Shopify UK Fees Calculator: Understanding Shopify Fees In The UK

In this post, we’ll unravel the complexities of Shopify fees in the UK through our detailed Shopify fees UK calculator, providing essential insights for understanding transparent e-commerce costs.

Estimated Shopify Pricing In The UK With Shopify Payments

How To Use The Shopify UK Pricing Calculator?

Navigating through Shopify’s UK Pricing Calculator is as effortless as managing your online store. Here’s a detailed breakdown to guide you through the process seamlessly:

Step 1: Choose Your Calculation Period: Begin by selecting whether you want to calculate your fees on a monthly or yearly basis. This choice lays the foundation for your transparent financial analysis.

Step 2: Specify Your Payment Methods: Indicate the payment gateways you are utilizing. Simply select all the methods applicable to your business model, ensuring accurate calculations tailored to your preferences.

Step 3: Enter External Payment Gateway Fees: If you opt for a payment gateway other than Shopify Payments or PayPal, input the percentage fee and the fixed transaction fee they charge. No need for the ‘%’ symbol, just enter the numerical values. This precision ensures a precise estimation of your costs.

Step 4: Provide Sales Data: Enter the total value of your sales and the number of sales you anticipate or have achieved. These figures form the basis for calculating your fees, enabling the calculator to offer tailored insights into your expenditure.

Step 5: View Your Detailed Fee Breakdown: Scroll down to witness a comprehensive breakdown of the fees associated with your chosen plan. Gain insights into transaction costs, payment gateway fees, and other expenses relevant to your sales volume. 

Shopify Fees In The UK

Here are essential details about Shopify fees in the UK, offering valuable insights for your online business success.

Primary Costs

Subscription fees, transaction fees, and credit card rates are some primary costs you should not miss.

Subscription fees

Shopify UK offers a selection of five meticulously crafted subscription plans, each designed to address specific business needs and aspirations. Choosing an annual subscription not only ensures continuity but also leads to substantial savings, with a generous 25% discount available.

• Shopify Starter Plan (£5/month): This plan is ideal for budding entrepreneurs and small businesses embarking on their e-commerce journey. Priced affordably at £5 per month, it caters to individuals primarily selling through social media platforms and messaging apps. 
• Shopify Basic Plan (£25/month or £19/month annually): Tailored for small online store owners aiming for growth, the Basic Plan offers essential tools and features. Priced at £25 per month for a monthly subscription or £19 per month for an annual subscription, it is suited for entrepreneurs launching a small online store and needing access to powerful Shopify tools to fuel their expansion.
• Shopify Standard Plan (£65/month or £49/month annually): The Standard Plan is designed for growing businesses and small to medium-sized enterprises looking for advanced features. It offers enhanced shipping options, marketing automation, and other tools essential for boosting online presence and sales.
• Shopify Advanced Plan (£344/month or £259/month annually): For international sellers and businesses with ambitious growth plans, the Advanced Plan provides advanced tools and features, including competitive credit card rates. It caters to companies expanding globally, offering advanced reporting tools and international commerce features.
• Shopify Plus Plan (Custom Pricing starting at 2,000 USD/month): Tailored for high-volume retailers and extensive businesses, the Shopify Plus Plan offers customized solutions for companies with specific needs. It is ideal for large enterprises with high sales, multiple store management, POS system integration, and customized solutions for security, automation, and website availability.

Transaction fees 

For payments made through renowned third-party providers like PayPal or Stripe, Shopify imposes an additional fee ranging from 0.5% to 2.0% on your total sales.

Opting for Shopify Payments can be a game-changer. By choosing Shopify’s native payment service, you not only bypass the additional fees imposed on third-party providers but also enjoy a seamless transaction experience. It’s a smart choice for businesses looking to save on extra costs while ensuring smooth and secure online payments.

Credit card rates

Basic plan:

• 2% + £0.25 for online transactions
• 1.7% + £0.00 for in-person transactions. 

Shopify plan

• 1.7% + £0.25 or online transactions
• 1.6% + £0.00 for in-person transactions.

Advanced plan:

• 1.5% + £0.25 for online transactions
• 1.5% + £0.00 for in-person transactions.

Additional Costs

Domain

Your online presence begins with your domain, a vital facet of your e-commerce venture. Shopify streamlines this process by offering domains directly, ensuring a hassle-free experience. These domains not only include a free SSL certificate for enhanced security but also guarantee consistent annual renewal rates, providing stability to your online identity.

The domain extension options are extensive, with prices starting at approximately £12. For those on a tight budget, Shopify provides a free subdomain option. However, it’s worth noting that while this option is cost-effective, it might not exude the same level of professionalism as a paid domain.

If you’re considering options beyond Shopify’s domain offerings, providers like GoDaddy and NameCheap are worth exploring. They often feature competitive prices, and seamlessly integrating their domains with Shopify is easily achievable. A brief market survey can help identify potential cost-saving opportunities, ensuring you find the perfect domain solution for your business needs.

Shopify Apps

Shopify’s extensive app store, housing over 8,000 apps, offers many tools catering to diverse business needs. These apps span from enhancing website design and automating tasks to integrating powerful marketing functionalities and incorporating specialized forms. 

Within this vast selection, you’ll find apps offering free versions or one-time purchase options, providing budget-friendly solutions for various requirements.

However, it’s essential to be aware that some apps operate on a subscription basis. The cost of these subscriptions varies significantly based on the functionality and the brand. While some plugins might be free, others could set you back by several hundred pounds monthly. 

Shopify Themes

In the Shopify Theme Store, a diverse selection of 164 themes awaits, all meticulously crafted to enhance your store’s functionality and aesthetic appeal. Out of these, 12 themes are available free of charge, offering budget-friendly options for those just starting out.

For those seeking more advanced and feature-rich designs, paid themes are available for a one-time fee. These themes, priced typically between $150 to $380, provide an extensive range of customization options. 

This flexibility not only allows you to stay within your budget but also ensures you can choose a design that perfectly aligns with your brand vision, enhancing your online store’s overall user experience and visual impact.

Shopify POS

Every Shopify package includes Shopify POS Lite, providing essential features for in-person selling.

For businesses needing advanced functionalities, upgrading to Shopify POS Pro is an option at an additional cost of £69/month per location. This upgrade encompasses all Lite features and introduces intelligent inventory control, staff management tools, enhanced selling features across multiple channels, and detailed in-store analytics.

While the core of your POS system can be your mobile device paired with a card reader, Shopify’s hardware offerings enhance the retail experience. You can buy hardware at the Shopify Hardware Store, starting at £49.

Email Marketing & SEO

Shopify in the UK offers integrated email marketing and SEO tools tailored to each subscription plan. These features are seamlessly embedded within the platform, with the sophistication of marketing tools increasing in alignment with the plan price. The higher your plan, the more robust your email marketing and SEO capabilities become. 

Importantly, these essential marketing features are included in your subscription fees, ensuring you have access to powerful marketing tools without incurring additional costs. This integration simplifies your marketing efforts, allowing you to focus on growing your online presence without worrying about extra expenses.

Shipping Fees And Discounts

In the UK, Shopify Shipping provides access to reliable carriers like Evri and DPD. Depending on your store’s subscription plan and the specific order, you can enjoy discounted shipping rates, making it more cost-effective to fulfill customer orders efficiently.

One significant advantage is that no taxes are charged on Shopify Shipping labels purchased within the UK. This not only simplifies the shipping process but also ensures transparency and clarity in your shipping costs. With these streamlined solutions, Shopify facilitates efficient and budget-friendly shipping for your online store, enhancing customer satisfaction and overall e-commerce experience.

Shopify Fees With Other Platforms In The UK

In the competitive landscape of e-commerce platforms in the UK, various options vie for attention, each with unique features and pricing structures.

Wix

One such contender is Wix, which boasts 5 plans catering to different business needs. Starting from £7.50/month, Wix offers cost-effective options. However, its limitations become apparent upon closer inspection. 

With restricted shipping options, basic cart systems, and limited payment gateways, it might not provide the comprehensive toolkit that ambitious online retailers seek, especially without global Point of Sale (POS) functionality.

WooCommerce

On the WordPress front, WooCommerce is an appealing choice due to its free-to-download nature. However, while the platform is free, costs escalate when factoring in quality hosting and domain names. 

Additional expenditures arise when integrating plugins and premium themes for enhanced functionality and aesthetics. Depending on the retailer’s needs, these costs can surpass those of a Shopify subscription, blurring the line between budget-friendly and high-end platforms.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce, another strong contender, mirrors Shopify’s pricing range closely, starting at around £30/month. One significant advantage it offers is the absence of transaction fees, making it attractive for businesses with substantial sales volumes. 

However, the platform reserves certain features, such as storing customer credit card details and abandoned cart recovery, for its higher-priced plans. Additionally, an automatic upgrade to a higher pricing tier based on annual sales might deter businesses from content with their current plan features.

Squarespace

Squarespace, while offering a streamlined experience and visually appealing designs, comes with its own set of intricacies. Pricing tiers, starting at $16/month, offer unlimited bandwidth but introduce a 3% transaction fee in the Business plan. 

Essential e-commerce features like point-of-sale capabilities and product reviews are available from the mid-tier package onwards, limiting options for smaller businesses. In comparison, Shopify’s adaptability shines through its extensive App Store, offering customization opportunities even on the Basic plan. 

Strategies to Minimize Shopify Fees For UK Merchants

Running a successful e-commerce business on Shopify requires careful financial management. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help UK merchants minimize their Shopify fees effectively:

Choose the Right Plan

Carefully assess your business requirements before selecting a Shopify plan. If you’re a small business, starting with the Basic Shopify plan might be sufficient. As your business grows, consider upgrading to the Shopify or Advanced Shopify plans, which offer lower transaction fees and more advanced features. By aligning your plan with your business needs, you avoid unnecessary fees associated with plans that provide services you don’t use.

Explore Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments is Shopify’s integrated payment gateway. Utilizing it eliminates additional transaction fees charged by external payment gateways. For UK merchants, Shopify Payments supports major credit and debit cards, providing a seamless checkout experience for customers. Ensure your business meets the eligibility criteria, including the nature of your products and location, to take advantage of this cost-effective solution.

Compare Payment Gateway Fees

If using Shopify Payments isn’t feasible, research external payment gateways. For UK merchants, payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal offer competitive rates. Compare transaction fees, setup costs, and currency conversion charges. Factor in the sales volume and choose a provider that aligns with your business needs while keeping fees minimal.

Implement Efficient Inventory Management

Efficient inventory management prevents overstocking and understocking, reducing storage costs and potential losses due to unsold items. Utilize Shopify’s inventory management features to track product movement, set up low-stock notifications, and analyze sales trends. By optimizing your inventory, you minimize unnecessary expenses and enhance your overall profitability.

Optimize Shipping Costs

Shipping costs can significantly impact your bottom line. Negotiate shipping rates with carriers based on your shipping volume and explore Shopify’s shipping solutions to compare rates from various providers. Additionally, consider implementing free shipping thresholds or flat-rate shipping to encourage larger purchases without cutting your profits.

Utilize Third-Party Apps Wisely

While Shopify’s App Store offers many apps to enhance your store’s functionality, be discerning about which apps you install. Some apps come with monthly fees, which can accumulate. Evaluate your business needs and research thoroughly before installing any app. Sometimes, custom coding or manual workarounds can achieve similar results without the extra cost.

Regularly Review and Adjust

The e-commerce landscape is dynamic. Regularly review your Shopify expenses, especially transaction fees and app costs. Stay updated on new technologies and services that offer a more cost-effective solution than your current setup. By being proactive and adaptable, you can ensure your business remains efficient and cost-effective in changing market conditions.

Conclusion

In conclusion, our Shopify fees UK calculator equips you with the knowledge needed to navigate the realm of e-commerce expenses confidently. Stay informed, make informed decisions, and watch your UK-based Shopify store thrive with transparent financial management.

Shopify Fee Calculator UK FAQs