Shopify Pricing 2026

Shopify costs $39/month for Basic, $105/month for Grow, and $399/month for Advanced when billed monthly. Annual billing saves roughly 25%: $29, $79, and $299/month respectively. Shopify Plus starts at $2,300/month for enterprise.

If you use Shopify Payments, there are no additional transaction fees. If you use a third-party payment processor, Shopify charges: 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), or 0.6% (Advanced) per transaction on top of your processor's fees. Plus charges 0.25% (negotiable). Always use Shopify Payments to avoid these fees.

Shopify Payments charges: Basic 2.9% + $0.30, Grow 2.6% + $0.30, Advanced 2.4% + $0.30 per online transaction. In-person rates are lower: 2.6% + $0.10 (Basic), 2.5% + $0.10 (Grow), 2.4% + $0.10 (Advanced).

Basic ($39/mo, or $29/mo annual) includes 2 staff accounts, basic reports, and 2.9% + $0.30 credit card processing. Grow ($105/mo, or $79/mo annual) adds 5 staff accounts, professional reports, gift cards, lower processing (2.6% + $0.30), and reduces third-party transaction fees from 2% to 1%.

No, Shopify requires a paid subscription. The cheapest plan is Basic at $39/month ($29/month with annual billing). Shopify offers a 3-day free trial and a promotional $1/month for the first 3 months. There is no permanent free tier.

App pricing varies widely. Many essential apps are billed as monthly subscriptions, and costs rise with store size and contact or order volume. Email marketing, reviews, subscriptions and loyalty apps are common categories, and the more advanced tiers of email and loyalty tools can cost much more than entry-level ones. Plan for app subscriptions as a recurring cost on top of the base Shopify plan, and check each app's listing for current pricing.

Budget for: the Shopify plan ($39–$399/month on monthly billing, or $29–$359/month billed annually for Basic through Advanced), payment processing fees on each sale, monthly app subscriptions, and a theme (free themes are available, while premium themes are a one-time purchase). Total spend depends mostly on app count and sales volume, so stores with higher volume and more apps will pay noticeably more than a small store on Basic.

Base pricing is similar; Shopify's Basic, Grow and Advanced plans run $29–$359/month with annual billing. Shopify charges 0.6–2% transaction fees if not using Shopify Payments. BigCommerce has no transaction fees but enforces annual sales limits that push merchants to higher plans as revenue grows. For Shopify Payments users, Shopify is often cheaper overall.

Yes. While Shopify's subscription fees are straightforward, percentage-based credit card processing fees (2.4-2.9% + $0.30) and additional transaction fees on third-party gateways (0.6-2%) grow with your revenue. A store doing $1M/year in sales pays $24,000-29,000 in processing fees alone. At very high volume, platforms with flat licensing fees like Adobe Commerce can be more cost-effective.

Yes, by using Shopify Payments as your payment gateway. Shopify Payments eliminates the 0.6-2% additional transaction fee charged on all plans when using third-party gateways. You still pay credit card processing fees (2.4-2.9% + $0.30), but those are standard rates competitive with Stripe and Square.

Yes, by using Shopify Payments as your payment processor. If you use third-party payment gateways like PayPal or Stripe, Shopify charges 0.15-2% transaction fees on top of the gateway's own fees. For a $5M annual revenue business, this could mean $75,000+ in additional fees per year.

Shopify Plus ($2,300/month minimum) unlocks checkout page code access, advanced automation, dedicated support, and enterprise-grade features. On standard plans (Basic, Grow, Advanced), you cannot modify checkout code, forcing reliance on apps or limiting customization options.

Shopify offers promotional pricing for new customers (currently $1/month for 3 months, then $39/month for Basic). The Grow plan shows annual pricing of $79/month (vs $105 monthly) and Advanced at $299/month annual (vs $399 monthly), representing approximately 25% savings when billed annually.

The Basic plan starts at $39/month (or $29/month billed annually). There is no permanent free plan — Shopify offers a 3-day free trial followed by a $1/month promotional rate for 3 months.

Shopify Plus is $2,300/month whether billed monthly or annually. It is designed for high-volume merchants and includes advanced features, dedicated support, and customization options not available on lower plans.

If you stop paying, your store is paused or deactivated. You retain your data but customers cannot access your storefront or make purchases until you reactivate with a paid plan.

The Basic plan ($29/month annual or $39/month) gives you access to themes that can be fully edited in the theme customizer and via code. Grow (formerly Shopify) and Advanced add more capacity for larger businesses, but are not required just to customize a theme.

Shopify charges additional transaction fees only when you use a third-party payment processor instead of Shopify Payments. Multiple G2 reviewers flag this as a significant hidden cost, especially for international merchants who cannot access Shopify Payments in their country. Using Shopify Payments eliminates these additional transaction fees.

Product data can be exported via CSV, but switching carries real costs. Shopify's proprietary Liquid templating, custom app integrations, and store configurations do not transfer to other platforms. One HN commenter observed that 'pricing is engineered in a way such that it gets very expensive the moment before companies notice how much cost it incurs but the cost to switch aways is much higher.' A long-term Trustpilot merchant reviewer confirmed the same dynamic.

The Basic plan starting at $39/month (or $29/month billed annually) covers only the core platform. Most merchants end up paying additionally for third-party apps, premium themes, email marketing tools, and potentially a higher-tier plan to access advanced reporting or real-time carrier shipping rates. Reviewers consistently note that 'the base subscription is only one part of the total cost.'

Based on recent user reviews, Shopify has shifted primarily to AI-generated support rather than live human agents. One reviewer noted: 'Over the past three years there is no access to live customer service agents only AI generated messages. Before you could call and get hands on help with technical problems with your website.'

Start with the 3-day free trial (no credit card required), then take advantage of the $1/month promotional rate for the first 3 months. After the promotional period, the Basic plan at $29/month billed annually is the lowest-cost entry point for a full-featured live store. Monthly billing on Basic is $39/month.

For basic store setup and management, no technical skills are required. Multiple reviewers confirm setup is fast and intuitive. However, deeper customization requires knowledge of Shopify's proprietary Liquid templating language, which has a steep learning curve. Reviewers also note that some workflows — like excluding sale items from discount codes — require workarounds or paid apps because native functionality is missing.

Yes, if you use a third-party payment processor instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify charges an additional transaction fee: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, and 0.5% on Advanced. Using Shopify Payments eliminates these fees entirely. Shopify Payments is not available in all countries, leaving some merchants with no way to avoid this cost.

The base subscription is only part of the cost. Multiple G2 reviewers note that paid apps for email marketing, loyalty programs, reviews, and analytics add substantially to monthly costs. Merchants consistently report that the true all-in cost grows well beyond the plan fee as the store scales.

Savings depend on the plan. The Basic plan drops from $39/month to $29/month (about 26%), the Grow plan from $105/month to $89/month (about 15%), and the Advanced plan from $399/month to $359/month (about 10%). The Plus plan is $2300/month on either billing basis.

Advanced and custom reporting, real-time carrier shipping rates, and lower transaction fees are locked behind the Grow and Advanced plans. Merchants frequently report that they started on Basic and later needed to upgrade to access features they assumed were standard, making the initial plan cost misleading as a total cost indicator.

Yes. Shopify charges the full subscription fee regardless of sales volume. This affects new merchants in setup, those awaiting Shopify Payments verification, and stores experiencing slow sales periods. Shopify has been reported to decline refunds for no-sales periods unless the store is closed entirely.

HN community discussions note that Shopify is cheaper and more convenient than WooCommerce when using Shopify's integrated merchant services and POS, because WooCommerce requires separate hosting costs and paid annual extensions. However, for stores at high revenue scale, the cost calculus depends heavily on transaction volume and how many paid apps are needed.

App costs vary widely. Many apps have free tiers, while premium tools (email marketing, loyalty programs, advanced analytics, shipping optimization, review management) typically run $10–$105/month each. Merchants running a complete feature stack commonly report app spending that matches or exceeds their core Shopify subscription. Multiple G2 reviewers cite app costs as the primary driver of total Shopify spend beyond the base plan price.

The Advanced plan ($359/month annual, $399/month monthly) unlocks the advanced report builder, real-time carrier shipping rates, and the lowest third-party transaction fee rate (0.5%). Merchants on the Basic or Grow plans who need these capabilities must either upgrade or pay for third-party app equivalents.

New merchants face a 5-day waiting period on their first payout through Shopify Payments, followed by up to 3 additional days for the bank deposit to clear — totaling up to 8 days before funds are available. This can create cash flow challenges for small businesses launching without significant capital reserves.

Shopify continues charging the full subscription fee during verification delays even if you cannot accept payments. Based on G2 reports, Shopify will not credit these charges without you first closing your store and submitting invoices for a non-guaranteed refund review. If you anticipate being in a higher-risk merchant category, factor this into your launch timeline.

Yes, but it costs more. Using any third-party payment processor incurs additional Shopify transaction fees (2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.5% on Advanced) on top of your payment processor's own rates. For high-volume stores, these fees can be significant. Shopify Payments is only available in select countries, so merchants in unsupported regions have no choice but to absorb these fees.

Multiple merchants report continued billing after attempting to close their Shopify stores, sometimes for additional stores they were unaware of. To fully stop charges, you must deactivate your account through Shopify's settings, not just close the storefront. Verify that all subscriptions have stopped after deactivation. Monthly plans run $39/month (Basic) to $399/month (Advanced), so unintended charges can accumulate quickly.

If Shopify suspends your account due to policy violations, copyright complaints, or identity verification issues, your pending payouts may be held for up to 365 days per Shopify's terms. Merchants report that standard support has no direct access to the internal review team, making resolution slow and unpredictable even for established stores with years of sales history.

Shopify does not offer a permanent free plan. New merchants receive a 3-day free trial with no credit card required, giving full platform access, but checkout is disabled and no real orders can be processed during the trial. After the trial, a $1/month promotional rate is available for 3 months for new merchants, after which standard pricing applies starting at $29/month for the Basic plan (billed annually) or $39/month on a monthly basis.