Choosing a Shopify plan can feel like ordering coffee for the first time at a fancy café. So many options… and you just wanted caffeine ☕
Don't worry. You don't need to be a developer or business expert to understand Shopify pricing. This guide will walk you through each plan in plain English, explain who each plan is for, and help you avoid overpaying for features you don't need.
🖼️ Image: Simple comparison chart showing Shopify plans side by side
Step 1: Understanding Shopify's Main Plans
Shopify currently offers four main plans for online stores:
- Starter - $5 USD/month
- Basic - $29 USD/month (billed yearly)
- Grow - $79 USD/month (billed yearly)
- Advanced - $299 USD/month (billed yearly)
There's also Shopify Plus, but that's for big brands with big budgets (we'll touch on it briefly).
Good news: Shopify offers a $1/month promotion for the first 3 months on Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans when you start your free trial.
Let's go one by one.
Step 2: Shopify Starter – For Selling, Not Building
Price: $5 USD/month
Best for: People who want to sell products without a full online store.
Think:
- Selling through Instagram
- Sending product links via WhatsApp
- Adding a "Buy" button to an existing website
- Simple online store
What you get:
- Product listings
- Checkout
- Basic order management
- Sell instantly through social media and messaging apps
What you don't get:
- A full-featured online store
- Custom design options
- Blog, collections, or advanced features
👉 Good if: you're testing an idea or selling primarily through social media
👉 Not good if: you want a complete ecommerce website with customization
🖼️ Image: Social media selling example with product links
Step 3: Basic Shopify – The Best Starting Point (For Most People)
Price: $29 USD/month (billed yearly) - Most Popular
Best for: Solo entrepreneurs, new stores, small businesses, and first-time Shopify users.
This is the plan most stores should start with.
What you get:
- Full online store
- Unlimited products
- Discount codes
- Blog
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Basic reports
- Up to 77% shipping discount
- 10 inventory locations
- 24/7 chat support
- In-person selling by phone or POS device
Card rates:
- 2.9% + 30¢ USD online
- 2.6% + 10¢ USD in person
- 2% for third-party payment providers
What you don't get (yet):
- Advanced reports
- Lower transaction fees
- Multiple staff accounts
👉 Perfect if: You're launching your first store or doing under steady monthly sales.
Pro tip: You can always upgrade later. Shopify makes this painless.
🖼️ Image: Example of a clean Shopify store homepage
Step 4: Shopify Grow – For Growing Stores
Price: $79 USD/month (billed yearly)
Best for: Small teams and stores that are already selling and want more data and better fees.
What you get (on top of Basic):
- Better reports and analytics
- Lower credit card fees
- 5 staff accounts
- Up to 88% shipping discount and insurance
- 10 inventory locations
- 24/7 chat support
- In-person selling by phone or POS device
Card rates:
- 2.7% + 30¢ USD online
- 2.5% + 10¢ USD in person
- 1% for third-party payment providers
👉 Upgrade to this plan if:
- You're getting consistent orders
- You want deeper sales insights
- You have a team helping manage the store (up to 5 people)
- Shipping discounts matter to your bottom line
Warning: Many stores upgrade too early. If you're not checking reports or don't have a team yet, you probably don't need this plan. 😅
🖼️ Image: Analytics dashboard with sales charts
Step 5: Advanced Shopify – For High-Volume Stores
Price: $299 USD/month (billed yearly)
Best for: Established stores shipping lots of orders and scaling their business.
What you get:
- Advanced reports and analytics
- Even lower transaction fees
- Up to 88% shipping discount, insurance, and third-party calculated rates
- 10 inventory locations
- Enhanced 24/7 chat support
- Local storefronts by market
- 15 staff accounts
- In-person selling by phone or POS device
Card rates:
- 2.5% + 30¢ USD online
- 2.4% + 10¢ USD in person
- 0.6% for third-party payment providers
👉 Worth it if:
- You ship a lot of orders
- Your average order value is high
- Shipping costs matter a lot to your business
- You need multiple staff accounts (up to 15)
- You're selling internationally and need local storefronts
If not, this plan may feel like paying for a gym membership you never use 🏋️♂️
🖼️ Image: Warehouse or order fulfillment scene
Bonus: Shopify Plus – Not for Beginners
Price: Starting at $2,300 USD/month (billed yearly on a 3-year term)
Best for: Large brands doing serious volume and more complex businesses.
We're talking:
- High traffic and sales volume
- Fully customizable checkout
- Priority 24/7 phone support
- Enterprise features
- Up to 88% shipping discount, insurance, and third-party calculated rates
- 200 inventory locations
- Local storefronts by market
- Unlimited staff accounts
- Up to 200 POS Pro locations
- Sell wholesale/B2B
- Competitive card rates for high-volume merchants
💰 Pricing starts at $2,300/month (with $399 for your first month as a promotion).
👉 If you're asking whether you need Shopify Plus… You probably don't (yet). This is for established businesses doing serious volume.
Step 6: Understanding Transaction Fees
No matter the plan, Shopify charges payment processing fees. The rates get better as you move up in plans.
Card rates by plan:
Basic:
- 2.9% + 30¢ USD online
- 2.6% + 10¢ USD in person
- 2% for third-party payment providers
Grow:
- 2.7% + 30¢ USD online
- 2.5% + 10¢ USD in person
- 1% for third-party payment providers
Advanced:
- 2.5% + 30¢ USD online
- 2.4% + 10¢ USD in person
- 0.6% for third-party payment providers
Plus:
- Competitive rates for high-volume merchants
Pro tip: Using Shopify Payments usually saves money and headaches. Third-party payment providers charge additional fees on top of their own rates.
Yearly discount: Shopify offers a 25% discount when you pay yearly for Basic, Grow, or Advanced plans. The prices shown above ($29, $79, $299) are the yearly rates. Monthly rates are higher.
🖼️ Image: Simple fee breakdown illustration
Step 7: Making Your Decision
So… which Shopify plan do you REALLY need?
Here's the honest answer:
- Just starting? → Basic Shopify ($29/month)
- Testing products or selling on social media? → Starter ($5/month)
- Growing with steady sales and a small team? → Grow ($79/month)
- High volume, complex shipping, multiple staff? → Advanced ($299/month)
- Enterprise brand with serious volume? → Shopify Plus ($2,300/month)
👉 90% of new stores should start with Basic.
No shame. No limitations. No regrets.
Remember: You can try Shopify free for 3 days, then enjoy $1/month for the first 3 months on Basic, Grow, or Advanced plans. This gives you time to test everything before committing to the full price.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- ❌ Choosing a higher plan "just in case"
- ❌ Paying for features you don't use
- ❌ Forgetting transaction fees (they add up!)
- ❌ Thinking the plan will fix bad design or bad products (it won't)
- ❌ Upgrading before you actually need the features
- ❌ Not taking advantage of the yearly discount (25% off) if you're committed long-term
- ❌ Missing out on the $1/month promotion for the first 3 months
Avoid these, and you're already ahead of many stores.
🖼️ Image: Simple checklist or warning icons
Final Thoughts
Your Shopify plan does not define your success. Your product, design, and user experience do.
Start simple. Launch fast. Upgrade when it actually makes sense.
If you're still unsure which plan fits your business, consider consulting with a Shopify expert who can help you make the right choice based on your specific needs.