How Much Does It REALLY Cost to Run a Shopify Store

Well, great news! Your business is booming, and you’re ready to sell your products online by creating an e-commerce store. For this, you need a Content Management System (CMS).

Now, you have many great options for this, like WordPress, Wix, and more, but you may be attracted to Shopify for its ease of use, robust features, and professional design templates.

Firstly, it is an excellent choice! 

Secondly, you may have questions like, “How much does Shopify cost?” or “Are there any hidden fees in Shopify?”

Don’t worry; we’ve got answers to all your Shopify pricing questions.

NOTE: While free, open-source CMS platforms seem budget-friendly, they require separate hosting, premium themes, and add-ons—making costs add up quickly.

Shopify Plans Explained

The running cost of your online store on Shopify depends on the type of plan you purchase. Shopify offers three plans at different prices:

• Basic Shopify at $29/month (billed annually)
• Shopify at $79/month (billed annually)
• Advanced Shopify at $299/month (billed annually)

NOTE: Each plan comes with a 14-day free trial to help you understand which plan fits your needs.  Also note that if you’re interested in Shopify POS Pro, it’ll cost you an additional $89 per month.

Shopify also offers a custom enterprise Shopify Plus Plan.

Still want to know how Shopify stacks against other CMS platforms? Check our comparisons for Shopify against WordPress and Squarespace.

Shopify Payment Processing Fees

Understanding Shopify’s transaction fees is essential, as it directly affects your revenue. Below is a breakdown of Shopify’s domestic card rates, in-person rates (Shopify POS), and third-party payment provider fees:

Plan	Cost Per Month	Online Domestic Card rates (per transaction)	In-person Card rates (per transaction using Shopify POS)	Third-party payment provider
Basic Shopify	$29	2.9% + 30¢	2.6% + 10¢	2%
Shopify	$79	2.6% + 30¢	2.5% + 10¢	1%
Advanced Shopify	$299	2.4% + 30¢	2.4% + 10¢	0.6%

Please note that these are Shopify pricing for 2025.

Wondering what is Shopify’s In-person Card Rate? 

It is the percentage fee that a merchant is charged when a customer pays in-store with a credit or debit card using the Shopify POS system.

P.S. Already have a store but not getting sales? Check out how to boost your Shopify sales without paid ads.

Detailed Breakdown of Shopify Plans with Features

While each plan caters to a different business owner, please know that each Shopify plan offers robust functionality. This is why over 4 million businesses have Shopify stores worldwide. 

Basic Shopify

If you’re relatively new to e-commerce and wondering what the cheapest Shopify plan is, it is the basic plan. 

Cost: $29/month (billed annually)

How much will Shopify charge per sale?

Shopify fees or transaction fees are preset, i.e., Shopify will take a small percentage of each transaction. For the Basic plan, you’ll have to pay 2.9% + 30 cents for every transaction completed by a domestic credit or debit card. 

For instance, if you sell a product for $9.99, Shopify will take 2.9% ($0.28971) plus 30 cents. So, you’ll ultimately sell the product for $9.40.

NOTE: For international credit or debit cards, the transaction fee is 3.9% + 30 cents per transaction.

Basic Shopify Features

• One digitally branded e-commerce storefront
• 24/7 customer chat support
• Unlimited product uploads to your online store
• Localized global selling (up to 3 locations)
• Shipping discounts for USPS, UPS, and DHL Express (up to 77%)
• Shopify POS Lite (enables in-person payments)
• 10 Inventory locations assigned to specific retail stores and warehouses
• Sales channel support (enables product selling on social media) 
• 2 staff accounts (can access your Shopify admin and your Shopify POS)
• Free Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certification
• Manual order creation
• Discount codes
• Tax liability tracking
• Automatic abandoned cart recovery emails
• Accurate sales tax calculations
• Printing shipping labels

Pros

• Affordable for beginners
• Includes essential eCommerce features
• Unlimited product uploads
• Built-in abandoned cart recovery

Cons

• Higher transaction fees compared to other plans
• Limited reporting and analytics
• No advanced automation tools

Why choose the Shopify Basic Plan?

Opt for the Shopify Basic plan if you’re just entering the e-commerce space. This package doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, and it’ll help you understand all the aspects of running your business online. Ideal for selling a limited number of products.

Shopify Plan

This appropriately named middle-tier Shopify plan is ideal for companies looking to expand.

Cost: $79/month (billed annually)

How much will Shopify charge per sale?

For this plan, you’ll have to pay 2.7% + 30 cents for every transaction domestic credit or debit card transaction.

NOTE: For international credit or debit cards, the transaction fee is 3.6% + 30 cents per transaction.

Shopify Features

In addition to all the Basic Shopify features, this plan also provides you with:

• Shipping discounts for USPS, UPS, and DHL Express and insurance discounts (up to 88%)
• Gift card payment
• 5 staff accounts (can access your Shopify admin and your Shopify POS)
• Detailed professional reports to help you analyze trends and user behavior

Pros

• More advanced reporting tools
• Lower transaction fees compared to Basic Shopify
• Supports gift cards and better shipping discounts
• More staff accounts for team collaboration

Cons

• Higher monthly cost than Basic Shopify
• Still lacks some advanced automation tools

Why choose the Shopify plan?

This is the ideal plan for seasoned e-commerce business owners to track sales. Moreover, this package enables you to analyze your customers’ actions and incorporate marketing strategies to earn more sales.

Advance Shopify

This is the most expensive Shopify plan (not considering the Plus plan); however, it also offers all the tools required by a full-fledged e-commerce business.

 

Cost: $299/month (billed annually)

How much will Shopify charge per sale?

For this plan, you’ll have to pay 2.5% + 30 cents for every transaction domestic credit or debit card transaction.

NOTE: For international credit or debit cards, the transaction fee is 3.4% + 30 cents per transaction.

Advance Shopify Features

In addition to all the Shopify features, this plan also provides you with:

• Enhanced 24/7 customer support
• 10x Checkout capacity
• Third-party calculated rates to compare shipping rates from different carriers. 
• Option to add additional markets for $59/month each
• 15 staff accounts (can access your Shopify admin and your Shopify POS)

Pros

• Lowest transaction fees of all plans
• Advanced reporting and custom analytics
• Third-party calculated shipping rates
• More staff accounts and additional market support

Cons

• A significant jump in monthly rates 
• Expensive extra markets

Why choose the Advance Shopify Plan?

The most expensive Shopify package is the go-to choice for large online businesses. It also provides you with custom reporting and calculated shipping returns, making it the best plan. 

Looking for something unique? Opt for our Shopify Plus Development service to build a high-converting eCommerce site for you.

Are There Any Hidden Shopify Fees?

Yes. But Shopify isn’t hiding anything. This is because most sellers focus on Shopify plans’ subscription fees and card charges but ignore other crucial expenses.

Design and Template Fees

You can truly create some visually aesthetic website designs on Shopify, but they’ll cost you a lot. 

This is because you only get 10 free templates on the theme store. However, if you’re looking to truly create a custom website design, you can expect to pay anywhere from $150 to $300, and if you’re buying themes from third-party vendors, they can be as high as $500.

Domain Fees

Please note that the domain fee is included within the Shopify subscriptions; however, you’ll be charged for adding a custom domain name to your store or buying from a third-party website. Depending on your specific domain registration, you can expect to pay anywhere from $10 to $100.

Shopify Apps

Depending on your business needs, you would need Shopify Apps (these are like WordPress plugins). While most of them are free, others are paid. These range anywhere from $9/month to $999/month.

NOTE: Free Shopify Apps may be subject to additional charges.

Email Fees

You get 2,500 free emails monthly with each Shopify plan; however, each additional email will cost you $0.001. Still, it is relatively cheaper.

Shopify Marketplace Connect Fees

Each month, you can sync 50 orders from different marketplaces to Shopify for free. Beyond that, you’ll be charged a 1% transaction fee. But on the positive side, you can only get charged $99 at the most.

What is Shopify Marketplace Connect?

It is a feature that allows sellers to easily and seamlessly integrate the Shopify store with other marketplaces. 

Shopify Tax Fee

Shopify Tax is another feature that accurately and automatically calculates sales tax based on product and shopping address. 

While this feature is free for US online sales up to $100,000 in the first calendar year, you’ll be charged 0.35% for transactions where taxes are calculated. But this fee is also capped at $0.99 per order and $5,000 per year.

Let’s see how much a Shopify merchant will truly be paying with an example.

Suppose Jessica decided to open an e-store to sell handbags online. She goes with the Basic Shopify plan. Here’s what her actual price breakdown will look like for a $100 sale:

• Basic Shopify Plan Fee: $29/month (billed annually)
• Design: $380 for Prestige Theme 
• Transaction Fees: 2% (because Jessica has allowed a third-party payment gateway like PayPal)
• Shopify Payment Fees: 2.9% + 30 cents per sale (by domestic credit and debit cards)

Total Monthly Fees (excluding the theme): $34.20 (for a $100 sale)

Jessica is making $65.80 on a $100 sale.

Which is the BEST Shopify plan for your business?

Now that you know exactly how much you’ll be paying for Shopify each month, what’s the right plan for you?

You’ll need to determine what you wish to achieve with your Shopify store. Choose Basic Shopify if you’re starting out, Shopify if you’re expanding your business, and Advance Shopify if you’re a large-scale business. Ultimately, it’s all about boosting your e-commerce sales. Partner with WebSpero Solutions’ Shopify Experts today and achieve business success.