Shopify Costs 2025: Plans and Prices Compared (Update: December 2, 2024)

1. What is Shopify?

Shopify is a leading, cloud-based e-commerce system. Thanks to its intuitive modular design, retailers can easily create and manage their own online store. Shopify handles hosting and provides a professional IT infrastructure.

Other reasons we recommend Shopify are its high level of user-friendliness, flexibility, and extensibility. Numerous brands are already recognizing these benefits: 4.8 million online stores in 175 countries are powered by Shopify.

Get started on Shopify - with our guides & checklists 🚀

2. What are the Shopify prices?

Shopify is based on a subscription model. This means that instead of a one-time, fixed price, you pay a monthly fee. This fee is made up of two parts: the cost of your chosen Shopify plan and a variable additional fee.

Shopify offers three basic plans at different prices: Basic (€36/month), Shopify (€105/month), and Advanced (€384/month). They include different features and therefore vary in their suitability for your business.

A variable fee is added to this base price. This fee depends on the sales of your online shop.

Here’s how you can get Shopify for less:

Are you already sure you'll be using Shopify long-term? Instead of paying the monthly fee, consider annual billing. This saves you 25% in the first year.

You can see an overview of Shopify's prices for monthly and annual billing in this graphic:

3. Shopify Pricing Plans Compared

No matter which pricing plan you choose, even the cheapest option, Shopify Basic, gives you comprehensive access to Shopify's most important features.

All Shopify plans include the following features:

• Online shop including website and blog
• unlimited creation of products
• 24/7 customer support
• Multichannel connection: marketplaces (e.g. Amazon, eBay) and social media (e.g. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok)
• 10 inventory locations (e.g. retail, warehouses, pop-up stores)
• Shopify POS Lite as a unified POS system for online & offline commerce
• Manual management of orders and customers
• Creating gift vouchers and discounts

The Shopify plans differ in their specific features. These include:

• Depth of reporting (more detailed analyses with increasing plans)
• Number of employees (Shopify Basic: 0, Shopify: 5, Advanced: 15)
• Possible automations
• Calculation of variable fees (decreasing transaction costs as plans increase)

You can find the complete comparison of Shopify Basic, Shopify and Shopify Advanced in this overview:

4. Variable Fees: Everything about transaction costs at Shopify

One factor you should especially consider when choosing a plan: variable fees. These vary depending on the payment provider you use, such as credit card or Klarna invoice. The following table provides an overview (as of January 17, 2024):

Our tip: If your online store already has a high volume of orders and sales, we often recommend switching from Shopify Basic to higher plans, such as Shopify or Shopify Advanced, due to the lower transaction costs.

Avoid additional transaction fees with Shopify Payments

In addition to the regular payment provider fees, Shopify charges its own transaction fees for each sale. These vary depending on the package purchased: 2% for Shopify Basic, 1% for Shopify, and 0.5% for Shopify Advanced.

However, these additional costs can be easily avoided: The solution is Shopify Payments. Shopify Payments is a built-in payment method from Shopify. It's included in every Shopify plan and is available to you immediately after setting up your store.

The advantage: Shopify Payments enables payments directly in the online shop, without the need to connect to external payment providers.

Shopify Payments supports the following payment methods:

• Debit and credit cards (e.g. VISA, MasterCard, American Express)
• Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay
• Klarna invoice
• SOFORT transfer

Our assessment: Shopify Payments is not only convenient but also affordable. Once you activate Shopify Payments, Shopify's own transaction fees for your online store are completely eliminated. This applies even if customers select other payment methods, such as PayPal, during checkout.

To save costs, we therefore recommend all Shopify merchants to use Shopify Payments. You can find the complete guide to Shopify Payments on our blog.

5. What other costs are there with Shopify?

The good news first: Besides the monthly base and transaction fees, Shopify doesn't have any hidden costs. However, you should consider the following factors when calculating your costs:

a. Voluntary domain costs:

Shopify provides all merchants with a free myshopify.com domain. You can purchase custom domains from Shopify itself or from various other providers for as little as €10-20 per year.

b. Paid apps:

The Shopify App Store offers you a selection of over 8,000 free and paid apps. Whether it's accounting, fulfillment, loyalty programs, or customer reviews – you'll find the right extension for every need.

Since there are so many different apps available and the choice depends largely on your personal needs, we can't give you a flat-rate price. It's best to consider in advance which extensions your online store needs and factor this into your cost calculation.

c. Paid themes:

Shopify offers 11 free themes that are not only great-looking but also powerful. They're ideal for creating a visually appealing online store.

However, many brands rely on premium themes to further customize their design and unlock additional features. These paid themes cost between €100 and €400.

6. Can I try Shopify for free?

Before you decide on a pricing model, Shopify offers a free trial period. You can try Shopify for the first three days without obligation and without having to enter a payment method. Create your own store and familiarize yourself with all the platform's features without restrictions.

If you select your payment method after the first few days, you can use Shopify's full features for three additional months for just €1 each. This gives you plenty of time to get to know Shopify and only decide on one of the pricing models after this period.

The Shopify trial period consists of:

• Try it for free for 3 days (without depositing a payment method)
• Deposit payment method and pay 1€ each for 3 additional months
• only then: select price plan

7. Which Shopify plan is best for me?

General things to consider (checklist)

Our checklist includes the most important questions you should ask yourself before choosing a Shopify plan.

• How much revenue do you generate per month?
• How many employees need access to your online shop?
• Do you need in-depth reporting and analysis?
• Which payment providers do your customers use most?
• Do you sell internationally or are you planning to internationalize in the near future?
• Do you need a lot of automation?

These questions will help you assess your needs and find the right plan. In the next sections, you'll find our personal recommendations for each plan.

a. Shopify Basic (€36/month)

Is the Basic Plan worth it for you?

We recommend Shopify Basic as the ideal entry-level plan. Perhaps you're a small to medium-sized business planning your first steps in e-commerce. You're just starting out and want to test whether online retail is right for you. Or you're considering expanding your brick-and-mortar store to include digital sales channels. Then Shopify Basic is the best choice for you.

With Shopify Basic, you have access to all the important Shopify features: You can store an unlimited number of products, up to 1,000 inventory locations, and integrate marketplaces such as Amazon or eBay.

Since the plan only provides two employee accounts, you shouldn't have a large team that requires access to the backend. Additionally, you get basic reporting of your store activities without advanced analytics on orders and sales.

b. Shopify (€105/month)

Is the standard plan worth it for you?

We recommend the Shopify plan to all merchants who already sell online or in-store and generate consistent monthly revenue. If your business is growing rapidly, this pricing tier is perfect for you.

This package includes all the features of the Basic Plan and more: With five access levels for employees and detailed reporting, the Shopify Plan is, in our opinion, the absolute all-rounder among the plans.

c. Shopify Advanced (€384/Mon)

Is the Advanced Plan worth it for you?

Shopify Advanced is our clear recommendation for large businesses. Its comprehensive features were specifically developed for merchants with high sales volumes and international customer bases. Furthermore, this Shopify plan has the lowest transaction fees.

It includes all the features of the Shopify plan plus additional powerful features. It supports up to 15 employee accounts and offers customized, fully customizable reporting.

Shopify Advanced also significantly improves the purchasing experience for international customers, for example, by calculating import taxes in real time. Third-party shipping costs can still be calculated during checkout.

In our view, Shopify Advanced is the ideal plan for merchants who expect a special level of customization, advanced reporting features, and efficient handling of international transactions.

8. Alternative plans: Starter, Retail and Shopify Plus

In addition to Basic, Shopify, and Advanced, Shopify offers three alternative options. However, these differ from the typical online store scenario.

a. Starter (5€/month)

The Starter Package is the smallest and most affordable, with monthly fees of €5. It doesn't include a dedicated online store and is therefore only suitable for retailers who want to sell through individual sales channels such as social media or their own blog.

b. Retail (79€/month)

Retail is specifically designed for retailers who focus on their in-store business but also want to establish a simple digital presence. This package combines the Starter Package with features from the Shopify POS app. Learn everything about Shopify POS in our overview.

c. Shopify Plus (from $2,500/month)

Shopify Plus is Shopify's enterprise solution. This package expands on the features of the Advanced plan to enable an even more customized online store.

Due to the high monthly costs starting at $2,500, this premium version of Shopify is only suitable for the largest and most important brands. Learn more about Shopify Plus in our guide.

9. FAQ

a. How can I change plans?

The big advantage of Shopify: Choosing a pricing plan is completely flexible and by no means final. Unlike other software solutions, Shopify allows you to easily and seamlessly switch between pricing tiers. You can adjust this yourself at any time in the settings.

Our tip: Choose your initial pricing plan without hesitation. If you find that you're missing certain features or a different package suits you better, you can switch quickly and easily.

b. Which Shopify plan is best for beginners?

Choosing the right pricing plan naturally depends on various individual factors. Our general recommendation is to start with the Basic pricing plan. This offers perfectly adequate functionality for beginners at the lowest price.

As your revenue grows, your team grows, and your business needs evolve, you can upgrade to a higher plan at any time. This ensures you get Shopify's comprehensive feature set right from the start at a minimal cost, while maintaining flexibility for future growth.

c. How do I cancel Shopify?

In the Shopify admin, you have the option to temporarily pause your store or deactivate it completely. After deactivation, your Shopify subscription will be canceled, and you will no longer have access to the admin area. If you want to log in again, you can add your payment method and reactivate your store.

d. Does Shopify have a minimum contract term?

Shopify doesn't have a set minimum subscription term. Depending on your preferences, you can choose between a monthly or annual subscription, and you can cancel Shopify at any time before the next billing period.

Conclusion

At Tante-E, we believe Shopify offers the right solution for every retailer, whether small or large. All three Shopify plans are suitable for building your online store. However, they differ in their monthly prices, specific features (employee accounts, reporting, automation, internationalization), and transaction fees.

• Basic (€36/month): Our recommendation for beginners
• Shopify (€105/month): For growing businesses with advanced needs.
• Advanced (€384/month): For large companies with extensive requirements.

For the largest and most important brands, Shopify also offers the enterprise solution Shopify Plus ($2,500/month).

In our opinion, Shopify's biggest advantage is its flexibility: You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time. Shopify grows with your business and adapts to your needs.

You can also take advantage of the free trial to get a first impression of Shopify and decide if it's a good fit for you. If you're already committed to using Shopify long-term, you can save up to 25% by choosing an annual subscription. If you activate the integrated payment gateway, Shopify Payments, you can reduce your costs even further.