DigiBorderCOMPARISON · UPDATED 11 NOVEMBER 2026
Cart Lock vs. DigiBorder: checkout rules for digital products
Cart Lock is one of the few apps on this list that actually works at checkout, the right place to stop a sale. It's built on Shopify Functions, has 87 reviews at 4.8 stars, and lets you combine dozens of conditions. So why isn't it the obvious pick for 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 | Cart Lock |
|---|---|---|
| Checks the billing country at checkout | YesEvery plan | Not statedShipping country is listed |
| Country check doesn't depend on the visitor's IP | YesUses no IP data at all | YesGeolocation is optional |
| Store stays browsable for every visitor | Yes | Yes |
| Can leave physical products selling everywhere | YesMixed carts optional (Basic+) | PartlyVia product conditions |
| Can limit the rule to chosen products or collections | YesStrict: collections and product tags | Yes |
| Free plan on a live store | YesOne country, no time limit | NoDev stores only |
| Blocks checkout if the check itself can't run | YesStrict | Not stated |
| Price | Free · $4.99/mo | $6.99/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.
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 Cart Lock does well
Cart Lock is a proper rule engine. You can block checkout on cart total, quantities, specific products, variants or collections, customer tags, companies, discounts, markets, currency, shipping method and destination, and combine conditions with AND (and OR on Elite). It warns shoppers on the cart and product pages as well as at checkout. For a physical store with complicated shipping restrictions, that's very useful.
Where it falls short for digital products
- The country conditions are shipping conditions. Shopify skips shipping for products that don't require it, so there's no shipping country in a download-only checkout.
- Billing country isn't listed among its conditions.
- No free plan on a live store. Free is for development stores; live stores start at $6.99 for up to five rules.
- Rule limits by plan: 5, 10 or 25 active rules.
What DigiBorder does differently
DigiBorder does one thing: it reads the billing country at checkout and applies your country list to the products that don't require shipping. Mixed carts are your choice. On Strict, you can scope the rule to collections or product tags (Cart Lock's strength) while still checking billing, add a shipping-country check for mixed carts, and make checkout fail closed if the rule can't run.
Where DigiBorder wins
- Billing country, which download-only carts always have
- Free plan on a live store
- No rule-count limits
- Fail-closed checkout on Strict
Where Cart Lock wins
- 30 to 40+ conditions: totals, quantities, discounts, tags
- AND/OR rule logic
- Warnings on cart and product pages
Pricing side by side
| Cart Lock | DigiBorder | |
|---|---|---|
| Free on a live store | No (dev stores) | Yes, one billing country |
| Entry paid plan | $6.99/mo, 5 rules | $4.99/mo |
| Top plan | $19.99/mo, 25 rules | $14.99/mo |
Three real situations
| Scenario | Cart Lock | DigiBorder |
|---|---|---|
| A download-only cart from a blocked country | No shipping address, so a shipping-country condition can't match | Billing country checked; checkout stops |
| A mixed cart: ebook plus printed book | Shipping country is available and can be ruled on | Your choice: include mixed carts (Basic) and, on Strict, also require the shipping country to pass |
| No PO boxes for heavy items | Covered | Not covered |
Rule limits and complexity
Cart Lock prices by active rules: 5, 10 or 25. That makes sense for a rule builder, but country lists for digital products tend to grow (new VAT regimes, new licensing deals), and every scenario becomes another rule. DigiBorder has no rule count: Basic is one country list of any length, Strict adds up to three collections with their own lists on top. Simpler to set up and simpler to audit when your accountant asks what you've blocked.
When Cart Lock is the better choice
If you sell physical products and need rules like "no PO boxes", "minimum order of $50 for wholesale tags" or "no express shipping to Alaska", Cart Lock is the right tool and DigiBorder can't do those. For a country rule on digital products, DigiBorder checks the field that's actually there. Cart Lock vs. BCV compares Cart Lock with the other billing-country app.
Questions
Can Cart Lock block by billing country?
Its listing names shipping country, state and zip conditions, plus geolocation and markets, but doesn't mention the billing country.
Why doesn't a shipping-country rule work for downloads?
Products marked as not requiring shipping skip the shipping step, so the checkout has no shipping address to compare against.
Can DigiBorder target specific products?
Yes, on Strict: by collection or product tag, with up to three collections on different country rules.
Can I use Cart Lock and DigiBorder together?
Yes. Shopify runs every active checkout rule; use Cart Lock for physical-order conditions and DigiBorder for the digital country rule.
How many rules does DigiBorder allow?
Basic has one country list of any length. Strict adds up to three collections with their own country lists.