Shopify pricing 2026 trips up more merchants than almost any other ecommerce decision — most pick the wrong plan from day one and overpay every single month without realising it. This breakdown cuts through the confusion in two minutes flat. By the end you will know exactly which plan fits your business right now, the one setup decision that eliminates fees completely, and how to pay less than most Shopify merchants ever do.
Prices verified directly from Shopify — updated May 2026.
Shopify Pricing 2026 — Quick Summary
Shopify offers four main plans for growing businesses plus a lightweight starter option. Here’s the fast version of Shopify pricing 2026 before we go deeper:
| Plan | Monthly Price | Annual Price | Transaction Fee | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $5/month | $5/month | 5% | Social selling only |
| Basic | $39/month | $29/month | 2% (0% with Shopify Payments) | New stores |
| Shopify | $105/month | $79/month | 1% (0% with Shopify Payments) | Growing stores |
| Advanced | $399/month | $299/month | 0.6% (0% with Shopify Payments) | Scaling stores |
| Plus | From $2,300/month | From $2,300/month | 0.2% (0% with Shopify Payments) | Enterprise |
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The One Thing That Changes Everything About Shopify Pricing 2026
Transaction fees. If you use Shopify Payments as your payment processor, they are waived completely on every plan. If you use a third-party gateway — PayPal, Stripe, anything else — Shopify charges an additional transaction fee on top of whatever your processor charges.
At scale this is not a rounding error. On Basic that is 2% of every sale going to Shopify. On $50,000 a month that is $1,000 extra per month — more than the plan itself costs. The fix is straightforward: use Shopify Payments and that fee disappears entirely.
The practical upshot: Use Shopify Payments unless you have a specific reason not to. It eliminates transaction fees entirely, simplifies your payment setup, and puts real money back in your pocket every single month.
Every Shopify Pricing 2026 Plan Explained
Shopify Starter — $5/month
The Starter plan is not a real ecommerce store. It lets you sell products through links, social media, and messaging apps — but you do not get a full online store or website. Think of it as a buy button you can embed anywhere.
What you get:
- Sell via social media and messaging apps
- Basic order management
- Shopify Inbox for customer chat
- No full online storefront
Transaction fee: 5% with third-party gateways.
Who it’s for: Creators and influencers selling a small number of products through Instagram, TikTok, or WhatsApp. Not suitable for anyone who needs a proper online store.
Shopify Basic — $39/month (or $29/month annually)
Basic is where most new Shopify stores start and it is genuinely capable for early-stage ecommerce. You get a full online store, unlimited products, and all the core selling features you need to launch and grow.
What you get:
- Full online store with unlimited products
- 2 staff accounts
- Up to 1,000 inventory locations
- Basic reports
- Shipping discounts up to 77%
- 24/7 chat support
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Free SSL certificate
Transaction fee: 2% with third-party gateways, 0% with Shopify Payments.
Real cost at different revenue levels using Shopify Payments:
| Monthly Revenue | Plan Cost | Transaction Fees | Total Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $39 | $0 | $39 |
| $5,000 | $39 | $0 | $39 |
| $10,000 | $39 | $0 | $39 |
| $50,000 | $39 | $0 | $39 |
Who it’s for: New stores just getting started. If you’re launching your first Shopify store and expect under $50,000/month in revenue, Basic is the right starting point.
Shopify Plan — $105/month (or $79/month annually)
The mid-tier plan adds more staff accounts, better reports, and lower transaction fees. The upgrade from Basic makes financial sense once your transaction volume is high enough that the lower fees offset the higher plan cost.
What you get (everything in Basic plus):
- 5 staff accounts
- Professional reports
- Shipping discounts up to 88%
- Lower transaction fees (1% vs 2% on Basic)
- International pricing and markets
Transaction fee: 1% with third-party gateways, 0% with Shopify Payments.
Real cost at different revenue levels using Shopify Payments:
| Monthly Revenue | Plan Cost | Transaction Fees | Total Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | $105 | $0 | $105 |
| $5,000 | $105 | $0 | $105 |
| $10,000 | $105 | $0 | $105 |
| $50,000 | $105 | $0 | $105 |
When to upgrade from Basic to Shopify: When you need more staff accounts or when professional reporting becomes essential for business decisions. The fee difference only matters if you’re using a third-party gateway.
Shopify Advanced — $399/month (or $299/month annually)
Advanced is for serious stores doing significant volume. The headline addition is the custom report builder and the lowest transaction fees outside of Shopify Plus. The 15 staff accounts and advanced international pricing tools are meaningful for businesses with real teams.
What you get (everything in Shopify plan plus):
- 15 staff accounts
- Custom report builder
- Shipping discounts up to 88%
- Lowest transaction fees before Plus (0.6%)
- Advanced international pricing per market
- Estimated duties and import taxes at checkout
Transaction fee: 0.6% with third-party gateways, 0% with Shopify Payments.
Real cost at different revenue levels using Shopify Payments:
| Monthly Revenue | Plan Cost | Transaction Fees | Total Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10,000 | $399 | $0 | $399 |
| $50,000 | $399 | $0 | $399 |
| $100,000 | $399 | $0 | $399 |
| $250,000 | $399 | $0 | $399 |
Who it’s for: Established stores doing $100,000+ per month who need custom reporting, large teams, or serious international selling capabilities.
Shopify Plus — From $2,300/month
Shopify Plus is the enterprise tier and it is a different product category entirely. Pricing starts at $2,300/month and scales to a revenue-based model at higher volumes. It is built for high-volume merchants, large teams, and businesses that need custom checkout experiences, dedicated support, and advanced automation.
What you get:
- Unlimited staff accounts
- Dedicated merchant success manager
- Custom checkout and checkout extensibility
- Shopify Flow automation
- B2B selling tools built in
- 99.99% uptime SLA
- Advanced API access
Transaction fee: 0.2% with third-party gateways, 0% with Shopify Payments.
Who it’s for: Merchants doing $1M+ per year who need enterprise-grade infrastructure, dedicated support, and custom development capabilities. Below that threshold the Advanced plan is almost always sufficient.
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Which Shopify Pricing Plan Should You Choose?
Start on Basic. Upgrade when you hit a specific operational reason to — more staff accounts, better reports, or international selling requirements. Do not upgrade based on ambition. Upgrade based on limitations you are actually hitting right now.
| Your Situation | Recommended Plan | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Just starting out, solo operator | Basic | $348/year |
| Growing store, need more staff or reports | Shopify | $948/year |
| Established store, $100k+/month | Advanced | $3,588/year |
| Enterprise, $1M+/year | Plus | From $27,600/year |
Hidden Costs to Factor Into Your Shopify Budget
The plan price is just the starting point. Here is what most merchants end up spending beyond the base Shopify pricing 2026 plan:
Apps
Shopify’s app store has over 8,000 apps and most stores end up paying for several. Email marketing, reviews, upsells, subscriptions, loyalty programs — these add up fast. Budget $50-200/month for apps on a typical growing store.
Themes
Shopify’s free themes are genuinely good. Premium themes range from $180-350 as a one-time purchase. You do not need a premium theme to launch but many merchants buy one eventually.
Payment Processing
Shopify Payments charges 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction on Basic, 2.6% + 30¢ on Shopify, and 2.4% + 30¢ on Advanced. These are standard rates comparable to most major processors but they are a real cost to factor in at volume.
Domain
A custom domain costs around $14-20/year through Shopify or any domain registrar. Not significant on its own but worth including in your total budget.
Our Verdict on Shopify Pricing 2026
Shopify pricing 2026 is one of the most straightforward in ecommerce — once you understand the transaction fee structure, and now you do. Start on Basic. Use Shopify Payments and eliminate transaction fees on day one. Take the annual billing discount immediately — that single decision saves you 25% every year without changing a thing about how your store operates.
Upgrade only when you hit a genuine operational ceiling. The merchants who overpay for Shopify are almost always the ones who upgraded too early or kept a third-party gateway out of habit. Both are entirely avoidable with the right setup from the start.
The free 3-day trial gives you full access to test everything before spending a dollar. Start there, get your store set up the right way, and you will be ahead of most merchants before you pay your first bill.
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