Overheard a Shopify dev say "just use their API, it's free" and I had to bite my tongue

I was at a Montreal meetup last week and this guy was pitching how easy it is to build on Shopify's APIs without any cost. He ignored that you hit rate limits fast and need a Plus plan for proper access, which runs $2,000 a month. I've been building a small app for tracking local inventory and the hidden fees ate my first three months of profits. Has anyone else found that the "free" developer tools end up costing more than an actual paid platform?

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ninam7620h ago

Used to roll my eyes at people complaining about Shopify's pricing until I built a little app myself for some local boutiques wanting to sync their stock. Hit the rate limit in under an hour during a test run, then found out I'd need the Plus plan just to get proper webhooks working. That $2,000 a month killed any profit margin I had before I even launched. Ended up switching to a backend that cost me $50 a month flat and did exactly what I needed without all the hidden gotchas. Really opened my eyes to how "free" can mean "we'll get you later.