Shopify Pricing: Plans, Fees and Hidden Costs

Happy man jumping up and holding colorful shopping bags

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Shopify pricing in Canada starts at $7 per month going up to $2,627+ per month with three other price points in between. In this costs guide we'll break down the pricing and plans Shopify currently offers to online merchants.

The Three Main Shopify Pricing Plans Are:

  1. Basic: $38/month – Best for starting a small online store
  2. Shopify: $99/month – Best for growing your ecommerce business
  3. Advanced: $389/month – Best for large or rapidly scaling online store

Shopify regularly updates its pricing and plans, so it's no wonder you've come here to get some clear answers. What's more, the transaction fees and hidden costs can get a bit confusing so we'll take the time to explain all of those as well.

In our independent testing, we scored Shopify 3/5 for overall value for money. This is on a par with competitors BigCommerce, Americommerce and Pinacle Cart – all of which scored the same as Shopify in terms of how their range of services compared with the prices charged.

Read on to discover the details of each Shopify pricing plan – and how to score some discounts.

Shopify Pricing: How Much Does Shopify Cost?

We all want to know how much a website costs. To make this easy, we've created this side-by-side comparison of costs for Shopify plans. There are five plans available, ranging in price and scale to match the particular needs of your business.

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Starter

Basic

Shopify

Advanced

Plus

Price (Paying Annually)
Price (Paying Annually)
Price (Paying Annually)
Price (Paying Annually)
Price (Paying Annually)

From $2,677/month

Best For

Adding a buy button to your existing website or social media

Best For

Starting a small online store

Best For

Growing your business

Best For

Larger online stores

Best For

High volume merchants, large businesses

Key Features
  • Get “shoppable links” (URLs)
  • Product pages
  • Basic order management
  • Customer support
Key Features
  • Unlimited products
  • Four inventory locations
  • Two staff accounts
  • Free SSL certificate
  • Domestic credit card rate (online): 2.9% + 30¢
Key Features
  • Ecommerce automations
  • Five inventory locations
  • Five staff accounts
  • Domestic credit card rate (online): 2.7% + 30¢
Key Features
  • 15 staff accounts
  • Eight inventory locations
  • Advanced reports
  • Third-party calculated shipping
  • Domestic credit card rate (online): 2.4% + 30¢
Key Features
  • 99.99% uptime
  • Built-in AR, video, 3D media on product pages
  • Automation for complex processes
  • Faster checkout
Transaction Fees

5%

Transaction Fees

2%

Transaction Fees

1%

Transaction Fees

0.5%

Transaction Fees

0.15%

Even though Shopify increased its prices in January this year – and scrapped the chance to save more money by paying for two or three years upfront – it remains a market-leading tool. Platform technicians at Shopify have recently improved localization by allowing upload of different images or videos to your main website pages (not product pages), depending on the location of your web visitor.

Updates to customer analytics this year mean you can now access additional metrics to give you better insight into your best-selling products and most successful marketing channels. So there is some justification for the increase in pricing.

Like most ecommerce platform providers, Shopify offers a free trial of three days then three months for $1 each, so you can test out a price plan to see whether it's the right fit.


Shopify Starter Pricing Plan

  • What: Sell products via URLs and a simple landing page
  • Who: Mobile-first merchants of handmade or lower-priced goods
  • Why: Easy to sell via social media channels
  • How much: $7 per month – no discounts available

Shopify Starter (formerly called “Lite”) is the cheap option for online sellers to send “shoppable” product links in instant messages over WhatsApp, Instagram, SMS and email. This means your customers click a URL link and can buy your product directly or add to a cart and buy some more. It's not a full online store and you'll need your own social media channels or website to post the links on. It's aimed at mobile device users because there isn't loads of space for product specs, product videos, lengthy descriptions or customer reviews.

You're encouraged to use Shopify's free landing page app called Linkpop which lets you list products directly for sale. The idea is you can put this landing page link in your social media bio for users to quickly find your products for sale. It's much simpler than a full online shop, and much less formal, hence the cheaper subscription price. For this reason you can expect to sell merchandise, homeware, handmade gifts, clothing, accessories and the like. It's not a platform aimed at expensive or regulated items such as precious jewellery and medical supplies.

Shopify lite pricing linkpop screengrab

Shopify Starter Transaction Fees

Transaction fees: 5.0% for all third-party payment providers
Online credit card rates: 5% + 30¢

Shopify Starter Features

– One user
– Unlimited product pages
– Customer support inbox
– Shopping cart
– Order management
– Discounted shipping rates from Canada Post


Basic Shopify Pricing Plan

  • What: Build an ecommerce website where customers buy your products
  • Who: Small-scale merchants, independent boutiques, startups
  • Why: Sell from a professional ecommerce website
  • How much: $38 per month – paying annually (or $51 month-to-month)

This is the lowest price you can pay to set up your own Shopify webstore. You create your own online shop using the Shopify drag-and-drop website builder and gain access to Shopify's ecommerce platform. This means you can display your products, take payments, manage order fulfilment and benefit from Canada Post shipping discounts all from one place.

It's not by chance we've named Shopify as one of our best ecommerce platforms for small businesses. The convenience of the Shopify Basic plan is the ability to streamline your order purchase and fulfilment workflow. You'll be able to print shipping labels and track packages through Shopify and pay your shipping costs in the same monthly bill as your subscription.

Basic Shopify Transaction fees

Third-party transaction fees: 2.0%
Online Canadian credit card rates: 2.9% + 30¢
Online international/Amex credit card rates: 3.5% + 30¢
Currency conversion fee: 2.0%

Basic Shopify Features

– Up to two users
– Online ecommerce website and blog
– Maximum four inventory locations
– Unlimited products
– Order management
– Canada Post discounts up to 45%

Discount Shipping Rates: Basic Shopify Pricing Plan

Shopify basic reduced shipping rates Canada Post

While Shopify claims you'll save up to 45% on Canada Post rates, a saving of around 6% is more realistic. Here are the discounted rates available for a 1kg package with Basic Shopify.


Shopify Main Pricing Plan

  • What: A solid ecommerce website with workflow automations
  • Who: Managers of growing online stores
  • Why: Save time on manual tasks with ecommerce automations
  • How much: $99 per month – paying for one year up front (or $132 month-to-month)

Shopify's mid-tier price plan doesn't have a name, it's simply called “Shopify”. But we've given it the nickname “Shopify main” to make things a bit clearer because all of the price plans are named “Shopify” in some form or another.

Shopify's main plan includes all the features you get with lower-priced tiers, including an ecommerce website with social media channel integration so you can sell across several platforms. This is really handy because you save on the individual costs of a website such as hosting and a security certificate.

Now, the main new benefit you get with this plan compared with Basic Shopify is ecommerce automations. These features equip leaders of growing online stores to build workflows and save time on manual tasks, making it well worth the investment.

Although the price of this tier goes up significantly compared with the Shopify Basic plan, you won't make big savings on credit card fees: the charge for online Canadian credit cards is just 0.2% lower compared with the Basic plan. However, transaction fees are 1% which is a decent saving compared with 2% on the Basic plan. To save real money here you'd need to be selling in far greater quantities than you would be on the Basic plan.

Shopify Main Transaction fees

Third-party transaction fees: 1.0%
Online Canadian credit card rates: 2.7% + 30¢
Online international/Amex credit card rates: 3.4% + 30¢
Currency conversion fee: 2.0%

Shopify Main Features

– Up to five users
– Ecommerce automations
– Maximum five inventory locations
– Unlimited products
– Order management
– Canada Post discounts up to 50%

Discount Shipping Rates: Shopify Main Pricing Plan

Shopify discounted shipping with Canada Post

You'll save around 10% on Canada Post shipping rates for a 1kg parcel with Shopify Main Pricing Plan. The savings increase along with the distance the parcel travels.


Advanced Shopify Pricing Plan

  • What: Ecommerce website with advanced reporting and more international options
  • Who: International sellers with medium or large stores
  • Why: Improved control on international selling and cost transparency for buyers
  • How much: $389 per month – paying for one year upfront (or $517 month-to-month)

Advanced Shopify is aimed at international sellers with medium-to-large scale ecommerce businesses. At this tier, you'll benefit from 1.5% duties and import taxes rates (0.85% if you use Shopify's own payment gateway) and country-specific features such as international pricing. The advantage of functions like these is greater pricing control for merchants and better cost transparency for ecommerce customers.

This is the cheapest Shopify price plan at which you can get third-party calculated shipping rates. Unlike the three cheaper Shopify price plans, Advanced Shopify lets you set specific price points for products in various international locations. Again, there are slight savings to be made on credit card fees but the currency conversion fee remains the same as the other price plans at 2%.

Advanced Shopify Transaction fees

Third-party transaction fees: 0.5%
Online Canadian credit card rates: 2.4% + 30¢
Online international/Amex credit card rates: 3.3% + 30¢
Currency conversion fee: 2.0%

Advanced Shopify Features

– Up to 15 users
– Set variable international price points
– Maximum eight inventory locations
– Advanced report builder
– Canada Post discounts up to 53%
– Third-party calculated shipping rates

Discount Shipping Rates: Advanced Shopify Pricing Plan

Advanced Shopify discounted shipping rates Canada Post

With Advanced Shopify you'll save around 12% on Canada Post shipping rates. Here is the price list for a 1kg parcel. The discount is even better for international post: 27% Toronto to London.


Does Shopify Have a Free Plan?

Shopify doesn't have a free plan but it does offer a 3-day free trial so you can test its ecommerce services free of charge. This is on par with its competitors, most of whom also offer a two-week trial period at no cost. To make it easier to start using Shopify's features without commitment, Shopify won't ask for your payment details until the end of the two-week period at which point you can simply walk away if you're not comfortable signing up.

This is really convenient for those looking to set up an online store and try out the best ecommerce platforms without committing financially at first. You can save your dollars until you're absolutely sure which ecommerce provider is best for your particular business.

Shopify Fees and Costs: Billing Cycles, Ongoing Costs and Hidden Fees

Lots of services are included in all Shopify pricing plans including the following:

  • Website builder
  • Web hosting
  • SSL certificate
  • Unlimited products
  • Unlimited bandwidth
  • Discounted Canada Post shipping rates

Shopify Billing Cycles

  • Shopify subscriptions are charged month to month unless you pay in advance for one, two or three years
  • Cancel your Shopify subscription at any time (however, you won't be refunded that month's fee)
  • You can downgrade or upgrade your Shopify plan at any time

Additional Shopify Costs:

  • Domain name that isn't myshopify.com
  • Third-party transaction fees of 2%, 1% or 0.5% with the Basic Shopify, Shopify and Advanced Shopify plans respectively
  • Currency conversion fees of 2%
  • Credit and debit card fees (these vary depending on price plan)
  • Duties and import taxes rates of 1.5% (applicable for Advanced Shopify)

However, you can avoid transaction fees by signing up for and using Shopify Payments (except on Starter plan, you'll still pay 5% transaction fees with Shopify Payments), the company's proprietary payment gateway. With Shopify Payments the duties and import taxes rates decreases to 0.85%.


Shopify Pricing Versus Competitors' Pricing

According to our independent research, Shopify is middle-of-the-road when it comes to Value For Money, scoring 3 out of a possible 5. This puts it on exactly the same level as BigCommerce, Americommerce and Pinacle Cart.

Competitors Which Scored Higher than Shopify in Value for Money:

Shopify was not the top-scoring ecommerce platform provider when our researchers looked into its value for money. The following providers are better value for money, according to our in-depth testing:

  1. Square: 4.7/5
  2. WooCommerce: 4.3/5
  3. Squarespace: 4.2/5
  4. Wix: 4.2/5

When you're working out which ecommerce platform provider is best for your particular business needs, you should be aware that BigCommerce, unlike Shopify, doesn't charge any transaction fees. If you're interested, we've done a deep-dive into the differences between Shopify compared with BigCommerce. With each provider's features and pricing under the microscope, you'll be able to make a final decision on the right tool for your business.

Feel free to check out our complete guide to the best ecommerce platforms for small businesses if Shopify looks like the wrong fit for your strategic goals.

Expert Verdict

You've got plenty of pricing options with Shopify: five price plans to choose from is more than competitors including WooCommerce and Wix.

Here's a summary of the monthly fees for each plan:

  1. Shopify Starter: $7 per month
  2. Basic Shopify: $38 per month
  3. Shopify: $99 per month
  4. Advanced Shopify: $389 per month
  5. Shopify Plus: $2,627+ per month

Remember you can only get the above rates if you pay for a year upfront, otherwise pricing goes up significantly if you choose to pay month-to-month. With a Value For Money score of 3/5, Shopify is in the mid-range of delivering features versus taking your money.

Shopify offers more convenience compared with WooCommerce because of its built-in website builder plus hosting. However, you'll need to be a self-starter with Shopify because it's business support is a lot more hands-off than a provider like Americommerce, which offers ecommerce consulting and custom product development.

Take advantage of 50% or 25% discounts on Shopify by paying in advance

FAQ

How much does Shopify cost?
Shopify has five price plans to choose from, costing:

  1. Shopify Starter: $7 per month
  2. Basic Shopify: $38 per month
  3. Shopify: $99 per month
  4. Advanced Shopify: $389 per month
  5. Shopify Plus: $2,627+ per month

And Shopify has a 3-day free trial so you can get a feel for whether or not the Shopify ecommerce platform suits you.

How much does Shopify take per sale?
Shopify charges different transaction fees depending on what price plan you're currently subscribed to. Here's the list of Shopify transaction fees:

  1. Shopify Starter: 5% transaction fee
  2. Basic Shopify: 2% transaction fee
  3. Shopify: 1% transaction fee
  4. Advanced Shopify: 0.5% transaction fee
  5. Shopify Plus: 0.15% transaction fee

Merchants can avoid paying any transaction fees by using Shopify Payments (except on Starter, you'll still need to pay 5%), which you'd need to sign up to additionally.

What's the cheapest plan on Shopify?
The cheapest plan on Spotify is Shopify Starter (formerly known as “Shopify Lite”) which costs CAD$7 per month. With this plan, you can send “shoppable links” (URLs) via email, SMS, social media, on your existing website and more. However, you might say Shopify Starter is a bit of a false economy if you're serious about starting an online store for the long-term, because the transaction fees are a whopping 5%. That's pretty steep considering BigCommerce doesn't charge any transaction fees whatsoever.
Does Shopify do dropshipping?
Yes, you can run a dropshipping business through Shopify's ecommerce platform. You can use Shopify's drag-and-drop website builder to create your own online store, the same as you would with any of the Shopify subscription plans from Basic Shopify upwards. Any orders placed with your store are automatically sent through to your chosen dropshipping supplier, who then prepares and ships the order straight to your customer.

If you're looking for further guidance, we've written a guide on how to start dropshipping with Shopify.

Written by:
Sabrina Dougall
Sabrina is a business journalist whose career began in news reporting. She has a master's in Investigative Journalism from City University London, and her work has appeared in The Times, The Daily Express, Money Saving Expert, Camden New Journal, Global Trade Review, and Computer Business Review. She specializes in writing about SEO (search engine optimization). Having run her own small business, Sabrina knows first-hand how critical digital marketing is to building a client base and local reputation.
Reviewed by:
A head shot of Natasha Willett - a blonde woman in a work shirt with a blue background
For over 9 years Natasha has worked as a mixed method researcher working across a range of sectors from insurance and policy development, to business services and software. As a member of the Market Research Society, Natasha is an advocate for high ethical, commercial and methodological best practices.