Shopify charges a monthly subscription fee plus transaction fees. Plans range from $5 to $2,500 per month.
Your total cost depends on your plan, sales volume, payment processor, apps, and shipping methods.
In this guide, I’ll show you exactly what each plan costs, break down all fees, and calculate what you’ll actually pay to run your store.
Quick Pricing Overview: All Five Plans
Here’s what each plan costs with annual billing:
- Starter: $5/month – Social and messaging sales only
- Basic: $29/month – Full store, core features
- Grow: $79/month – Team access, better reports
- Advanced: $299/month – Large teams, advanced features
- Shopify Plus: $2,500+/month – Enterprise solution
Monthly billing costs 25% more on Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans.
Plan-by-Plan Breakdown
Starter Plan: $5/Month
What you get:
- Sell through Instagram, TikTok, Facebook
- Sell through messaging apps
- Create buy buttons for your existing website
- Basic order management
- Access to Shopify app store
What you don’t get:
- No full online store
- No customizable storefront
- Limited to product pages and checkout
Transaction fees:
- 5% + 30¢ per sale with Shopify Payments
Real cost example:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Product sale | $50.00 |
| Transaction fee | -$2.80 |
| You keep | $47.20 |
Calculation: ($50 × 5%) + $0.30 = $2.80
Who this is for: Creators and influencers with existing audiences. You already have a blog, Instagram following, or website. You just need checkout functionality.
Basic Plan: $29/Month
What you get:
- Full customizable online store
- Unlimited products
- 24/7 chat support
- 2 staff accounts (you + 1 team member)
- 4 inventory locations
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Discount codes and gift cards
- Blog functionality
- Basic sales and traffic reports
- Shipping discounts up to 77%
- Free SSL certificate
Transaction fees:
- 2.9% + 30¢ per sale with Shopify Payments
- Add 2% if you use PayPal, Stripe, or other processors
Real cost example:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Product sale | $100.00 |
| Transaction fee | -$3.20 |
| You keep | $96.80 |
Calculation: ($100 × 2.9%) + $0.30 = $3.20
Who this is for: New stores launching their first real ecommerce site. You don’t need team access or advanced reporting yet.
Grow Plan: $79/Month
What you get:
- Everything in Basic, plus:
- 5 staff accounts
- 5 inventory locations
- Professional reports (customer behavior, sales by channel, profit margins)
- Lower transaction fees
- Shipping discounts up to 88%
Transaction fees:
- 2.7% + 30¢ per sale with Shopify Payments
- Add 1% if you use other processors
Real cost example:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Product sale | $100.00 |
| Transaction fee | -$3.00 |
| You keep | $97.00 |
Calculation: ($100 × 2.7%) + $0.30 = $3.00
The reporting upgrade: Professional reports show you which products sell best, where customers come from, and which marketing works. You can track profit margins and customer lifetime value.
Who this is for: Growing stores with small teams. You’re making consistent sales and need better data to make business decisions.
Advanced Plan: $299/Month
What you get:
- Everything in Grow, plus:
- 15 staff accounts
- 8 inventory locations
- Advanced reports with custom analytics
- Third-party calculated shipping rates
- Lowest transaction fees
- Automatic duties and import tax calculations
Transaction fees:
- 2.5% + 30¢ per sale with Shopify Payments
- Add 0.5% if you use other processors
Real cost example:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Product sale | $100.00 |
| Transaction fee | -$2.80 |
| You keep | $97.20 |
Calculation: ($100 × 2.5%) + $0.30 = $2.80
The shipping upgrade: Third-party calculated shipping shows real-time carrier rates at checkout. Customers see exact USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL costs before they buy.
Who this is for: High-volume stores processing $100,000+ monthly. The lower transaction fees offset the higher subscription cost. Also for stores selling internationally with complex shipping needs.
Shopify Plus: Starting at $2,500/Month
What you get:
- Everything in Advanced, plus:
- Unlimited staff accounts
- Dedicated account manager
- Customizable checkout pages
- Advanced automation workflows
- Priority support
- Negotiable payment processing rates
Pricing structure: Shopify Plus costs $2,500/month minimum or 0.25% of sales, whichever is higher. Exact pricing is negotiated based on your volume.
Beyond Plus: Shopify Commerce Components For enterprise brands doing $100+ million annually, Shopify offers “Commerce Components”—a modular approach where you pick specific Shopify services (checkout, payments, fulfillment) and integrate them into your existing tech stack. This is fully custom pricing negotiated with Shopify’s enterprise team.
Who this is for: Enterprise retailers doing $1+ million annually. You need dedicated support, custom features, or extensive API access.
Monthly vs Annual Billing
Shopify gives you 25% off when you pay annually.
Basic Plan:
- Monthly: $39/month
- Annual: $29/month
- You save: $120/year
Grow Plan:
- Monthly: $105/month
- Annual: $79/month
- You save: $312/year
Advanced Plan:
- Monthly: $399/month
- Annual: $299/month
- You save: $1,200/year
The Starter plan has no annual discount. Shopify Plus pricing is custom.
Pay monthly when you’re testing. Switch to annual once you commit to Shopify.
Current Promotion: $1 for First 3 Months
Shopify offers any paid plan for $1/month for your first three months.
This works on top of the three-day free trial. You get 90 days of full access for $3 total.
After three months, you pay standard pricing.
Important: This offer is for first-time Shopify users only. Shopify sometimes runs seasonal promotions with additional app credits or marketing offers. Check their website for current deals before signing up.
Understanding Transaction Fees
You pay fees on every sale. The type of fee depends on your payment processor.
Shopify Payments (Recommended)
Using Shopify Payments gives you the lowest fees:
- Starter: 5% + 30¢
- Basic: 2.9% + 30¢
- Grow: 2.7% + 30¢
- Advanced: 2.5% + 30¢
- Plus: Negotiable rates
Shopify Payments availability: Shopify Payments works in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and 20+ other countries. It’s not available everywhere. Check Shopify’s support site to confirm availability in your region before planning around these rates.
Shop Pay Installments (Buy Now, Pay Later): Shop Pay Installments lets customers split purchases into interest-free payments. This increases conversion rates but costs more.
Transaction fees with Shop Pay Installments:
- 5-6% + 30¢ per transaction (varies by plan and region)
This is 2-3% higher than standard credit card processing. The higher fee pays for the installment financing Shopify provides to your customers.
You can enable or disable Shop Pay Installments in your payment settings. Many stores see 20-30% higher conversion rates with BNPL enabled, which can offset the higher fees.
Other Payment Processors
If you use PayPal, Stripe, Square, or another processor, you pay:
- The payment processor’s fee (usually 2.9% + 30¢)
- An additional Shopify transaction fee
Shopify’s additional fees:
- Basic: 2% extra
- Grow: 1% extra
- Advanced: 0.5% extra
Real example with PayPal on Basic:
- Sell a $100 product
- PayPal fee: $3.20
- Shopify fee: $2.00
- Total fees: $5.20
- You keep: $94.80
How to avoid extra fees: Use Shopify Payments if it’s available in your country. You’ll save 0.5-2% on every sale.
Additional Costs Beyond Your Subscription
Themes
Free themes: 12 free options with basic customization.
Premium themes: $180-$400 one-time purchase. Better design, more features, improved mobile experience.
Custom themes: $5,000+ for professional custom development.
My recommendation: Start with a free theme. Upgrade to premium only when you need specific features or your free theme limits conversions.
Branding tip: Your theme matters, but your domain name matters more. Choose a memorable domain that’s easy to spell. A strong domain builds credibility and improves conversion rates. Shopify includes a free SSL certificate with all plans, which adds trust signals in browsers.
Apps
Apps extend your store’s functionality. Most charge monthly subscriptions.
Common apps and costs:
- Email marketing: $10-50/month
- Product reviews: $0-20/month
- Upsell and cross-sell: $10-30/month
- SEO optimization: $0-30/month
- Inventory management: $20-100/month
- Shipping insurance: $10-30/month
- Loyalty programs: $15-50/month
Most stores use 5-10 apps. Budget $50-200/month for apps.
Built-in features you get free: Shopify includes free email marketing (10,000 emails/month), built-in SEO tools, analytics dashboards, discount code creation, and social media integration. Use these before paying for apps.
Domain Names
First-year cost: $11-15 Renewal cost: $15-20/year
You can use a free myshopify.com subdomain, but a custom domain looks more professional and builds trust.
AI Tools and Credits
Shopify’s AI features—including Sidekick (AI assistant), AI-generated product descriptions, and AI image editing—are evolving rapidly.
Current status (2026): Many AI features remain free or included with your plan, but Shopify is testing usage-based pricing models for advanced AI capabilities.
Potential costs to watch:
- AI content generation credits: May move to $10-50/month for high-volume users
- Advanced AI image editing: Possible credit-based system at $0.10-0.50 per image
- AI-powered analytics: Premium insights may require higher-tier plans
Check your Shopify admin for current AI feature availability and any credit limits on your plan. If you rely heavily on AI tools for product content, factor in potential future costs as these features mature.
Marketplace Connect (Multi-Channel Selling)
Card readers: $49-299 Receipt printers: $299-449 Cash drawers: $99-169 Barcode scanners: $119-299
Shopify POS Lite is free with all plans. POS Pro costs $89/month per location for advanced retail features like staff permissions and analytics.
Shipping and Fulfillment Costs
Your Shopify subscription doesn’t cover actual shipping costs. Here’s what you’ll pay:
Carrier shipping rates: You pay the actual cost to ship orders through USPS, UPS, FedEx, or DHL. Shopify gives you discounts:
- Basic: Up to 77% off carrier rates
- Grow: Up to 88% off carrier rates
- Advanced: Up to 88% off carrier rates
Packaging materials: Budget $0.50-$2.00 per order for boxes, tape, labels, and protective materials.
Fulfillment apps and services:
- ShipStation: $9.99-$229/month for multi-channel shipping
- ShipBob: $2.50+ per order for third-party fulfillment
- Printful/Printify: Per-item costs for print-on-demand
Dropshipping apps:
- Spocket: $39.99-$99.99/month
- Modalyst: $35-$90/month
- Oberlo: Free to $79.99/month
Real example: Average shipping cost per domestic order: $7-15. International: $20-50.
If you ship 100 orders monthly at $10 average shipping, that’s $1,000 in carrier costs alone.
Taxes and Compliance
Important: You’re responsible for collecting and remitting sales tax, VAT, or GST in jurisdictions where you have tax obligations.
Shopify can calculate tax rates automatically at checkout. It won’t file or pay taxes for you.
What this means:
- Research your tax obligations in your state/country
- Register for tax permits where required
- File tax returns on schedule
- Budget for potential tax software or accountant fees
Advanced and Plus plans include automatic duty and import tax calculations for international orders. You still handle the actual payments to authorities.
Professional Services
Photography: $500-2,000 for product photos Copywriting: $100-500 per page Web development: $50-150/hour Marketing setup: $500-5,000 Branding and logo: $300-3,000
Complete Monthly Cost Example
Here’s what a small store on the Basic plan actually pays:
Subscription and fees:
- Basic plan (annual billing): $29/month
- Expected sales: $10,000/month
- Average order value: $50
- Number of orders: 200
Transaction fees:
- ($10,000 × 2.9%) + (200 × $0.30) = $290 + $60 = $350
Apps:
- Email marketing (Klaviyo): $20
- Product reviews (Judge.me): $15
- Upsell app (Zipify): $15
- Total apps: $50
Shipping (actual costs):
- 200 orders × $10 average = $2,000
Other:
- Premium theme (amortized): $17/month ($200 ÷ 12)
- Domain: $1.25/month ($15 ÷ 12)
Total monthly cost:
- $29 + $350 + $50 + $2,000 + $17 + $1.25 = $2,447.25
After deducting shipping from revenue:
- Revenue: $10,000
- Shipping collected from customers: ~$1,400 (average $7 per order)
- Net revenue after shipping: $8,600
- Minus Shopify costs (excluding actual shipping): $447.25
- Operating profit before product costs: $8,152.75
This is a realistic picture of costs for a store doing $10,000 monthly.
Multi-Currency and International Selling
All Shopify plans let you sell internationally.
Multi-currency setup: Shopify Payments supports automatic currency conversion in markets where it’s available. Customers see prices in their local currency.
Without Shopify Payments: You can still display multiple currencies, but conversion happens through third-party apps or manual price lists.
Key considerations:
- Currency conversion fees apply (typically 1.5-3%)
- Multi-currency works best with Shopify Payments
- Check if Shopify Payments operates in both your country and target markets
Advanced plans add automatic duty and import tax calculations for international orders.
Plan Comparison at a Glance
Visual comparison table – Features by plan:
| Feature | Starter | Basic | Grow | Advanced | Plus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly (annual) | $5 | $29 | $79 | $299 | $2,500+ |
| Full online store | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Staff accounts | 1 | 2 | 5 | 15 | Unlimited |
| Inventory locations | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | Unlimited |
| Reports | None | Basic | Professional | Advanced | Custom |
| Transaction fee | 5% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.7% + 30¢ | 2.5% + 30¢ | Custom |
| Third-party fee | N/A | 2% | 1% | 0.5% | Custom |
When to Upgrade Your Plan
Upgrade when lower transaction fees save you more than the price increase.
From Basic to Grow:
- Price increase: $50/month ($79 – $29)
- Fee reduction: 0.2% (2.9% – 2.7%)
- Break-even: $25,000 monthly sales
At $25,000/month, you save $50 in fees, which covers the upgrade cost.
From Grow to Advanced:
- Price increase: $220/month ($299 – $79)
- Fee reduction: 0.2% (2.7% – 2.5%)
- Break-even: $110,000 monthly sales
Only upgrade for the fees if you’re doing $110,000+ monthly. Upgrade earlier if you need 15 staff accounts, advanced reports, or third-party calculated shipping.
To Plus: Upgrade when you’re doing $1+ million annually and need enterprise features, dedicated support, or checkout customization.
Tips to Reduce Your Shopify Costs
Use Shopify Payments Save 0.5-2% per transaction by avoiding third-party processor fees. This is the single biggest cost saver.
Pay annually after your trial Save 25% on your subscription once you’re committed to Shopify.
Start with free themes Free themes work well for most stores. Wait to see results before investing $200-400 in premium themes.
Audit your apps quarterly Remove apps you’re not actively using. Many apps overlap in functionality.
Use Shopify’s built-in features first Shopify includes email marketing, SEO tools, analytics, and social integration. Don’t pay for apps that duplicate these features.
Negotiate with fulfillment providers Once you hit 500+ monthly orders, you can negotiate better rates with shipping and fulfillment services.
Calculate break-even for upgrades Only upgrade plans when the math works. Lower fees must offset higher subscription costs.
Regional Pricing
Shopify prices vary by country. Here are 2026 rates for major markets:
United States (USD):
- Basic: $29/month
- Grow: $79/month
- Advanced: $299/month
United Kingdom (GBP):
- Basic: £25/month
- Grow: £65/month
- Advanced: £250/month
Canada (CAD):
- Basic: $39/month
- Grow: $105/month
- Advanced: $399/month
Australia (AUD):
- Basic: $49/month
- Grow: $129/month
- Advanced: $539/month
Transaction fees and features remain the same across regions. Only the subscription currency changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I change my plan later? Yes. Upgrade anytime with immediate effect and prorated charges. Downgrades take effect at your next billing cycle.
Are there setup fees? No. All plans have no setup fees or hidden charges.
What happens if I cancel? Your store stays active until the end of your billing period. You can export all data before closing. No penalties for canceling.
Do I need a business license? Shopify doesn’t require one, but your city, state, or country might. Check local requirements before launching.
What payment methods can customers use? All major credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Shop Pay, and 100+ local payment methods depending on region.
Can I test Shopify before paying? Yes. You get a three-day free trial, then $1/month for three months on any paid plan.
What if I’m in a country where Shopify Payments isn’t available? You can still use Shopify with PayPal, Stripe, or regional processors. You’ll pay the processor’s fees plus Shopify’s transaction fee (0.5-2%).
Which Plan Should You Choose?
Choose Starter if:
- You’re testing product ideas with minimal investment
- You have an existing website or strong social media presence
- You only need checkout functionality, not a full store
- Budget is extremely limited
Choose Basic if:
- You’re launching your first real store
- You don’t need team access yet
- You want all core ecommerce features
- You’re doing less than $25,000/month in sales
Choose Grow if:
- You have 2-5 team members who need access
- You need professional reports to guide decisions
- You’re doing $25,000-100,000/month
- Team collaboration is important
Choose Advanced if:
- You have 6-15 team members
- You need advanced analytics and forecasting
- You’re doing $100,000+/month
- You sell internationally with complex shipping needs
Choose Plus if:
- You do $1+ million annually
- You need checkout customization
- You want dedicated account management
- Standard plans lack features you require
What to Do Next
Follow these steps to get started:
Step 1: Calculate your expected costs Use the examples in this guide to estimate your monthly expenses. Include plan cost, transaction fees, apps, and shipping.
Step 2: Start with the three-day free trial Test Shopify with no payment required. Explore the interface and add a few products.
Step 3: Upgrade to the $1/month promotion After your free trial, pay $1/month for three months on any paid plan. This gives you 90 days to validate your store.
Step 4: Choose the right starting plan Most new stores should start with Basic. Choose Starter only if you don’t need a full store. Skip Grow and Advanced unless you have specific needs for those features now.
Step 5: Use Shopify Payments if available Check if Shopify Payments operates in your country. This eliminates 0.5-2% in extra transaction fees.
Step 6: Switch to annual billing after month four Once you’re past the $1/month promotion and committed to Shopify, switch to annual billing to save 25%.
Step 7: Review and optimize quarterly Every three months, review your apps, transaction volume, and plan features. Upgrade only when the math makes sense.
Final Summary
Shopify costs $5-$2,500/month for the subscription. Your real cost includes transaction fees, apps, themes, shipping, and taxes.
A typical small store on Basic pays:
- $29/month subscription
- $200-400/month in transaction fees
- $50-200/month in apps
- Actual shipping costs passed to customers
- One-time theme and domain costs
Start with Basic for most new stores. Use the $1/month trial to test. Switch to annual billing once committed.
The key is understanding all costs upfront so you can price products correctly and maintain healthy profit margins.
Ready to start? Visit Shopify.com to begin your free three-day trial. No credit card required.
