Best buy now, pay later apps for Shopify

Most BNPL is a checkout setting, not an app install

The biggest misconception in most roundups: for Klarna and Afterpay/Clearpay, Shopify Payments supports both as native payment methods you switch on directly in your checkout settings. There is no separate app to install for the core payment flow. Klarna does publish a standalone "Klarna Payments" app on the Shopify App Store as an alternative integration route, but it is a narrow-use listing with a handful of reviews, not the path most merchants take.

Klarna

Pay in full, pay later, or spread the cost through financing, depending on the plan a shopper chooses at checkout. Klarna operates across most of Europe, North America and parts of Oceania. Fees are a percentage of the order value plus a fixed amount per transaction, set in your merchant contract rather than published as a flat rate.

Afterpay / Clearpay

Clearpay is the UK brand of Afterpay, both owned by Block Inc. Pay in 4 interest-free instalments is the core product, with a Pay Monthly option for larger baskets. Live in the UK, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Same fee structure as Klarna: a percentage plus a fixed fee, agreed per merchant.

Shop Pay Installments

Shopify's own native option, not a third-party app. Pay in 4 interest-free, or monthly instalments on larger orders up to 12 months. The advantage is that it needs no separate integration at all if you already run Shopify Payments. The limitation is availability: it is US-only, so it is not an option for a UK or international storefront.

PayPal Pay Later

Pay in 3 in the UK, Pay in 4 in the US, bundled into the standard PayPal Checkout integration rather than sold as its own BNPL app. Worth having mainly because so many shoppers already have a PayPal account, which lowers the friction other BNPL options still carry for a first-time buyer.

Sezzle

Built around younger and credit-thin shoppers, with repayment reminders and financial-literacy features that reduce late payments. Its core market is the US and Canada; UK coverage is limited and worth confirming directly with Sezzle before committing rather than assuming parity with Klarna or Clearpay.

What is no longer live: Laybuy

Laybuy fell into administration in June 2024 and stopped issuing new loans. It still appears on plenty of "best BNPL apps" lists, which is exactly the kind of stale recommendation worth checking before you act on it. Klarna later acquired parts of the business, but that covers New Zealand specifically, not a live Laybuy option for a UK or US Shopify store.

Which one, honestly

For a UK store: Klarna for brand recognition and the widest plan range, Clearpay if your audience skews younger. For a US store: Shop Pay Installments first, because it needs no extra integration, then Klarna or Afterpay to widen the plan options. PayPal Pay Later is worth adding everywhere as a low-friction extra rather than a primary choice, because it rides on an account most shoppers already have.

Where we sit, honestly

We are a Shopify agency, not a payments comparison site, and picking a BNPL provider is a decision you can make directly with the provider rather than through us. Where we do the work is what happens after you turn one on: whether adding a pay-later option at checkout actually moves your conversion rate, or just changes how people who were already going to buy choose to pay. That is a CRO question, and it is one we can test properly rather than guess at.