Order limits come in six kinds, and each solves a different problem. Too many orders for one day calls for a store-wide cap. One buyer taking too much calls for a per-customer limit. Orders that are too small call for a minimum, a multiple or an order value limit. Orders at the wrong time call for store hours and cutoffs. Shopify handles a few of these natively; the rest need an app that checks them at checkout.
Which limit solves which problem
| Problem | Limit | Native in Shopify? | In OrderRules |
|---|---|---|---|
| More orders than you can make or ship in a day | Store-wide cap per day, week or month | No | Daily order limit (free up to 100/day); weekly and monthly on Pro |
| One product sells past what you can produce | Product or collection cap per period, shared by all shoppers | No | Product caps (3 products free); collection caps on Pro |
| One buyer takes too much, or comes back for more | Per-customer limit across orders | No | Per-customer limits by orders, units, spend or weight (Pro) |
| Orders too small, or not in case sizes | Minimum quantity, multiples | For B2B buyers only (B2B catalog quantity rules) | Minimum order quantity and step quantity per product, for every shopper |
| Order total too low or too high | Order value limit | Yes β Checkout Blocks | Not offered; use Checkout Blocks |
| Orders when you're closed, or too late for today | Store hours, cutoffs, holiday closures | No | Store hours (free), cutoff times |
| Too many orders for one delivery date or slot | Capacity per date or slot | No | Delivery capacity (Advanced) |
For what Shopify does natively, rule by rule and with sources, see Shopify's native order limits vs apps.
Why the limit has to be checked at checkout
A limit shown on the product page or enforced in the cart only stops customers who go through the cart. Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Buy it now buttons and direct checkout links skip it. A limit that holds is one that Shopify checks at checkout, with a validation Function, so the order can't be placed. That works on every Shopify plan when the Function comes from an App Store app. It doesn't cover POS sales, subscription renewals or orders created by other apps; see how Shopify checkout validation works.
How to set each limit in OrderRules
Store-wide caps: per day, week or month
Open Order Limits and enter a Daily Order Limit, for example 40. When the 40th order is placed, checkout shows your message until midnight in your store's timezone. Weekly and monthly caps work the same way on Pro. The daily limit is one number for every day; close the days you don't trade with store hours. Not sure what number to use? The capacity calculator works it out from what you can make and pack. Step-by-step: how to limit daily orders.
Product and collection caps
Open Product Limits, add the product, and set a daily, weekly or monthly limit in orders or units. The cap is a shared total for all shoppers: "20 a day" means the product takes 20 a day in total. For a whole range that shares one production line, use a collection cap (Pro). For hundreds of products at once, use a CSV import.
Per-customer limits
Open Customer Limits, choose what to count (orders, units, spend or weight), the scope (store-wide, a product or a collection), the value and the period: day, week, month, year, rolling 30 days or lifetime. OrderRules identifies customers by their Shopify account, so guest checkout is blocked while customer limits are on. Full guide: how to limit purchases per customer.
Minimums and multiples
On the product's limit, set a Min Order Qty (at least 6) and a Step Quantity (in 6s). These apply to every shopper in every order. If only wholesale buyers need them, Shopify's B2B catalogs do it natively. See B2B and wholesale order limits.
Order value
OrderRules doesn't set a minimum or maximum order value. Use Shopify's Checkout Blocks order value limits, on every plan since April 2026.
What customers see at the limit
Checkout shows the message you set for that rule, for example "We've reached today's order capacity. Order again from midnight." The message is the same on Shop Pay and the other express checkouts. Product pages can show the limit before checkout, so the message is rarely a surprise. You can also get an email when a daily cap is nearly reached.
Practical tips
- Set caps a little below real capacity. Two checkouts for the last place in the same second can both go through; a small buffer absorbs it.
- Test before you rely on it. Place a test order through the storefront and with Shop Pay once the limit is reached.
- Write the message as an instruction. Say when the customer can order again.
- Combine limits. A daily cap with store hours, or a per-customer limit with a product cap for a drop: every rule is checked, and the first one reached blocks the order.
Related
- How to limit daily orders on Shopify
- How to limit purchases per customer
- Minimum order quantity on Shopify
- Shopify's native order limits vs apps
- The complete guide to Shopify order rules
Set your first limit
Install OrderRules from the Shopify App Store. Store hours and a daily cap are free.