Shopify: What It Is, What It Really Costs, and Who It Suits
Know where the real costs are.
The short answer
Shopify is a hosted online store builder. You pay a monthly fee, and Shopify runs the website, checkout, payments and security for you. Most small stores pay $29–$79 a month for the plan, plus about 3% of each online sale in card fees, plus any apps they add.
It suits sellers who want to launch fast and never touch a server. If you want to own your code, or you sell where Shopify Payments isn’t available, read the limits section below first.
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Type | Hosted software (SaaS). No servers to manage. |
| Starting price | $29/month on Basic, billed yearly (£19 in the UK) |
| Online card fee | 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic in the US; 2.0% + 25p in the UK |
| Free trial | 3 days, then $1/month for 3 months (offers vary by country) |
| Apps | About 17,900 in the Shopify App Store |
| Best for | Fast launches, direct-to-consumer brands, online plus in-person sellers |
| Skip it if | You need full code control, or Shopify Payments isn’t offered in your country |
What Shopify is, and what you are actually renting
Shopify is software you rent, not install. One subscription covers hosting, the SSL certificate, the checkout, card-security (PCI) compliance, updates and 24/7 support. You run everything from a browser or the Shopify mobile app.
The trade-off is control. Your store follows Shopify’s rules: its URL structure, its checkout and its app ecosystem. You can export products, customers and orders as CSV files, but your theme and most app data stay behind if you leave.
It powers everything from one-person side projects to large brands, and the same core admin is used at every plan level.
Shopify plans and prices in 2026
Billing yearly saves 25% on every plan except Starter. Here are US and UK prices side by side, since they are not simple currency conversions.
| Plan | US monthly | US billed yearly | UK monthly | UK billed yearly |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $5 | Not offered | £5 | Not offered |
| Basic | $39 | $29 | £25 | £19 |
| Grow | $105 | $79 | £65 | £49 |
| Advanced | $399 | $299 | £344 | £259 |
| Plus | From $2,500 (1-year term) | From $2,300 (3-year term) | From about £1,800 (3-year term) | |
Basic includes 2 staff accounts, Grow 5 and Advanced 15. Plus also adds a variable fee once sales pass a high monthly threshold, so large brands should get a written quote.
The fees most people miss
For most stores the plan is the smallest part of the bill. Payment fees are the biggest, and they depend on your plan and on whether you use Shopify Payments.
| Fee | Basic | Grow | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online card (US) | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.7% + 30¢ | 2.5% + 30¢ |
| In person (US) | 2.6% + 10¢ | 2.5% + 10¢ | 2.4% + 10¢ |
| Online card (UK) | 2.0% + 25p | 1.7% + 25p | 1.5% + 25p |
| Extra fee without Shopify Payments | 2.0% | 1.0% | 0.6% |
| Currency conversion (US) | 2.0% | 2.0% | 2.0% |
| International cards (US) | +1.5% | +1.5% | +1.5% |
What a Shopify store really costs per month
Here are three worked examples using US rates and yearly billing. Your numbers will move with your order size and app choices, but the pattern holds: card fees dominate.
Which plan should you pick? The break-even maths
Higher plans cost more each month but charge less per sale. An upgrade pays for itself once the fee savings beat the price difference.
There are other reasons to upgrade earlier, such as needing more staff accounts or better reports. But on fees alone, stay on Basic until you are near those numbers.
How setting up a Shopify store works
- Start a trial and set your store’s country and currency.
- Add products with photos, prices and stock. Each product can have up to 2,048 variants.
- Pick a theme. There are free themes, and paid ones usually cost $100–$500 as a one-off.
- Set shipping and tax zones and rates.
- Turn on payments. Shopify Payments is the cheapest option where it’s available.
- Connect a domain. Buy one through Shopify for about $15 a year, or connect your own.
- Place a test order, then launch.
A simple store can go live in a weekend. After that, daily work happens in the admin: orders, shipping labels, stock, customers and reports.
Apps: where the flexibility and the extra cost are
The Shopify App Store has about 17,900 apps (May 2026). Around 2,100 are completely free; most of the rest charge a monthly fee, often tied to your order volume.
A typical small store adds four to six apps, for email marketing, product reviews, SEO, upsells and shipping labels. At small scale that usually costs $0–$150 a month, rising as you grow.
Before you install an app, check three things: its price at your expected order volume, recent reviews from the last six months, and whether it leaves code in your theme when removed.
Selling in person with Shopify POS
Shopify POS turns a phone or tablet into a till, and in-store sales share the same stock and customer records as your website. POS Lite comes with paid plans. POS Pro adds staff roles, better inventory tools and store reports for $89 per location per month, or $67 billed yearly.
Shopify’s limits that most reviews skip
- Fixed URL structure. Products always sit under /products/, categories under /collections/ and pages under /pages/. You can’t remove these, so moving an established site to Shopify needs careful redirects.
- The third-party payment fee. Use another provider and Shopify adds 0.6–2% per order on top of that provider’s own fees.
- Three options per product. Variants now go up to 2,048, but you can still only use three option types, such as size, colour and material.
- Checkout changes are limited outside Shopify Plus.
- Basic blogging. It’s fine for news posts, but weaker than WordPress for content-led SEO.
- Leaving isn’t seamless. Products, customers and orders export as CSV files. Your theme, app data and some SEO settings don’t come with you.
Shopify vs WooCommerce vs OpenCart
| Shopify | WooCommerce | OpenCart | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Hosted | Self-hosted WordPress plugin | Self-hosted |
| Platform cost | $29–$299 a month | Free, plus hosting | Free, plus hosting |
| Hosting, updates and security | Shopify handles them | You handle them | You handle them |
| Payment fees | Shopify Payments rates, or an extra fee with other providers | Your provider’s fees only | Your provider’s fees only |
| Ease of use | Easiest | Moderate | Technical |
| Best for | Fast launches without a tech team | Content-led stores on WordPress | Lean, multi-store setups |
Is Shopify worth it?
For most sellers who value speed and a single system over full control, yes. Budget for card fees and apps, not just the plan price, and check that Shopify Payments works in your country.
Thinking about a custom front end? Our guide to going headless on Shopify covers the costs. Comparing options? See our best ecommerce platforms for small business.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Shopify cost per month?
Plans run from $5 (Starter) to $399 a month (Advanced), or $29–$299 billed yearly. Real totals are higher once card fees and apps are added: about $170 a month for a store selling $3,000, using the examples above.
Does Shopify take a percentage of my sales?
Yes, through card processing fees, which start at 2.9% + 30¢ online on Basic in the US. If you don’t use Shopify Payments, Shopify adds a further 0.6–2% per order. The Starter plan charges 5%.
Is there a free version of Shopify?
No. There is a 3-day free trial, followed in many countries by $1 a month for the first three months.
Which Shopify plan should I choose?
Start on Basic. On fees alone, Grow pays off at around $25,000 a month in online card sales (US, yearly billing), and Advanced at around $110,000.
Is Shopify good for SEO?
The basics are solid: editable titles and meta descriptions, automatic sitemaps and fast hosting. The weak spots are the fixed URL prefixes and a simple blog.
Can I move my store off Shopify later?
Yes, but plan for it. Products, customers and orders export as CSV files. You will need to rebuild your theme, replace your apps and set up redirects for your URLs.
Start here: Wix vs Shopify.