Shopify Collabs for Merchants: Set Up a Creator Program
Shopify Collabs is Shopify’s free app for running an affiliate program with creators: you recruit them through invites or an application page on your store, give each one an affiliate link and code through a tier, send gifts, and pay commission automatically through your Shopify bill with a 2.9% processing fee. It works on every Shopify plan except Starter and Retail, and it needs Shopify Network Intelligence turned on. In 2026 Collabs isn’t accepting new creator signups, so your program grows through creators you invite and people who apply on your own store page.
Who can use Collabs now
| Question | Answer from Shopify’s Help Center |
|---|---|
| Which plans? | All plans except Starter and Retail |
| Anything to turn on first? | Shopify Network Intelligence, in your privacy settings |
| Can new creators join Collabs? | Not at this time. Creators with existing brand partnerships can still use the app and website |
| Can merchants still recruit? | Yes. Merchants can send direct invites and accept applications |
| Cost | Free to install; a 2.9% processing fee on every automatic commission payment |
The App Store listing showed a 4.2 rating from 439 reviews on October 23, 2026. If the creators you want aren’t on Collabs, compare it with affiliate apps in our guide to influencer tracking and platforms.
Set up your account and your store page
- Install and start. Install Shopify Collabs from the Shopify App Store, then go to Apps > Collabs and click Get started. Keep or change the email for Collabs notifications (creators see it on your invites), choose your product category, primary audience and the countries you want creators from, and click Finish setup.
- Verify your email in the Point of contact section on the Settings page. You can’t invite creators until you do.
- Complete the profile. Click Edit profile in Overview. Collabs uses the square logo from your Shopify brand settings. Add your Brand values, up to 4 images under Media, and a description in How you work with creators under Partnership information. Your social accounts come from your Shopify brand settings.
- Set the target market: product category, primary audience and the countries where you want your products promoted.
- Choose how creators find you. Turn on the Online store page to accept applications from your own customers and fans, and set up its survey questions under Where creators find you. Optionally activate an open access program: you set a commission rate for all products or for collections, and eligible creators can generate affiliate links for those products without approval.
- Write your email templates under Settings > Email: the Invite email (subject up to 70 characters, content up to 2,000), the Welcome email and the Decline email. You can use
%firstname%. The welcome email doesn’t include affiliate links or codes; those are created when you add the creator to an affiliate tier.
Recruit creators
From your own store. Your best source is your customers. Link the Collabs online store page from your footer, your post-purchase email and your social profiles. Applicants appear under Review applications on the Overview page; Make an offer accepts them with a program and an optional gift, Decline rejects them. A declined creator can’t reapply with the same account, but you can undo a rejection from All applications reviewed > Declined.
By invitation. Under Recruiting, search the Collabs creator database by keyword, location, social account (Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Twitch, Twitter) and audience size, then click Invite creator. To invite people you already know, use Invite creators and add each email with a Creator code, or import a CSV with the columns Email and Creator Code. You can invite up to 100 creators in any 7-day period, and invites expire after 30 days.
With gifts. Under Programs > Gifts, create a gift: a free product, a percentage discount code or a fixed-amount code. Gifts go only to creators you are connected with, free shipping always applies, and when the creator claims the gift, an order appears in your admin to fulfill.
If you plan a long-term program with your most loyal customers rather than one-off posts, our guide to a brand ambassador program covers the structure around it.
Commissions and payments
Each creator’s affiliate link and code come from the tier you add them to. A tier also sets where the affiliate link leads; if creators’ links show a 404, Shopify’s troubleshooting steps say to check the tier’s Link destination under Programs > Tiers and make sure the creator is connected and assigned to a tier.
Payment runs through your Shopify bill:
- Automatic payments. Commissions are processed through your Shopify bill using Collabs automatic payments. Manual payments stopped tracking new commissions on January 8, 2024.
- Fee. A 2.9% processing fee applies to every automatic commission payment, shown on your bill. The commissions themselves appear as a separate line, “Shopify Collabs Commission”.
- Holding period. Commissions wait 30 days by default before payment; you can set 1 to 90 days. Commissions on canceled or fully refunded orders are canceled during that window, and you can open a payment dispute before it ends.
- Payout. After the holding period, the commission is added to your next Shopify bill. Creators are paid after you pay the bill, if they have activated auto-payouts.
- W9 for US merchants. You can turn on W9 collection in the Collabs payment settings, under Creator tax forms. Creators who don’t submit a requested W9 are limited to $599.99 in payouts per year.
A worked example: a creator’s code brings $2,000 in sales in a month at a 10% commission. You pay $200 in commission plus 2.9% of it, $5.80, on your Shopify bill after the holding period.
For campaign planning beyond Collabs, see our guide to Shopify influencer marketing, and for other channels the marketing and SEO hub.
Shopify facts come from the Help Center pages on Shopify Collabs, its setup, recruiting and payments pages, read on October 23, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify Collabs free? The app is free to install. Shopify charges a 2.9% processing fee on every automatic commission payment, which appears on your Shopify bill.
Can new creators still join Shopify Collabs? The Help Center says Collabs isn’t accepting new creator signups at this time. Merchants can still send direct invites and accept applications through their online store page.
How long before Collabs creators get paid? Commissions are held for 30 days by default (adjustable from 1 to 90), then added to your next Shopify bill. Creators are paid after you pay the bill, if they have activated auto-payouts.
Which Shopify plans can use Collabs? All plans except Starter and Retail. Shopify Network Intelligence must be turned on in your privacy settings.
Can I send free products to creators through Collabs? Create a gift under Programs > Gifts and send it to connected creators. Free shipping always applies, and the claimed gift creates an order in your admin.