Overview of Shopify Plans
| Plans | Price | Best for | Transaction fees | |
| Monthly bill | Yearly bill (save 25%) | |||
| Starter | $5 USD | Adding a buy button to your existing website or social media | 5% | |
| Basic | $25 USD | $19
USD |
Starting a small online store | 2% |
| Shopify | $65 USD | $49 USD | Growing your business | 1% |
| Advanced | $399
USD |
$299 USD | Larger online stores | 0.5% |
| Plus | From $2,300 USD | High volume merchants, large businesses | 0.15% | |
Shopify has some great benefits in its pricing plan, like a 3-day free trial and a sweet deal of just $1 for the first three months.
Additionally, the cost of available apps and extensions on the Shopify App Store varies.
Shopify Pricing Plans
Starter
What you get:
- A simple online store featuring product pages, a contact page, and Shopify’s checkout process.
- Basic order and customer management tools.
- No reporting, customization, or advanced analytics.
Best for: small sellers
The Shopify Starter Plan is priced at an affordable $5 each month. It allows merchants to sell through social media, marketplaces, messaging apps, and in-person. This plan is tailored for new merchants starting their e-commerce journey, helping them connect with customers via social media and messaging platforms while providing an easy-to-use online store.
Basic:
What you get:
- Full online store with a customizable Shopify theme.
- Up to 45% shipping discount
- 24/7 chat support
- Standard reports with 13 types of reports.
- 10 inventory locations
- Localized global selling (3 markets)
- POS Lite
Best for: Solo entrepreneurs
Basic is one of Shopify’s primary plans and is the most favored option on the platform. It costs $25 USD monthly for a month-to-month subscription and $19 USD per month if billed annually. As the most popular paid plan, it is perfect for individuals starting a new online store or improving an existing one. This plan is particularly advantageous for small businesses aiming to establish a robust online presence through various selling strategies, including dropshipping.
Shopify
What you get: Everything in the Basic plan, plus:
- 5 additional staff accounts.
- Up to 50% shipping discounts and insurance..
- Professional reports (sales, traffic, conversions).
- Localized global selling (3 markets)
- POS Lite
Best for: Small teams
The Shopify plan costs $65 USD each month, but if you choose to pay annually, the price drops to $49 USD per month. This plan provides additional staff access and is reasonably priced, making it ideal for small businesses that are expanding.
Advanced
What you get: Everything in the Shopify Plan, plus:
- 15 additional staff accounts
- Enhanced 24/7 live chat
- 10 inventory locations
- Up to 53% shipping discounts, insurance, 3rd-party calculated rates
- Localized global selling (3 markets) + add markets for $59 USD/mo each
Best for: Established businesses that need lower fees, better analytics, and calculated shipping rates.
The Shopify Advanced plan in Canada costs $399 USD monthly, but if you choose annual billing, the price reduces to $299 USD per month, resulting in considerable savings. This option is ideal for established businesses with high sales volumes, large teams, and complex online shopping needs. It offers various tools and features aimed at enhancing operations and streamlining processes.
Plus
What you get: Everything in Advanced Shopify, plus:
- Unlimited staff accounts.
- 200 inventory locations
- Localized global selling (50 markets)
- Priority 24/7 phone support
- 200 POS Pro locations with Shopify Payments
- Sell wholesale/B2B
Best for: Large enterprises needing custom checkout, automation, and priority support.
The Shopify Plus plan, starting at over $2,300 USD per month, is tailored for large enterprises that need sophisticated features for handling high sales volumes, operating multiple locations, and automating workflows.
Pro Tip for Saving Up 25% on Shopify Fees
If you’re running a Shopify store, paying annually is the best way to reduce your Shopify. You can save up to 25% when you pay annually instead of monthly.
Basic Shopify: $25 USD/month → $19 USD/month (billed annually)
Shopify Plan: $65 USD/month → $49 USD/month (billed annually)
Advanced Shopify: $399 USD/month → $299 USD/month (billed annually)
How To Choose The Right Plan for Your Business
Picking the right Shopify plan is key because shoppers want to buy online and in stores. With online shopping growing fast, businesses need to choose a plan that fits their budget and growth.
- Just starting out? Go with Basic or Starter.
- Scaling fast or need reports? Consider Shopify Plan or Advanced.
- High traffic or global sales? Look into Advanced or Plus.
- Start small and upgrade as you grow – Shopify lets you switch plans anytime.
Besides considering the core pricing, you should put attention to some additional cost when running a Shopify store.
Additional Costs when Choosing Shopify Pricing Plan
1. Set – Up Cost
- Domain Name cost
When you register for Shopify, you receive a free myshopify.com domain. If you prefer a custom domain, it will cost you between $9 and $20 each month. Additionally, if you already own a domain, you can link it to Shopify at no extra charge.
- Themes
Shopify provides free themes that include essential features for managing an online store. Nevertheless, many sellers opt to purchase premium themes to enhance their store’s appearance and add more functionality.
- Transaction fees
Shopify Payments Users: No extra fees.
Third-Party Payment Gateways (PayPal, Stripe, etc.):
- Basic Shopify → 2% fee
- Shopify Plan → 1% fee
- Advanced Shopify → 0.6% fee
2. Shopify Apps
The Shopify App Store features a variety of apps, including both free and paid options. While free apps can help you save money, investing in premium apps can significantly enhance your store’s performance, particularly in the competitive Canadian market. Premium apps typically start at around $5 USD per month, with prices potentially reaching $300 or more, depending on your requirements.
3. Shopify Shipping Cost
Shopify offers reduced shipping rates with Canada Post, UPS, and FedEx. The level of discounts depends on your chosen plan:
Basic Shopify → Standard discounts
Shopify Plan → Enhanced discounts
Advanced Shopify → Maximum discounts (up to 53%)
Tip: Take advantage of Shopify Shipping for better rates rather than relying on third-party carriers.
4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Besides setting up your store, you need to focus on enhancing how your store displays on search engines.
Here are some friendly tips to optimize your Shopify store:
- Optimize Your Product SEO: Use clear, keyword-rich titles and meta descriptions so your products show up on Google.
- Speed Up Your Store: Compress images and remove unused apps to make your store load faster.
- Make It Mobile-Friendly: Ensure your store looks great and is easy to navigate on phones—most shoppers are mobile!
- Use High-Quality Product Images: Great visuals build trust and help customers feel confident about what they’re buying.
By researching the directions on Google, you can apply some SEO tips to enhancing your SEO’s performance. You can consider fixing it manually or simplifying this process with various SEO tools.
Generally, you can use Ahrefs, Google Trend, SEMrush to automate audits, fix technical issues, improve page speed, and make it easier to improve your rankings.
Also, for one of the biggest ecommerce platforms – Shopify, you can consider using some tools like SearchPie SEO & Speed, Booster SEO, Avada SEO.
Conclusion
In short, Shopify pricing can differ greatly across its various tiers, largely based on the size and needs of your business. To set up a fully operational Shopify eCommerce store, I encountered several essential costs, such as domain name registration, theme purchases, payment processing fees, and extension expenses.
Balancing these costs is very essential for running a successful online store. Therefore, researching and choosing carefully a right plan is the first step to complete your process.