Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms that makes building and running an eCommerce affordable. It provides every feature you need with a clean user interface, from product management to a checkout system.
However, when you create a Shopify store, the first thing you need to decide is which is the best pricing plan for your business – you want a plan that provides every feature you desire from the platform.
Fortunately, Shopify offers multiple plans packed with all the basic and advanced features you need to set up a robust online store. You can read our in-depth Shopify review to know more about its features and functionalities.
In this article, we will dive deep into each Shopify pricing plan and dissect every aspect to determine the right one for your business.
Ready? Let’s get started.
Shopify Plans & Pricing
Shopify offers 5 major plans which are suitable for businesses of all sizes. The plans are as follows –
- Starter Plan – $5/month
- Basic Plan – $29 per month
- Shopify Plan – $79 per month
- Advanced Plans – $299 per month
- Shopify Plus – Starts at $2,000/month
Each plan comes with all the basic features and differs based on a few advanced features and limitations on the number of staff accounts and inventory locations. There are other factors that affect the pricing plans, which we will discuss later.
Now, let’s look at these plans in detail.
1. Starter Plan
At $5/month, the Starter plan gives you the simplest version of Shopify. With this plan, you can sell your products and services on Social media, email, SMS, WhatsApp, or anywhere on the internet without creating an online store.
Simply put, with the Starter plan, you can’t create a standalone online store, but it provides you with all the essential tools to manage your orders efficiently and sell from any platform you want – all you need is a great product idea, images, and a powerful description.
Feature Highlights of the Starter Plan –
- Easy no-code setup
- Unlimited product pages
- Direct checkout from social media
- Fast and secure checkout
- Contact page for customer inquiries
- Access to Linkpop to create shippable links
- Sales and analytics reporting
The starter plan is ideal for social media influencers to sell their merchandise and small businesses who want to test their product ideas before diving into a fully-functioning eCommerce website.
2. Basic Plan
The Shopify Basic Plan costs $29/month, which allows you to create an online store. It comes with all the essential features you need to build and manage an eCommerce website. These features include –
- Customizable online store
- Free SSL certificates
- Unlimited product listing
- 2 staff accounts
- Up to 4 inventory locations
- Upto 77% Shipping discounts
- Basic analytics reports
With the Basic plan, you can promote and sell your products on multiple sales channels, including social media and online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, etc. You will also get access to its built-in marketing tools for abandoned cart recovery, gift cards, discount coupons, and more.
The major drawback of this plan is its high transaction fees, credit card rates, and lack of in-depth sales reporting. However, if you are just getting started, you can start with the Basic plan and upgrade to the higher plan as your business grows.
3. Shopify Plan
The Shopify Plan is the most popular at $79/month, giving you access to eCommerce automation and everything in the Basic plan. Some of the features include –
- 5 staff accounts
- Upto 5 inventory locations
- Upto 88% Shipping discounts
- Standard analytics reporting
With the increased staff accounts and inventory locations, this plan is suitable for growing businesses. Additionally, using the eCommerce automation features, you can build workflows to automate repetitive tasks, which saves you a lot of time and resources.
This plan also provides a more detailed analytics report on sales performance and your visitors’ buying behavior, allowing you to make informed decisions to grow your business.
Moreover, with this plan, you get comparatively lower shipping charges and transaction fees, saving you a lot of money from your revenue. So, if your sales are increasing, you may want to upgrade your Basic plan to the standard Shopify plan to increase your profit margin.
4. Advanced Plan
The Advanced Plan is an ideal choice for large eCommerce businesses. It comes with all the features from Basic and Shopify plans, plus –
- 15 staff accounts
- Upto 8 inventory locations
- Custom analytics reporting
- Collect duties and import taxes
- Third-party calculated shipping rates
With access to increased staff accounts and inventory locations, an enterprise-level eCommerce business can easily manage orders and other operations. You can also show shipping rates based on users’ location at the checkout page, which is available only with this plan.
If you plan to expand your Shopify store to international markets, this plan enables you to collect duties and import taxes on products without requiring third-party tax software.
The best part of the plan is its in-depth analytics reporting on website traffic, user behavior, and sales performance, which enables you to make data-backed decisions. Moreover, with this plan, you get the lowest transaction fees and credit card rates compared to other plans.
5. Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus is an advanced version of Shopify designed specifically for enterprise brands. It comes with all the features available in the Advanced plan plus,
- Unlimited staff accounts
- Unlimited Inventory locations
- Unlimited online stores
- Faster and secure checkout
Shopify Plus gives you access to its codes and allows unlimited customizations, which are limited on standard Shopify plans. It also allows you to automate almost every task on the platform, which saves you a lot of time and makes your store more efficient in operations.
Over that, Shopify Plus provides a dedicated account manager, project manager, launch manager, and merchant success manager to help businesses with day-to-day technical issues and guidance in growing the store.
Regarding the cost, Shopify Plus starts at $2,000/month, which increases based on your feature requirements. Usually, you have to contact their sales team with your requirements, and they will give you a quote.
- Further reading – Shopify vs Shopify Plus – Key Differences
Shopify Transaction Fees
If you use Shopify’s in-house payment processor, Shopify Payments, you will not have to pay transaction fees on your store. On the other hand, Shopify will charge transaction fees processed through 3rd-party payment gateways.
The biggest drawback with this transaction fees policy is that Shopify Payments is not supported in major countries, where merchants have no other option but to bear the cost of transaction fees in addition to the charges incurred by the payment processor.
Here’s a breakdown of the transaction fees for each Shopify plan –
| Shopify Plan | Transaction fees |
|---|---|
| Starter Plan | 5% |
| Basic Plan | 2% |
| Shopify Plan | 1.5% |
| Advanced Plan | 1% |
| Shopify Plus | 0.15% |
As you can see from the above table, the transaction fees decrease for higher plans. As your Shopify store grows, you can lower the transaction fees paid per transaction by upgrading to the higher plans.
Shopify Credit Card Rates
Shopify charges credit card rates only if payment is processed through Shopify Payments. That is, the charges are applicable only in Shopify Payments-supported countries.
Here’s how much it charges credit card rates in the USA –
| Basic Plan | Shopify Plan | Advanced Plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Online credit card rates | 2.9% + 30¢ USD | 2.6% + 30¢ USD | 2.4% + 30¢ USD |
| Online International/Amex credit card rates | 3.9% + 30¢ USD | 3.6% + 30¢ USD | 3.4% + 30¢ USD |
| In-person credit/debit card rates | 2.7% + 0¢ USD | 2.5% + 0¢ USD | 2.4% + 0¢ USD |
The credit card rates vary based on the card types and for each country. So, before accepting credit card payments, you must check the incurred rates in your country.
If you use payment gateways other than Shopify Payments, you will have to bear the cost per that specific tool. However, you should know that payment gateway providers like PayPal and Stripe charge comparatively higher credit card rates than Shopify Payments.
Shopify Trial: $1/month for 3 months
Shopify offers a 3-day free trial for 3 pricing plans – Basic, Shopify & Advanced. You can sign up for free without providing your credit card details with access to all its features.
After that, you can continue using the platform for the next 3 months at just $1/month. This offer is valid for the Basic Plan, which costs $29/month and gives you access to all the essential features.
To sign up for the $1 plan, you first have to sign up for a free trial, then choose the Basic plan and provide payment details to start your 3-month trial.
After the Shopify 1 dollar 3-month plan gets over, you can continue using the store with the Basic plan at $29/month or upgrade to the higher plans at their original monthly cost.
Even if you don’t want to continue using Shopify, you can cancel the subscription so that you will not be charged for the next month. Shopify will still save all your site’s data, which you can access anytime by subscribing to one of its plans.
Offer: Get up to 50% off on Shopify Plans
Shopify offers huge discounts on long-term plans when paid upfront. However, the offer for the USA-based stores differs from the rest of the world.
Here’s the offer breakdown for Shopify stores in the USA –
- Annual plan – 50% off
- Two-year plan – 20% off
- Three-year plan – 25% off
For the stores based in the UK, France, Australia, India, and other countries, the offers are as follows –
- Annual Plan – 10% off
- Biennial plans – 20% off
These offers can save you a lot of time. But if you are new to eCommerce or Shopify, you may want to opt for the monthly plan for a while. Once you are sure to move forward, you can cut costs by subscribing to long-term plans.
Which is the best Shopify pricing plan for you?
Shopify has lucrative pricing plans that allow businesses of all sizes to try selling online. And with the 1-dollar 3-month plan makes it more affordable and easier for new entrepreneurs and retailers to test their hands in the eCommerce space.
If you are ready to create a Shopify store, the best pricing plan depends entirely on your business needs. Here’s my quick take on each Shopify plan –
- Starter plan: Best for beginners and small businesses to test their product ideas
- Basic Plan: Best for new eCommerce businesses
- Shopify Plan: Best for businesses with growing sales volume
- Advanced Plan: Best for large businesses with heavy product inventory
- Shopify Plus: Best for enterprise stores requiring advanced customization and features.
I hope this article gave you a complete overview of how Shopify charges and which is the best plan for your business. For more information, feel free to reach out to us via contact form.
