BusinessGuide
Shopify Pricing (2026): Plans, Real Monthly Cost, and What to Budget
Shopify pricing for small businesses: Basic, Grow, Advanced, and Plus subscriptions, plus apps, themes, domain, POS, and payment processing—how to estimate real monthly cost without duplicating fee math.
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Shopify pricing on the marketing site is usually a monthly plan line item. Your real monthly cost is almost always higher: payment processing, optional third-party transaction fees, apps, themes, and sometimes POS hardware.
This guide answers: “How much will Shopify cost me overall?” For why processing and third-party fees exist, plan breakeven at $10k–$110k GMV, and US rate tables, use our dedicated Shopify transaction fees and total cost guide—that article is the cluster entry for fee math so we do not duplicate every table here.
If you are still deciding whether Shopify fits your business, read the Shopify review for small business first.
Verify all figures on Shopify’s official pricing page for your country; US-oriented examples below were checked September 30, 2026.
Plan overview (subscription only)
Shopify’s core hosted-store plans for most merchants:
| Plan | Typical buyer | US subscription (verify live) |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | New online store, solo founder | Often $39/mo month-to-month or ~$29/mo effective on annual billing |
| Grow (Shopify plan) | Staff, better reporting, moderate volume | Often $105/mo or ~$79/mo annual |
| Advanced | Higher GMV, lower card rates, advanced reports | Often $399/mo or ~$299/mo annual |
| Plus | Enterprise, high volume, custom needs | Custom; public US references often $2,300–$2,500+/mo |
Introductory trials and $1 for first months promotions change—treat them as acquisition offers, not long-run unit economics.
Plus and enterprise contracts sit outside most small-business budgets; this guide focuses on Basic, Grow, and Advanced where public US pricing is listed on Shopify’s marketing site.
What drives real monthly cost
Budget in layers:
| Layer | What to include |
|---|---|
| Subscription | Plan tier (table above) |
| Payment processing | Percent + per-transaction fee on orders (Shopify Payments rates vary by plan) |
| Third-party transaction fees | Extra Shopify fee if an external gateway processes orders—see fees guide |
| Apps | Email, reviews, subscriptions, shipping—often $10–$50+ each/month |
| Themes | One-time paid theme purchase (optional) |
| Domain | Annual domain registration if not bundled |
| POS | Hardware + in-person rates if you sell retail (retail guide) |
Beginner rule: Plan fee + two apps you know you need + processing at expected monthly sales, not zero.
Basic vs Grow vs Advanced (feature lens)
Basic — Enough for many first stores: standard reports, limited staff accounts, online sales focus.
Grow — Justify when you need more staff accounts, professional reports, or when processing rate savings at your volume offset the subscription delta (fee breakeven math in transaction fees).
Advanced — For operators with meaningful GMV who benefit from lower online card rates and advanced reporting—again, run breakeven math rather than assuming “Advanced is for big brands only.”
Plus — Out of scope for most small businesses unless sales volume or integration requirements demand it.
Annual vs monthly billing
Monthly billing keeps flexibility while you validate product-market fit, test shipping and tax settings, or compare Shopify vs Squarespace before committing to a year on platform.
Annual billing lowers the effective subscription when you expect twelve continuous months on Shopify. You pay upfront, so cash flow timing matters for pre-revenue stores.
Do not prepay annual until checkout, shipping, and unit economics work on monthly billing. If you are unsure whether Shopify is the right long-term home, monthly billing plus conservative app spend is the safer default.
Hidden costs small businesses miss
- Refunds — Processing costs are not fully reversed; high return categories need margin buffer (fees FAQ).
- Shipping labels and apps — Fulfillment-heavy stores stack label fees and app subscriptions.
- International — Markets, duties, and payment methods change effective margin.
- Migration — Moving from Etsy or Amazon to an owned store has one-time labor cost, not a Shopify line item.
- Chargebacks and disputes — Dispute fees and lost merchandise still hit margin even when Shopify processes payments smoothly.
Example monthly budgets (illustrative)
These are structure, not promises—plugin your GMV into the fees article for US card math.
| Store profile | Subscription direction | Other budget lines |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-revenue test | Basic monthly | $0–2 apps, minimal processing |
| $5k/mo online sales | Basic annual often | Processing dominates; 1–2 apps |
| Growing DTC + staff | Grow | Processing + email/reviews apps |
| Retail + web | Basic or Grow + POS hardware | See retail guide |
Add a personal buffer line for themes, domain renewal, and one-off apps so your spreadsheet is not only subscription plus processing.
Who should pick which plan
| Situation | Direction |
|---|---|
| Launching first SKU | Basic |
| Small team, promotions, better reporting | Grow |
| High online GMV, rate-sensitive | Advanced (verify breakeven) |
| Brochure site, tiny catalog | Consider alternatives—best Shopify alternatives |
When two plans look close on features, use fee breakeven at your expected card volume—not marketing copy—as the tiebreaker. The transaction fees guide includes worked US examples.
If you are rate-sensitive but still on Basic, revisit Grow when monthly processing savings exceed the subscription delta—many merchants wait too long and overpay processing while avoiding a higher plan sticker price.
POS and retail add-ons
Online-only merchants can ignore POS, but hybrid retailers should budget hardware, in-person rates, and staff training separately from web checkout. POS does not replace the need for accurate online inventory if you sell the same SKUs in both channels—sync mistakes show up as oversells and angry customers. See Shopify for small business retail for how plan choice shifts when a physical location is part of the model.
FAQ
Does Shopify charge on top of Stripe?
If you use Shopify Payments as your provider in supported regions, you pay Shopify’s processing rates—not a separate Stripe bill plus platform fee in the typical setup. External gateways can trigger additional Shopify transaction fees—details in transaction fees.
Is Basic enough for small business?
Often yes at launch for a single-location online store with modest staff needs. Upgrade when you need additional staff accounts, professional reports, or when processing rate savings at your volume offset the subscription delta—run breakeven math in transaction fees instead of guessing.
Where is the full fee breakdown?
Use Shopify transaction fees for subscription plus processing plus third-party fees with worked US examples. This pricing page stays focused on plan tiers and budget layers so fee tables are not duplicated in two places.