Independent pricing guide. Not affiliated with Shopify Inc.
Shopify Pricing: Plans Start at $39/Month, But Real Stores Spend $150 to $500+
Updated 30 March 2026
Transaction fees, app costs, and theme purchases turn a $39/month Basic plan into a $200+/month reality. See the full picture before you commit.
$39
Basic/mo
$105
Shopify/mo
$399
Advanced/mo
$2,300
Plus/mo
All Shopify Plans Compared
Five plans, each designed for a different stage of e-commerce growth. The right plan depends more on your monthly revenue than on feature needs.
| Plan | Price | Best For | Staff Accounts | Online Rate | 3rd Party Fee | Reports |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $5/mo | Social/link selling | 1 | 5% + Shopify Payments rate | 5% | None |
| Basic | $39/mo | New stores | 2 | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.0% | Basic |
| Shopify | $105/mo | $8K-$50K/mo revenue | 5 | 2.6% + $0.30 | 1.0% | Professional |
| Advanced | $399/mo | $50K-$500K/mo revenue | 15 | 2.4% + $0.30 | 0.6% | Advanced + custom |
| Plus | $2,300/mo | $500K+/mo revenue | Unlimited | 2.15% + $0.30 | 0.2% | Advanced + API |
Transaction Fee Deep Dive
The plan subscription is only part of the cost. Transaction fees are the hidden variable that determines which plan is actually cheapest for your store.
Shopify Payments Rates by Plan
When you use Shopify Payments (powered by Stripe), you pay only the card processing rate with no additional Shopify surcharge.
2.9% + $0.30
Basic
2.6% + $0.30
Shopify
2.4% + $0.30
Advanced
2.15% + $0.30
Plus
Real Math: $10,000/Month Store
Assuming 200 orders at $50 average order value, using Shopify Payments:
Basic ($39/mo plan)
Processing: $10,000 x 2.9% = $290
Per-transaction: 200 x $0.30 = $60
Total: $389/mo
Shopify ($105/mo plan)
Processing: $10,000 x 2.6% = $260
Per-transaction: 200 x $0.30 = $60
Total: $425/mo
Advanced ($399/mo plan)
Processing: $10,000 x 2.4% = $240
Per-transaction: 200 x $0.30 = $60
Total: $699/mo
At $10K/month revenue, Basic is the cheapest option. The Shopify plan only becomes cheaper when monthly revenue exceeds roughly $22,000, where the 0.3% fee reduction saves more than $66/month in subscription difference.
Third-Party Gateway Surcharge Warning
If you use a payment gateway other than Shopify Payments (PayPal, Stripe directly, Authorize.net), Shopify charges an additional surcharge ON TOP of whatever your gateway charges:
+2.0%
Basic
+1.0%
Shopify
+0.6%
Advanced
+0.2%
Plus
A store doing $10,000/month on Basic with a third-party gateway pays $200/month in extra surcharges alone. That is a strong reason to use Shopify Payments wherever it is available.
The Real Cost of Running a Shopify Store
For a typical store doing $20,000/month in revenue on the Shopify plan ($105/month):
Shopify plan (Shopify tier)
Could be $39 on Basic or $399 on Advanced
$105/mo
Transaction fees (Shopify Payments)
$20K x 2.6% = $520 + 400 orders x $0.30 = $120, minus card-not-present variance
$286/mo
Theme (one-time, amortized)
Free themes available. Premium themes: $250-$380 one-time
$0-$32/mo
Essential apps (email, reviews, SEO)
Klaviyo, Judge.me, SEO Manager at minimum
$50-$200/mo
Domain name
$14/year for .com
$1.17/mo
Professional email
Google Workspace or Zoho
$5-$20/mo
Realistic Monthly Total
$475 - $625/mo
That is 2.4% to 3.1% of $20K monthly revenue. Industry standard for e-commerce platform costs is 2-5%.
App Cost Reality Check
The 10 most common paid apps for a serious Shopify store. Most stores use 5 to 8 of these.
| App | Monthly Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Klaviyo (email marketing) | $30-$150/mo | Free up to 250 contacts |
| Judge.me (reviews) | $0-$15/mo | Free plan available, paid unlocks more features |
| ReCharge (subscriptions) | $99/mo | Plus 1.25% + $0.19 per transaction |
| ShipStation (shipping) | $10-$60/mo | Based on monthly shipment volume |
| SEO Manager | $20/mo | Meta tags, JSON-LD, broken link detection |
| PageFly (page builder) | $29/mo | Free plan with 1 published page |
| Bold Upsell | $10-$60/mo | Based on upsell views per month |
| Back In Stock | $19/mo | Captures demand for out-of-stock items |
| Gorgias (helpdesk) | $10-$60/mo | Based on ticket volume |
| Smile.io (loyalty) | $0-$100/mo | Free for up to 200 monthly orders |
Using all 10 apps at mid-tier pricing: approximately $300/month on top of your Shopify subscription. Most stores need at least 3 to 5 paid apps for a professional setup.
Shopify Total Cost of Ownership Calculator
Enter your store details to see the real monthly cost on every Shopify plan, including transaction fees, apps, and POS.
POS Lite is free. Pro is $89/location/mo.
Monthly Orders (calculated)
200
Basic
Shopify
Advanced
Plus
Recommendation
The Shopify plan saves on transaction fees compared to Basic. The fee difference starts to offset the $66/month price jump around $8K/month revenue.
Processing fees calculated using Shopify Payments rates (or third-party gateway surcharges if selected). Actual costs may vary based on card types, international transactions, and promotional rates. App costs are estimates based on common app stacks.
When Shopify Plus at $2,300/Month Makes Sense
Shopify Plus is priced at $2,300/month for revenue up to $800K/month, then charges a variable fee of 0.25% on revenue above that threshold. Implementation costs range from $5,000 to $50,000+ depending on complexity. Here is what you get that lower plans cannot offer:
Checkout Customization
Shopify Scripts and Shopify Functions let you customize the checkout experience with automatic discounts, upsells, and payment method logic.
Expansion Stores
Up to 9 additional stores included for international markets, each with its own currency, language, and domain.
B2B Wholesale Channel
Built-in wholesale channel with customer-specific pricing, net payment terms, and company account management.
Shopify Flow Automation
Visual automation builder for order tagging, inventory alerts, fraud flagging, customer segmentation, and marketing triggers.
Launchpad
Schedule product launches, flash sales, and theme changes. Automate price drops and restocks for high-traffic events.
Dedicated Support
Merchant Success Manager assigned to your account, priority support queue, and launch planning assistance.
At $500K+/month revenue, the lower processing rate (2.15% + $0.30 versus 2.4% + $0.30 on Advanced) saves approximately $1,250/month in transaction fees alone, covering more than half the Plus subscription cost.
Shopify vs Alternatives by Store Size
Shopify is not always the right choice. Here is what makes sense at different revenue levels.
Under $2K/mo
SquarespaceConsider Squarespace Commerce at $36/month with 0% transaction fees. Lower cost for low-volume stores.
$2K-$8K/mo
Shopify BasicShopify Basic ($39/month) is the right choice. Transaction fee savings on higher plans do not offset the subscription increase at this volume.
$8K-$50K/mo
ShopifyShopify plan ($105/month) starts saving you money on transaction fees compared to Basic. The 0.3% rate reduction pays for the $66/month upgrade.
$50K-$500K/mo
Shopify AdvancedShopify Advanced ($399/month) offers the best fee structure. The additional 0.2% reduction saves $100+/month at $50K revenue.
$500K+/mo
Shopify PlusShopify Plus ($2,300/month) or BigCommerce Enterprise. At this level, Plus's lower rates, checkout customization, and expansion stores create significant ROI.