How Much Does Shopify Really Cost? (2026 Full Pricing Breakdown)
Shopify’s pricing looks simple — pick a plan, pay monthly — but the real cost depends on your sales volume and which payment processor you use. Unlike Etsy or eBay, Shopify charges no commission on sales. You’re paying for your own store instead. Here’s the full picture for 2026.
The three main plans
| Plan | Monthly (billed annually) | Monthly (billed monthly) | Online card rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $29 | $39 | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Shopify | $79 | $105 | 2.7% + $0.30 |
| Advanced | $299 | $399 | 2.5% + $0.30 |
There’s also a Starter plan ($5/month) for selling via social media and messaging without a full online store, and Shopify Plus (enterprise, ~$2,300+/month).
The hidden cost: third-party payment gateways
This is the fee most new sellers miss. If you use Shopify Payments (their built-in processor), you only pay the card rate above. But if you use an external gateway like PayPal or Stripe, Shopify adds a surcharge on top of that processor’s own fees:
- Basic: +2.0%
- Shopify: +1.0%
- Advanced: +0.5%
So on Basic, using PayPal instead of Shopify Payments could cost you roughly 2.9% (PayPal)
- 2.0% (Shopify surcharge) ≈ 4.9% per sale. Use Shopify Payments wherever it’s available to avoid this.
What does each plan actually cost per month?
Assume Shopify Payments, $5,000/month in sales, average order $50 (100 orders):
| Plan | Subscription | Processing | Total/month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $29 | $175 (2.9% + $30) | $204 |
| Shopify | $79 | $165 (2.7% + $30) | $244 |
| Advanced | $299 | $155 (2.5% + $30) | $454 |
At this volume, Basic wins — the lower subscription beats the small processing savings.
When to upgrade plans
The plans cross over as volume grows. The Shopify plan beats Basic once the 0.2% processing saving exceeds the $50/month subscription difference — roughly $25,000/month in sales. Advanced makes sense above ~$100,000/month. Below those thresholds, the cheaper plan almost always wins on pure math.
Upgrade for features (staff accounts, advanced reports, lower shipping rates), not to “save on fees” — the fee savings rarely justify the jump until you’re at real volume.
Don’t forget apps
The Shopify App Store is where budgets quietly balloon. Email marketing, reviews, upsells, subscriptions, and SEO tools commonly run $10–50/month each. A realistic small store spends $30–100/month on apps. Budget for this — it’s often bigger than your plan fee.
Shopify vs a marketplace
Shopify keeps the most per sale (no commission), but you buy 100% of your own traffic. A marketplace like Etsy or Amazon charges 10–15% but hands you ready buyers. The right choice depends on whether you can drive your own traffic profitably. See Shopify vs Etsy →
Calculate your real margin
See what you keep per sale after Shopify’s processing fee — and what you need to charge to hit your target margin:
Plan prices and card rates as of May 2026. Shopify adjusts pricing periodically and rates vary by country — confirm at shopify.com/pricing.