Which Shopify plan costs less?

What it computes

Compare the estimated cost of Basic, Grow and Advanced for a store in United States. The calculator keeps your order volume and average customer payment constant across all three plans. It includes subscriptions, processing, applicable Shopify surcharges, apps and a monthly allocation for a one-off theme purchase.

The result is a cost comparison, not a check of staff access, reporting or other plan features. Read How to start a Shopify store: a complete guide alongside the figures. The How much does Shopify cost? guide provides further context for setting a store budget.

How it works

Monthly customer payments equal the average payment multiplied by your order count. Use payments after discounts, including shipping and collected tax. These receipts are not profit: the calculator does not subtract product costs or tax you must remit.

For each plan, processing equals orders multiplied by the percentage-based charge plus the fixed payment fee. The model assumes one payment per order. Shopify's US pricing page, checked on 14 September 2026, supplies the rates. Basic, Grow and Advanced monthly subscriptions are 39.00 USD, 105.00 USD, 399.00 USD, respectively. Annual billing uses monthly equivalents of 29.00 USD, 79.00 USD, 299.00 USD, prepaid for twelve months.

Standard online card percentages are 2.9%, 2.7%, 2.5%, respectively, each plus 0.30 USD. An external gateway uses the provider fees you enter, plus Shopify surcharges of 2%, 1%, 0.6%. If the payment qualifies for an exemption, only the Shopify surcharge disappears. Confirm eligibility for the method; provider fees remain payable.

Add subscriptions and transaction fees to your app budget and the theme cost divided by your chosen budgeting months. The theme purchase remains an upfront expense. Spreading it is a planning choice, not installment billing or a tax deduction. Because these entered costs are identical across plans, they do not change the ranking.

Break-even divides a subscription difference by the per-order saving and converts it into monthly payment volume at your basket size. A dash means there is no positive crossover through fee savings. Compare all three totals: a pairwise crossover does not prove either plan is cheapest overall.

Examples

These examples use an average payment of 60 USD, Shopify Payments, a 20 USD monthly app budget and a hypothetical 240 USD theme spread over twelve months. The shared monthly allocation is 40 USD. App and theme amounts are user examples, not price quotes.

With 50 orders and monthly billing, the monthly totals are 181.00 USD for Basic, 241.00 USD for Grow and 529.00 USD for Advanced. Basic has the lowest cost. Basic and Grow reach equal cost at 33,000.00 USD in monthly customer payments.

With 1,000 orders and monthly billing, the monthly totals are 2,119.00 USD for Basic, 2,065.00 USD for Grow and 2,239.00 USD for Advanced. Grow has the lowest cost.

With 1,000 orders and annual billing, the monthly totals are 2,109.00 USD for Basic, 2,039.00 USD for Grow and 2,139.00 USD for Advanced. Grow has the lowest cost. The Grow subscription payment is 948.00 USD upfront for the year. Its crossover with Basic is 25,000.00 USD in monthly payments.

Limits

The estimate holds average basket size and payment method constant. It excludes promotions, Plus, negotiated rates, international cards, Amex, in-person payments, refunds, disputes, currency conversion and taxes on services. Provider rounding and separate app billing cycles can change actual charges. Annual equivalents and theme allocations describe a budget; they do not predict the amount or timing of your next invoice.