If you’re planning to launch an online store, Shopify might be one of the top eCommerce platforms that come to mind. But before you dive in headfirst, it’s essential to know “How much is Shopify?”
With multiple Shopify plans available, it can be challenging to figure out which one is best suited for your business needs and budget.
To save you the trouble, in this article, we’ll explore:
- Overview of Shopify pricing plans
- Details on each plan’s features and benefits
- Other costs associated with using Shopify (transaction fees, credit card fees, etc.)
By the end, you’ll have a solid understanding of how much Shopify is and which plan is right for you. So, let’s get started!
Check out our detailed full Shopify Review to find out if this platform suited for your business.
How Much Is Shopify? – An Overview
If you’re curious about “how much does Shopify cost?” the answer depends on your chosen pricing plan. This top-selling platform offers 4 different non-enterprise plans.
Each plan comes with a unique set of features and pricing structures that cater to different types and sizes of businesses.
Here are the four plans that Shopify offers with the range from $39/month to $399/month:
- Shopify Starter plan
- Shopify Basic plan
- Shopify
- Advanced Shopify
But before you commit to any plan, you can take advantage of Shopify’s 3-day free trial to test if it meets your needs. After that, you can access the $1/month in 3 months promotion.
So, how do you decide which Shopify plan best fits your business? Let’s take a closer look at each pricing plan they offer so you can make an informed decision.
Shopify Pricing Plan – Which One Suits You Best?
Here is a quick comparison between 4 Shopify pricing plans based on monthly price, yearly price, best use cases, and more to consider.
Shopify Plan | Starter | Basic | Shopify | Advanced |
Monthly Pricing | $5 | $39 | $105 | $399 |
Billed Yearly (Save 25%) | $1/mo | $29/mo | $79/mo | $299/mo |
Target Businesses | Small businesses/ Start-ups | Small to medium-sized businesses | Growing businesses | High-volume businesses |
Staff Member Accounts | 1 | 2 | 5 | 15 |
Inventory Locations | Up to 2 | Up to 1000 | Up to 1000 | Up to 1000 |
Report Level | N/A | Professional | Professional | Custom |
% Shipping Discount | N/A | Up to 67.6% | Up to 88.5% | Up to 88.5% |
Third-party transaction fees (except for Shopify Payments) | 5% | 2% | 1% | 0.5% |
Credit Card Rates | N/A | Online: 2.9% + 30¢ | Online: 2.6% + 30¢ | Online: 2.4% + 30¢ |
In person: 2.7% | In person: 2.5% | In person: 2.4% | ||
Shopify POS System | N/A | POS for markets and events | POS for retail stores and pop-up shops | POS for retail stores and pop-up shops |
While all 4 Shopify pricing plans share certain features. However, only Basic Shopify, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify offer an online store, Shopify POS Lite, and the option to upgrade to more advanced versions of Shopify POS.
These rates may vary depending on the country and region where you are located. Additionally, if you use a third-party payment provider for in-person transactions, you may have to pay additional fees to that provider. Therefore, do check your payment provider for further information about their fees.
#1. Shopify Starter plan
Target businesses: New merchants prefer to use social media platforms or messaging apps to reach their customers instead of creating an online store.
How much is Shopify starter: 5$/month | 5$/month billed yearly
Third-party transaction fees: 5%
Credit Card Rates: The Starter Plan is designed for selling through social media channels or blogs. As a result, there is NO Shopify credit card fee.
If you’re just starting out selling online, you might want to consider the Shopify Starter plan. It’s only $5/month, and while it doesn’t come with an online store, you can easily add purchase links to your existing website. This makes it super convenient for your customers to checkout on both desktop and mobile devices.
Notable, the Shopify Starter plan has some basic features like managing online orders, inventory, and customer profiles. It’s perfect for small businesses just looking for minimal options and an easy setup to sell online. However, this plan is only available for new merchants and those in the free trial period.
#2. Basic Shopify plan
Target business: Small businesses in the early stages of growth require more than just basic online selling capabilities.
How much is Shopify Starter: 39$/month | $29/month billed yearly (Save 25% off)
Third-party transaction fees: 2%
Credit Card Rates:
- Online transaction: 2.9% plus 30 cents
- In-person transaction: 2.7%
At just $39 per month, it’s the cheapest plan available and comes packed with features that small business owners will find helpful.
With Basic Shopify, you’ll also get handy features like
- Branded eCommerce website that is customizable
- 24/7 customer support
- Support for sales channels
- Unlimited product listings
- Abandoned cart recovery emails
- Discount codes
- Manual order creation
- Free SSL certificate to secure customer information
Even if you have physical stores spread across different locations, you can easily manage them all with this plan.
You can also benefit from inventory to up to 1000 different locations. While it doesn’t offer advanced performance reports, the Basic Shopify plan allows plenty of room for growth. As a result, this makes it the ideal choice for new businesses on a shoestring budget.
In light of the $10 per month discrepancy between monthly and yearly billing options, we advise opting for monthly billing initially to receive a $1 bill for the first three months. After 3 months, you should upgrade to the Shopify yearly plan to save $120 annually. You can do the same to other plans.
LitCommerce recommendations:
Based on your needs as a small business, we would recommend starting with the Basic Shopify plan. This plan offers all the essential features you need to set up your online store at an affordable price. As your business grows and you require more advanced features, you can always upgrade to a higher-priced plan.
It’s also worth noting that Shopify offers a 3-day free trial and a $1/month for 3 months deal, which can help you get a feel for the platform before getting to a long-term commitment.
#3. Shopify plan
Target business: Medium-sized businesses require a more advanced set of eCommerce features compared to the Basic plan.
How much is Shopify plan: 105$/month | $79/month billed yearly (Save 25% off)
Third-party transaction fees: 1%
Credit Card Rates:
- Online transaction: 2.6% plus 30 cents
- In-person transaction: 2.5%
The Shopify plan is an excellent option at $105/month if you’re looking for a plan with more advanced features. It’s the most popular business plan, with almost everything Shopify offers.
You can get up to 5 staff logins, an upgrade from the 2 on the Basic Shopify plan. You can also assign inventory to up to 1000 different inventory locations.
With this Shopify pricing plan, you can easily track your sales performance and visitor behavior to make informed decisions for your store.
Other features on this plan include:
- Support for payment with gift cards
- Shopify POS support
- Abandoned cart recovery feature
The abandoned cart recovery feature is handy. This will help you recover sales and conversions from customers who almost made a purchase but still need to complete their checkout.
Besides, you can use automated emails to prompt these customers to meet their purchases and increase your sales.
#4. Advanced Shopify plan
Target business: Growing businesses need advanced analytics tools to identify expansion opportunities and manage their operations effectively.
How much is Shopify Advanced plan: $399/month | $299/month billed yearly (Save 25% off)
Third-party transaction fees: 0.5%
Credit Card Rates:
- Online transaction: 2.4% plus 30 cents
- In-person transaction: 2.4%
The Advanced Shopify plan is specifically designed for larger businesses with a bigger inventory and is available for $399/month.
With this fantastic plan, you’ll get access to all the features available on the Basic and Shopify plans, but with some additional perks.
Besides, you’ll enjoy minimal Shopify transaction fees and fantastic shipping features like third-party calculated rates. Also, you can access even more advanced reporting tools to help you stay on top of your business’s performance.
The custom report builder is also a fantastic feature that provides a bird’s-eye view of your business’s performance. You can adjust your default reports and customize new ones to help you make informed decisions.
Another great thing about Advanced Shopify is that everything is unlimited! You get unlimited storage, product listings, room for posting videos and images of your products, and so much more.
Moreover, you can get abandoned cart recovery emails and create up to 15 staff accounts, also assign inventory to as many as 1000 different warehouse locations.
The Shopify transaction fees on this plan start from 2.4% + $0.30 for in-person and debit card transactions. Most importantly, you only pay 0.5% when using third-party payment service providers instead of 1%, 2%, or even 5% on lower plans.
Overall, if your business makes over $10,000 in monthly revenue and you’re looking for better order fulfillment and store management, the Advanced Shopify plan is perfect!
You might also want to read: How to Fulfill Orders on Shopify
Shopify Pricing – Other Costs
If you’re considering setting up a Shopify website, you should be aware of other Shopify costs that may be involved. Below are a few things you may have to save your budget for!
#1. Shopify website builder cost
- Domain names
You don’t have to spend on installing or hosting your own domain because Shopify includes domain names in all its plans. You can choose any of the free myshopify.com domains or pay for a custom domain, which typically costs around $11 per year.
Depending on your domain type, the price can go up to $81. And if you already have a registered domain name, you can link it to your Shopify store for free.
- Themes and design
Having a good design are crucial for your eCommerce website. Luckily, Shopify offers 11 free themes and over 110 premium themes that you can choose from.
With these themes, you can customize your website’s colors, style, and layout. The premium themes cost between $180 and $350.
LitCommerce recommendations:
For small businesses with a limited budget, you might look for a simple and modern theme that is easy to set up and customize, Dawn – a free theme on Shopify might be a good option.
With medium-to-large businesses, you can pick Impulse ($350) – a popular theme that focuses on boosting conversion rates and increasing sales. In case your product niches are fashion and beauty, you can take a look at Be Yours theme ($280) to create a clean and minimal storefront.
Both Impulse and BeYours have positive reviews and are well-liked by users. However, as they are third-party themes, it’s important to carefully consider their features and compatibility with your business needs before making a purchase.
Looking for a free Shopify theme that’s both beautiful and functional? We’ve got you covered with our Top 6 Best Free Shopify Themes You Should Not Miss.
- Apps
Shopify offers over 8000 apps that you can use to enhance the functionality of your store. Some apps cost money, while others are free. These apps allow you to include features that Shopify does not typically offer.
Here is a starter pack to function your new Shopify online store, our recommendations are based on our in-depth research and survey, so let’s take a look:
- PageFly: create customized landing pages and other types of content on the store without needing to know how to code. Its outstanding features include a drag-and-drop interface, pre-made SEO-friendly templates, and mobile responsiveness.
- Loox: collect and display customer reviews on their store in a professional and customizable way. Some of their impressive features, such as customizable review request emails, automated review collection, and social proof, etc.
- Dsers: help merchants sell products from AliExpress and want to streamline their order management and fulfillment process. What’s best? Dsers app has automated order fulfillment, multiple order processing, shipping & tracking management, and more to discover.
- Spocket: source high-quality and unique products for sellers who want to streamline their product sourcing and inventory management process. This app is suitable for dropshipping businesses.
You probably also want to read more details on the best Shopify review apps or Shopify free apps for initial setup.
#2. Shopify transaction fees
Another thing to keep in mind when considering the Shopify costs of running your store are the transaction fees. These Shopify seller fees are charged whenever a customer purchases using a third-party payment service provider.
But don’t sweat up! The percentage of the fee you’ll be charged depends on the Shopify plan you choose.
For example:
- For the Basic Shopify plan, there’s a 2% fee on every transaction you make.
- If you upgrade to the Standard Shopify plan, the transaction fee is reduced to 1%, which can save you money in the long run.
- And in case, you’re really serious about growing your business and maximizing your profits, the Advanced Shopify plan has the lowest transaction fee at only 0.5%.
If you prefer to avoid these extra fees altogether, you can use Shopify Payments. It’s an option worth considering!
#3. Shopify payments fees
This is really important because it can have an impact on your profit margin.
When you accept payments via credit card, Shopify charges you a fee.
Keep in mind that the Shopify processing fee is usually higher than other payment methods due to the risks associated with credit card payments.
Again, the good news is that the credit card rates vary depending on your Shopify plan.
For example:
- On the Basic Shopify plan, you’ll be charged 2.9% + $0.3 for online and 2.7% for offline credit card payments, respectively.
- On the Standard Shopify plan, it’s 2.6% + $0.30 for online and 2.5% for offline payments.
- Finally, the Advanced Shopify plan has rates of 2.4% + $0.30 for online and 2.4% for offline credit card payments.
#4. Shopify POS pricing
If you prefer to receive payments in person using Point-of-Sales (POS), Shopify has covered options:
First, there’s Shopify POS Lite available on all Shopify plans. This option allows you to manage orders, customer profiles, and products easily. Just keep in mind that in-person credit card fees will be charged on transactions made using POS Lite.
Alternatively, you can choose Shopify POS Pro, which is available on all plans for an additional cost of $89 per month and per location. While you will still need to pay for credit card transactions made, this option provides more advanced features to help manage your sales.
But wait, the question of “How much is Shopify?” hasn’t been fully resolved yet. You still have some additional Shopify selling fees, such as shipping label fees, Shopify Tax, and Shopify email, that you might want to check out all the details on this page.
Oh, and there’s a new update in March 2023 that you should to take note!
Shopify Plus – All-in-One Solution
This Shopify Plus plan offers lots of powerful features and top-notch website hosting. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about your site crashing when you get a surge of visitors. In fact, you can process up to 10,000 orders in 1 minute with this plan.
To qualify for Shopify Plus, your business should have an annual revenue of at least $1 million.
So, how much is Shopify Plus?
The plan costs $2,000 or more per month, but you’ll get a lot of value for your money. If you’re interested in learning more or getting a custom quote, just reach out to Shopify directly, and they’ll be happy to help you out!
#1. Website build cost
There are some costs of Shopify Plus that you should be aware of before getting started. Let’s go through them together.
The Shopify monthly cost, which we’ve discussed before, is the first thing to consider. However, there are some other expenses you’ll need to keep in mind too.
One of the highest costs is migrating your data to Shopify Plus. This process can take up to 90 days and be expensive, so you must factor that into your budget.
Additionally, you might need to keep your old store running while transitioning to Shopify Plus to maintain your sales. This could be an opportunity cost to consider. Plus, you may have to pay fees to leave your current platform.
Finally, if you need a new website built, you’ll likely need to hire a developer. Depending on the level of expertise and services you require, the cost could range from $50 to $3000.
#2. Payment processing fees
Did you know that signing up for the Shopify Plus plan has its own set of pricing schemes? While you’ll be charged credit card rates and additional transaction fees, the exact amount may vary depending on the country you’re in.
Don’t worry, though, as Shopify Plus representatives can easily provide you with the details you need.
When it comes to transaction fees, Shopify Plus offers you the option of using a third-party payment processor. However, there’s an additional charge of 0.15% per transaction.
Alternatively, you can activate Shopify Payments and enjoy seamless transactions without any extra costs. It’s all up to you!
#3. Additional app fees
Upgrading to Shopify Plus doesn’t necessarily mean all your previously installed apps will be replaced, except for automation and customization add-ons. As a result, large enterprises may still require advanced tools to manage specific tasks more efficiently. However, integrating additional add-ons and extensions can incur extra monthly fees.
Thankfully, there are two solutions available.
- First, you can seek assistance from Shopify Plus experts, who will review your business needs and recommend which apps must be installed.
- Secondly, you can explore various eCommerce services and certified third-party apps offered by Shopify Plus partners. This includes marketing strategies, onsite SEO, messaging and notifications, loyalty and rewards, and much more!
#4. Other costs – site maintenance fees
One of the best things about using Shopify Plus and other hosted services is that you only have to pay the monthly fee – there won’t be any hidden costs or maintenance fees to worry about. And if you want a security upgrade needs, Shopify will take care of it for you.
Hence, if you want to upgrade your site or make any custom changes, you might need to hire an eCommerce website design agency.
The cost of this will depend on your specific needs, but it’s important to remember that Shopify Plus won’t edit any custom parts of your site.
Shopify Pricing Plan – FAQs
- How much is Shopify a month?
There are 4 main Shopify pricing plans to choose from
- Starter plan: $5 per month
- Basic Shopify plan: $39 per month
- Shopify plan: $105 per month
- Advanced Shopify plan: $399 per month
However, you can save 25% when registering the annual plan ranging from $29 to $299.
- What fees does Shopify charge?
If you’re using Shopify Payments, it will charge you $0 transaction fees.
However, if you use a third-party payment provider instead, you’ll be charged an additional fee.
- For Basic Shopify plan, this fee is 2%.
- For Shopify plan, it’s 1%.
- And for Advanced Shopify plan, it’s just 0.5%.
Conclusion
Based on a deep dive into the question “How much is Shopify” we can conclude that Shopify offers a variety of pricing plans to fit different needs and budgets.
So, if you have any questions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to contact us. And if you’re looking for more eCommerce tips and advice, be sure to visit our Retail Blog or our Facebook community. Thank you for reading!
