The Ultimate Guide to Shopify Pricing: Which Plan to Choose in 2025

For well over a decade, I’ve helped other ecommerce businesses grow, as a consultant, and a mentor.

During that time, I’ve experimented with countless ecommerce platforms, but Shopify is the one I keep coming back to – and recommending to my clients.

As you’re about to see in my guide to Shopify pricing – it’s not the most “affordable” platform out there – there are definitely cheaper tools with similar features.

But Shopify offers a unique blend of simplicity, versatility, and scalability you just can’t get anywhere else.

The key to getting the most out of this platform is choosing the plan that gives you the most value. That doesn’t necessarily mean picking the plan with the most features – it means choosing the package specifically designed to support your business.

Here’s my behind-the-scenes guide to Shopify pricing.

How Much Does Shopify Cost?

If you’re not looking for advice, and just want a quick run-down of how much Shopify actually costs, here’s what you need to know.

First, you can use Shopify for free for three days before committing to a paid plan. I know – that’s not the most generous free trial period, but on the plus side, you can currently continue to use Shopify for 3 months for just $1 per month after that. This allows more than enough time to setup and launh your store, at minimal costs.

Beyond that, Shopify has three central plans, as well as a couple of plans designed for specific use cases (like the Enterprise-level Shopify Plus plan, and the Starter plan).

Here’s a quick run-down of the pricing for each of the main plans:

Shopify Pricing Plans: The Details, and Which to Pick

There are other fees to consider for Shopify (more on those later), but the first thing you’ll need to figure out is which plan you’re going to choose.

Shopify Basic: $39 per month (Best for Small Businesses)

Shopify’s Basic plan is the first plan I recommend to most small businesses. By small business – I’m talking about companies with just a couple of primary “team members”, since you don’t get a lot of staff accounts on this plan.

On the plus side, the Basic plan does include everything you need to build an effective store. You can sell unlimited products, access a world-class checkout experience, and create up to 10 inventory locations.

Plus, there are standard analytics available (though advanced reporting requires a more expensive plan).

The Basic plan also includes some great features that set it apart from other comparable ecommerce packages, such as:

• Up to 77% shipping discounts
• 24/7 support (through live chat and email)
• Localized features for site translation
• Multichannel selling options (for instance, you can sell through social media apps, and marketplaces like Amazon)
• Discount codes
• Abandoned cart recovery

Plus, there are automation options for simple workflows, and a handy tax feature which helps you calculate taxes and generate reports.

Who I’d Recommend the Shopify Basic Plan For

For me, the Basic plan is the “no-brainer” option for smaller business owners just getting started with a new ecommerce store.

If you’re selling a range of products, and you’re ready to start building a brand (something you can’t do with the Starter plan), Shopify Basic is a great choice.

Shopify: $105 per Month: Best for Mid-Sized Businesses

The confusingly named “Shopify” plan is ideal for mid-sized and established businesses who want to take things to the next level.

It gives you a few distinct advantages over the Basic plan, such as higher shipping discounts (up to 88%), and shipping insurance – if you’re using Shopify Payments.

Plus, you get up to 5 staff accounts, so you can get more people involved in managing and running your store.

I also think the professional reports are a lot better for gaining insights into the strategies you can use to grow profits and revenue.

Although, to be honest, if you want advanced analytics, you should probably consider the next plan up (more on that in a moment).

Who I’d Recommend the Shopify Plan For

The Shopify plan is my top pick for scaling businesses – those that are hiring new managers and C-level executives to help them handle growth.

The card rates and transaction fees (if you’re using a third-party payment processor) are cheaper too, so you’ll save more as you sell more.

Shopify Advanced: $399 per month: Best for Larger Businesses

If your company has grown a decent amount since you launched online – but you haven’t reached “Enterprise” level yet, Shopify Advanced is your best bet.

This plan comes with some pretty impressive extra features you won’t get on cheaper plans – like the custom reporting and analytics capabilities, which are great for scaling companies.

You also get better “enhanced” customer support from the Shopify team – although I think their customer support is great regardless of what plan you have.

Plus, you can create up to 15 staff accounts, which makes it a lot easier to grow your team internally.

On top of that, you’ll also be able to experiment with third-party calculated shipping rates (which is great for giving customers some transparency in the checkout).

The checkout also supports 10 times the capacity of sales – so if you sell a lot of products at once, you’ll have peace of mind.

I also really like the fact that you can add additional “localized markets” to the Advanced plan – which is perfect if you’re expanding into new countries.

Who I’d Recommend the Shopify Advanced Plan For

Ultimately, Advanced is the top plan for companies who are really seeing some serious growth. You’re not going to need all the functionality this plan offers if you’re still in the early stages of developing your brand.

However, if you’re selling thousands of products each month, Advanced will give you the extra scalability you need.

What about Shopify Starter and Shopify Plus?

I mentioned above that Shopify’s “core” plans aren’t the only options available to sellers. There are a couple of other options worth considering too.

Shopify Starter: $5 per Month: For Creators and Side Hustles

I don’t recommend Starter to most sellers, because it doesn’t actually allow you to create an online store.

It really just gives you the option to sell across messaging apps and social media – and there are cheaper options out there that can do something similar.

However, if you’re looking for a relatively cheap way to test out a new side hustle, or sell products as a creator or influencer, then Shopify Starter could be a good option.

At least you get some decent sales analytics tools, order management options, and access to Shopify apps.

Shopify Plus: From $2,300: For Large Enterprises

Shopify Plus is the ecommerce platform that companies like Sony use – so you can imagine the kind of company that benefits from this plan.

It’s really only intended for extremely successful companies – those making millions in profits per year.

If you’re really raking in the cash with your business, Shopify Plus has some great extra benefits, like custom reports and analytics, 200 inventory locations, localized global selling across 50 markets, and unlimited staff accounts.

You also get 200 POS Pro locations with Shopify Payments, access to wholesale and B2B selling options, and a custom checkout with 40x capacity.

The card rates are cheaper too – with competitive rates that help you to maintain more of the profits from each sale – even if you use a third-party payment processor.

Other Shopify Fees to Consider

One of the reasons Shopify doesn’t always seem like great value for money is that it’s “monthly plans” aren’t the only thing you have to worry about from a budget perspective. There are other fees to consider for things like:

• Premium templates: There are only 13 free templates available on Shopify, and premium themes can range from $100 to $500 each.
• Apps: Shopify offers thousands of apps and integrations to choose from – but these can come with extra monthly fees and set-up costs too.
• Domain name: Shopify doesn’t include a free domain name in its plans, so you’ll have to shell out for a custom URL too.
• Transaction and credit card fees: Shopify has relatively decent credit card rates, but if you’re not using Shopify Payments, you’ll need to pay extra transaction fees on top of those card rates every time you accept a payment.

Shopify’s Point of Sale (POS) system is designed to empower businesses to sell seamlessly across in-person and online channels. It’s a crucial tool for anyone running a brick-and-mortar store, pop-up shop, or hybrid ecommerce operation. But like the Shopify platform itself, POS comes with its own pricing considerations.

Here’s a breakdown of Shopify POS pricing, what you get for your money, and which plan might be the best fit for your business.

Shopify POS Pricing Plans

Shopify offers two main POS plans: POS Lite (included with all Shopify subscriptions) and POS Pro (an advanced solution available for an additional monthly fee). Let’s dive into the details:

POS Lite: Included with All Shopify Plans

POS Lite is Shopify’s baseline offering, included with every Shopify plan. It’s a great starting point for businesses with minimal in-person sales needs. With Lite, you can:

• Accept in-person payments through Shopify Payments.
• Access basic inventory tracking tools to keep tabs on stock levels.
• Generate simple reports to monitor sales trends.

However, POS Lite is fairly limited. For example, it doesn’t include advanced features like smart inventory management, robust analytics, or staff-level permissions.

Who POS Lite is Best For:
POS Lite is ideal for smaller businesses, occasional in-person sellers, or ecommerce-first companies that only need a simple solution for pop-up shops or events.

POS Pro: $89 Per Location

POS Pro unlocks advanced features tailored for businesses with significant in-person sales operations. It’s designed to scale with your business and includes features like:

• Advanced Reporting: Dive deeper into sales data with granular analytics and custom reports.
• Smart Inventory Management: Get low-stock alerts, forecast demand, and manage inventory across multiple locations.
• Staff Permissions: Assign unique roles and permissions to team members.
• Omnichannel Selling: Offer features like buy-online-pickup-in-store (BOPIS), curbside pickup, and local delivery.
• Custom Checkout Options: Streamline the checkout process with flexible settings.

Who POS Pro is Best For:
POS Pro is a must-have for larger retailers, businesses with multiple physical locations, or those aiming for a seamless omnichannel strategy. The added functionality helps streamline operations and improve the customer experience.

POS Hardware Costs to Consider

While the software itself is vital, you’ll also need hardware to run Shopify POS. The exact costs depend on your setup, but Shopify offers hardware bundles and individual components like:

• Card Readers: $49+
• iPad Stands: $99+
• Receipt Printers: $229+
• Cash Drawers: $139+

If you’re just starting out, Shopify’s POS Go device (at $399) is an all-in-one handheld option that combines payment processing, inventory management, and customer insights.

Notably, there are a few ways you can save money with Shopify too. My top tip is to use Shopify Payments to skip the transaction fees and take advantage of preferred credit card rates.

You can also use a free theme to keep costs low (at least initially), such as the Crave theme. Plus, signing up for an annual plan will save you 25% per year.

Shopify Pricing: Which Plan Should You Choose

As you can see, Shopify isn’t the cheapest ecommerce platform out there – but I still think it’s exceptional value for money when you consider all the functionality you get.

The best way to make sure you’re getting the most from your money, is to choose the right plan.

Unless you already have an established ecommerce store and you’re migrating to Shopify, I’d recommend starting with the Basic plan for $29 per month (paid annually), and using Shopify Payments to keep costs low.

From there, you can upgrade as necessary, when you feel like you need extra functionality.