SellerSays

Shopify fees: what your store really costs

Shopify's cost per order is the payment rate, not a referral fee: on Basic ($39/mo, or $29 billed yearly) Shopify Payments takes 2.9% + 30¢ online; Grow and Advanced buy the rate down to 2.7% and 2.5%. Use an external payment provider and Shopify adds a 2%/1%/0.6% penalty by plan — which is why almost everyone uses Shopify Payments. Selling in other currencies adds 1.5% (US) or 2% (elsewhere) conversion on top.

Shopify (Basic + Shopify Payments) takes $1.17 per $30 order (3.9%) — you keep $28.83 before product and shipping costs.

  • Referral/final-value fee (0%) official fact$0
  • Payment processing 2.9% + $0.3 official fact$1.17
  • Subscription (Basic, billed monthly; $29/mo billed yearly)$39/mo

Monthly total at 100 orders: $156

⚠ Using an external payment provider adds a 2% fee on Basic (1% Grow, 0.6% Advanced).

⚠ Currency conversion costs 1.5% (US) / 2% (elsewhere) on top when settling across currencies.

SellerSays rule — fit, not fees:

  • No referral fee because nobody brings you buyers — you pay for traffic instead. Best economics once you own your audience.
  • Full brand and data control; the natural home for DDP checkout, IOSS, and multi-currency selling.

Marketplace math vs storefront math

At 100 orders of $30 a month, Shopify Basic costs about $156 all-in — already cheaper in fees than any major marketplace at the same volume. The difference is who brings the buyer: marketplaces charge 6–15% because they deliver demand; Shopify charges ~3% because demand is your job. The honest comparison is Shopify fees plus your customer-acquisition cost against the marketplace referral fee.

For cross-border DTC, the storefront also buys capabilities marketplaces don't sell: DDP duty collection at checkout, IOSS handling, multi-currency pricing, and ownership of the customer relationship (which is what makes returns, upsells, and email profitable).

Common questions

Annual or monthly billing?
Yearly billing cuts Basic from $39 to $29/month — a 26% saving worth taking once the store is validated.
When do the bigger plans pay off?
Grow ($105/mo) saves 0.2 points on payments; that covers its extra cost at roughly $33k of monthly card volume. Below that, stay on Basic.

Official sources behind these numbers

  • US plan prices: Basic $39/mo (or $29/mo billed yearly), Grow $105/mo ($79/mo yearly), Advanced $399/mo ($299/mo yearly); Plus starts at $2,300/mo Shopify · verified 2026-07-21
  • Shopify Payments US online card rates from: Basic 2.9% + 30c, Grow 2.7% + 30c, Advanced 2.5% + 30c, Plus 2.25% + 30c per transaction Shopify · verified 2026-07-21
  • Extra fee for using a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments: Basic 2%, Grow 1%, Advanced 0.6% (Plus 0.2%) per transaction Shopify · verified 2026-07-21
  • Currency conversion fee with Shopify Payments: 1.5% for US stores, 2% for stores in all other countries (applied when selling in currencies other than payout currency) Shopify · verified 2026-07-21

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