Shopify Fee Calculator: How Much Does A Shopify Store Cost?

Our engineering team has built a Shopify Fee Calculator to assist business owners with the crucial decision of launching their Shopify stores. Let’s take a look at how it works.

What Is The Shopify Fee Calculator?

The Shopify fee calculator is a helpful tool that estimates how much Shopify retailers would pay corresponding to each Shopify plan and helps them decide which will make the most financial sense.

How To Use The Shopify Pricing Calculator

We’ve made it incredibly simple:

• Step 1: Choose monthly or yearly fees.
• Step 2: Select your payment methods.
• Step 3: If you are using a payment gateway other than Shopify Payments, enter the external payment gateway fees.
• Step 4: Enter your average order value and the number of sales you have or plan to get
• Step 5: Receive estimated Shopify costs, including the total and breakdown fees of each Shopify plan.

Let’s use an example. Assuming a store has:

• An average order value of 100 USD
• The number of sales is 50 orders a month
• Payment gateway: Shopify Payments.
• Monthly subscription

Here is how much each Shopify plan would cost:

• Basic Shopify plan: 199 USD
• Standard Shopify plan: 254 USD
• Advanced Shopify plan: 534 USD

What Fees Does Shopify Charge?

Here are all the expenses you should be aware of when using the Shopify platform.

Primary Costs

Shopify Subscription fees

Shopify is offering five subscriptions at different prices and features:

• Shopify Starter: 5 USD/month
• Shopify Basic: 39 USD/month
• Shopify Standard: 105 USD/month
• Shopify Advanced: 399 USD/month
• Shopify Plus: Starting at 2000 USD/month

To gain further insight into each Shopify plan, check out Shopify Pricing. Please note that these prices are for stores in the US; pricing may vary in other countries and regions.

If you want to try Shopify before committing to an active monthly plan, you can sign up for a 3-day free trial and enjoy a $1/month for 3 months deal.

Shopify Transaction fees

With every sale, you will have to pay Shopify a fee for processing your customer’s purchase thoroughly.

There are no transaction fees for stores using Shopify Payments - a payment gateway built by Shopify. However, it is only currently available in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, Ireland, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and the United States (excluding the US territories except Puerto Rico).

If your country is not on the list, you may need to use third-party payment gateways such as Paypal or Stripe. Remember that additional fees will be 2%, 1%, or 0.5% for Shopify Basic, Shopify Standard, and Shopify Advanced plans.

Shopify Credit card rates and fees

Shopify showcases fees based on the selected subscription Shopify plan. The rates and fees for credit card transactions are as follows:

• Basic Shopify plan: 2.9% + 30¢ USD for online and 2.7% + 0¢ USD in person
• Standard Shopify plan: 2.6% + 30¢ USD online and 2.5% + 0¢ USD in person
• Advanced Shopify plan: 2.4% + 30¢ USD online and 2.4% + 0¢ USD in person

Additional Costs

Here are some other costs you can encounter with an online Shopify store.

Domain

When setting up your shop, Shopify provides a free subdomain of “myshopify.com”. However, if you want your Shopify store to be more professional, it is recommended to have a domain like “shopname.com”.

The great news is that Shopify provides the option to purchase a custom domain at an affordable price, typically around $15 to $20 per year.

Shopify Apps

Shopify offers its merchants an easy way to enhance their stores’ functionality with over 8,000 apps from the Shopify App Store. These apps provide a wide range of assistance, including marketing tools, inventory management, shipping and tracking, customer service, and much more, with many being free or at least starting free. However, some apps require a monthly fee that varies based on the functions they provide, usually from 9.99 US a month or higher.

There’s no limit on how many apps you can install in your Shopify stores, yet the price will likely add up, so it’s important to choose only the essentials.

Shopify Themes

While various free themes are available on the Shopify Theme Store, many Shopify retailers opt for premium themes to give their Shopify stores a more professional and unique look. Using a premium Shopify theme can be an additional expense as it can range in price from around $100 to $500, depending on the complexity, features, and customizability.

However, investing in a premium Shopify theme can improve the customer experience, leading to increased brand recognition and ultimately benefiting your marketing efforts in the long run.

Shopify POS

When selling in-person, Shopify offers its merchants a solution with the Shopify POS system. To get started with Shopify POS, you must subscribe to a Shopify plan (from Basic shopify plan and up) and buy some forms of hardware like a card reader, barcode reader, barcode printer, receipt printer, and a device to run the Shopify POS app.

Here are the prices of some of the standard hardware accessories:

• Barcode scanners: $229 to $329
• Label printers: $299 to $499
• Receipt printers: $299 to $369
• Cash drawers: $139 to $159

Consider upgrading to Shopify POS Pro if you want to unlock more features, but keep in mind that it costs 89 USD per month per store location.

Chargeback fees

A chargeback happens when customers ask their card-issuing bank to reverse a transaction. E-commerce merchants using Shopify payments will occasionally experience them.

When a bank sends you a chargeback, Shopify will charge you a processing fee. If you win the chargeback dispute, Shopify will refund this fee. Usually, it’s 15 USD for Shopify merchants in the United States. You can view the prices for other countries or regions here.

Currency conversion fee

When you accept payment in a currency different from your payout currency, Shopify charges to convert money when you capture a payment. The conversion fee is based on your store’s primary country:

• 1.5% in the US
• 2% in all other countries and regions with Shopify Payments

Shopify Email

Shopify Email is a cost-effective way to reach customers and promote your business through email marketing. All merchants with a paid Shopify subscription plan have 10,000 free emails to send at the beginning of every month. You can purchase additional emails at 0.001 USD per email if you need to send more than the allotted number.

Customization Fees

If you have specific requirements that the built-in functionality of Shopify can’t fulfill, you may need to hire professionals who can assist you in customizing your store and adding features unique to your business needs.

The cost of hiring an expert varies depending on their experience, skills, and the complexity of the customization required. You can discover the right expert for your customization needs by exploring the Shopify Expert marketplace.

Shipping costs

These costs include packaging, shipping labels, labor, and transportation. There are several shipping strategies for Shopify merchants to choose from:

• Flat shipping rates: You charge a customer a specific shipping amount based on their order.
• Price-based rates: Customers are charged shipping costs based on the order’s values.
• Weight-based rates: Customers are charged shipping costs based on the order’s total weight.
• Free shipping rates: You offer free shipping on all orders
• Calculated shipping rates: The shipping carriers will determine the shipping costs.
• Local pick-up or delivery: Your business provides deliveries, and customers can pick up their orders at your store.

Suppose you choose to use flat-rate shipping, free shipping, or local delivery. In that case, it is crucial to calculate your shipping fees accurately by considering the average price for shipping a package. It will help ensure that you are not overcharging or undercharging for shipping.

Tips To Cut Down Shopify Fees For Your Store

Ensure You’re On The Right Shopify Plan And Subscribe Annually To Save 25%

The first check is using the Shopify pricing calculator to ensure you’re on the right Shopify plan. This practice can also extend to the apps you’re using. You might be paying for a premium app when your usage only requires the free option.

Once you’ve decided on the Shopify plan that’s best for your store, consider committing to an annual subscription instead of paying monthly. This way, you can save up to 25% on your subscription fees. This cost-saving option allows you to allocate more resources to your business’s growth and development.

Lower Transaction Fee With Shopify Payments

Many payment gateways will charge fees based on the volume of transactions you make on your website; consider limiting your payment gateways to just two or three options and activating Shopify payments for your store.

When you use Shopify Payments, you aren’t charged third-party transaction fees for orders that are processed through Shopify Payments, Shop Pay, Shop Pay Installments, and Paypal Express, and you aren’t charged transaction fees on manual payment methods such as cash, cash on delivery (COD), and bank transfers.

Shopify Plus merchants using Shopify Payments pay no transaction fees (except those in Austria, Belgium, and Sweden).

Use Shopify Shipping and offer a Pick-up option

Shopify Shipping offers pre-negotiated shipping rates from USPS, UPS, and DHL Express, helping Shopify merchants to save up to 88% on shipping costs in the US and send products worldwide. Shopify retailers can easily offer customers free shipping, flat-rate shipping, and discount codes to increase the checkout conversion rate.

A helpful hack to cover a part of shipping fees when offering free shipping is to calculate the average cost of shipping your products and include a portion of those fees in your product prices.

Local delivery and pick-up are the most cost-effective options for Shopify merchants, helping to build loyalty and repeat customers. Local delivery is a great way for small Shopify businesses to connect with nearby customers and increase sales. The pick-up option is even better as it eliminates all delivery costs, making it perfect for Shopify stores in central areas.

Use Free Shopify Apps And Themes

For Shopify beginners, you can use the wide range of free apps and themes available on the Shopify App Store and Shopify Theme Store. These cost-effective solutions can enhance your store’s functionality and appearance without spending extra money. Plus, experimenting with these free options can help you figure out what features and designs are essential for your business before investing in premium options for more advanced needs.

Shopify Fee FAQs

Should I always pick the lowest-cost Shopify plan?

No. It’s not always wise to choose the cheapest Shopify plan available. While the Shopify pricing calculator can provide a helpful recommendation to begin your decision-making process, comparing the costs and features of different Shopify plans is essential. Higher-end plans often offer additional features that may be worth the extra cost compared to the least expensive ones.

Is Shopify suitable for beginners?

Yes. Shopify is one of the best platforms for beginners and small businesses set up and run their online stores for the first time. Shopify is designed to be user-friendly, making it easy for anyone without ecommerce or coding experience to create an online store and start selling products quickly.

Are there any hidden fees for building an online store on Shopify?

No. There are no hidden fees with Shopify. All fees are transparently listed on their website, and you can calculate your costs using the Shopify pricing calculator. However, it’s worth noting that some third-party apps may have additional fees.

Are there any Shopify fees if I don’t make any sales?

Yes. You will still be charged your monthly subscription fee if you don’t make any sales. However, Shopify offers a free trial to try the platform before committing to a plan. Additionally, you can cancel your subscription at any time.

Wrapping Up

Being aware of the costs involved in running a Shopify store is crucial for any merchant. By utilizing tools like the Shopify pricing calculator and taking the time to research the best plan and strategies for your business, you can optimize your operations and maximize profits.

Read more: Shopify Plus Calculator: Breaking Down Shopify Enterprises Plan