[2026] Best Shopify Pre-order Apps (Tried & Tested)

Shopify does not sell products that are out of stock on its own. If you want to capture a sale before inventory arrives, gauge demand for a new product, or turn a sold-out page into revenue, you need a pre-order app. The right app adds a pre-order button, communicates the shipping date, controls payment timing, and tags orders so your team can fulfil them correctly. I’m Allan Vu, Digital Marketing Specialist & e-commerce expert at BOGOS, and I put the six most popular pre-order apps on Shopify through the same hands-on testing to help you pick the one that fits your store.

TL;DR

• A pre-order app lets your store sell products before they are in stock, so you can capture demand, forecast inventory, and collect revenue earlier.
• We installed and compared six top-rated pre-order apps using feature depth, pricing, performance, and merchant reviews.
• Best overall: Preorder, Back In Stock ‑ STOQ — one of the largest review bases in the category, with pre-orders and back-in-stock alerts in one app.
• Best budget: PreOrder Globo | Back in Stock — the most established developer, a usable free plan, and paid plans from $9.90/month.
• Best for pay-later and deposits: PreProduct — charge later, take deposits, and hold fulfilment for pre-launch campaigns.
• Every app on this list is Built for Shopify except PreProduct, which specializes in flexible payment timing.
• Shopify’s native pre-order tools require a pre-order app plus Shopify Payments or PayPal Express to work.

1. Testing and evaluation process

I researched each app the same way, using the same criteria for every product. This keeps the comparison fair and repeatable. For the full method, see our guide on how we judge a Shopify app.

I focused on four areas:

• Feature depth: the pre-order types supported, payment options, badges and buttons, shipping-date messaging, order tagging, and back-in-stock tools.
• Pricing and value: whether a free plan exists, what its limits are, and how paid plans scale with orders or Shopify plan.
• Performance: theme compatibility, storefront display, and whether merchants report bugs or speed problems.
• Support and reviews: recurring themes in recent merchant reviews, response speed, and setup help.

I used each app’s Shopify App Store listing, help documentation, and developer site, along with recent merchant reviews from the last six months. All ratings and review counts in this article come directly from the Shopify App Store and can change over time.

Based on these criteria, here are the top 3 apps that we highly recommend:

Best Overall: Preorder, Back In Stock ‑ STOQ.

It has one of the largest review bases in the pre-order category and combines pre-orders, backorders, and automatic back-in-stock alerts in one Built for Shopify app. It suits merchants who want one tool for both selling pre-orders and recovering sold-out demand.

Best budget option: PreOrder Globo | Back in Stock.

Globo has run pre-order apps on Shopify since 2017, offers a free plan for small stores, and starts paid plans at $9.90/month. It covers the core needs of most stores without a high monthly cost.

Best alternative: PreProduct.

PreProduct specializes in payment flexibility. It lets you charge upfront, later, or through a deposit, and it holds fulfilment until you are ready. It is the strongest choice for brands running pre-launch campaigns or high-value pre-orders where you do not want to charge customers immediately.

2. Essential features to look for in a pre-order app

Pre-order apps share a common set of features. Knowing these helps you compare apps on the same terms.

• Pre-order types. Look for pre-sale on upcoming products, backorders on sold-out items, “coming soon” pages, and made-to-order support. Shopify explains that a pre-order lets you collect full, partial, or no payment when the customer places the order.
• Payment options. The most flexible apps support upfront payment, partial payment or deposit, and deferred or pay-later charges. Shopify requires Shopify Payments or PayPal Express for pre-order payment options to work.
• Pre-order button and badges. The app should add a clear pre-order button, product badges, and cart labels that match your theme without code.
• Shipping-date messaging. Customers need to know when a pre-order ships. Look for a delivery note or estimated date below the button.
• Order tagging. Automatic tags like “pre-order” or a shipping date keep fulfilment organized and prevent early shipping.
• Inventory and order limits. Good apps let you cap pre-orders per product and trigger pre-order mode based on stock levels.
• Back-in-stock alerts. Many pre-order apps include a “notify me” button and restock emails, which recover demand you cannot pre-sell.
• Discounts and incentives. Automatic pre-order discounts and countdown timers encourage customers to commit early.
• Analytics. Demand and revenue reporting helps you forecast inventory, which merchants describe as one of the main reasons to run pre-orders.

The 6 best Shopify pre-order apps compared

Here is a side-by-side comparison of the six apps I tested. Below the table, you will find individual reviews with feature breakdowns, pros and cons, and merchant feedback.

#1 Preorder, Back In Stock ‑ STOQ

️🏆 Best for: Stores that want one app to both sell pre-orders and recover sold-out demand with back-in-stock alerts.

Pricing:

• Free: 10 pre-orders and 30 emails per month
• Lite: $10/month (100 pre-orders, 1,000 email/SMS)
• Pro: $29/month (400 pre-orders, 2,000 alerts)
• Unlimited: $69/month (unlimited pre-orders and alerts)
• No transaction fees on paid plans; SMS billed at $0.025 each

Rating and reviews:

• 5.0 stars
• 3,270+ reviews
• Built for Shopify

STOQ, made by Artos Software, has one of the largest review bases among pre-order apps. It pairs a pre-order or “notify me” button with automatic back-in-stock alerts by email and SMS. You can sell pre-orders, backorders, and pre-sales with deposits or partial payments, and sync waitlists with Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Omnisend. It also supports Shopify POS, multiple locations, B2B pre-orders, and demand analytics.

Key features:

• Pre-order, backorder, and pre-sale support with deposits and partial payments
• Automatic back-in-stock email and SMS alerts on restock
• Klaviyo, Mailchimp, and Omnisend integrations
• Shopify POS and multi-location support
• B2B pre-orders and Shopify Markets
• Demand and performance analytics

Pros and cons:

Merchant reviews: Merchants consistently praise the fast, hands-on support and the clean storefront display. Reviewers report the “notify me” and pre-order buttons cut customer-service emails about sold-out products and recover sales on restock. The most common request is more generous email and SMS limits on lower tiers.

#2 Preorder Now Presale Timesact

️🏆 Best for: Stores that want guided onboarding and strong presale campaign tools.

Pricing:

• Free: 20 presale orders and 50 restock emails per month, plus unlimited “coming soon”
• Paid plans scale with your Shopify plan, from $19/month (Basic) to $99/month (Plus), currently discounted
• No transaction fees

Rating and reviews:

• 4.9 stars
• 1,880+ reviews
• Built for Shopify

Timesact, by Kairock Partners, focuses on presales and product launches. It adds pre-order and “notify me” buttons with partial payments, automatic pre-order discounts, order limits, stylish badges, countdown timers, and order tagging. It also handles back-in-stock alerts and mixed carts. A standout is guided onboarding: the team offers a video call to set the app up with you.

Key features:

• Presale, backorder, coming-soon, and made-to-order support
• Partial payments and automatic pre-order discounts
• Pre-order badges, countdown timers, and order limits
• Back-in-stock email alerts and waitlists
• Order tagging and inventory-based control
• Guided onboarding by video call, plus email, chat, and phone support

Pros and cons:

Merchant reviews: Merchants highlight the responsive support team and the ability to customize pre-order badges and notify customers about order progress. Reviewers running small marketing teams say the app fills gaps that Shopify’s native tools cannot. A few mention the interface has room for polish.

#3 Notify! Back in Stock | PreOrder

️🏆 Best for: Stores that prioritize notify-me waitlists, wishlists, and B2B pre-orders.

Pricing:

• Free (Lite): 10 restock notifications, 5 pre-orders, 50 wishlist actions
• Kickstart: $9.90/month (500 pre-orders, 500 alerts)
• Starter: $19.90/month
• Standard: $39.90/month
• No transaction fee on pre-orders

Rating and reviews:

• 4.9 stars
• 3,220+ reviews
• Built for Shopify

Notify! by Notify Me! adds “Notify Me,” “PreOrder,” and “Wishlist” buttons to out-of-stock, home, and collection pages. It sends automatic restock alerts by email, SMS, and web push. The app accepts both D2C and B2B pre-orders with discounts, notes, and partial payments, and it shows an “only X left” low-stock counter to create urgency. A guest wishlist lets shoppers save items without logging in.

Key features:

• Notify me, pre-order, and wishlist buttons
• Email, SMS, and web push restock alerts
• B2B and D2C pre-orders with partial payments and discounts
• Guest wishlist and low-stock “only X left” counter
• Sales forecasting and demand reports
• Klaviyo, Mailchimp, Omnisend, and PushOwl integrations

Pros and cons:

Merchant reviews: Merchants value the quick setup, smooth Shopify integration, and reliable alerts for launches and restocks. Support is frequently praised for fast, hands-on help with widget placement across themes. Reviewers note the app needs little technical knowledge to run.

#4 PreOrder Globo | Back in Stock

️🏆 Best for: Small and growing stores that want core pre-order features at a low cost.

Pricing:

• Free: first 20 presale orders, first 100 restock emails, unlimited products
• Lite: $9.90/month (100 presale orders per month, 1,000 restock emails)
• PRO: $19.90/month (unlimited presale orders, 5,000 restock emails)

Rating and reviews:

• 4.9 stars
• 1,770+ reviews
• Built for Shopify

Globo, launched in 2017, is the most established developer on this list. The app enables a pre-order button for out-of-stock or any product, with partial payments, automatic pre-order discounts, and a custom delivery note such as “Delivery in 21–30 days.” You can schedule pre-orders with start and end dates or trigger them by inventory level. It also adds a “notify me” button and automatic back-in-stock alerts.

Key features:

• Pre-order button for out-of-stock or any product
• Partial payment and automatic pre-order discount
• Custom delivery-note text below the pre-order button
• Countdown timer and coming-soon pages
• Schedule pre-orders by date or inventory level
• Notify me and back-in-stock alerts, with CSV import and export

Pros and cons:

Merchant reviews: Merchants describe the free version as easy to use and customizable, and they value the pre-order scheduling and back-in-stock alerts. Support is repeatedly called responsive and efficient, including help with theme customizations. A small number of reviews mention occasional setup questions that support resolved quickly.

#5 PreProduct

️🏆 Best for: Brands running pre-launch campaigns or high-value pre-orders that need pay-later, deposits, and fulfilment control.

Pricing:

• Starter: free to install, plus 5% of paid pre-order revenue
• Growth: $29.99/month, plus 0.5% of paid pre-order revenue
• Scale: $59.99/month (0% commission up to $5,000/month, then 0.5%)
• Scale Plus: $259.99/month (0% commission)

Rating and reviews:

• 4.9 stars
• 100+ reviews
• Free to install

PreProduct is a specialist. Instead of charging every pre-order at checkout, it lets brands charge upfront, later, or through a deposit, using a vaulted card or a payment link. Fulfilment holds prevent orders from shipping before you are ready, and multi-location is fully supported. You can accept mixed carts or isolate pre-orders into their own orders, and you communicate terms through custom storefront wording, customer portals, and email campaigns. Higher plans add installment options, API access, and deeper Shopify Flow and Klaviyo automation.

Key features:

• Pay-now, pay-later, and deposit-based pre-orders
• Deferred charges by vaulted card or payment link
• Fulfilment holds and multi-location support
• Mixed cart or isolated pre-order orders
• Customer portals and email campaign tools
• API access, Shopify Flow actions, and Klaviyo events on higher plans

Pros and cons:

Merchant reviews: Merchants describe PreProduct as the most comprehensive pre-order tool for complex campaigns, praising deferred payments, deposits, and API control. Reviewers running thousands of high-value pre-orders say it handles edge cases other apps miss. Support, led by the founder, is repeatedly called fast and helpful. The main trade-off reviewers weigh is the revenue commission on lower tiers.

#6 REZ Preorders, Back In Stock

️🏆 Best for: Stores that want a genuinely free pre-order and back-in-stock tool.

Pricing:

• Free (all features included)

Rating and reviews:

• 5.0 stars
• 810+ reviews
• Built for Shopify

REZ, by REZ Commerce, is a newer app that offers pre-orders and back-in-stock alerts at no cost. You can add a pre-order or “notify me” button to out-of-stock products, accept pre-orders, backorders, and pre-sales with deposits or partial payments, and send automatic restock and coming-soon alerts. It includes demand analytics and 24/7 support. As a new app, it works with fewer external tools and supports English only.

Key features:

• Free pre-order and “notify me” buttons
• Backorders and pre-sales with deposits or partial payments
• Automatic back-in-stock and coming-soon alerts
• Demand tracking and revenue analytics
• Customizable design that matches your theme
• 24/7 support with guided onboarding

Pros and cons:

Merchant reviews: Merchants praise REZ for being free while covering the two features that matter most: pre-orders and back-in-stock alerts. Reviewers note the fast, no-code setup, clean theme integration, and responsive support. Because it is new, it has fewer integrations than the established apps, which some larger stores will want to check before switching.

Conclusion

The best Shopify pre-order app depends on what your store needs beyond the pre-order button itself. If you want one tool for both pre-orders and back-in-stock alerts, STOQ is the strongest all-round pick. If you want core pre-order features at a low cost, Globo delivers that with the longest track record on this list. If your campaigns need flexible payment timing, deposits, or fulfilment control, PreProduct is the specialist built for that job.

Start with the free plan of your top pick, run one pre-order campaign for two to four weeks, and track pre-order conversion, revenue captured, and how accurately demand matched your restock. If the numbers work, scale up. The comparison table above makes switching straightforward if your needs change.

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