Shopify Pricing 2026: What Does Shopify Actually Cost?

Introduction

In this guide I’m going to walk you through every cost involved in running a Shopify store in 2026. Not just the headline figures, but the transaction fees, the apps, the themes, and the things that tend to catch people out. By the end, you’ll have a realistic picture of what you’ll actually be paying, and how to keep costs down without compromising on your store.

I’m Anthony, a Freelance Shopify Designer based in Falmouth, Cornwall. Everything in this guide comes from real experience designing and optimising stores for UK brands, not just reading Shopify’s website.

The Shopify Plans: What You Get and What It Costs

Shopify currently offers five main plans. Here’s a clear breakdown of what each costs and who it’s designed for.

*Transaction fees only apply if you use a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments. More on that below.

You’ll save around 25% by paying annually rather than month-to-month, which is worth doing if you’re committed to the platform. For most small-to-medium UK stores, the Basic or Shopify plan is the right starting point. Don’t over-invest in a higher plan before your store needs it.

Which Plan Should You Actually Start On?

This is the question most guides avoid answering directly. Here’s my honest take based on what I see with clients:

• Just starting out: Begin on Basic. You get everything you need to launch and run a proper store. The reporting is limited but that’s fine when you’re still finding your feet. Upgrade when the revenue justifies it.
• Turning over £5,000 to £50,000 per month: The Shopify plan is worth it here. The lower transaction fees start to pay for the plan cost difference, and the professional reports become genuinely useful.
• Scaling fast or running multiple locations: Advanced is worth considering if you need detailed reporting, calculated shipping rates, or you’re managing a more complex operation.
• Enterprise level: Shopify Plus makes sense once you’re turning over £1 million or more annually, need custom checkout flows, or want B2B functionality built in. Read my full breakdown of Shopify vs Shopify Plus before making that call.

One thing I tell every client: don’t choose a plan based on features you might use one day. Start lean and upgrade when your store actually needs it.

Does Shopify Take a Cut of Your Sales?

This is one of the most searched questions about Shopify, and the answer is: it depends on how you take payments.

Shopify has its own payment processing system called Shopify Payments. If you use it, Shopify does not charge a transaction fee on top of your plan. You’ll pay a standard card processing rate, typically 1.5% to 2.2% plus 25p per transaction in the UK depending on your plan, but that’s just what payment processing costs. Every provider charges something similar.

If you prefer a third-party gateway such as Stripe, PayPal, or a buy now pay later provider, Shopify charges an additional transaction fee on top of whatever that gateway charges. That extra fee ranges from 0.6% to 2% depending on your plan.

The short answer: use Shopify Payments if you can. It simplifies your setup and eliminates the extra fee. For the vast majority of UK stores, it works perfectly well.

Shopify Payments vs Third-Party Gateways

Here’s a real-world example. On the Basic plan, turning over £20,000 a month:

• With Shopify Payments: you pay Shopify’s card rate (around 1.7% plus 25p per transaction). No additional Shopify fee on top.
• With Stripe: you pay Stripe’s rate (around 1.4% plus 20p for UK cards) plus Shopify’s 2% transaction fee. That’s roughly £400 extra per month.
• With PayPal: similar, PayPal’s processing fees plus Shopify’s transaction fee on top.

That £400 per month difference is significant. The main reason to choose a third-party gateway is if you need specific functionality, such as a particular BNPL provider, or a gateway Shopify Payments doesn’t support in your region. Otherwise, stick with Shopify Payments.

The Hidden Costs: What Shopify Doesn’t Lead With

The plan fee is the easy part. Here’s where the real budgeting conversation starts.

Shopify Themes

Shopify has a handful of free themes that are perfectly functional for getting started. Most growing brands eventually move to a paid theme for more design flexibility, which typically costs £150 to £350 as a one-off purchase.

That said, it’s worth thinking carefully about whether a premium theme genuinely solves your problem. Off-the-shelf themes have real limits, which I’ve written about in detail in Why Off-the-Shelf Shopify Themes Hold Stores Back. For many brands, a bespoke Shopify build is a far better long-term investment.

Apps

This is where Shopify store costs can creep up. Shopify’s strength is its app ecosystem, but apps add up quickly. Here’s what to budget for a typical growing store:

• Email marketing (Klaviyo): free up to 250 contacts, then from around £20 per month scaling with your list. See my full Klaviyo pricing breakdown.
• Reviews (Judge.me or Okendo): Judge.me has a solid free plan. Okendo starts from around £19 per month for more advanced features.
• Subscriptions (Recharge or Seal Subscriptions): from £0 to £20 per month depending on volume. If subscriptions are central to your model, it’s worth getting the setup right from day one.
• Upsells and bundles: from £0 to £30 per month depending on the app.
• Loyalty programmes: Smile.io and similar, from £0 to £50 per month.

A lean but effective app stack for a growing store typically adds £40 to £100 per month on top of your plan. Don’t install apps you don’t need. They slow your store down and the costs stack up quickly.

Your Domain

If you buy your domain through Shopify, expect to pay around £10 to £20 per year for a .co.uk. You can also connect an existing domain from another registrar, which Shopify makes easy. Check Shopify’s domain search if you’re still deciding on a name.

Design and Development

If you’re building the store yourself, this cost is your time. If you’re working with a specialist, it’s a one-off project fee. As a Shopify Expert with 20 years of design experience, my bespoke store builds start from a fixed project fee. You get a store designed specifically for your brand and customers, not a template everyone else is using.

The upfront cost of a well-designed store pays for itself quickly. A 1% improvement in conversion rate on a £20,000 per month store is an extra £200 per month. Conversion rate optimisation is always worth the investment.

What Does a Shopify Store Actually Cost Per Month?

Here’s a realistic monthly cost breakdown for a growing UK DTC brand doing £20,000 per month in revenue, comparing the Basic and Shopify plans.

The single biggest lever here is payment gateway choice. Using Shopify Payments instead of Stripe on the Basic plan saves around £400 per month at this revenue level, more than enough to cover a solid email marketing setup and still come out ahead.

On the Shopify plan with Shopify Payments, you get better reporting, lower card fees, and a platform that scales properly, for around £96 per month all-in. That’s genuinely good value.

Shopify vs Shopify Plus: When Does the Jump Make Sense?

Shopify Plus starts from around £2,000 per month and is built for high-volume enterprise stores. For most UK businesses, the standard Advanced plan is more than enough. The Plus jump is rarely worth it until you’re turning over £1 million or more annually and genuinely need custom checkout logic, B2B functionality, or a dedicated account manager.

I’ve covered this in detail in Shopify vs Shopify Plus: Which Is Right for Your Business?

Is Shopify Worth It? My Honest Take

After designing stores for clients ranging from independent Cornish brands to fast-growing DTC operations, my answer is consistently yes, but only if you approach it with a clear strategy.

Shopify’s real value isn’t in the pricing. It’s in the reliability, the ecosystem, the conversion-optimised checkout, and the speed at which you can build something genuinely world-class. Some of the biggest brands on the planet run on Shopify for good reason.

That said, the platform is only as good as the store built on it. I’ve seen businesses paying £65 per month and losing thousands every month to poor UX, slow page speeds, or a checkout that’s quietly losing customers. The monthly plan cost is almost irrelevant compared to what a well-built store can earn you.

Don’t just think about what Shopify costs. Think about what a well-built Shopify store can earn you. Getting it right from the start is almost always worth the investment.

Looking for a Shopify expert who knows the platform inside out and has happy clients to prove it? See how I design Shopify stores that convert.