Shopify's cost depends on the plan, merchant country, billing term, payment mix, apps, and retail requirements. Obtain the current quote for your market, then calculate the full store cost. A promotional price or a monthly equivalent of an annual subscription is not the normal monthly invoice.
This guide was reviewed September 9, 2026. It uses a clearly identified regional price example and hypothetical business calculations; it does not present one country's rates as universal.
Compare the plans by requirements
| Plan | A requirement that makes it worth evaluating | Check before choosing |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | A full online store operated without additional staff accounts | Required app/API access and shipping capabilities |
| Grow | A small team needing additional user accounts | Whether its features and rate differences justify the quote |
| Advanced | More staff or advanced shipping/market requirements | Whether those functions solve a current need |
| Plus | Complex requirements needing its specific contract and capabilities | Full implementation and operating scope |
Shopify's Basic documentation lists a full online store and notes that additional staff accounts are not supported. Grow lists five user accounts; Advanced lists 15 and carrier-calculated shipping.
Check the actual feature and user type you need. Collaborator access, staff accounts, retail access, and integration permissions should not be treated as interchangeable simply to fit a cheaper plan.
A dated regional pricing example
The Norway pricing page viewed September 9, 2026 displayed these subscription figures:
| Plan | Monthly billing | Monthly equivalent when paying yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | NOK 389 | NOK 289 |
| Grow | NOK 1,030 | NOK 770 |
| Advanced | NOK 4,490 | NOK 3,370 |
This is a Norway example, not a US-dollar price list. Select your country on Shopify's pricing page and verify the final amount, currency, taxes, and billing terms before purchasing. Regional pages and account offers can differ.
For an annual choice, calculate the upfront commitment as well as the monthly equivalent. At the example Basic annual rate above, twelve times NOK 289 is NOK 3,468 before any applicable additional charges. The monthly-billing example totals NOK 4,668 across twelve periods before promotions or additional charges.
What about Starter or other plans?
Shopify's Starter-plan documentation says Starter is no longer available to new merchants. Do not use an old $5 Starter headline as the baseline for launching a new full online store.
Specialized plans, legacy agreements, and enterprise contracts should be evaluated for their supported use case. A lower advertised amount for a different selling model does not mean it replaces a full storefront plan.
Calculate the normal monthly operating cost
Use this worksheet:
Subscription + apps + domains/email allowance + processing + applicable platform transaction fees + retail/tools + operating labor.
Add product cost, fulfillment, shipping, returns, and acquisition when evaluating the business as a whole. Keep subscription analysis separate from profit analysis so the model remains understandable.
Shopify's billing reference distinguishes recurring, usage-based, and one-time charges. App billing can follow a different cycle from the platform subscription.
For a fictional store, assume $40 for the platform, $25 in apps, and $5 in allocated domain/email costs. That is $70 before processing and the rest of the business. Those values illustrate the worksheet; they are not Shopify or app quotes.
Try the Shopify startup cost calculator to combine your own subscription quote, app costs, order economics, and a fixed-cost cash buffer. You can download the resulting budget worksheet.
Processing and platform fees are different
The payment provider may charge for processing. Shopify can also apply third-party transaction fees depending on the plan and payment arrangement. Use the current terms for your country, provider, and transaction types.
Separate online, in-person, international, and other material payment groups. A headline “from” rate is not necessarily the blended rate on the whole business.
Do not describe Shopify Payments as zero-cost simply because a separate platform transaction fee may not apply. Processing still needs to be included according to the applicable terms.
When does a plan upgrade pay for itself?
If the only benefit you are evaluating is a lower percentage fee, divide the additional fixed monthly cost by the reduction expressed as a decimal.
For a fictional $60 monthly upgrade and a 0.2 percentage-point reduction, the calculation is $60 / 0.002 = $30,000 of monthly volume subject to that reduction. It is not $30,000 of every kind of revenue by default.
This is an illustration, not a universal Shopify upgrade threshold. Use actual quoted rates and include any fixed fee differences. If an upgrade is required for staff or an integration, evaluate that operational need directly instead of trying to justify it through payment savings alone.
How to budget a trial or promotion
Record the free period, discounted paid period, and normal renewal separately. Use the current trial guide and confirm eligibility in your own signup flow.
Do not assume a standard promotion activates the 1MBB program offer. Each route has its own conditions.
For a new store, choose the least expensive plan that passes your actual requirements at its normal price. Keep the app stack small and use the first-year cost worksheet to understand the cash commitment beyond the subscription.