Shopify is one of the best e-commerce platforms on the market. But its different options can make it tough to estimate your potential costs. Shopify's cheapest monthly plan is $5. Most business owners will pay at least $29, though. You’ll also owe processing costs per sale. Those charges depend on multiple factors, including your subscription level.
Here’s a rundown of Shopify’s plans, pricing and the features they include.
Shopify pricing
All Shopify plans currently include a free three-day trial for new customers. While that window is short, Shopify charges just $1 per month for the first three months.
If you choose a monthly plan, you can end your subscription anytime. For annual plans, you’ll need to wait until the end of your contract’s term to cancel.
| Plan | Monthly fee | Transaction fees |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $5 per month. | In-person: 5%. Online: 5% plus 30 cents. |
| Basic | $39 per month (or $29 per month when paid annually). | In-person: 2.6% plus 10 cents. Online: 2.9% plus 30 cents for standard cards; 3.5% plus 30 cents for business and American Express cards. |
| Grow | $105 per month (or $79 per month when paid annually). | In-person: 2.5% plus 10 cents. Online: 2.7% plus 30 cents for standard cards; 3.3% plus 30 cents for business and American Express cards. |
| Advanced | $399 per month (or $299 per month when paid annually). | In-person: 2.4% plus 10 cents. Online: 2.5% plus 30 cents for standard cards; 3.1% plus 30 for business and American Express cards. |
POS Pro add-on
All of the Shopify plans listed above include a basic set of retail store management capabilities. They have limited or no staff accounts, depending on your plan. They also include returns at the original purchase location and simple customer profiles.
You can add POS Pro to most plans for an extra $89 per month (or $67 per month if paid annually). The Starter plan doesn’t support POS Pro.
POS Pro includes the following features
- Unlimited staff accounts.
- More staff permission settings.
- In-depth customer profiles and customer loyalty tools.
- Advanced inventory and product performance reporting.
- Ability to accept returns and exchanges at any location.
» MORE: Learn more about how Shopify works
Does Shopify have promotions?
Shopify's current promotion offers 1% back in Shopify subscription credits on purchases made with Shopify Payments. It's valid for the first six months of your subscription. Here are the maximum amounts you can earn with each plan:
- Basic: Up to $5,000.
- Grow: Up to $7,500.
- Advanced: Up to $10,000.
Looking for a different payment processor?
These Shopify alternatives may have smaller upfront costs, but they don’t have as many website-building tools or templates. If you’ve already built your website or only need a basic one, the following choices can be a great fit.
Payment processing fees 0.40% + 8¢plus interchange, in-person; 0.50% + 25¢ plus interchange, online. | Payment processing fees 2.6% + 15¢in-person; 3.3% + 30¢ online. |
Monthly fee $0 | Monthly fee $0and up. |
Helcim: Best for interchange-plus processing. Unlike Shopify, Helcim uses interchange-plus processing. This can be more cost-effective than flat-rate pricing for higher-volume businesses. Plus, rates get even lower once you start processing more than $50,000 per month. For more details, read our full Helcim review.
Square: Best for brick-and-mortar businesses. Square bundles a solid variety of POS hardware with in-house processing and intuitive POS software. For more details, read our full Square review.
» MORE: Square vs. Shopify
Stripe: Best for web developers. Stripe’s developer tools let you customize your business’s online payments experience. You'll get the most out of these features if you have coding experience. For more details, read our full Stripe review.
Or consider these popular e-commerce platforms
If your first priority is building an online store, compare Shopify against these alternatives.
» MORE: How to make money on Shopify
Shopify plans and features
Shopify's plans include one option for selling on social media and via product links. The other three can handle both online and in-person sales. Each plan has a set of features that cater to different types and sizes of businesses. And each comes with its own pricing structure.
Starter plan
Best for solopreneurs selling mostly on social media
The Starter plan is Shopify’s least expensive option. It's ideal for solopreneurs that are just getting started. It has a quick setup process and makes it easy to begin selling online and on the go. However, its online store has limited features, and there are no staff accounts. Consider upgrading plans if you need a full-blown online store or have employees.
Read more about what’s included
- Ability to share product links on social media.
- Shopify POS mobile app for accepting in-person transactions.
- 1 POS lite location.
- Basic sales reporting.
- Order management.
- 24/7 live chat support.
Basic plan
Best for solopreneurs that sell in person and online and need a more robust online presence
Shopify’s Basic plan can help burgeoning small businesses that need a feature-rich online store. It also has tools for selling in person. However, it doesn’t include additional staff accounts.
Read more about what’s included
- A customizable online store with multiple themes to choose from.
- POS lite.
- More than 200 reports.
- Up to 10 inventory locations.
- Gift cards.
- Ability to accept returns and refunds.
- 24/7 live chat support.
- Abandoned cart recovery.
- Unlimited product listings.
- Customer segmentation to filter by feature.
- Marketing automation.
- Alternative sales channel support outside of the Shopify ecosystem.
- Shipping discounts up to 87% off and shipping label printing.
- Support for international market management, including currency conversation and translation.
- Earn 1% back in credits on Shopify sales (up to $5,000).
Grow plan
Best for small businesses that sell in person and online and need staff management
The Grow plan is geared toward small and medium-sized businesses with multiple employees. It also gives them access to a full-featured online store. Other features include those listed under the Basic plan, plus five staff accounts.
Read more about what’s included
- Five staff accounts.
- Lower processing rates.
- Full Shopify API access.
- Earn 1% back in credits on Shopify sales (up to $7,500).
Advanced plan
Best for larger, high-volume small businesses that sell in person and online
Shopify’s Advanced plan offers the most features for established businesses. It provides advanced insights into sales and helps them manage a larger employee base. The plan includes what you’ll find in the Basic and Grow plan options, as well as a handful of extra features.
Read more about what’s included
- 15 staff accounts.
- Lower processing rates.
- Custom sales and performance reports.
- Third-party shipping calculations that show customers what they’ll pay in real-time.
- Earn 1% back in credits on Shopify sales (up to $10,000).
» More from Shopify: Learn about loans from Shopify Capital and banking with Shopify Balance.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus is a plan designed for enterprise-level companies processing hundreds of thousands of dollars and up annually. Among other features, it lets you customize your checkout experience and includes 20 POS Pro locations.
Will my credit card be charged if I sign up for the free trial?
According to Shopify, your credit card will not be automatically charged at the end of the trial. You'll only be charged if you sign up for a particular monthly plan.
What is Shopify Payments?
Shopify Payments is the company's payment processing service and is available for all plans.
A version of this article was first published on Fundera, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.
Whitney Vandiver, a writer at NerdWallet, contributed reporting to this article.
