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Shopify Plans & Pricing 2026: Basic vs Grow vs Advanced vs Plus

14 min read
28 Jul, 2026

For most stores in 2026, Shopify Basic at $29/month on annual billing is the right start. Grow at $79/month annual becomes the right pick around $8,000-$10,000 in monthly sales, when lower card fees pay back the price jump. Advanced at $299/month annual is overkill until $50,000+/month. Plus starts at $2,300/month and only fits past $2M annual revenue.

AI Summary

Shopify 2026 pricing: Starter $5, Basic $39/mo ($29 annual), Grow $105/mo ($79 annual, renamed from 'Shopify' plan), Advanced $399/mo ($299 annual), Plus $2,300+/mo. Annual saves 25%. Transaction fees 2.9% down to ~2.4% by tier. Third-party gateway penalty 2% on Basic, 1% Grow, 0.6% Advanced. First 3 months at $1/month after 3-day free trial.

Shopify plans and pricing at a glance

Shopify has five plans in 2026: Starter, Basic, Grow, Advanced, and Plus. The three core plans (Basic, Grow, Advanced) all save 25% with annual billing. Here's what each costs and who each fits.

PlanMonthly billingAnnual billingBest for
Starter$5/month$5/monthSelling via social and messaging — no full storefront
Basic$39/month$29/monthNew stores under $8,000/month revenue
Grow$105/month$79/monthStores $8,000-$50,000/month revenue
Advanced$399/month$299/monthStores $50,000-$500,000/month revenue
Plus$2,300+/month$2,300+/month (3-yr term)Enterprise stores past $2M annual revenue

All plans include unlimited products, 24/7 support, SSL, access to the Shopify App Store, and abandoned cart recovery (Grow and up). New stores get a 3-day free trial plus 3 months at $1/month on Basic, Grow, or Advanced.

Shopify changes pricing periodically. Confirm current numbers on shopify.com/pricing before you commit.

The Starter plan ($5/month) — what it actually is

The Starter plan is $5/month and includes a checkout link, product pages, and integration with social and messaging channels. It does not include a full online storefront — there is no theme, no collection pages, no blog, no full ecommerce site.

Starter fits: side hustlers selling through Instagram, TikTok, or WhatsApp who need a checkout link. Content creators with an existing audience selling limited product runs. Businesses testing an idea before committing to a full storefront.

Starter does not fit: anyone who needs a real website that ranks in Google, anyone who wants organic search traffic, or anyone building a brand past a first-100-customers pilot. If any of these describes you, skip Starter and go to Basic. The $34/month difference pays back in the first month through search traffic that a checkout link cannot capture.

Shopify Basic ($29-$39/month) — where most stores start

Basic costs $39/month billed monthly, or $29/month on annual billing (billed as $348 upfront). It's the cheapest plan that includes a full online storefront, a real theme, collection pages, blog, and everything needed to sell across web, social, and marketplaces.

What Basic includes

Full online store with unlimited products. One staff account (owner only — Basic lost multi-staff support in the 2024-2025 restructure). 24/7 chat and email support. Abandoned cart recovery. Fraud analysis. Manual order creation. Discount codes.

What Basic costs on top of the subscription

Shopify Payments transaction fees: 2.9% + 30¢ per online sale. If you use a third-party payment gateway (PayPal, Stripe outside Shopify Payments) instead of Shopify Payments, add a 2% platform surcharge. That surcharge is Shopify's single biggest hidden cost on Basic — a store doing $30,000/month using PayPal alone loses $600/month to it.

Who Basic fits

New stores. Stores with monthly revenue under $8,000-$10,000. Stores where the owner is the only person accessing the admin. Test stores. Basic covers 60-70% of new Shopify merchants and stays viable until sales volume makes Grow's lower transaction fees pay back the price jump.

Shopify Grow ($79-$105/month) — the growth plan (formerly "Shopify")

Grow costs $105/month monthly or $79/month annual (billed as $948 upfront). Shopify renamed the "Shopify" plan to Grow in 2026 because "Basic, Shopify, Advanced" was confusing anyone who wasn't already confused. Same plan, new name.

What Grow adds over Basic

Five staff accounts. Professional reports. Lower transaction fees: 2.7% + 30¢ per online sale (vs 2.9% on Basic). Reduced third-party gateway penalty: 1% instead of 2%. USPS Priority Mail Cubic pricing.

The financial break-even for upgrading to Grow

Grow costs $50/month more than Basic on annual billing ($79 vs $29). The 0.2% transaction fee reduction saves $2 per $1,000 in sales. So the plan upgrade pays for itself once monthly sales cross about $25,000 through Shopify Payments — or much sooner if you use a third-party payment gateway (where the 1% penalty reduction alone is worth $10 per $1,000 in sales).

Who Grow fits

Stores past $8,000-$10,000 in monthly revenue. Stores with 2-5 staff members. Stores using PayPal or Stripe outside Shopify Payments (where the 1% gateway penalty reduction saves real money). Most stores that outgrow Basic upgrade to Grow, not Advanced.

Shopify Advanced ($299-$399/month) — when it's actually worth it

Advanced costs $399/month monthly or $299/month annual (billed as $3,588 upfront). It's the last tier before Plus and adds enterprise-adjacent features to the regular Shopify plans.

What Advanced adds over Grow

15 staff accounts. Advanced reporting and analytics with custom reports. Third-party calculated shipping rates (real-time carrier rates at checkout). Lower transaction fees: 2.5% + 30¢ per online sale. Reduced third-party gateway penalty: 0.6% instead of 1%.

The financial break-even for upgrading to Advanced

Advanced costs $220/month more than Grow on annual billing ($299 vs $79). The 0.2% transaction fee reduction saves $2 per $1,000 in sales. Break-even for the plan upgrade is around $110,000 in monthly Shopify Payments sales. On third-party gateways, the 0.4% penalty reduction moves break-even to about $55,000/month.

Who Advanced fits

Stores past $50,000/month in revenue with active use of custom reports. Stores that need real-time carrier shipping rates at checkout (important for heavy or dimensional-weight products). Stores with 6-15 staff members. Stores about to migrate to Plus — Advanced is a reasonable stepping stone during the 3-6 month evaluation.

Who Advanced doesn't fit

Stores that upgrade to Advanced "for the reports" without using them. If the built-in Grow reports and a $50/month analytics app (Peel, Triple Whale, Polar) cover your needs, staying on Grow is cheaper.

Shopify Plus ($2,300+/month) — the enterprise plan

Shopify Plus starts at $2,300/month on a 3-year term or $2,500/month on a 1-year term as of 2026. Very high-volume stores negotiate variable platform fees on top — Plus pricing past a certain revenue tier becomes revenue-share rather than flat subscription.

What Plus adds over Advanced

Access to Shopify Functions (custom checkout logic, discounts, delivery, and payment customization). Checkout Extensibility. Shopify Flow enterprise automation. B2B on Shopify (companies, price lists, purchase orders). Wholesale channel. Shopify Scripts (legacy, being phased out). Multi-store setup — up to 10 storefronts per account for multi-region or multi-brand operations. Dedicated launch engineer and merchant success manager. Reduced Shopify Payments fees (typically 2.15-2.45%). Third-party gateway penalty reduced to 0.15% or waived entirely at negotiated tiers.

The financial break-even for upgrading to Plus

Plus costs $2,001/month more than Advanced on annual billing ($2,300 vs $299). The 0.35% transaction fee reduction saves $3.50 per $1,000 in sales. Break-even for the plan upgrade is around $570,000 in monthly Shopify Payments sales — roughly $6.8M annual revenue. Below that, Advanced plus enterprise apps typically covers the same needs at lower cost.

Who Plus fits

Stores past $2M annual revenue with a real need for checkout customization, B2B modules, or multi-store operations. Stores where custom Functions or Scripts save real developer time. Stores where the dedicated launch engineer and account management provide value the plan cost cannot buy in-house or through freelancers. Full Plus setup and migration typically costs $15,000-$100,000+ via a Shopify development expert or Shopify Plus Partner.

The real cost of Shopify: transaction fees and payment processing

The plan fee is only part of Shopify's cost. Transaction fees, payment processing, and third-party gateway penalties often double or triple monthly spend versus the sticker price.

Shopify Payments card processing fees

These are the fees Shopify charges you for taking payments through Shopify's built-in payment processor. They apply on every sale.

PlanOnline card feesIn-person card fees
Basic2.9% + 30¢2.7%
Grow2.7% + 30¢2.5%
Advanced2.5% + 30¢2.4%
Plus~2.15-2.45% (negotiated)~2.15%

Third-party gateway penalty

If you use a payment gateway other than Shopify Payments (PayPal, Stripe outside Shopify Payments, Klarna standalone), Shopify charges a platform surcharge on top of your gateway's fees. This is the fee Shopify does not put on the pricing page.

  • Basic: 2% surcharge
  • Grow: 1% surcharge
  • Advanced: 0.6% surcharge
  • Plus: 0.15% or waived at negotiated tiers

The single biggest cost mistake new Shopify stores make: running PayPal alongside Shopify Payments on the Basic plan. A store doing $30,000/month with 40% of orders through PayPal loses $240/month to the 2% surcharge alone. That's worse than upgrading to Grow, which halves the penalty to 1%.

What Shopify pricing does NOT include

The plan fee covers the platform. It does not cover several major cost categories that add up quickly.

Apps. Most Shopify stores run 8-25 paid apps costing $50-$500/month combined. Common categories: reviews, email/SMS, subscriptions, page builders, loyalty, analytics. See Best Shopify review apps for the apps most stores need first.

Themes. Free themes cost $0. Premium themes on the Shopify Theme Store cost $180-$500 as a one-time purchase. Custom theme builds cost $15,000+ via a designer. See Best Shopify themes 2026 for the ranking.

Development and setup work. Even a "simple" Shopify store launch usually needs $500-$5,000 in developer or setup specialist time to install and configure everything correctly. Complex stores or migrations run $10,000-$100,000+.

Marketing and ads. Not part of Shopify pricing at all, but new founders often lump these together. Budget separately.

Payment processing (covered above). Transaction fees plus third-party gateway penalties.

Shopify Fulfillment Network, Shipping, and Shopify Balance. Optional add-ons priced per usage.

A realistic first-year budget for a new Shopify store: $600 for Basic subscription, $180-$500 for a theme, $600-$3,000 in apps, plus payment processing on sales volume. Custom development or setup help lives on top — get help through Shopify store setup experts when the DIY path stalls.

When to upgrade your Shopify plan

Upgrading Shopify plans is easy — it takes about 30 seconds in the admin and pro-rates the current month. The hard part is knowing when the upgrade actually saves or makes money.

Basic to Grow

Upgrade when: monthly sales cross $8,000-$10,000. You need 2+ staff accounts. You use PayPal or another third-party gateway for more than 10% of orders (the 1% penalty reduction alone pays for Grow's price jump at that volume).

Grow to Advanced

Upgrade when: monthly sales cross $50,000-$60,000 and you use Shopify Payments (or $30,000+ if you use third-party gateways heavily). You need real-time carrier shipping rates at checkout. You have 6+ staff members who need admin access. You use custom reports weekly.

Advanced to Plus

Upgrade when: monthly sales cross $500,000 (roughly $6M annual revenue). You need checkout customization or B2B modules. You're running multi-store or multi-region operations. You want dedicated launch and account management.

Downgrade signals

Not every store needs to keep upgrading. If your Grow store dropped below $8,000/month for three straight months, downgrading to Basic saves $50/month. If your Advanced store dropped below $30,000/month, downgrading to Grow saves $220/month. Shopify allows downgrades same day.

Not sure which Shopify plan fits your business?

Erick Kagai
EK
Erick Kagai
PRO
Shopify Consultant
4.9(65 reviews)

Speed & Performance Specialist for Shopify Stores - and the measurement behind your revenue

I helped an apparel brand cut product-page load time from 15.4 seconds to 7.4 seconds - five weeks before Black Friday. That's what I do: I find what's slowing your store down and fix it.

The same work keeps surfacing a second problem: stores where the numbers are broken. Pixels firing twice and double-counting conversions. Ad campaigns spending across the whole catalog with no filter on what actually earns. Apps billing every month for work nobody has measured. So alongside speed, I measure what your money - ad spend, apps, tracking - is actually doing, instead of trusting what the platforms and vendors report. Then I fix what the measurement finds.

I specialize in Shopify speed optimization, Core Web Vitals, ad-spend and tracking measurement, and sales-channel recovery for established, founder-run stores. I treat speed and ad spend the same way: as revenue problems, not technical checkboxes.

What I work on:

  • Speed audits and Core Web Vitals optimization

  • Ad-spend clarity - which products earn your Google/Meta budget, measured per product

  • Meta Pixel and GA4 tracking setup, audits, and double-counting fixes

  • App and tool bill audits - is each paid app earning what it charges? Where a paid app is doing what Shopify Flow already does natively, I replace it with a built-in workflow, including the multi-step logic that prompt-built automations get wrong

  • Sales-channel recovery - when your products stop showing in Google Shopping or on Meta, finding why the catalog fell out (feed disapprovals, a dropped channel connection, market or policy misconfiguration) and getting them back in front of shoppers - verified on the storefront a shopper sees, not a green light in a dashboard

  • Server-side tracking and attribution contamination fixes

  • Ongoing monitoring and technical support - monthly Store Care across speed, tracking, apps and channels, or a support pack of hours

Key results:

  • Product-page load time cut from 15.4s to 7.4s - 52% faster

  • Mobile PageSpeed on product pages from 18 to 28 - with the client's chosen app stack kept in place, at their call

  • Two apps billing to track what the store's own Google channel already handled - removed, tracking verified clean, and $199/yr off the app bill

  • Repeat clients going back to 2018 - one store at 14 projects across four years

How I work:

  • A diagnostic audit measures the actual problem - no guesswork, and the audit fee credits toward the fixes

  • Phased implementation - you approve each milestone

  • Every delivery closes with verified before/after numbers and a short list of the next opportunities I found

80+ projects completed. Clients across the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and Denmark.

Send me your store URL and I'll tell you exactly what's slowing it down - and whether your numbers can be trusted. No commitment needed.

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Muhammad Asad ullah baig
MB
Muhammad Asad ullah baig
PRO
Theme Developer
5.0(10 reviews)

Turn Your Shopify Store Into a Reliable Sales Engine
If you're looking for a Shopify developer who understands both the technical side and the business outcomes behind it, you're in the right place.

As a Shopify Certified Developer with 10+ years of hands-on experience, I've worked with 100+ brands across fashion, apparel, beauty, food, fitness, and electronics to build stores that are fast, scalable, and built to convert. Whether you're a founder launching your first store or an established brand ready to level up, I bring the expertise to get you there.

What Gets Delivered:
Every project is approached with one goal, growth. Here's what that looks like in practice:

  • Custom Shopify Theme Development — Figma and Adobe XD designs transformed into clean, maintainable Liquid-based themes optimized for performance and long-term scalability

  • Store Redesigns & UX Improvements — Navigation restructured, friction points removed, and user journeys refined to drive more conversions without disrupting live traffic

  • Speed & Performance Optimization — Core Web Vitals improvements, faster page load times, and technical SEO fixes that directly impact search rankings and reduce bounce rate

  • Custom Feature Development — Bundles, upsells, subscriptions, loyalty programs, and third-party API integrations tailored to specific business models

  • Store Migrations & Ongoing Support — Smooth, low-risk platform migrations and dependable technical maintenance that keep operations running without interruption


Why Brands Keep Coming Back:
Every architecture decision, layout choice, and integration is guided by one question: Does this help the business grow? Clean code and structured development aren't just standards — they're what make a store reliable at scale.

Founders launching from scratch, in-house teams needing a trusted technical collaborator, and agencies looking for a dependable Shopify specialist, all have found long-term value in this kind of partnership.


Ready to Grow Your Shopify Store?
Whether it's a full custom build, a performance overhaul, or targeted improvements to boost conversions, let's map out a clear path forward. Reach out to discuss your goals and what's possible.

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Sumit Chakradhar
SC
Sumit Chakradhar
PRO
Front-End Developer
5.0(121 reviews)

For over ten years, I’ve been helping Shopify store owners elevate, customize, and maintain their websites as a Shopify expert at HeyCarson—now rebranded as Shopexperts—where I’ve had the privilege of being the longest-serving developer on the team.

I’m also among the platform’s top-rated experts, known for my attention to detail, reliability, and dedication to client satisfaction.

Delivering quality results and building lasting client relationships have always been at the core of my work. Feel free to check out reviews from my past clients—they’re the best proof of my commitment to 100% project success.

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Frequently asked questions about Shopify plans and pricing

How much does Shopify cost per month in 2026?

Shopify Basic costs $39/month billed monthly or $29/month on annual billing. Grow costs $105/month or $79/month annual. Advanced costs $399/month or $299/month annual. Plus starts at $2,300/month on a 3-year term. Starter costs $5/month but does not include a full online storefront. All three core plans (Basic, Grow, Advanced) save 25% with annual billing.

Is there a free Shopify plan?

No. Shopify does not have a permanent free plan. New stores get a 3-day free trial, then can extend for 3 months at $1/month on Basic, Grow, or Advanced — totaling 93 days of full platform access for $3. After that, standard pricing applies. The cheapest permanent Shopify plan is Starter at $5/month, but Starter is a checkout link, not a full storefront.

What's the difference between Shopify Basic and Grow?

Grow (formerly called "Shopify") costs $50/month more than Basic on annual billing ($79 vs $29) and adds five staff accounts (Basic allows one), lower transaction fees (2.7% vs 2.9%), and a reduced third-party gateway penalty (1% vs 2%). Grow becomes the better value once monthly sales cross about $8,000-$10,000 or once you use third-party payment gateways for more than 10% of orders.

When should I upgrade from Basic to Grow?

Upgrade when: monthly sales cross $8,000-$10,000 through Shopify Payments (or lower if you use third-party gateways heavily), you need more than one staff account, or the 1% third-party gateway penalty reduction alone would save more than $50/month based on your PayPal or Stripe volume.

How much does Shopify Plus cost in 2026?

Shopify Plus starts at $2,300/month on a 3-year term or $2,500/month on a 1-year term. Very high-volume stores negotiate variable platform fees on top — past a certain revenue tier, Plus shifts to revenue-share pricing rather than flat subscription. Plus typically fits stores past $2M annual revenue that need checkout customization, B2B modules, or multi-store operations.

Does Shopify charge transaction fees?

Only if you use a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments. If you use Shopify Payments, you pay only the card processing fee (2.9% + 30¢ on Basic, down to ~2.15% on Plus with negotiated rates). If you use PayPal, Stripe outside Shopify Payments, Klarna standalone, or any other gateway, Shopify adds a platform surcharge of 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), 0.6% (Advanced), or 0.15% (Plus).

Is annual billing on Shopify worth it?

Almost always, yes. Annual billing saves 25% on Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans. On Basic that's $120/year saved. On Grow it's $312/year. On Advanced it's $1,200/year. The only reason to stick with monthly billing is short-term uncertainty about whether Shopify is the right platform for you — but by then you should be on the 3-day trial and $1/month intro period, not paying monthly full price.

What's the cheapest way to sell on Shopify?

The Starter plan at $5/month is the cheapest way to accept payments through Shopify, but it's a checkout link, not a full store. For a real online store, Basic at $29/month on annual billing is the cheapest option. Both plans require Shopify Payments or a third-party gateway to actually process orders — card processing fees apply on every sale.

What Shopify plan does dropshipping need?

Basic covers most dropshipping stores in early stages. The lower staff account limit on Basic is rarely a constraint for dropshippers. Once monthly dropshipping revenue crosses $8,000-$10,000, upgrading to Grow starts making financial sense — especially if the dropshipping store uses PayPal, where the 1% gateway penalty reduction saves real money. Dropshipping-specific themes and apps live on top of the plan cost.

Next step

For most new Shopify stores, Basic at $29/month on annual billing is the correct start. Upgrade to Grow at $79/month once monthly sales cross $8,000-$10,000 or when a second staff account becomes necessary. Upgrade to Advanced only past $50,000/month with active use of custom reports. Plus is enterprise territory — typically past $2M annual revenue with real need for checkout customization or B2B modules.

If plan selection, migration, or Shopify Payments setup is blocking your launch or growth, hire a specialist through Shopify store setup experts. For Shopify Plus migrations specifically, work with a Shopify development expert or Shopify Plus Partner. Free matching, verified reviews, no commissions.

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