, and only under certain conditions, such as US orders paid with Shop Pay. It does not cover product not received or not as described, so do not count on it for everything. Our guide to what Shopify Protect does not cover explains the gaps.

ChargeFix does not do prevention. We say so plainly, because a response tool and a prevention tool are different products.

What we checked, and what you should check

We read the Shopify App Store listings for DisputeDesk, Counterproof, Chargeback Buddy, Do The Proof and Chargeback Copilot, the Chargeflow pricing page and Redo's published articles on 30 October 2026. We attribute Redo's figures to Redo because it sells competing products. Before you install anything, confirm these.

The live allowance and what counts toward it.
Whether the app files for you or drafts only.
What happens when you pass the free limit.
That your payment processor is supported.
How customer data is read and stored.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free chargeback app for Shopify?

Yes. ChargeFix gives 2 filings a month, Chargeback Copilot gives 3 evidence PDFs a month and DisputeDesk gives 5 evidence packs. Do The Proof offers free drafts that you send yourself, so a free chargeback app for Shopify exists at every volume. Counterproof and Chargeback Buddy also list free plans, but do not show their limits on the listing.

Which free plan covers the most disputes?

Of the plans with a stated allowance, DisputeDesk covers the most, at 5 evidence packs. Chargeback Copilot covers 3 PDFs and ChargeFix covers 2 filings. Check how each app counts a unit, because a pack, a PDF and a filing are not identical.

Are free chargeback apps really free?

The plan is free up to its limit. Past the limit you upgrade, pay per case or stop. Do The Proof's Growth plan is $0 a month but charges $19 per won dispute or 15% of revenue won. Read the plan details so you know when free ends.

Can a free app file the chargeback response for me?

It depends on the app. Some only draft, and you submit it yourself, as with Do The Proof's free plan. ChargeFix files in Manual mode when you approve, and auto filing starts on Starter. Check this before relying on the app near a deadline.

Is Shopify's built-in dispute form good enough?

For one or two disputes a month with good records, often yes. It costs nothing, it always works and Shopify supports it. An app adds structure, evidence checks and drafting. If you do not need those, the form may be all you need, and you can add a free app later.

When should I move from a free plan to a paid one?

When you regularly pass the free allowance, miss deadlines, spend over 20 minutes per response or want auto filing. For most stores with six or more disputes a month, a flat plan of $19 to $29 costs less than the time and wins you give up.

Will a free chargeback app lower my dispute ratio?

No. A response tool helps you win disputes that already exist. The dispute counts toward your ratio when it is filed, whether you win or lose. Lowering the ratio takes prevention, clear billing descriptors and quick refunds before customers dispute.

Do free chargeback apps work with Stripe or PayPal?

Some do, some do not. ChargeFix works with Shopify Payments only, and so do several others. Counterproof lists Shopify Payments and Stripe. Always confirm processor support in the listing before you install, because an app that cannot read your payments cannot help.

Are new apps with no reviews safe to try?

A free plan is the lowest risk way to try one. Several apps launched in 2026 have no reviews yet, including ours. Run one real dispute in Manual mode, read the draft carefully and check how the app handles your customer data before you rely on it.

Start free trial with ChargeFix

ChargeFix starts free, with 2 filings a month, and moves to flat monthly plans as you grow. It never takes a cut of what you win. It checks your evidence item by item, tells you honestly whether a case is worth fighting and drafts a letter from your real records. Nothing goes to the bank until you say so. It works with Shopify Payments, and paid plans include a 14-day free trial.

Start free trial