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Shopify is one of the best e-commerce platforms known for its advanced features designed to meet the needs of online sellers and its variety of plans to meet varying budgets. Plans start as low as £19 per month (billed and paid annually), but increase quickly to £49 per month (billed and paid annually) for those that want ecommerce automations.
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But Shopify costs don’t end at its subscription price. You’ll also need a domain name (around £10 to £15 per year) and potentially a premium theme and premium plugins to maximise your online store’s functionalities.
Choosing the right Shopify plan will depend on your desired features, ideal price point and how much technical support you’ll need. We’ve created a Shopify pricing guide to help you make the best choice for your business.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is a leading e-commerce website builder that offers all the tools you need to launch and run an online store. It started as a stand-alone platform, allowing businesses to either integrate Shopify directly into their website or send buyers to a secure Shopify page to complete their transactions.
But it didn’t stay one-dimensional for long and has now branched into website hosting, along with supporting selling through other online marketplaces, including Amazon and eBay.
Shopify’s homepage tagline says, “Millions of the world’s most successful brands trust Shopify to sell, ship and process payments anywhere,” and it shares that more than 1.7 million businesses have made sales using Shopify websites.
It boasts a user-friendly interface designed to help businesses connect with customers, drive sales and manage operations. This is done by offering three different plans, which range from basic to advanced. Here’s a breakdown of each offering, along with their pricing.
Shopify plans and costs
Whether your business is small and brand-new or large and established, there is likely a Shopify plan that will match your needs and budget. It’s a highly scalable platform as well, so if you start on the basic end, it’s easy to adjust upwards as your business grows.
Shopify platform features that are standard in all three plan options include 24/7 support and a variety of tools for entrepreneurs, plus automatic updates to orders, products and inventory.
The higher tier plan you choose, the more additional features are offered, including everything from shipping discounts and labels to fraud analysis and language translation.
Shopify tiered pricing and plans [compared]
Shopify Starter – £5 per month
The Shopify Starter plan is offered as an alternative solution for businesses that sell products through social media, email, SMS, WhatsApp, or those who sell in person and need a point-of-sale (POS) processor. For this reason, it’s not the ideal solution for the average small business looking to build a professional online store.
The Shopify Starter plan offers a card reader for in-person purchases. Online sales go through the Shopify payment gateway, which charges a fee of 5% per transaction.
Shopify Basic – £19 per month (£25 per month, paid monthly)
The Shopify Basic plan offers more features than the Starter plan, making it a good choice for small businesses that are looking to build a comprehensive online store with omnichannel selling capabilities, including dropshipping. Basic includes an online store, with both a website and blog.
Users can list unlimited items, plus are able to sell in online marketplaces and on social media channels.
The Shopify Basic plan includes solutions for businesses interested in offering in-store transactions, such as card readers. These transactions have a 1.7% fee if made in person, while online sales go through the Shopify payment gateway, which charges a fee of 2% plus 25p per transaction.
Shopify Standard – £49 per month (£65 per month, paid monthly)
The standard Shopify plan includes everything you will get with Basic, plus performance reports, up to five staff accounts and gift card purchase support. You’ll also be able to take advantage of the abandoned cart recovery tool. This plan is the one you’ll need to begin any international selling, as it allows you to use country-specific domains and currency conversions.
Shopify fees are lower than the Basic plan, at 1.7% plus 25p per transaction. The in-person card transaction fee is 1.6%, with no additional surcharge.
Shopify Advanced – £259 per month (£344 per month, paid monthly)
The Shopify Advanced plan is designed for businesses that are selling large volumes both online and in person and need more advanced features. With unlimited storage capacity, up to 15 staff accounts and third-party calculated shipping rates, this plan is built for extensive traffic. Users will also have access to customised reporting options and e-commerce automation.
Shopify Advanced fees are the lowest of all the plans, with online fees running 1.5% plus 25p per transaction. The in-person transaction fee is also 1.5%, with the surcharge waived.
Additional Shopify costs
In addition to the cost of Shopify plans, users often pay for premium themes and add-ons. For example, while there are free Shopify themes, many businesses choose to purchase a premium theme that comes with the features, functionalities and design they want out of the gate.
The cost for premium themes hovers around £58.69* ($75) to £234.78* ($300) but can be cost-effective as they can save you a good amount of time as they make building a site easier and faster.
Here are some of the most common costs associated with using Shopify:
- Domain name: Must be purchased separately from a domain name registrar, such as Google Domains or GoDaddy for around £7.99 per year
- Premium theme: While it’s entirely possible to use a free Shopify theme, businesses often opt for a premium theme to make their look exactly how they want out of the gate. Premium themes range greatly from around £60* ($75) to £240.23* ($300)
- Premium apps and plugins: To expand the functionality of a Shopify store, businesses often pay to use premium plugins. Pricing ranges from plugin to plugin but varies from as little as £4* ($5) per month to hundreds of pounds
- Time: Of course, building your own online store will cost you time
- Development: In some instances, businesses may choose to hire a web developer or designer to assist with the creation of a Shopify site or to mitigate any issues that should arise.
*Currency conversion correct as of 15 April 2024.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is Shopify a good fit for small businesses?
If your business primarily relies on online sales, Shopify can be an excellent fit. The platform allows an unlimited number of products and makes it easy to track inventory.
Plus, the drag & drop website builder is very beginner-friendly, so you can create a professional-looking website yourself without needing to hire a designer.
Which Shopify plan should I choose?
The right Shopify plan depends on your goals, budget and required features. If you are a new entrepreneur and already have a website, try Shopify Lite.
If you are an established business owner with a large inventory, the Basic plan is a good choice. For high-volume online stores with many customers, the Shopify and Advanced Shopify plans will be best for keeping track of reports and continuing to scale.
Remember, you can always upgrade your plan as your needs change.
Can I try Shopify before committing?
Shopify offers a free, 14-day trial so that users can try out the platform before committing to a purchase.
Which e-commerce platform is best for dropshipping?
In 2017, Shopify acquired Oberlo, which is one of the most popular dropshipping apps.
Together, they work seamlessly to import products to your store for customers to purchase.
What is the difference between an e-commerce platform and e-commerce hosting?
An e-commerce platform gives you the tools to design an attractive-looking page or series of pages for customers to visit and learn more about you but that website has to be hosted somewhere, which is what an e-commerce website host does.
Websites are hosted on platforms that can support the traffic being sent to them.
