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Shopify Pricing Guide 2026: Which Plan is Right for Your Store?

Shopify's pricing looks simple until you factor in transaction fees, app costs, and the features that only unlock at higher tiers. The plan you choose affects not just your monthly bill but how much you pay on every sale — which matters a lot once you're doing any real volume.

This guide covers every plan, explains the transaction fee math, and gives you a clear framework for deciding which tier makes financial sense at your revenue level.

Shopify Plan Overview

| Plan | Monthly Billing | Annual Billing | Transaction Fee (non-Shopify Payments) | |------|----------------|----------------|---------------------------------------| | Starter | $5/mo | N/A | 5% | | Basic | $39/mo | $29/mo | 2% | | Shopify | $105/mo | $79/mo | 1% | | Advanced | $399/mo | $299/mo | 0.5% | | Plus | From $2,300/mo | Custom | 0.15% |

Annual billing saves approximately 25% across the main three plans.

The Transaction Fee You Need to Understand First

Before diving into plan features, the transaction fee model deserves its own section because it directly affects how you should think about plan selection.

Shopify charges a transaction fee on every sale when you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments. If you use Shopify Payments (Shopify's built-in payment processor, powered by Stripe), the transaction fee is waived entirely — you only pay Shopify Payments' standard credit card processing rate (typically 2.4–2.9% + 30¢ depending on your plan).

If you're in a country where Shopify Payments is available and there's no specific reason to use a third-party processor (PayPal, Square, Authorize.net), use Shopify Payments and avoid the transaction fee entirely.

If you must use a third-party processor — because you're in a country without Shopify Payments support, or because you have specific processor requirements — the transaction fee compounds with your plan cost and becomes a significant factor at volume.

Transaction fee cost at $50,000/month revenue:

| Plan | Transaction Fee % | Monthly Fee Cost | Plan Cost (annual billing) | Total Monthly | |------|------------------|-----------------|--------------------------|---------------| | Basic | 2% | $1,000 | $29 | $1,029 | | Shopify | 1% | $500 | $79 | $579 | | Advanced | 0.5% | $250 | $299 | $549 |

At $50K/month in sales using a third-party processor, upgrading from Basic to Shopify saves $421/month net — the plan is more than $450 cheaper on a combined basis. This math is why high-volume merchants on third-party processors often end up on Advanced or Plus regardless of features.

Shopify Starter — $5/month

Starter is not a full online store. It's designed for selling through social media, messaging apps, or embedding a buy button on an existing website. You don't get a Shopify-hosted storefront.

What Starter includes:

• Sell through Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, WhatsApp
• Embeddable buy button for any website
• Linkpop (Shopify's link-in-bio tool)
• Basic Shopify admin for order management
• 5% transaction fee on third-party processors

When Starter makes sense:

If you're a creator, influencer, or service provider selling a handful of products through social media and already have a website built elsewhere (Squarespace, WordPress, Webflow), Starter lets you add commerce without rebuilding your site on Shopify.

When Starter doesn't make sense:

Starter has no storefront. If you need a product catalog, collection pages, SEO-friendly URLs, or a checkout experience customers navigate directly, you need Basic or above. The 5% transaction fee also eats revenue quickly at any meaningful volume.

Shopify Basic — $39/month ($29/month Annual)

Basic is where most new stores start and where many small businesses stay for years. It's a complete online store with all the core functionality you need to sell.

What Basic includes:

• Full Shopify online storefront
• Unlimited products
• 2 staff accounts
• Up to 4 inventory locations
• Basic reports
• Shopify POS (in-person selling)
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Discount codes and gift cards
• Shopify Payments (2.9% + 30¢ card processing)
• 2% transaction fee on third-party processors
• 24/7 support (chat and email)

What Basic is missing compared to higher plans:

• Standard and advanced reporting (you get basic reports only)
• Third-party calculated shipping rates at checkout
• More than 2 staff accounts
• Lower transaction fees

The honest case for Basic:

For a store doing under $50,000/month in revenue using Shopify Payments, Basic is genuinely sufficient. The reporting limitations are real but manageable — you can supplement with Google Analytics and Shopify's built-in analytics dashboard. Most of the features that differentiate higher plans (better reports, lower transaction fees) only become financially meaningful at scale.

If you're launching a new store, start on Basic with annual billing at $29/month. Revisit the plan decision when your monthly revenue consistently exceeds $50K–$75K and the reporting or fee savings on a higher plan start making economic sense.

The Shopify Plan — $105/month ($79/month Annual)

The Shopify Plan sits in the middle and is the right tier for stores that have proven their market and need better data to grow.

What the Shopify Plan adds over Basic:

• 5 staff accounts
• Standard reporting (more detailed sales, inventory, and customer reports)
• Up to 5 inventory locations
• Third-party calculated shipping rates at checkout
• 1% transaction fee (vs 2% on Basic)
• USPS calculated shipping (in the US)

Who this plan is for:

The jump from Basic to Shopify is justified primarily by two things: better reporting and lower transaction fees. Standard reports give you cohort analysis, customer behavior reports, and more detailed financial breakdowns. At higher revenue, these reports become necessary for understanding what's actually driving growth.

On transaction fees: if you use a third-party processor at $100K/month revenue, the 1% vs 2% difference is $1,000/month. The Shopify Plan costs $50/month more than Basic. Net savings are $950/month. The math is clear.

If you use Shopify Payments and don't need the reporting, the only real advantage over Basic is more staff accounts and inventory locations.

Shopify Advanced — $399/month ($299/month Annual)

Advanced is for high-volume stores where the transaction fee savings and advanced reporting provide real ROI.

What Advanced adds over the Shopify Plan:

• 15 staff accounts
• Advanced reports (custom report builder)
• Up to 8 inventory locations
• 0.5% transaction fee (vs 1% on Shopify Plan)
• Enhanced third-party calculated shipping

The transaction fee math at this tier:

At $200,000/month in sales using a third-party processor:

• Shopify Plan: 1% = $2,000/month in fees + $79/mo plan = $2,079/month total
• Advanced: 0.5% = $1,000/month in fees + $299/mo plan = $1,299/month total
• Monthly savings: $780

Advanced starts making financial sense around $150K–$200K/month in revenue if you're on a third-party processor. If you use Shopify Payments, the main reasons to upgrade are the custom report builder and more staff accounts.

The custom report builder in Advanced is genuinely powerful for stores with complex inventory, multiple sales channels, or detailed attribution needs. If you're running paid ads at scale and need granular data, the reporting alone can justify the plan.

Shopify Plus — From $2,300/month

Plus is the enterprise tier and starts at $2,300/month (based on revenue, with a percentage-based component at very high volumes). It's designed for stores doing $1M+ annually, though Shopify markets it starting around $500K/year.

What Plus adds:

• Unlimited staff accounts
• Up to 200 inventory locations
• Dedicated launch manager and merchant success team
• Shopify Flow (advanced automation)
• Script Editor (customize checkout with code)
• Multi-storefront (up to 10 stores)
• B2B wholesale features
• Custom checkout experiences
• 0.15% transaction fee on third-party processors
• SLA guarantees

When Plus is justified:

Plus makes sense when the combination of custom checkout, automation, and dedicated support creates enough operational efficiency to offset the cost. For a $5M/year store, $27,600/year in Plus fees may be a small percentage of revenue. The checkout customization and B2B features are often the deciding factors — not just the fees.

For most businesses, Plus is not the answer until you've genuinely maxed out what Advanced can do and you're spending meaningful time on problems that Plus solves.

Which Plan Based on Monthly Revenue

| Monthly Revenue | Recommended Plan | Notes | |----------------|-----------------|-------| | $0 – $10K | Basic | Annual billing at $29/mo. Don't over-invest in plan fees early. | | $10K – $50K | Basic | Stick with Basic. Reporting gaps are manageable with GA4. | | $50K – $150K | Shopify | Better reports and lower fees start paying off. | | $150K – $500K | Advanced | Custom reports and 0.5% fee savings justify the cost. | | $500K+ | Advanced or Plus | Evaluate Plus when checkout customization or B2B features are needed. |

These thresholds assume Shopify Payments usage. If you're on a third-party processor, upgrade sooner — the transaction fee savings accelerate the break-even point.

Apps: The Hidden Cost of Shopify

Shopify's core plans don't include everything most stores need. The Shopify App Store has 8,000+ apps covering subscription billing, reviews, loyalty programs, email marketing, advanced search, upsells, and more.

A realistic app budget for a growing store:

| App Category | Common Cost | |-------------|------------| | Email marketing (Klaviyo, Omnisend) | $20–$150/mo | | Reviews (Yotpo, Judge.me) | $0–$50/mo | | Subscriptions (Recharge, Skio) | $99–$300/mo | | Upsell/cross-sell | $15–$50/mo | | Returns management | $20–$100/mo |

Most mid-stage Shopify stores spend $150–$500/month on apps on top of their plan cost. Factor this into total cost-of-ownership when comparing Shopify against alternatives like WooCommerce or BigCommerce.

Shopify vs Competitors

| Platform | Starting Price | Transaction Fees | Hosted | Built-in Features | |----------|---------------|-----------------|--------|------------------| | Shopify Basic | $29/mo (annual) | 2% or 0% (Shopify Payments) | Yes | Good | | WooCommerce | Free + hosting ($10–$30/mo) | Payment processor only | No (self-hosted) | Extensible via plugins | | BigCommerce | $29/mo | 0% transaction fees | Yes | More built-in than Shopify | | Squarespace Commerce | $23/mo | 0% (Basic plan has 0%) | Yes | Limited, good for small stores | | Wix eCommerce | $17/mo | 0% | Yes | Limited, good for simple stores |

BigCommerce charges no transaction fees at all, which is worth noting if you're on a third-party processor. WooCommerce is cheaper but requires hosting management and plugin maintenance. For pure ease-of-use and ecosystem, Shopify remains the strongest choice for most e-commerce businesses.

Who Should NOT Use Shopify (or Should Reconsider)

• Businesses primarily selling services, not physical or digital products — Shopify is built around product commerce. Selling consulting, coaching, or service packages is possible but awkward. Platforms like Squarespace, Kajabi, or HubSpot handle service businesses better.
• Stores with very thin margins — If your average order value is $15 and you're paying 2.9% + 30¢ on every transaction, the math can be brutal. Calculate your effective payment processing cost per order before launching.
• Developers who want full control — Shopify's theme system (Liquid) is limited compared to WooCommerce/WordPress if you need deep customization. If a developer is driving architecture decisions and cost is a concern, WooCommerce is worth evaluating.
• Stores that don't need a hosted solution — If you're comfortable managing hosting and updates, WooCommerce is significantly cheaper and more extensible. Shopify's value proposition is convenience and reliability — if you don't need those, you're overpaying.
• Very high-volume stores on Basic — Running $200K/month through Basic while paying 2% transaction fees to a third-party processor is costing you $4,000/month in fees alone. Upgrade.

Shopify Payments vs Third-Party Processors

This decision deserves a direct answer. If Shopify Payments is available in your country and you don't have a specific reason to use another processor, use Shopify Payments. Eliminating the transaction fee (2% on Basic, 1% on Shopify Plan, 0.5% on Advanced) has an immediate positive impact on margins.

Reasons you might still use a third-party processor:

• Your business is in a high-risk category that Shopify Payments doesn't support
• You have an existing processing relationship with negotiated rates below Shopify's standard rates (typically requires very high volume)
• You operate in a country where Shopify Payments isn't available

If any of those apply, account for the transaction fee when choosing your plan tier.

FAQs

Does Shopify charge fees on every sale? If you use Shopify Payments, there's no Shopify transaction fee — only the standard credit card processing rate. If you use a third-party payment processor, Shopify charges 0.5–2% per transaction depending on your plan, in addition to whatever your processor charges.

Can I change plans after starting? Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade at any time. If you upgrade mid-billing cycle, Shopify prorates the cost. If you downgrade, the difference credits to your account.

Is the annual billing commitment refundable? Shopify does not typically offer refunds on annual plans. Commit annually only if you're confident you'll use Shopify for at least 12 months.

Do I need to use Shopify Payments? No. Shopify Payments is optional. You pay a transaction fee if you use an external processor, but you're not required to use their built-in system.

What's included in Shopify POS? All plans include Shopify POS Lite, which handles in-person card-present payments. Shopify POS Pro (needed for advanced retail features like staff permissions, exchanges, and full inventory management) is an additional $89/month per location.

Does Shopify handle sales tax automatically? Shopify has a built-in tax calculation engine. For US merchants, Shopify Tax is available and handles automated calculations in supported states. More complex international tax requirements (VAT, GST) may require a dedicated tax app.

Conclusion

Most new stores should start on Shopify Basic with annual billing at $29/month. The feature set is complete enough for early-stage selling, and the plan cost is low enough that it's not a material decision while you're still proving your business.

Once you're consistently above $50K/month, revisit the plan. Better reporting, lower transaction fees, and more staff accounts on the Shopify Plan or Advanced will usually pay for themselves.

Advanced is the right tier for stores above $150K/month who use a third-party processor or need the custom report builder. Don't rush to Advanced before the transaction fee savings make the math work.

Plus is a separate conversation that makes sense when custom checkout experiences, B2B functionality, or dedicated merchant support have clear operational value.

Whatever plan you choose, calculate total cost including app subscriptions and payment processing. The plan fee is rarely the biggest number.

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