Shopify allows you to create and manage your online store. This gives you access to many features, such as design flexibility, sales channels, and more. But how much does this all cost?
Shopify offers three pricing options. The basic plan is $29/month, while the most expensive option is $299/month. Shopify’s value-for-money score has declined in comparison to other builders. It dropped from 3.5 out of 5 to a new score (3 out of 5 in the most recent research).
It has so many amazing features! To help you choose the right plan for your online shop, we’ve provided a breakdown of each plan and all its features!
Shopify Plans
Shopify offers three pricing options
- Shopify Basic is $29 per month. It includes 2.9% + 30C/per online transaction.
- Shopify’s main plan is $79 per month and includes 2.6% + 30C/per transaction.
- Advanced Shopify is $299 per month with 2.4% + 30C per transaction.
Shopify Lite is $9 per month and the fully hosted Shopify Plus platform costs $2,000 per month.
Shopify received a respectable 3.0/5 in our value-for-money category during our internal testing. Shopify isn’t the most affordable ecommerce platform on the market. It is, however, one of the most popular ecommerce builders and it keeps getting better each year.
Shopify: How Much?
Shopify offers three pricing options. There are three Shopify pricing plans: Basic Shopify is $29 per month, Shopify is $79 per month and Advanced Shopify costs $299 per month.
Shopify offers a range of monthly price plans starting at $29 and ending at $299 per month. Top tip Top tip! All Shopify plans Sign up for an annual plan or sign up for a two-year plan to save 20%
Shopify Plans Comparison
Different plans offer different capabilities and features. Let’s take a look at what each plan has to offer.
| Features | Shopify Basic | Shopify | Advanced Shopify |
| Monthly Price | $29.00 | $79.00 | $299.00 |
| Online Credit Card Rates | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.6% + $0.30 | 2.4% + $0.30 |
| Rates for In-Person Credit Cards | 2.7% + $0 | 2.5% + $0 | 2.4% + $0 |
| Transaction fees | Shopify Payments = 0.0% Other Processors = 2.0% | Shopify Payments = 0.0% Other Processors = 1.0% | Shopify Payments = 0.0% Other Processors = 0.5% |
| No. No. | Unlimitable | Unlimitable | Unlimitable |
| 24/7 Support | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Coupon Codes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Blogging | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SSL Free | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gift cards | No | Yes | Yes |
| Detail Reporting | No | Yes | Yes |
| Abandoned Cart Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced Reporting | No | No | Yes |
| Shipment in Real-Time | No | No | Yes |
| Features | Basic Shopify | Shopify | Advanced Shopify |
Click here to view the actual pricing table at Shopify.
Basic Shopify (29$/month)
Start a business or build an online shop front for an existing company. This plan is best for small businesses that only require a basic ecommerce function. If you sell lots of products or have high-priced products, the 2.9% + 30C/ transaction fees will quickly add up.
Shopify ($79/month)
A website is essential for small businesses that are growing quickly. This plan provides more detailed reporting and includes features such as gift cards and abandoned cart recovery.
These features may not be important to a small business, but the larger your company grows, the more revenue you will generate. This plan is for you if your site generates around $5000 per month.
Advanced Shopify (299/month).
An online business that is medium-sized or large can always grow. This plan is ideal for those who want to grow their online business ten times more. It includes stellar shipping, low transaction fees, and advanced reporting.
This plan is for companies that have a monthly revenue of more than $10,000. It’s expensive, but businesses that use this plan can recover some or all their monthly costs thanks to the extra features and lower fees.
These are not only the obvious differences in monthly pricing. There are also some other differences that you should be aware of:
- Credit card rates – marginally lower for higher plans
- Transaction fees – Lowers for higher plans
- Abandoned Cart Recovery is a very useful tool that will help you make more profit automatically. Read the detailed discussion.
Shopify: How to save 20%
You should also note that the Shopify pricing page assumes that you will pay for each plan every month.
This means that you can cancel at any time. Period.
You can save 10% and 20% if you choose to take the 1-year or 2-year plan, depending on your choice.
Shopify Prices: Monthly or Annual Costs
Check out these prices:
| Shopify Pricing Plans | Shopify Basic | Shopify | Advanced Shopify |
| Monthly | $29.00 | $79.00 | $299.00 |
| 1-Year $/month | $26.10 | $71.10 | $269.10 |
| Discounts (%) | 10% | 10% | 10% |
| 2-Year $/month | $23.20 | $63.20 | $239.20 |
| Discounts (%) | 20% | 20% | 20% |
Businesses often fall for the trap of sticking to a monthly-by-month plan without really considering it. You have a lot of flexibility with a month-by-month plan. It pays to think ahead when you consider the fact that signing up in advance can help you save as much as $1,435.20 over two years.
Shopify received the highest customer satisfaction score among all ecommerce platforms in our user testing. You still have a 14-day trial to try it out.
What about Shopify Lite or Shopify Plus?
Don’t worry if the Shopify pricing doesn’t suit your needs. Shopify offers two options: an extremely affordable and an enterprise-level plan. These plans include the following.
Shopify Lite
The Shopify Lite plan will not give you an entire online store. It integrates with an existing website or a social media site, so you can chat with customers, take credit cards and create invoices.
This is a great option for hobbyists who have an existing internet presence and don’t plan to expand. It only costs $9 per month.
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus – This enterprise-level ecommerce plan is for big businesses. You’ll have to pay more for powerful features and website hosting. Traffic surges can cause your site to crash.
This plan is for businesses with more than $1 million in annual revenue and costs $2,000 per month. Shopify Plus is not listed in the table. Shopify can provide a customized quote.
Shopify Plus for Enterprise Level Users – Review. If your business is in the top leagues and generates 6-7 figures in annual sales, Shopify Plus could help you grow.
Shopify Pricing vs Competitor Pricing
Shopify’s ability to grow or expand stores makes it easy to believe that it will be more expensive than other ecommerce providers. Shopify’s paid plans are indeed more expensive than those offered by the top ecommerce companies.
It is important to note how minimal the monthly cost difference is when comparing the best value plan with the cheapest. Overall, Shopify has a more affordable entry price than its competitors, even though it costs a little more per month.
BigCommerce has Shopify’s closest matchup for features. It’s also interesting to see how close they are in price (only $0.95 per month).
Each plan has its financial pros and disadvantages. Shopify charges an additional 2% transaction fee on purchases made not through Shopify Payments. BigCommerce does not charge any additional fees. However, BigCommerce doesn’t offer abandoned cart recovery with its cheapest plan. Shopify does.
The Shopify Credit Card Rates Explained
The Credit Card Rates sections of Shopify’s pricing tables relate to the credit card processing rates that you will be charged if you use Shopify payments.
You will be charged a processing fee if you use your credit card to make purchases online or offline.
The grocery store charges a processing fee when you use your credit card to buy something at your local grocery store. This is to collect payment from your bank and then deposit it in their bank. This is how commerce works. This fee is paid by all merchants.
Nevertheless, you cannot control credit card rates. This is determined by the payment processor you use.
Shopify Payments’ credit card rates and payment processing rates are the following:
- Basic Shopify plan – 2.9% + 30% per transaction
- Shopify plan – 2.6% + 30% per transaction
- Advanced Shopify Plan 2.4% + 30% per transaction
These fees are per transaction and not per item sold. If someone buys 10 widgets in one transaction, the 30cs will be charged once only and not per item.
(Note: Credit card rates will be lower if you sell products in person using Shopify’s Point of Sale system.
Shopify Payments is available in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Hong Kong.
Shopify integrates with more than 70 payment processors so that you can accept credit cards from anywhere in the world.
How to Avoid Shopify Transaction Charges
Shopify’s transaction charges are often the subject of complaints, most often from merchants worried about their profit margins.
The Basic Shopify plan costs 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. However, the Advanced Shopify plan drops only half a percentage point to 2.4%+ $0.30.
Shopify’s transaction charges are not your only option. This Q&A will help you understand the options.
No one likes to have to pay higher fees, especially if it isn’t necessary. But, Shopify’s transaction fees are often misunderstood.
Let’s take a look at why transaction fees are added to monthly plan fees. If it’s a Shopify exclusive, what can you do?
What is the Work of Transaction Fees?
A transaction fee is charged to you for each customer who purchases from you (a transaction), according to the Shopify plan that you have. Fees are 2% for Basic Shopify, 1% for Shopify, and 0.5% respectively for Advanced Shopify.
What are Transaction Fees?
Shoppers browse your store before making a purchase decision. Shopify needs resources to power your online store so that it doesn’t crash.
Shopify charges transaction fees to keep your store open and running at its best, regardless of how many people are visiting your site at the same time (10 or 1 million).
Isn’t this already covered by the Monthly Plan Fee?
Yes, and no. Yes and no. The monthly fee grants you access to Shopify and the selling tools that will enable your online store to be published and functioning. Transaction fees are charged only when someone buys your product.
What about other similar Ecommerce Builders? Are there transaction fees?
Yes, but in different forms.
- Shopify’s closest competitor, BigCommerce, does not charge transaction fees for every sale. However, if you earn more than a set amount per year, Shopify will automatically upgrade you to a higher plan. You’ll pay more each month. Shopify won’t force you to upgrade to a more expensive plan no matter how many sales you make per month.
- You won’t be charged transaction fees for Wix, which is an ideal ecommerce builder for newcomers. You will need to sign up for either the VIP or eCommerce plan to sell products on Wix. These plans are slightly more expensive per month. You will be required to pay a percentage to your payment gateway provider. All payment gateway providers charge this fee.
- Volusion limits the bandwidth you have each month. Think of bandwidth as the “power” that keeps your website going. Shopify allows unlimited bandwidth, while Shopify limits how many shoppers can visit your store. Volusion will limit your bandwidth and you’ll need to buy additional bandwidth. They don’t disclose the cost so it might surprise you.
Transaction fees are charged in different ways for ecommerce platforms like Shopify.
Is there a way to remove Shopify’s transaction fees?
Yes. All transaction fees will be removed if you use Shopify payments
How do Shopify Payments remove transaction fees?
Shopify Payments allows you to collect money from customers and deposit it in your bank account. This is the credit card fee, as explained in detail above.
Shopify Payments will pay the credit card fees if you use it.
They can then waive transaction fees. Shopify Payments allows you to avoid paying credit card fees and transaction fees. This applies regardless of whether you use another payment processor, such as PayPal.
Shopify Payments: What’s the cost?
No. No. There are no transaction fees, no international fees (if your customers are not in your country), and no monthly fees.
Are Shopify Payments going to save me more money than other ecommerce builders?
Yes. Yes. Shopify does not require you to upgrade. Theoretically, you could sell $1 million worth of products. You can also remain on Shopify’s lowest plan at $29/month.
BigCommerce requires you to upgrade to a more expensive plan and pay more. Volusion limits the bandwidth available to you. If you exceed that limit, you will have to buy more.
Shopify offers unlimited bandwidth
Many Shopify users use Shopify Payments.
Yes. Shopify claims that 85% of their users use Shopify Payments when it’s available (for users in the US, Puerto Rico, and Canada), as of 2017.
It shouldn’t surprise that users can save transaction fees and have lower credit card processing charges. They also get funds within 2 days.
Summary of Transaction Fees
Shopify Payments is the best option for fees per sale transactions. Shopify will waive transaction fees and the credit card processing fees for Shopify are lower than PayPal (and other payment processors).
Shopify Payments is free. However, you will need a payment processor to process payments.
Additional Shopify costs to be aware of
Ecommerce businesses can have additional costs than the basic website plan. These are some additional fees and add-ons that you may need to be aware of.
Apps
Apps from a variety of third-party vendors are available to use on Shopify websites. Shopify apps can be found in the Shopify app shop, which houses more than 1,400 apps.
Prices and functions may vary widely. One app allows customers to chat directly with businesses through the Apple messaging app. Another app charges $299 per year and offers enterprise-level product sourcing and supply chain management.
Domain Name
A domain name can be registered through Shopify. The cost for a 1-year registration starts at $14. To check if your business name is still available, visit Shopify’s domain name page.
Email Hosting
Shopify now offers email hosting. You can use email templates to save time and code. Each month, you can send as many as 10,000 emails free of charge! You will then be charged $1 for every 1,000 emails you send – which is a great deal considering what you get.
Compare Prices
I hope you felt more confident in understanding the cost of Shopify per month.
Let’s look at how much Shopify costs. There are three price plans available for Shopify, ranging in price from $29 to $299 each month.
* Basic Shopify plan – This plan is excellent if you own a small business.
* Shopify plan – This is the right one if your store grows quickly.
* Advanced Shopify Plans – This plan is for you if your goal is to grow 10x!
Shopify may not be as affordable as other ecommerce platforms. Shopify also has transaction fees. Shopify isn’t the most valuable platform. It scored a respectable, but not exceptional, 3 out of 5 in our research for value for money. Shopify Payments is recommended to get the best value. This will avoid transaction fees.
Shopify is a top-rated hosted ecommerce platform. Although it’s not the most affordable, there are transaction fees if your site doesn’t use its in-house gateway. However, Shopify is highly rated for customer scores and sales features.
It offers a wide range of ecommerce tools. You can access its App Store (over 7,300 applications) and an ecosystem of experts. Shopify is an extremely popular and rapidly growing online store builder.
Shopify is an excellent ecommerce platform that can be used for large-scale stores. For alternatives, check out our ecommerce site builders comparison.
Shopify is a great platform for building a successful online store.
The plans aren’t too expensive and they are affordable. They also give you the infrastructure and tools to get started. The $29 per-month plan would allow you to make $1,000 per month with your business.
If you can grow your sales to $5,000 per month, then the monthly cost of running the business will be negligible.
While $29 to $79 per month may sound expensive when you start, consider your long-term goals for sales. Shopify may not be right for you if you are looking to make $200 per month.
Shopify can help you generate thousands of dollars each month.
