Shopify offers several plans to meet different business needs, each with varying costs and features.
Comparison of different Shopify plans
- Shopify Lite – $9 per month: This plan is suitable for businesses that want to add a buy button to their existing website, or those that sell in person and need a point of sale (POS) processor. This plan offers a card reader for in-person purchases at a fee of 2.7%. Online sales go through the Shopify payment gateway, which charges a fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. Does not include the ability to build an online store.
- Shopify Basic – $39 per month ($29 per month, paid annually): This plan offers more features than the Lite plan, making it a good choice for small businesses that are building a full online store with omni-channel selling capabilities, including dropshipping.
The basics include an online store, with a website and blog.
In this plan you can list unlimited products, in addition to integrations capable of selling on online marketplaces and social media channels.
Online purchases have a transaction fee of 2.9% plus 30 cents, while in-person purchases have a fee of 2.7%.
- Shopify Standard – $105 per month ($79 per month, paid annually): This plan includes everything you'll get with Basic, plus performance reporting, up to five employee accounts, and support for purchasing gift cards.
You can also take advantage of the abandoned cart recovery tool.
This plan is what you'll need to start selling internationally, as it allows you to use country-specific domains and currency conversions.
Shopify's fees are lower than the Basic plan, at 2.6% plus 30 cents per transaction.
The in-person card transaction fee is also 2.5%, without additional surcharge.
- Shopify Advanced – $399 per month ($299 per month, paid annually): This plan is aimed at companies that sell large volumes both online and in person and need more advanced features.
With unlimited storage capacity, up to 15 employee accounts, and third-party calculated shipping rates, this plan is built for extensive traffic.
Employees will also have access to custom reporting options and e-commerce automation.
Shopify Advanced's fees are the lowest of all plans, with online fees running at 2.4% plus 30 cents per transaction. The in-person transaction fee is also only 2.4%.
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 and design they want from the start.
Cost of Shopify Themes
The cost for premium themes fluctuates around 75 to 300 dollars, but it can be cost-effective as it can save a significant amount of time as it makes building a website easier and faster. To expand the functionality of a Shopify store, companies often pay to use premium plugins. The price varies from plugin to plugin, but ranges from as little as 5 dollars per month to hundreds of dollars.
Remember, you can always upgrade your plan as your needs change. Shopify also offers a 14-day free trial so users can try out the platform before committing to a purchase.
Additionally, it's worth noting that storage and bandwidth costs are unlimited on all plans, meaning you can upload as many product images, detailed descriptions, and any other essential media as you want.
Each plan also offers a free SSL certificate, ensuring customer data remains secure and encrypted, strengthening the store's reliability.
Shopify plans are highly scalable, meaning if you start at the basic end, it's easy to adjust upwards as your business grows. Plus, Shopify offers 24/7 support and a variety of tools for entrepreneurs, as well as automatic updates for orders, products, and inventory.
What is the best Shopify plan for you?
In short, choosing the right Shopify plan will depend on your specific business needs.
For a small business that sells small volumes of products through social media posts, the Lite plan may be a good choice.
However, a large company that sells large volumes each month may find that the Advanced plan suits its needs better.
Remember, you can always change your subscription if you find it's not the right choice, and scale up to a higher plan as your business grows.