The counter itself is a one-time hardware purchase, but connecting it to your Shopify store is a separate cost — and it's worth understanding what you're actually paying for before you commit to a route.
The hardware is a one-time cost
Your Smiirl counter itself — the physical device — is bought once, directly from Smiirl. That part isn't ongoing, and it's not something a Shopify app changes or adds to.
Connecting it to Shopify is where the ongoing decision sits
Once you have the device, getting it to show your real Shopify numbers comes down to the same fork in the road covered elsewhere on this site: build the connection yourself, or use an app.
Building it yourself has no direct subscription cost, but it isn't free either — you're paying in server hosting (even a small always-on server or database typically runs a few dollars a month, more if you want reliability), and in your own time to build and maintain it. If something breaks, that's unpaid debugging time, not a support ticket.
Using an app usually means a monthly subscription, priced to cover the ongoing hosting, reliability, and maintenance so you don't have to think about it. Flipcounter, for example, is priced as a simple monthly plan rather than a one-time fee, because the app needs to keep running continuously in the background — watching for new orders, refunds, and cancellations — for as long as your counter is connected.
Why counter apps are usually subscriptions, not one-time purchases
This trips some people up at first, since the counter hardware itself is a one-time buy. But the app isn't a static tool you install once and forget — it's an always-running service that has to stay online, stay in sync with Shopify's API as it changes over time, and keep serving your counter a fresh number every few minutes, indefinitely. That ongoing operation is what the subscription actually covers.
Is it worth paying for versus building it free?
If you're comfortable maintaining your own server long-term — including handling refunds correctly, timezone resets, and keeping something running without it silently breaking — building it yourself can save the monthly cost. For most non-technical store owners, though, the time spent building and babysitting a DIY feed usually outweighs a small monthly fee, especially once you factor in what happens when it breaks during a busy sales period and you're the one who has to fix it.
If you're still deciding which route makes sense for your situation, here's what building the connection yourself actually involves.