
Personally, I consider Shopify to be potentially the best ecommerce platform in the world.
It’s easy-to-use, scalable, flexible, and packed with tools that can help businesses grow.
But that doesn’t mean it’s the cheapest ecommerce solution out there.
There are definitely “more affordable” alternatives available – and many can offer similar features – but nothing I’ve found so far has been able to match Shopify in terms of overall value for money.
Still, the key to getting the best “return” on your investment is making sure you choose the right plan.
That’s what this guide to Shopify Pricing in Australia is here to help you do.
I’m going to walk you through all of the different plans available, what they offer Australian merchants, and who they’re best for.
Let’s dive in.
How Much Does Shopify Cost in Australia
If you’re looking for a quick-run down of Shopify Pricing in Australia – here’s what you need to know.
First, you can test Shopify for free for 3 days. Yes, that’s a pretty small “free trial” window – but currently, you can sign up for Shopify and enjoy the first three months for just $1 per month.
So if you want to experiment for a little longer – you’re in luck.
After your free trial (and 3 month offer) ends, you’ll have various “core” plans to choose from.
The main plans for Australian merchants are outlined here:
| Basic | Shopify | Advanced | Plus |
---|---|---|---|---|
Monthly fee | $56 | $149 | $575 | Starting at $2,300 per month |
Annual fee | $42 | $114 | $431 | Starting at $2,300 per month |
Transaction fees for third-party payment processors | 2% | 1% | 0.6% | Custom |
Shopify Pricing in Australia: Plan Details

So, which plan should you actually choose?
To answer that question, we need to dive a little deeper into what each plan offers.
Many give you access to a lot of the same benefits (such as the ability to sell unlimited products) – but higher tier plans have their own distinct advantages.
Shopify Basic: $42-$56 per month: For Solo Entrepreneurs
Shopify Basic is the plan I’d usually recommend to a solo entrepreneur testing the platform out for the first time.
You don’t get any “staff accounts” here, so it’s not really ideal if you have a team that needs to access your ecommerce platform.
However, you do get a fully-featured online store (With Shopify’s world-leading checkout), the option to sell unlimited products, access to collaborator accounts, omnichannel selling options, templates, themes – and more.
Basically, you’ll have everything you need to build an online store.
Other key features of this plan include:
- 10 inventory locations
- Basic analytics and reporting tools
- 24/7 live chat support
- Unlimited web hosting (with support for a custom domain)
- A free SSL certificate
- Access to Shopify POS Lite
- Unlimited contacts and customer segmentation tools
- Shopify Email, Forms, and Inbox
- Abandoned checkout recovery
- Shipping discounts of up to 44.2%
- Fraud analysis
- Shipping labels
- Gift cards and discount codes
- Automation features
- Shopify Marketplace Connect
- 3 Local Markets with Shopify Markets
One key point, the transaction fees for Shopify payments are the highest on this plan, and you’ll need to pay 2% transaction fees to use a third-party payment processor.
Who Should Choose Shopify Basic?
I’d recommend the Basic plan if you’re a small business owner just getting started in the ecommerce world.
It’s packed with features, and it’s incredible cost-effective, when you consider all of the advanced tools you’re getting, like localized markets for selling, and automatic cart recovery.
Shopify: $114-$149 per Month: Best for Small Teams
The “Shopify” plan is the first of Shopify’s mid-tier plans – although personally I think it’s more tailored to smaller businesses than mid-sized companies.
You’ll get five staff accounts here, so it’s great if you’re growing your team. Plus, you still get all of the core features of the Shopify Basic plan.
On top of that, you’ll benefit from:
- Lower third-party transaction fees (1%)
- Lower overall payment processing rates
- Additional shipping discounts
- Slightly more advanced reports
- Third party calculated shipping rates (for an extra fee)
The Shopify plan doesn’t really offer much more than the Shopify Basic plan on the surface.
It’s really just a good option if you need to delegate more tasks to other team members, or you want to cut the costs associated with payment processing.
Who Should Choose Shopify?
I’d suggest this plan if you’re running a small business with multiple (but less than five) staff members who need to access your platform.
It’ll also save you a little money on credit card and transaction fees as your business scales.
Shopify Advanced: $431-$575 per Month: Best for Scaling
Although Shopify’s “standard” plan is great for smaller companies, I’d advise skipping it entirely and choosing the Advanced plan if your business is really growing.
If you haven’t reached the “enterprise” level required for Shopify Plus yet, the Advanced plan will give you plenty of great extra features to explore, for a much lower price.
You’ll get 15 staff accounts (great for larger teams), and access to advanced 24/7 customer support.
Plus, on top of all the features included in the Shopify plan, you get:
- Much lower third-party processor fees (0.6%)
- Lower credit card fees
- A checkout with ten times the normal capacity
- Third-party calculated shipping rates included (no extra fee)
- Up to 2 times the API rates on selected APIs
- Full data access for custom apps
- The option to add extra markets to Shopify Markets
- Tools for calculating duties and import taxes
Ultimately, this plan really takes Shopify to the next level as your business grows.
Who Should Choose Shopify Advanced?
I’d recommend Shopify Advanced to Australian merchants ready to upgrade their growth.
If you’re beginning to hire new team members and expand into new markets, this plan will give you a lot of extra features, without the enterprise-level costs.
Shopify Plus: $2,300+ per Month: Best for Enterprises
Shopify Plus is by far the most expensive option among all of the Shopify Pricing options for Australian businesses.
However, it also offers the most features.
You get all of the features of the Shopify Advanced plan, plus:
- Unlimited staff accounts
- 200 inventory locations
- Priority support via phone or live chat
- Advanced analytics and custom reports
- 40x higher checkout capacity
- 20 locations included with Shopify Pro (or 200 with Shopify Payments)
- The most competitive payment rates
- 0.2% transaction fees for third-party payment gateways
- 25 headless storefronts
- Up to 10x higher API rate limits
- 50 international markets included with Shopify markets
- Checkout extensibility features
- B2B and wholesale features
- 9 free expansion stores
- Bot protection
- Shopify Launchpad
- Custom apps with Shopify Functions
… the list goes on. You can even create custom automation roles, enable automatic multicurrency and multi-language options, and access white-glove account management services.
Access to Shopify Plus Academy, and unique Shopify Plus app partners is also included.

The downside is that the pricing only starts at $2,300 per month – it might cost more depending on your needs.
Who Should Choose Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus is ideal for huge companies – true enterprise-level leaders who want access to endless customization and unlimited functionality.
It’s more expensive, but it’s definitely the most comprehensive ecommerce plan you can get.
What About Shopify Starter?
You might have noticed that I haven’t mentioned Shopify Starter so far. This is a basic Shopify plan available for $7 per month – but I don’t really recommend it to most sellers.
It doesn’t allow you to actually build an online store. You can only sell products through messaging apps and social media.
You really can’t build an actual brand with this plan – although you can add ecommerce functionality to an existing website.
Plus, you’ll have to pay higher transaction fees.
This plan might be an option for creators or part-time online sellers, but it’s not really a great option for serious sellers – so I’d probably leave it out of your comparison.
Other Shopify Fees to Keep In Mind

One thing to keep in mind when you’re choosing your Shopify plan – is that there may be additional fees to consider on top of your monthly or annual subscription payments.
For instance, you might need to budget for:
- Apps: Shopify’s app market is home to thousands of apps and add-ons. Some are free, but others come with extra monthly or one-time fees.
- Themes: Shopify offers a handful of free themes, but if you want a premium theme (or someone to design a theme for you), that’ll cost extra.
- Domain names: Shopify offers hosting, but it doesn’t give you a domain name for free (although you do get an SSL certificate).
- Transaction and card fees: Shopify Payments has card rates about on par with the industry standard. However, if you don’t use Shopify Payments, you’ll have to pay an extra transaction fee with every purchase.
Then there are fees for things like marketing support, employees, designers, developers, and Shopify Experts to think about.
Ultimately, if you want to keep costs low – my advice is to take advantage of Shopify Payments (to skip transaction fees), and start with a free theme initially.
Avoid adding extra apps to the mix if you’re not sure you need them, and remember that signing up for an annual plan will save you about 25% a year.
Shopify Pricing in Australia: Which Plan is Best?
Obviously, there are cheaper ecommerce solutions than Shopify for Australian merchants to choose from – but few offer the same functionality for the same cost.
I honestly think Shopify is fantastic value for money – all you really need to do is choose the right plan.
I’d recommend starting out with the Basic plan if you’re a beginner – then as your business starts to scale, consider upgrading to Shopify – or potentially Shopify Advanced.
When your business really starts exploding (earning millions per year), then you can think about moving to Shopify Plus.