- Short answer
- Yes — guest checkout stays available while the sign-in requirement in Settings > Checkout is off; B2B customers must sign in to place B2B orders.
- Where the switch is
- Settings > Checkout > Customer contact method, not Settings > Customer accounts
- Guest orders
- No login, but Shopify still creates a customer profile when the order is placed
- Subscriptions
- Shopify Subscriptions customers must sign in to view their subscriptions
- Default state
- Not stated on the Shopify help pages we read in October 2026; check your own settings
Can customers check out on Shopify without an account?
Yes. Shopify's guide to guest checkout says it stays available while the sign-in requirement is off. Guests have no login, yet Shopify still creates a customer profile when the order is placed.
That guide cites Baymard's 2025 finding (not a Shopify figure) that 18% of shoppers abandoned an order because they did not want to create an account, and warns that guest checkout can make repeat orders harder to connect and abandoned checkouts harder to recover.
Where do you turn on required sign-in?
Under Customer contact method in Settings > Checkout, not in Settings > Customer accounts.
Older guides describe disabled, optional and required account modes, which Shopify's Admin API docs still list but the help pages we read don't name. Legacy customer accounts are deprecated; see our migration guide.
- Settings
- Checkout
- Customer contact method
The help pages we read on October 15, 2026 (checkout settings, customer accounts, B2B sign-in, Shop sign-in) don't give the switch's default for new stores; check yours.
When does sign-in still come up with guest checkout on?
- B2B. B2B customers must sign in to access B2B pricing or place B2B orders.
- Shop Pay — a sign-in prompt, not a requirement. With Shop Pay activated, removing Shop's sign-in prompt for all customers means deactivating Shop Pay.
- Subscriptions. Shopify Subscriptions customers must sign in to view their subscriptions.
Sign-in is a checkout rule; to hide products from non-members, see true per-customer gating.
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