Shopify is the leading ecommerce platform, but deciding on the right plan for your online store can get confusing.
Should you go with Shopify's Basic plan or splurge on the pricier Advanced plan? Don't sweat it - we'll break down Shopify's pricing, fees, and features so you can easily choose the perfect plan to grow your business.
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What is Shopify?
Shopify is an online store builder that provides an easy-to-use platform for business owners to set up an online store. Shopify makes it easy to track stock, carry out transactions, and handle orders and it is the best online platform currently available for online merchants.
Businesses come in all different shapes and sizes and Shopify has created multiple plans to meet the different needs of business owners. In this article, we will walk through all of these plans, what they have to offer, what the costs are, and discover which one is best for your business.
The different plans Shopify has to offer
Shopify Starter
Shopify Starter is the cheapest plan that Shopify has to offer, coming in at an incredibly low $5/month. The catch? The Shopify Starter plan doesn't come with a customizable Shopify store, instead, this plan gives you the tools to sell products through social media and messaging apps.
What's included in Shopify Starter
As well as giving you the ability to sell products through social media and messaging apps, The Shopify Starter plan also allows you to sell in-person using Shopify POS Lite and online using an existing website. The starter plan also gives you access to a Shopify Admin area that allows you to issue gift cards, view reports, and split bills.
Cons of Shopify Starter
The downside to Shopify Starter is the lack of features that are offered. The catch to the low price of entry is that you're unable to build a Shopify website and the only way to sell online is either through social media or your own non-Shopify website.
Transaction fees and Credit card fees for Shopify Starter
On credit card transactions you will be charged 2.4% per transaction. However, you can reduce this to 2% if you choose to use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify payments.
Who is Shopify Starter best for?
The Shopify Starter plan is best for a business that gets most of its sales from social media.
Basic Shopify
At $19/month, the Basic Shopify plan is the lowest cost full plan. This plan provides you with everything you need to create your store, ship products, and process payments.
This plan provides the essentials that can support the growth of your store.
What's included in Basic Shopify
Basic Shopify comes with a whole host of good features to support your business. This includes a customizable store, 2 staff accounts, unlimited product listings, abandoned cart recovery emails, discount codes, and 24/7 customer support.
This plan also allows you to manage physical stores in multiple locations.
Cons of Basic Shopify
Being the lowest of the Shopify plans, the Basic plan has a very small number of users and only provides basic reporting.
Transaction fees and Credit card fees for Basic Shopify
For all online purchases, the transaction fees are 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. For physical purchases, the transaction fees are 2.7% per transaction. Just like the Shopify Starter plan, if you use a third-party payment provider you can reduce the transaction fee to 2% per transaction.
Who is Basic Shopify best for?
The Basic Shopify plan is perfect for small business owners and or new businesses looking to grow. This is because they provide great features at an affordable price.
Standard Shopify
The Standard Shopify plan is $52/month and is a slightly larger version of the Basic Shopify plan. This means that it comes with additional users and professional reports compared to the basic reports offered in the Basic plan.
What's included in Standard Shopify
Being an expansion of the Basic Shopify plan, the Standard plan has all of the same great features, such as a customizable store, unlimited product listings, and abandoned cart recovery emails. On top of this, the Standard plan includes 5 staff accounts (compared to Basic's 2) and professional reporting over basic reporting.
Cons of Standard Shopify
Being the step up from the Basic plan, you'd expect there to be a noticeable step up but sadly this plan is an expansion plan with minimal benefits compared to the basic. Unless you're expanding your team usage, the Basic plan could most likely cover your needs.
Transaction fees and Credit card fees for Standard Shopify
Shopify credit card fees for the Standard plan are 2.6% + $0.30 per transaction. For in-person card transactions, the fee is 2.5% per transaction. If you decide to use a third party payment provider, Shopify will charge an additional 1% fee per transaction.
Who is Standard Shopify best for?
The Standard Shopify plan is best for businesses that are looking to expand their business by bringing on more staff members and improving their information gathering (reporting).
Advanced Shopify
The Advanced Shopify plan is a step up when it comes to Shopify subscriptions. With the advanced plan, not only do you gain access to everything from custom reporting to minimal credit card fees, but you also get an unlimited amount of everything, such as unlimited storage and unlimited product listings.
What's included in Advanced Shopify
This plan comes with all the same features as the Basic + Standard Shopify plans as well as third-party shipping rate calculations, advanced reporting, 15 staff accounts and more.
Cons of Advanced Shopify
At $399/month, the Advanced plan has a high cost. For this reason, it's only recommended to purchase this plan if you're going to maximise the features and your business is bringing in high revenue.
Transaction fees and Credit card fees for Advanced Shopify
A big benefit of this plan is the Shopify credit card fees and transaction fees. Shopify charges 2.4% + $0.30 per online credit card transaction, and for in-person transactions, there is a 2.4% fee per transaction. If you decide to go with a third party payment provider, Shopify adds a per-transaction fee of 0.5%.
Who is Advanced Shopify best for?
Due to the pricing and the features, the Advanced Shopify plan is best for medium to large businesses that are looking to maximize their store management.
Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus is Shopify's largest plan and is designed specifically for high-volume businesses. Shopify Plus is a customizable subscription that covers everything in Advanced Shopify plus a ton more features, including customizable shipping processes, automation, and multiple currency support. This plan starts at $2,000/month and is varied based on the needs of the business.
What's included in Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus provides businesses with additional security, automation, third-party software integrations, a dedicated support manager, a launch manager, a merchant success manager, and other personalized support services. Shopify Plus also allows stores to process 10,000 orders in 1 minute, and manage multiple stores all from one location.
Cons of Shopify Plus
The major drawback to the Shopify Plus plan is the barrier to entry. At a minimum of $2,000/month, this plan will not be financially beneficial for many businesses.
Transaction fees and Credit card fees for Shopify Plus
As Shopify Plus is a completely customizable plan that is built around the specific needs of the business, there is no noted figure for Shopify's credit card fees or transaction fees.
Who is Shopify Plus best for?
Shopify Plus is an all-in-one platform for extremely high-volume businesses.
Which Shopify plan does my business need?
Whilst the customization available for Shopify Plus might look attractive, most businesses don't need to stretch their budget that much. The Basic Shopify Plan is great bang for your buck, covering all of the necessary features at an affordable price. This plan is best suited to you if you have a small business.
The Advanced Shopify plan is a great next step and perfect for medium to large businesses, with an improvement in features, transaction fees, and credit card fees. If you're looking to take a step up, we suggest skipping the Standard Shopify and going straight for the Advanced Shopify plan.
