Food & Retail
Shopify Fees Explained: Plans, Payment Rates, Apps and What You Really Pay
A plain-English breakdown of Shopify fees: monthly plans, Shopify Payments card rates, third-party transaction fees, apps and a worked example of monthly cost.
Shopify's headline price is easy to find. What new store owners often miss is everything around it: card processing on every order, extra fees if you use a different payment provider, apps that bill monthly, and the occasional premium theme. Add them up and the real monthly cost can be several times the plan price. This guide breaks down Shopify fees as of 2026 so you can budget accurately and choose the right plan.
Warning: Shopify changes pricing and fee rules regularly. All figures here are as of 2026 and should be verified on shopify.com/pricing and in the Shopify Help Center.
The four layers of Shopify cost
- Subscription plan (monthly or annual)
- Payment processing on every order
- Transaction fees if you use a third-party payment provider
- Add-ons: apps, theme, domain, email marketing and shipping labels
Layer 1: The subscription plans
| Plan | Listed price, billed monthly (US, as of 2026) | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | About $39/month | New stores and solo founders |
| Grow | About $105/month | Growing stores with staff |
| Advanced | About $399/month | Higher-volume stores needing advanced reports and lower rates |
| Plus | From the low thousands per month | Large merchants |
Annual billing lowers the effective monthly price. Shopify also frequently runs trial and first-months promotions, so your first few months may cost much less.
Layer 2: Shopify Payments card rates
Shopify Payments is Shopify's built-in processor. Published US online card rates as of 2026:
| Plan | Online standard card rate |
|---|---|
| Basic | About 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Grow | About 2.7% + 30¢ |
| Advanced | About 2.5% + 30¢ |
Premium cards can cost more, international cards carry an additional fee (around 1%), and currency conversion adds more. In-person rates through Shopify POS are lower per transaction.
Layer 3: Third-party transaction fees
If you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments, Shopify charges its own transaction fee on top of that provider's processing:
| Plan | Shopify transaction fee (third-party processor) |
|---|---|
| Basic | 2% |
| Grow | 1% |
| Advanced | 0.6% |
For stores created on or after May 12, 2025, Shopify also applies its transaction fee to the portion of orders paid with gift cards or store credit. Check the Help Center for the current rule.
Fee example on a $50 order (Basic plan)
| Method | Processing | Shopify transaction fee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments, US card | $1.75 | $0 | $1.75 |
| Third-party processor at 2.9% + 30¢ | $1.75 | $1.00 | $2.75 |
On 1,000 orders, the third-party route costs $1,000 more. For most US stores, Shopify Payments is the cheaper default.
Tip: Wallets such as Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay run through Shopify Payments, so you keep the lower rate and usually get a faster checkout.
Layer 4: Apps, themes and other costs
| Item | Typical range (as of 2026, verify) |
|---|---|
| Theme | $0 for free themes; premium themes often a few hundred dollars one-time |
| Domain | About $10 to $20 per year |
| Reviews app | $0 to $50/month |
| Email marketing | Free tiers to $100+/month as your list grows |
| Upsell or bundle apps | $0 to $50/month each |
| Subscriptions app | $0 to $100/month plus some take a percentage |
| Shipping labels | Pay per label; Shopify Shipping offers discounted carrier rates |
Apps are where costs creep. Many apps start free and begin charging once you pass an order or contact threshold.
A worked example: one month for a new store
A new store on Basic sells 200 orders at a $45 average order value, all through Shopify Payments, using four apps.
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Basic plan | $39 |
| Card processing: 200 × ($45 × 2.9% + $0.30) | $321 |
| Reviews app | $15 |
| Email marketing | $30 |
| Upsell app | $20 |
| Subscriptions app | $0 (free tier) |
| Domain (monthly share) | $1.25 |
| Total Shopify-related cost | $426.25 |
Revenue is $9,000, so Shopify-related costs are about 4.7% of sales. The plan itself is only $39 of that. Processing is the biggest piece and scales with every order.
When to upgrade from Basic to Grow
Upgrading saves about 0.2 percentage points on online card rates. With a listed price difference of about $66 a month:
Break-even monthly card sales = $66 ÷ 0.002 = $33,000
Below roughly $33,000 a month in online card sales, Basic is usually cheaper on fees alone. Above it, Grow starts paying for itself, and you also gain features such as more staff accounts and better reports. Recalculate with current rates before deciding.
Total cost at three store sizes
Here is how plan choice plays out at different monthly volumes, using only the plan price and published online card rates (Shopify Payments, $50 average order, as of 2026). Apps and other costs are excluded so you can compare plans directly.
| Monthly online sales | Orders | Basic total | Grow total | Advanced total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 | 100 | $39 + $175 = $214 | $105 + $165 = $270 | $399 + $155 = $554 |
| $30,000 | 600 | $39 + $1,050 = $1,089 | $105 + $990 = $1,095 | $399 + $930 = $1,329 |
| $100,000 | 2,000 | $39 + $3,500 = $3,539 | $105 + $3,300 = $3,405 | $399 + $3,100 = $3,499 |
At small volume, Basic wins easily. Around $30,000 a month, Basic and Grow are nearly tied. At $100,000, Grow is cheapest on fees alone, and Advanced only wins once volume rises further or you need its features. Real decisions should also weigh staff accounts, reporting and shipping features.
Payouts, holds and chargebacks
Shopify Payments deposits your sales to your bank on a schedule that depends on your country and account history. New stores sometimes see longer payout periods or reserves, especially with pre-orders, long shipping times or sudden sales spikes. Plan cash flow so a delayed payout does not stop you from buying inventory.
When a customer disputes a charge, Shopify deducts the order amount plus a chargeback fee while the dispute is reviewed. Clear product descriptions, tracking numbers and fast customer service are the best protection. Keep your dispute rate low, because a high rate can lead to account restrictions.
How to keep Shopify fees under control
- Use Shopify Payments unless you have a specific reason not to.
- Audit apps every quarter and remove anything you do not use.
- Choose annual billing once you are sure the store will continue.
- Watch app pricing tiers as order volume grows.
- Use Shopify Shipping or a negotiated carrier account for label discounts.
- Encourage wallets and domestic cards where appropriate.
- Include all fees in your profit-per-order calculation.
Fees people forget
- Chargeback fees when a customer disputes a payment
- Currency conversion on international orders
- Payouts and banking costs if you hold balances in other currencies
- Sales tax tools or filing services as you register in more states
- Paid ads, which are not a Shopify fee but often the largest marketing cost
Your next step
Fees are only one part of profitability. Product cost, shipping, returns and ad spend matter more. Starting a Shopify E-commerce Store by Omer Muneer Qazi walks through product validation, sourcing, unit economics, Shopify Payments, sales tax, shipping, marketing and a 30/60/90-day launch plan, so you know your real profit on every order.
General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and costs vary by state and change; verify with official sources. Read the disclaimer.