How do you place a test order on Shopify?

Which test order method fits your store?

Shopify documents two main ways to test: simulate a transaction through a payment gateway in test mode, or place a real order, then cancel and refund it. Testing a gateway needs a paid plan. An order simulated through Shopify Payments test mode or the Test payment gateway isn't charged.

Those orders don't display in your payouts or reports, and you can delete them once they are archived or canceled.

Your payment setup picks the method:

• Shopify Payments: use its test mode, though Shopify says you shouldn't activate it on a store that's in production.
• A third-party provider with its own test mode in the Shopify admin: use it, but Shopify doesn't count those as test orders, and they can't be deleted.
• A provider with no testing options: place a real order, or use the Test payment gateway, which might not offer the same functionalities as your provider.
• Manual payment methods: you must place a real order.

A dev store can't test using real transactions, so use the Test payment gateway or your provider's test mode there. If a developer is building your store, check whether it can take real orders before the transfer.

Use an email address that ends with @example.com (Shopify's considerations), and in Shopify Payments test mode or on the Test payment gateway make the purchase greater than the equivalent of $1 USD.

Once the test order is placed, check what Shopify says it is for: your checkout process and your settings for order processing, inventory, shipping, email notifications and taxes.

How do you test with Shopify Payments test mode?

Test mode can only be activated after you complete the Shopify Payments setup.

Shopify's desktop steps:

1. Go to Settings > Payments.
2. In the Shopify Payments section, click Manage.
3. In the Test mode section, select Enable test mode.
4. Click Save.
5. Check out with a test card: Visa 4242424242424242, a name of at least two words, a future expiry date and a three-digit security code (four for American Express). Shopify lists 12 card types.

Test mode can't test Shopify POS card readers, Shop Pay Installments or PayPal Wallet. No real payments are captured while it is on; the test mode banner on the order confirms it.

Customers can't place live orders while your payment provider is in test mode; on a store that's in production, the other way Shopify documents is a real order you cancel and refund. Deactivate test mode as soon as you finish — a required launch step, too.

To turn it off, our reading is the same Test mode section: no page we read on October 10, 2026 (the Shopify Payments testing page, the three test-order pages, the launch guide) gives the steps.

How do you use the Test payment gateway?

You can activate the Test payment gateway once any active credit card payment provider is deactivated; while the gateway is active, every order you create is a test order.

1. Go to Settings > Payments.
2. Click See all other providers in the Shopify Payments section (where Shopify Payments isn't available in your country: Choose a provider in the Payment providers section).
3. Select Test payment gateway, activate it, then click Save.
4. At checkout, enter Shopify's test details: card number 1 for an approved transaction (2 for a declined one, 3 for a gateway failure), name on card Test payment gateway, any three-digit CVV and a future expiry date.

The gateway isn't compatible with Shopify POS or subscription products: test POS with a cash payment and subscriptions with Shopify Payments test mode.

When testing is complete, deactivate it and — our reminder, not a step Shopify lists — reactivate your real provider.

What does a real order cost you as a test?

For manual payment methods, the real order carries no Shopify third-party transaction fee. With a real payment provider, check its terms of service, place the order, then cancel and refund it as soon as possible.

The refund doesn't return every fee. Through Shopify Payments, you don't get any credit card fees refunded. Through a third-party gateway where Shopify Payments is available in your country, you don't get any transaction fees refunded — see what that fee is on your plan.

If your provider charges processing fees only when capturing orders, Shopify suggests activating manual payment capture before the test and not capturing the payment.

Where Shopify Payments isn't available, two Shopify pages disagree on third-party gateway refunds: the refunding-orders page above says transaction fees are refunded equivalent to the amount refunded; the page on third-party transaction fees says a refund doesn't return them (both read October 10, 2026). Don't count on the fee coming back — test on the Test payment gateway where it fits.