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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n Beyond the monthly subscription,<\/span> Shopify’s pricing model<\/span> 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.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n 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<\/a>, Facebook<\/a>, WhatsApp, and other messaging apps, plus the ability to accept payments without building a full website.<\/span><\/p>\n This plan provides basic product management, checkout functionality through buy buttons, and access to Shopify’s mobile POS<\/a> for in-person sales. You can create simple landing pages but cannot build a complete online store with navigation, collections, and blog content.<\/span><\/p>\n Starter works well for testing product-market fit, launching a side business, or complementing an existing presence on Etsy<\/a> or Amazon<\/a>. The 5% transaction fee on each sale means you’ll want to upgrade once monthly revenue exceeds $800 to justify Basic’s pricing.<\/span><\/p>\nHow Shopify Pricing Works<\/span><\/h3>\n
Shopify Starter: Social Commerce Entry Point<\/span><\/h2>\n
What Starter Includes<\/span><\/h3>\n
Starter Plan Limitations<\/span><\/h3>\n