Shopify pricing looks deceptively simple on the plans page: four tiers, a monthly fee, done. In practice, the real monthly bill for a typical store runs 40–80% higher once you add transaction fees, third-party apps, and payment processing surcharges. This guide breaks every line item down — and is honest about who should stay on Shopify versus who’s paying for features they’ll never use.
Shopify Pricing Plans in 2026: All 5 Tiers at a Glance
Shopify currently offers five plans. The three middle tiers had a rename in late 2024 — “Shopify” became “Grow” — so you’ll see both names in guides. Here are the current official prices billed monthly (annual billing saves ~25%):
- Starter — $5/month: No full storefront. Sell via social media, messaging apps, or a buy-button embed on an existing site. Transaction fee: 5% on every sale.
- Basic — $39/month ($29/mo annual): Full online store, up to 10 inventory locations, 2 staff accounts. Online card rate: 2.9% + $0.30. Third-party gateway surcharge: 2%.
- Shopify (Grow) — $105/month ($79/mo annual): Up to 5 staff accounts, professional reports, USPS rate comparison. Online card rate: 2.7% + $0.30. Third-party gateway surcharge: 1%.
- Advanced — $399/month ($299/mo annual): Up to 15 staff accounts, advanced reporting, third-party calculated shipping rates. Online card rate: 2.5% + $0.30. Third-party gateway surcharge: 0.6%.
- Plus — from $2,300/month ($2,500/mo on a 1-year term; 3-year term locks at $2,300): Enterprise plan for high-volume merchants. Custom card rates (negotiated). Third-party gateway surcharge: 0.2%.
You can verify current prices directly on Shopify’s official pricing page.
The Hidden Shopify Costs That Inflate Your Bill
The monthly plan fee is just the starting point. Three cost layers compound on top of it for almost every store.
Transaction Fees: The Tax on Every Sale
If you use any payment processor other than Shopify Payments — Stripe, PayPal, Square, a regional processor — Shopify charges an additional transaction fee on every order, stacked on top of your processor’s own fees. On Basic that’s 2% per transaction. On a store doing $10,000/month in sales, that’s $200 every month, every month, forever, just for the privilege of using a non-Shopify payment processor.
The fee disappears only if you use Shopify Payments, which is not available in all countries and requires you to accept Shopify’s dispute-resolution process.
Shopify App Store: The Compounding Subscription Problem
A functional Shopify store almost always requires paid apps. Common additions that most stores end up paying for:
- Email marketing (Klaviyo, Omnisend, etc.): $20–$150/month depending on list size
- Subscription/recurring billing (Recharge, Bold Subscriptions): $49–$99/month
- Reviews app (Judge.me, Yotpo): $15–$79/month
- Upsell/cross-sell (ReConvert, Zipify): $29–$79/month
- Loyalty program (Smile.io, LoyaltyLion): $49–$199/month
- Advanced SEO tools: $20–$50/month
- Custom form builder or quiz: $15–$49/month
It’s common for a mid-sized store to spend $200–$500/month on apps alone — before the Shopify subscription fee.
Other Fees Worth Knowing
- Shopify Tax: Free for the first $100,000 in US taxable sales/year; then 0.35% per taxable transaction (capped at $0.99/order, $5,000/year).
- Shopify Email: Free up to 10,000 emails/month; $1 per 1,000 beyond that.
- POS Pro: $89/month per location if you need advanced in-person retail features.
- Shopify Markets: Adds currency conversion and localization — free on higher plans, but international card rates add 1.5% currency conversion fee on Shopify Payments.
The All-In Math: What a Real Shopify Store Actually Costs
Here’s what an illustrative solo-operator DTC store doing $8,000/month in revenue looks like at the Basic tier, using Shopify Payments (no third-party surcharge) and a modest app stack:
- Basic plan: $39/month
- Shopify Payments processing (2.9% + $0.30, ~200 orders): ~$290/month
- Email marketing app: $40/month
- Reviews app: $15/month
- Upsell app: $29/month
- Theme (amortized): ~$15/month
- Total: ~$428/month
Now the same store at the Grow tier doing $25,000/month:
- Grow plan: $105/month
- Shopify Payments processing (2.7% + $0.30, ~500 orders): ~$825/month
- Email marketing (larger list): $120/month
- Reviews + loyalty + upsell: $130/month
- Subscription billing app: $59/month
- Total: ~$1,239/month
The subscription fee is often the smallest line item in the real bill. That’s the key thing most Shopify pricing guides miss.
Shopify Pricing vs. ASM for Service Businesses and Digital Operators
Here’s a straightforward comparison. Shopify is purpose-built for physical-product ecommerce. Automated Sales Machine (ASM) is purpose-built for service businesses, coaches, course creators, and digital product sellers who need a website, funnels, courses, CRM, and email — bundled flat.
| Feature / Cost | Shopify Basic ($39/mo) | Shopify Grow ($105/mo) | Shopify Advanced ($399/mo) | ASM (Flat $150/mo) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base subscription | $39 | $105 | $399 | $150 |
| Transaction fee (3rd-party processor) | 2% per sale | 1% per sale | 0.6% per sale | None |
| Built-in CRM | No | No | No | Yes |
| Sales funnels | App ($30–$80/mo) | App ($30–$80/mo) | App ($30–$80/mo) | Included — see funnel builder |
| Course / membership hosting | App ($50–$100/mo) | App ($50–$100/mo) | App ($50–$100/mo) | Included — see all features |
| Email marketing | App ($20–$150/mo) | App ($20–$150/mo) | App ($20–$150/mo) | Included |
| Automation / workflows | Limited + apps | Limited + apps | Limited + apps | Included |
| Website builder | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Physical product inventory management | Yes (core strength) | Yes (core strength) | Yes (core strength) | Not the primary use case |
| Typical all-in monthly cost | $250–$500+ | $400–$900+ | $700–$1,500+ | ~$150 flat |
Note: ASM pricing shown at the standard flat rate. See current ASM pricing here.
Should You Stay on Shopify? An Honest Answer
Yes — stay on Shopify if you operate a physical-product direct-to-consumer store. Shopify’s inventory management, fulfillment integrations (ShipBob, ShipStation, FBA), Shopify Shipping discounts, and the depth of its product catalog and variant system are genuinely best-in-class for product-based businesses. If you’re selling widgets, apparel, supplements, or any physical SKU at meaningful volume, Shopify is the right tool.
Consider a different platform if you’re a service business, coach, consultant, course creator, or digital product seller who signed up for Shopify because it was familiar — and you’re now paying for an ecommerce engine you don’t use, while separately paying for a funnel builder, a course platform, an email tool, and a CRM. That stack costs $300–$700/month. Automated Sales Machine bundles all of those into a single flat subscription built specifically for operators who sell expertise and services, not physical inventory. You can explore the funnel builder and full feature set (including memberships and courses) to see what’s included.
The honest line: Shopify pricing is fair for what Shopify does. The problem isn’t Shopify — it’s paying for a platform that wasn’t designed for your business model.
Frequently Asked Questions About Shopify Pricing
How much does Shopify cost per month in 2026?
Shopify’s plans range from $5/month (Starter, no full storefront) to $2,300+/month (Plus, enterprise). The most common entry-level plan for a full online store is Basic at $39/month, though the true all-in cost including payment processing and apps typically runs $250–$500+/month for an active store.
Does Shopify charge transaction fees?
Yes, if you use any payment processor other than Shopify Payments. The surcharge is 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced, and 0.2% on Plus. Using Shopify Payments eliminates this fee but locks you into Shopify’s payment processing and dispute process.
What is the cheapest Shopify plan?
The cheapest plan is Shopify Starter at $5/month, but it doesn’t include a standalone storefront — you can only sell via social media embeds or buy buttons. The cheapest plan with a full website is Basic at $39/month ($29/mo annual).
Is Shopify worth the cost for a service business?
Generally no. Shopify is optimized for physical product inventory, shipping, and variants — none of which service businesses or course creators need. You’d typically be paying $39–$105/month for the Shopify subscription plus $150–$400/month for apps to cover CRM, funnels, email, and courses. An all-in-one platform like Automated Sales Machine bundles those capabilities at a flat monthly rate designed for service-based operators.
Can you get Shopify for free?
Shopify offers a 3-day free trial, plus a promotional $1/month for the first month (terms vary by region and time). There is no permanent free plan. After the trial, a paid plan is required to keep your store active and accessible to customers.
If you’re evaluating your platform costs and your business model is services, coaching, digital products, or courses — see what ASM costs and compare it against your current Shopify + app stack total. The math usually tells the story pretty clearly.
Also worth reading from the ASM blog: Kajabi Alternative for Coaches & Course Creators in 2026 and Best Mailchimp Alternative for Small Businesses in 2026.