DigiBorderCOMPARISON · UPDATED 11 NOVEMBER 2026
BM Country Blocker vs. DigiBorder for digital products
BM: Country Blocker IP Blocker, by Boostymark, is the app Shopify's own search ranks first for "country blocker", with a 5.0 rating across more than 200 reviews. It's cheap and does a lot. Here's what that does and doesn't cover if you sell digital products.
A note before the comparison: I build DigiBorder. Everything below about the other app comes from its own Shopify App Store listing, checked on 11 November 2026, and I say where it's the better pick.
The quick verdict
| Criterion | DigiBorder | BM Country Blocker |
|---|---|---|
| Checks the billing country at checkout | YesEvery plan | Not stated |
| Country check doesn't depend on the visitor's IP | YesUses no IP data at all | NoBuilt on IP location |
| Store stays browsable for every visitor | Yes | NoBlocked countries can't browse |
| Can leave physical products selling everywhere | YesMixed carts optional (Basic+) | No |
| Can limit the rule to chosen products or collections | YesStrict: collections and product tags | Not stated |
| Free plan on a live store | YesOne country, no time limit | Partly500 page views, then paid |
| Blocks checkout if the check itself can't run | YesStrict | Not stated |
| Price | Free · $4.99/mo | Usage · $3.99/mo |
The apps at a glance
BM: Country Blocker IP Blocker
Country, IP, VPN and bot blocker
- How it decides
- Blocks visitors by country, state, city, IP range, ISP/ASN or referrer, and detects VPN, proxy and data-centre traffic.
- At checkout
- Lists "checkout validation" against suspicious orders. The listing doesn't say which address it checks.
- Plans
- Pay-as-you-go: first 500 page views free, then $0.20 per 100 views, capped at $4/month, all Premium features
- Premium: $3.99/month, 7-day free trial
- Best for
- Cheap, broad visitor blocking with VPN detection and a visit log.
DigiBorder: Country Blocker
Billing-country checkout rule for digital products
- How it decides
- Reads the billing country the buyer pays with, on Shopify's servers, when checkout completes. No IP lookups.
- At checkout
- Stops checkouts that contain restricted digital products, including Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal.
- Plans
- Free: block one billing country for all-digital carts, standard message, no billing approval
- Basic: $4.99/month or $29.99/year. Allow or block any list of countries, mixed carts, your own message, block when no billing country is entered
- Strict: $14.99/month or $89.99/year. Everything in Basic, plus blocking if the rule can't run, shipping-country and market checks, required login, rules by collection or product tag, US/CA/AU states, customer-tag exemptions
- Best for
- Digital sellers who must not sell to certain countries: VAT, licensing, sanctions.
What BM does well
For $3.99 a month, or pay-as-you-go capped at $4, BM blocks by country, state, city, IP range, ISP/ASN and referrer, detects VPNs, proxies and data-centre traffic, and keeps a detailed visit log. It also blocks visitors by email, name or phone and protects content. That's a lot of tool for the price, and its reviews are excellent.
Where it falls short for digital products
- It's a visitor blocker. The country comes from the connection. Even with VPN detection on every plan, it's judging the connection, not the buyer's address.
- "Checkout validation" isn't explained. The listing says it helps stop suspicious orders, without saying which address it checks or whether a country rule applies there.
- The whole store goes dark for blocked countries, physical products included.
- Usage pricing. The free tier covers 500 page views, then charges per 100 views up to a $4 cap. Cheap, but not free on any real traffic.
What DigiBorder does differently
DigiBorder doesn't count page views or look at connections. At checkout it reads the billing country, and if the cart has digital products and the country isn't allowed, the buyer sees your message instead of a payment button. Everything else about your store stays the same for that visitor. The Free plan blocks one country with no usage charges at all.
Where DigiBorder wins
- Checks the billing country, not the connection
- Free plan with no usage charges
- Only digital sales are stopped
- Per-collection rules and fail-closed checkout on Strict
Where BM wins
- VPN, proxy, ISP and referrer blocking
- Visit logs and content protection
- Lowest flat price for a full IP blocker
Pricing side by side
| BM Country Blocker | DigiBorder | |
|---|---|---|
| Free | First 500 page views, then $0.20 per 100 (max $4) | 1 blocked billing country, no usage charges |
| Paid | $3.99/mo | $4.99/mo Basic, $14.99/mo Strict |
| Trial | 7 days | 7 days on paid plans |
Three real situations
| Scenario | BM Country Blocker | DigiBorder |
|---|---|---|
| An Australian course seller avoiding EU VAT registration | Blocks EU visitors by location and flags VPN traffic; billing country not stated as checked | Allowlist the countries you sell to; EU billing addresses can't complete checkout for the course |
| Scraper traffic from data centres | Blocks data-centre and ISP traffic: a strength | Not covered |
| A busy store with 200,000 page views a month | Usage tier caps at $4, or $3.99 flat | Flat price whatever the traffic; Free stays free |
On price the two are close, and on traffic blocking BM does far more. On the question of who's allowed to buy your downloads, DigiBorder is the one checking the right field.
How each one handles a VPN
BM tries to recognise VPN, proxy and data-centre connections and block them. That's useful, but it's the familiar cat-and-mouse with residential proxies and new VPN servers. DigiBorder sidesteps it: the rule never sees the connection, only the billing country entered at checkout, so turning on a VPN changes nothing. The honest limit is the same for every app: a buyer can type a false billing address.
When BM is the better choice
For blocking traffic cheaply, BM is hard to beat, and its VPN and ISP blocking is broader than most. If you sell digital products and the rule is "don't sell to these countries", DigiBorder is the better fit, and the two can run side by side. See how BM compares with the biggest name in the category in Blockify vs. BM Country Blocker.
Questions
Does BM Country Blocker check billing addresses?
Its listing mentions checkout validation for suspicious orders but doesn't say which address it checks.
Is BM free?
The first 500 page views are free, then usage is charged up to $4 a month. Premium is $3.99.
Which is better for EU VAT on downloads?
A billing-country rule, because VAT looks at where the customer is and the billing address is standard evidence. That's what DigiBorder checks.
Is BM Built for Shopify?
Its listing doesn't show the Built for Shopify badge, as of 11 November 2026.
Can DigiBorder detect VPNs?
It doesn't need to. It checks the billing country, which a VPN doesn't change.