Choosing the wrong Shopify plan can cost you hundreds in unnecessary fees or lock you out of features your business actually needs. With five distinct pricing tiers ranging from $5 to $2,300 per month, the decision impacts everything from transaction costs to automation capabilities and international selling tools.
This guide provides a Shopify plans comparison, breaking down each plan’s pricing, core features, and ideal business scenarios. You’ll understand which plan matches your current revenue, sales channels, and growth trajectory so you can make a confident decision without overpaying or outgrowing your plan in six months.
Summary
- Shopify Starter ($5/month) works for creators selling through social media and messaging apps without needing a full online store
- Basic Shopify ($39/month) provides essential e-commerce features for new businesses launching their first independent online store
- Shopify ($105/month) adds professional reporting and lower transaction fees for growing stores processing $10,000+ monthly
- Advanced Shopify ($399/month) delivers advanced analytics and third-party shipping rates for established businesses doing $100,000+ monthly
- Shopify Plus (from $2,300/month) offers enterprise-grade customization, dedicated support, and unlimited staff accounts for high-volume merchants
Understanding Shopify’s Plan Structure
Shopify organizes its plans into two categories: standard plans for small to mid-sized businesses and Shopify Plus for enterprise operations. Each tier builds on the previous one, adding features rather than replacing them entirely.
The standard plans share core functionality like unlimited products, 24/7 support, and abandoned cart recovery. The differences emerge in transaction fees, staff account limits, reporting depth, and access to advanced features like custom report building or third-party calculated shipping rates.
How Shopify Pricing Works
Beyond the monthly subscription, Shopify’s pricing model includes transaction fees that vary by plan. If you use Shopify Payments, you avoid additional transaction fees but still pay credit card processing rates. Using external payment gateways triggers both credit card fees and Shopify’s transaction fees, which range from 2% on Basic down to 0.5% on Advanced.
For high-volume stores, these transaction fees compound quickly. A store processing $50,000 monthly on the Basic plan pays $1,000 in transaction fees alone if using an external gateway, making the plan upgrade math straightforward.
Shopify Starter: Social Commerce Entry Point
Shopify Starter costs $5 monthly and targets creators, influencers, and micro-businesses selling primarily through social platforms. You get product links to sell on Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and other messaging apps, plus the ability to accept payments without building a full website.
What Starter Includes
This plan provides basic product management, checkout functionality through buy buttons, and access to Shopify’s mobile POS for in-person sales. You can create simple landing pages but cannot build a complete online store with navigation, collections, and blog content.
Starter works well for testing product-market fit, launching a side business, or complementing an existing presence on Etsy or Amazon. The 5% transaction fee on each sale means you’ll want to upgrade once monthly revenue exceeds $800 to justify Basic’s pricing.
Starter Plan Limitations
| Feature | Availability |
| Full online store | No |
| Custom domain | No |
| Blog functionality | No |
| Staff accounts | 1 only |
| Advanced reporting | No |
You cannot use Starter for building a standalone e-commerce business. The lack of SEO tools, limited product presentation options, and social platform dependency make it unsuitable for brands seeking independence from third-party marketplaces.
Basic Shopify: Foundation for New Stores
At $39 monthly, Basic Shopify delivers everything needed to launch and operate a professional online store. This Shopify plan option includes unlimited products, two staff accounts, 24/7 support, and access to Shopify’s app ecosystem for extending functionality.
Core Features in Basic
Basic provides manual order creation, discount codes, abandoned cart recovery, and shipping label printing at discounted rates. You get basic analytics showing sales by traffic source, conversion rates, and customer behavior patterns sufficient for stores under $10,000 monthly revenue.
The plan includes fraud analysis tools, SSL certificates, and Shopify’s built-in blogging platform for content marketing. You can sell across multiple channels including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and eBay while managing everything from one dashboard.
When Basic Makes Sense
New businesses testing their first independent store should start here. The 2.9% + 30¢ credit card rate with Shopify Payments remains competitive, and the 2% transaction fee on external gateways stays manageable at lower volumes.
Basic suits businesses with straightforward operations, single-location selling, and no need for advanced reporting or automation. Once you’re consistently processing over $10,000 monthly, the Shopify plan comparison shifts toward the mid-tier option.
Shopify Plan: Growth Stage Optimization
The standard Shopify plan at $105 monthly targets growing businesses ready to optimize operations and reduce per-transaction costs. This tier drops transaction fees to 1% on external gateways and lowers credit card rates to 2.7% + 30¢.
Professional Reports and Features
You gain access to professional reports covering inventory, profit margins, customer analytics, and acquisition sources. These reports help identify which products drive profitability, which marketing channels convert best, and where inventory investments should focus.
The plan includes five staff accounts, gift card functionality, and professional reporting features unavailable in Basic. International selling improves through automatic duty and import tax calculations at checkout, reducing cart abandonment from surprise fees.
Calculating the Upgrade ROI
| Monthly Sales Volume | Basic Plan Cost | Shopify Plan Cost | Breakeven Point |
| $10,000 | $239 (fees included) | $205 (fees included) | Saves $34/month |
| $25,000 | $539 | $355 | Saves $184/month |
| $50,000 | $1,039 | $605 | Saves $434/month |
The math becomes compelling between $10,000 and $15,000 in monthly revenue. Lower transaction fees offset the higher monthly cost, and the professional reporting delivers actionable insights worth the investment.
Advanced Shopify: Data-Driven Operations
Advanced Shopify costs $399 monthly and serves established stores processing significant volume with complex operations. The 0.5% transaction fee on external gateways and 2.5% + 30¢ credit card rate make this plan financially sensible above $100,000 monthly.
Advanced Analytics and Automation
You get custom report building with filters, segments, and data visualization tools. Build reports tracking metrics like customer lifetime value by acquisition source, product profitability after returns, or inventory turnover by location.
Advanced includes third-party calculated shipping rates at checkout, showing real-time quotes from carriers like UPS, FedEx, and USPS. This feature alone can reduce shipping costs by 15-30% compared to flat-rate strategies while improving conversion through transparent pricing.
Enterprise-Grade Features
The plan supports 15 staff accounts, detailed audit logs for security compliance, and advanced discount combinations. You can create tiered pricing, bulk discounts, and complex promotional strategies without third-party apps.
International expansion becomes practical with automatic currency conversion, international domain support, and localized checkout experiences. These features matter when targeting multiple countries simultaneously rather than testing one new market.
Shopify Plus: Enterprise Commerce Platform
Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 monthly with pricing scaling based on sales volume, typically reaching 0.25% of monthly gross merchandise value. This plan targets businesses processing $1 million+ annually who need dedicated infrastructure, custom checkout experiences, and white-glove support.
Plus-Exclusive Capabilities
You get unlimited staff accounts, access to Shopify Scripts for custom checkout logic, and the ability to modify checkout pages directly. Plus merchants can create wholesale channels, B2B portals, and multiple stores under one organization with centralized management.
The platform includes a dedicated Launch Manager, priority support with 15-minute response times, and access to Plus Partner agencies for custom development. You can process high-volume flash sales without performance degradation and access enterprise APIs for deep system integration.
Technical and Operational Advantages
| Feature | Standard Plans | Shopify Plus |
| API call limit | 2 calls/second | 4 calls/second (can scale higher) |
| Checkout customization | Limited | Full access |
| Wholesale channel | Third-party apps only | Native B2B functionality |
| Staff accounts | Up to 15 | Unlimited |
| Dedicated support | No | Yes, with Launch Manager |
Plus merchants get early access to beta features, exclusive apps through the Plus App Store, and certification programs for training teams. The platform handles enterprise compliance requirements like PCI DSS Level 1, GDPR, and CCPA natively.
When Plus Justifies the Investment
Consider Plus when hitting technical limitations on Advanced, processing $500,000+ monthly, or requiring custom checkout workflows that standard plans cannot support. The decision typically aligns with Series A/B funding rounds, market expansion into multiple countries, or transitioning from complex legacy systems.
Comparing Shopify Plans Side by Side
When evaluating which Shopify plan comparison makes sense for your business, three factors matter most: current sales volume, operational complexity, and growth trajectory over the next 12 months.
Transaction Cost Comparison
| Plan | Monthly Fee | Transaction Fee (External Gateway) | Credit Card Rate (Shopify Payments) |
| Starter | $5 | 5% + CC fees | Not optimized for volume |
| Basic | $39 | 2% + CC fees | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Shopify | $105 | 1% + CC fees | 2.7% + 30¢ |
| Advanced | $399 | 0.5% + CC fees | 2.5% + 30¢ |
| Plus | $2,300+ | 0.25% + CC fees | 2.4% + 30¢ (negotiable) |
The effective cost per transaction drops significantly with each tier. A $100 order on Basic costs $5.20 in fees using Shopify Payments versus $4.70 on Shopify and $4.50 on Advanced. Processing 1,000 such orders monthly creates $500-$700 in fee differences between plans.
Feature Progression
Each plan unlocks capabilities that support business maturity stages. Basic handles launching, Shopify optimizes growth, Advanced manages complexity, and Plus enables enterprise operations.
The transition between Shopify pricing tiers should align with operational needs rather than revenue alone. A $20,000 monthly store with complex reporting needs benefits more from Shopify than a $30,000 monthly store with straightforward operations staying on Basic.
Choosing the Right Shopify Plan for Your Business
Start by calculating your current all-in costs including subscription fees, transaction fees, and credit card processing. Project these costs across each plan tier using your actual monthly volume to identify the financial breakeven point.
Decision Framework by Business Stage
- Pre-launch or testing: Shopify Starter provides the lowest-risk entry point for validating product ideas through social selling before committing to full store operations.
- First year of operations (under $10,000 monthly): Basic Shopify delivers all essential features without overpaying for analytics and reports you won’t use yet. Focus on product-market fit and customer acquisition.
- Growth stage ($10,000-$100,000 monthly): Standard Shopify plan makes sense when you need actionable reporting to optimize marketing spend, inventory decisions, and operational efficiency. The professional reports justify the cost.
- Established operations ($100,000+ monthly): Advanced Shopify becomes cost-effective while adding automation capabilities that save staff time and reduce operational overhead. Custom reports and third-party shipping rates deliver measurable ROI.
- Enterprise scale ($500,000+ monthly): Shopify Plus provides the technical infrastructure, customization depth, and support level required for complex, high-volume operations competing with major retailers.
Common Upgrade Triggers
Businesses typically upgrade when hitting staff account limits, needing deeper analytics, experiencing transaction fee pain, or requiring features locked to higher tiers. Monitor these signals monthly rather than annually to avoid leaving money on the table.
The right time to compare Shopify plans and upgrade is before you need the features, not after hitting limitations. Plan changes take effect immediately, but operational adjustments to leverage new capabilities require time.
Key Takeaways
- Transaction fees compound quickly on lower plans, making upgrades financially sensible between $10,000-$15,000 monthly revenue, even before considering feature improvements
- Basic suits straightforward launch operations, Shopify optimizes growing businesses with data needs, Advanced handles operational complexity, and Plus enables enterprise capabilities
- Calculate total cost including subscription and transaction fees rather than focusing on monthly subscription alone to understand true cost per plan
- Upgrade before hitting hard limits like staff accounts or when professional reporting would materially improve decision-making, not just when volume crosses arbitrary thresholds
- Use Shopify’s 14-day trial on any standard plan to test reporting, features, and operational fit before committing to annual billing for discounted rates
Conclusion
The right Shopify plan comparison starts with understanding your current operations and 12-month growth trajectory rather than just monthly revenue. Transaction fee structures, reporting depth, and operational features create clear breakpoints where upgrading delivers immediate ROI through reduced costs or improved efficiency.
Start with Basic if launching your first independent store, move to standard Shopify when crossing $10,000 monthly to capture reporting benefits and fee reductions, and evaluate Advanced once operational complexity or volume justifies the investment. Most merchants find the sweet spot on the mid-tier Shopify plan for years before needing enterprise capabilities.
Ready to launch your Shopify store?
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Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Difference Between Shopify Plans?
The main differences lie in transaction fees, reporting depth, staff accounts, and advanced features. Basic includes essential store functions with 2% transaction fees, standard Shopify adds professional reports with 1% fees, Advanced provides custom reporting with 0.5% fees, and Plus offers enterprise customization with negotiated rates starting at 0.25%.
Which Shopify Plan Is Best for Beginners?
Basic Shopify at $39 monthly is best for beginners launching their first independent online store. It includes all essential features like unlimited products, abandoned cart recovery, discount codes, and 24/7 support without overwhelming new merchants with advanced analytics they won’t use initially.
When Should I Upgrade My Shopify Plan?
Upgrade when monthly sales consistently exceed $10,000 and professional reporting would improve decisions, when you hit staff account limits on your current plan, or when transaction fees on external gateways cost more than the price difference between plans. Calculate total monthly costs including all fees before upgrading.
Does Shopify Plus Include Lower Transaction Fees?
Yes, Shopify Plus includes significantly lower transaction fees starting at 0.25% for external payment gateways and 2.4% plus 30 cents for credit card processing through Shopify Payments. Plus merchants can also negotiate custom rates based on volume, potentially reducing fees below standard tier minimums.
Can I Switch Between Shopify Plans Anytime?
Yes, you can upgrade or downgrade between Shopify plans anytime from your admin dashboard. Upgrades take effect immediately with prorated billing, while downgrades apply at your next billing cycle. You keep all your store data, products, and settings when changing plans regardless of direction.
What Shopify Plan Do I Need for International Selling?
International selling works on all plans, but the standard Shopify plan and higher tiers include automatic duty and import tax calculations at checkout, multiple currency support, and international domain management. These features significantly reduce cart abandonment from surprise fees and improve conversion in foreign markets.
How Much Does Shopify Plus Cost Compared to Standard Plans?
Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 monthly compared to $399 for Advanced Shopify. Plus pricing scales with volume, typically reaching 0.25% of gross merchandise value. The investment makes sense for businesses processing $500,000+ monthly who need enterprise features, unlimited staff accounts, and custom checkout capabilities.
Are Shopify Transaction Fees Negotiable?
Transaction fees are fixed on standard plans but negotiable on Shopify Plus based on sales volume and business needs. Plus merchants often negotiate rates below the standard 0.25% minimum when processing significant volume or committing to long-term contracts with Shopify.
