Through Shopify’s user-friendly interface and a wide array of third-party applications, even non-tech-savvy merchants can set up an e-commerce shop in a matter of hours. Shopify offers five monthly plans to choose from, but the most common options are the Basic, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify plans. While it may be tempting to opt for the lowest-tier Basic plan to lower your Shopify monthly cost, choosing the perfect Shopify plan for your business is not as straightforward.
It requires taking a closer look at your business, its current processes, and where you see your business going as there are certain factors to consider that can significantly affect your overall monthly costs. These include choosing your payment provider, Shopify’s credit card rates per transaction, and shipping rates, to name a few. We break down the different Shopify plans and their features to help you choose the pricing plan that best fits your business needs.
Shopify Monthly Cost Comparison Chart
| Name | Basic Shopify Plan | Shopify Plan | Advanced Shopify Plan |
 |  |  | |
| Price | Try Shopify for Free | Try Shopify for Free | Try Shopify for Free |
| Best For | New Businesses | Growing businesses, especially those who use third-party payment providers | Business owners looking to scale further |
| Online Credit Card Rates per Transaction | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.6% + 30¢ | 2.4% + 30¢ |
| In-Person Credit Card Rates per transaction | 2.7% + 0¢ | 2.5% + 0¢ | 2.4% + 0¢ |
| Third-party Payment Provider Transaction Fee | 2.0% | 1.0% | .5% |
| Shopify Shipping Discounts | Up to 64% | Up to 72% | Up to 74% |
| Third-Party Shipping Calculated Rates | No | No | Yes |
| Unlimited Products | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Digital Products | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gift Cards | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Staff Accounts | 2 | 5 | 15 |
| Inventory Locations | Up to 4 | Up to 5 | Up to 8 |
Source: Shopify
Shopify Basic Plan
This costs $29 USD/month and is perfect for sellers who want to dip their toes into e-commerce
The Basic Shopify plan is an excellent entry platform into the world of e-commerce. At $29 USD/month, you can upload unlimited physical products, and offer digital products and gift cards to your customers. It gives you access to built-in Shopify features that make setting up your selling process less tedious, such as Shopify Shipping, fraud protection, SSL certificate (for keeping your customers’ data safe), abandoned cart recovery, among others. If you sign up for an annual plan, the $29/month gets reduced to $26.10/month as Shopify offers a 10% discount for a one-year plan and 20% for a two-year plan.
If your business is still small and you only need up to two staff accounts, the Basic Shopify plan is sufficient for your online store. Even with its slightly higher credit card and third-party payment transaction fees, its monthly Shopify cost will most likely still be lower than if you subscribe to the higher-tier plans. However, if you see yourself growing your business and hiring more help, perhaps the standard Shopify plan is the best for you.
Standard Shopify Plan
This plan costs $79USD/month and is the most in-demand Shopify plan that offers the best value
For businesses with 3 to 5 staff members, the standard Shopify plan is the clear option for your e-commerce store. With this plan, you’ll get every feature available in the Basic plan and more. Much more. At a glance, it may seem like the standard Shopify plan’s monthly cost of $79USD is a big jump from the Basic plan’s $29USD. However, if you consider its better credit card, transaction, and shipping rates, the Shopify plan is worth the upgrade. The savings you’ll get from this mid-tier pricing plan considerably increases if you’re not using Shopify Payments as your store’s payment gateway.
If you’re using a third-party payment provider, Shopify charges 2% for every transaction on the Basic Shopify plan while for the standard Shopify plan, you’ll only be charged 1% for every transaction. Compute the difference in rates, and you’ll see how the Basic plan may actually end up increasing your Shopify monthly costs. On top of that, using Shopify Shipping with the standard Shopify plan lets you take advantage of lower shipping rates, something your customers will appreciate.
Shopify Advanced Plan
This plan costs $299USD/month and offers the best rates for third-party transactions, credit cards, and shipping
With the Advanced Shopify plan, you’ll get access to more extensive features that will help better streamline your business. Its advanced report builder lets you customize your monthly reports to your heart’s content. If your e-commerce store has an integrated third-party shipping software, this is the only Shopify plan that displays the calculated shipping rates for your customers when they check out. Another major deciding factor that requires an upgrade to the Advanced Shopify plan is the number of staff members you have. This plan allows up to 15 staff members to access your Shopify dashboard.
In a nutshell, the Advanced Shopify plan is the best for bigger businesses that are generating higher revenues. With its lower transaction fees for third-party payment transactions, credit card rates, and shipping rates, the Advanced Shopify plan makes it worth the higher monthly cost.
Shopify Lite & Shopify Plus
The Shopify Lite plan is best for smaller business owners with existing selling platforms while the Shopify Plus best fits bigger global businesses
Certain types of businesses may find that the Shopify Lite or Shopify Plus plan is best for their company. With a monthly fee of only $9USD/month, the Shopify Lite plan is for online retailers who want to sell on other platforms such as their blog, Facebook page, and similar sites. The Shopify Lite plan is the most attractive option for sellers who don’t need all the bells and whistles of the more comprehensive plans.
Meanwhile, the Shopify Plus plan starts at $2000USD/month and is designed to address larger businesses’ more complex needs. You’ll get even better transaction fees, credit card rates, and discounted shipping rates through this plan as well. If you have more than 15 staff members in your team, the Shopify Plus plan is the clear choice for your business as it doesn’t limit the number of people that can access your dashboard. Shopify further boasts a conversion rate increase of up to 18%. Its checkout optimization features include one-tap accelerated check-outs and better credit card authorization rates.
Additional Shopify Monthly Costs
Among the extra monthly costs you need to take into account are the transaction fees, domain name, e-mail hosting, and paid apps
Once you have decided which Shopify plan you’ll get, it is important to factor in additional Shopify monthly costs you will incur so you can keep your e-commerce store up and running smoothly. Here are some of the additional costs you should prepare for:
- Monthly transaction fees: as mentioned earlier, the transaction fees vary depending on your plan. The higher your pricing plan, the lower the transaction fees (see the comparison chart above).
- Domain name: your shop’s domain name is not included in any of the plans. The monthly/annual cost of the domain name depends on your custom domain and registrar. You can get your domain name on Shopify or other domain registrars such as GoDaddy or Namecheap.
- Third-party apps: there are a number of third-party apps that are free, but the most reliable ones typically require a monthly fee. Adding third-party apps for upselling, marketing, reputation-building, and similar purposes is crucial to giving your customers a top-notch shopping experience.
- Email hosting: none of the Shopify plans include email hosting, so you will need to configure your business email yourself
Verdict
The standard Shopify plan offers the best value and can address the needs of a wide range of businesses while the Basic Shopify plan is a great start for newer businesses.
It’s no surprise that the standard Shopify plan is the most popular of all the monthly pricing plans. The small price jump from the Basic Shopify plan becomes almost insignificant if you consider the lower transaction fees and better shipping rates on the standard Shopify plan. The savings on your Shopify monthly cost becomes more noticeable when you start processing more transactions, especially you’re using a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments.
Meanwhile, those who are only starting their business and getting some traction will find the Basic Shopify plan and its features more than sufficient. You’ll get all the Shopify essentials and start uploading and selling your products for a lower monthly cost through this plan. Shopify offers a 14-day free trial so you can get a feel for its platform and services.
Something that many retailers don’t like about Shopify is its transaction fees which we have extensively mentioned in this article. If you prefer to skip paying transaction fees, you may want to consider setting up your online store through other e-commerce platforms such as BigCommerce or Wix. BigCommerce offers a 30-day free-trial while Wix lets you try the Premium plan for free for 14 days.
