Shopify fees explained, with worked examples for 2026

Shopify charges three things. A monthly plan: as of October 2026 in the US, $39 for Basic, $105 for Shopify and $399 for Advanced on monthly billing, and roughly a quarter less on annual billing. A card rate on every online order through Shopify Payments: 2.9 percent plus 30 cents on Basic, 2.7 percent plus 30 cents on Shopify, 2.5 percent plus 30 cents on Advanced. And, if you use a third-party gateway instead of Shopify Payments, an extra 2, 1 or 0.6 percent by plan on top of that gateway's own fee. Apps, themes and domains come on top.

The rest of this post shows how those add up for real order volumes, when upgrading saves money, and the costs people forget. The figures match our Shopify fee calculator, which uses the same US rates.

What does each Shopify plan cost?

The middle plan is called Grow in some regions. Shopify Plus, for large stores, is priced separately and runs to thousands of dollars a month. Prices and rates differ by country, and India plans are priced in rupees. Check your own country on Shopify's pricing page before you budget; Shopify adjusts these numbers from time to time.

In-person sales through Shopify POS have their own, lower card rates. This post covers online orders only. When we set up a store as part of our e-commerce development work, the plan and the gateway are among the first decisions, because together they set what every order costs.

How much does a typical store pay each month?

Take a US store with 200 orders a month at $60 each: $12,000 in sales.

At this volume Basic is the cheapest by a clear margin. Most of the total is card processing, which you would pay on any platform. Stripe's standard US rate is the same 2.9 percent plus 30 cents, as of October 2026. Shopify's own cost here is the $39 plan, plus whatever apps you install.

Now take the same store using a third-party gateway at 2.9 percent plus 30 cents, which is what happens where Shopify Payments is not offered:

The surcharge changes the answer. With a third-party gateway, the Shopify plan is cheaper than Basic at only $12,000 a month in sales.

When does upgrading your plan save money?

The fixed 30 cents is the same on every plan, so only the percentage and the plan price matter. Divide the extra plan cost by the drop in percentage.

Below those sales levels, upgrade only for features you need, such as more staff accounts or better reports. Above them, the higher plan is cheaper even if you never use its extra features. Annual billing shifts these points a little; the calculator handles that if you enter your own plan price.

How do fees work for a store in India?

Shopify Payments is not offered to stores in India, as of October 2026. Indian stores use a third-party gateway such as Razorpay, PayU or Cashfree, and pay Shopify's third-party surcharge on top, at the rate for their plan. Check the current surcharge on Shopify's India pricing page.

A store with 300 orders a month at ₹1,500 each takes ₹4,50,000. On Razorpay's standard plan, 2 percent plus 18 percent GST on the fee is 2.36 percent, or ₹10,620 a month. Then the Shopify surcharge:

Compare the ₹4,500 saving from Basic to the Shopify plan with the difference in the two plan prices on the India pricing page. For many Indian stores past a few lakh rupees a month, the middle plan is the cheaper one. Indian stores also pay GST on Shopify's own charges; whether you can claim it back is a question for your accountant. The Razorpay fee calculator shows the gateway side, and Razorpay vs Stripe vs PayU compares the gateways.

What other costs should you budget for?

• Apps. Reviews, email, subscriptions, upsells, translation. Most cost $5 to $50 a month each. Ten apps can cost more than the plan.
• Theme. Free themes are good. Paid themes are a one-off purchase, usually a few hundred dollars, with updates included.
• Domain. Bought through Shopify or elsewhere; around the cost of any domain.
• Currency conversion. Selling in other currencies through Shopify Payments carries a conversion fee. Selling internationally covers when that matters.
• Chargebacks. A disputed card payment usually carries a fee per dispute, on top of the money held back while it is decided.
• Refunds. Check how your gateway treats processing fees on refunded orders; many keep them.

How can you keep Shopify fees down?

Use Shopify Payments where it is available; it removes the surcharge entirely. Choose your plan by the break-even table above, not by features you might use one day. Switch to annual billing once the store is settled. Audit apps every quarter and remove anything nobody can name a sale for. And raise your minimum order or bundle small items if your average order is low, because the fixed 30 cents hurts most on cheap orders.

Fees are one input to price. Before you set prices, run your costs through the profit margin calculator with the fee percentage included. If you are still choosing a platform, Shopify vs WooCommerce compares running costs on both, and how to choose an e-commerce platform covers the wider choice.