DigiBorderHEAD TO HEAD · UPDATED 11 NOVEMBER 2026
Cart Lock vs. BCV: two checkout-rule apps compared
Both of these work where a sale is actually decided: at checkout, on Shopify Functions. That already puts them ahead of IP blockers for compliance. But they're built for different jobs. Cart Lock is a rule builder; BCV, by Alpha Edge, is a single-purpose billing-country check.
Where I'm coming from: I build DigiBorder, a billing-country checkout rule for digital products, so I look at these apps from a digital seller's side. Facts about both apps come from their Shopify App Store listings, checked on 11 November 2026.
Side by side
| Cart Lock | BCV | |
|---|---|---|
| What it checks | 30 to 40+ conditions: totals, products, collections, tags, shipping country/state/zip, markets | Billing country, allowlist or blocklist |
| Billing country | Not listed | Yes |
| Product targeting | Yes | Not mentioned |
| Price | $6.99 / $9.99 / $19.99 (5, 10, 25 rules) | $2.99 |
| Free | Dev stores only | 3-day trial |
| Reviews | 87 · 4.8 | None yet |
| Criterion | Cart Lock | BCV | DigiBorder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checks the billing country at checkout | Not statedShipping country is listed | Yes | YesEvery plan |
| Country check doesn't depend on the visitor's IP | YesGeolocation is optional | Yes | YesUses no IP data at all |
| Store stays browsable for every visitor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Can leave physical products selling everywhere | PartlyVia product conditions | Not stated | YesMixed carts optional (Basic+) |
| Can limit the rule to chosen products or collections | Yes | Not stated | YesStrict: collections and product tags |
| Free plan on a live store | NoDev stores only | No3-day trial | YesOne country, no time limit |
| Blocks checkout if the check itself can't run | Not stated | Not stated | YesStrict |
| Price | $6.99/mo | $2.99/mo | Free · $4.99/mo |
The apps at a glance
Cart Lock: Block Checkout Rules
General checkout-rule builder
- How it decides
- Lets you build checkout rules from conditions: cart total, products, collections, quantities, customer tags, markets, shipping country/state/zip, geolocation.
- At checkout
- Blocks checkout with Shopify Functions. Shipping country is a listed condition; billing country isn't mentioned.
- Plans
- Free: development stores only
- Essential: $6.99/month. Up to 5 active rules, 30+ conditions
- Professional: $9.99/month. Up to 10 active rules
- Elite: $19.99/month. Up to 25 active rules, 40+ conditions, AND/OR logic
- Best for
- Physical-product stores that need many different checkout rules.
BCV: Billing Country Validator
Billing-country checkout validator
- How it decides
- Checks the billing country at checkout against an allowlist or blocklist, for B2B customers or everyone.
- At checkout
- Blocks checkout with a custom message when the billing country isn't allowed.
- Plans
- Pro: $2.99/month, 3-day free trial
- Best for
- Stores that want one billing-country rule for the whole cart, at the lowest price.
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.
Where each one fits
Cart Lock is the better tool if you have several different checkout restrictions: minimum quantities, blocked shipping states, no discounts on certain products, wholesale-only items. It warns on the cart and product pages too, which is good for conversion. Its country logic is about shipping destinations.
BCV is better if the only rule you need is about the billing country, and you want it as cheaply as possible. It applies to the checkout as a whole and lets you scope it to B2B customers.
Three real situations
| Scenario | Cart Lock | BCV | DigiBorder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download-only cart, blocked country | Shipping condition can't see it | Billing country checked | Billing country checked |
| Mixed cart, only the ebook is restricted | Product + shipping conditions | Not described | Applies to the ebook; mixed carts optional |
| Minimum order for wholesale tags | Covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Setting up a country rule in each
In Cart Lock, a country rule is a condition inside a rule: you choose the condition type, the countries and the message, and it counts towards your plan's active-rule limit. In BCV you switch validation on, pick blocklist or allowlist, choose the countries and write a message. In DigiBorder you do the same as BCV, and decide whether mixed carts count. All three take minutes. What you get is different: a shipping rule, a whole-cart billing rule, or a digital-items billing rule.
The case neither covers well: digital items
Cart Lock's shipping-country conditions can't see a download-only cart, because Shopify skips the shipping step for products that don't require shipping. BCV's billing check does see it, but its listing doesn't mention distinguishing digital items from physical ones, so a rule meant for your ebook would also stop a buyer's T-shirt order. Neither has a free plan on a live store.
DigiBorder sits between them: a billing-country rule (like BCV) that applies only to digital items, can be scoped to collections or tags on Strict (like Cart Lock), starts free for one country, and on Strict blocks checkout if the rule can't run. See Cart Lock vs. DigiBorder and BCV vs. DigiBorder.
Questions
Does Cart Lock check the billing country?
Its listing names shipping country, state and zip conditions but not the billing country.
Is BCV the cheapest billing-country app?
At $2.99/month it's the lowest paid price. DigiBorder's Free plan costs nothing for one country.
Which works for a store selling both downloads and physical goods?
A rule that applies only to digital items. DigiBorder does that; physical-only carts always pass.
Do these apps need Shopify Plus?
Neither listing says so. Shopify Functions-based checkout rules from public apps work on all plans.
Can I run two checkout-rule apps at once?
Yes. Shopify runs every active checkout rule; a checkout must pass all of them.