Shopify Pricing Plans: Which One is Best?

When you start to search for an e-commerce website builder to take your business online, Shopify is usually the first platform that strikes your mind.

Over the past few years, it has gained a positive reputation in the online market with both easy-to-use and complete online store solutions. Moreover, it offers features and functionalities that you need to enter the e-commerce market.

The next thing that comes into mind is that is it affordable. Well, it depends. While there are many pricing plans that Shopify offers to suit a wide range of budget options. On the other hand, you can also opt-out of some ways to reduce the cost of your Shopify store.

With all this in mind, let’s quickly get into the blog and know how to pick the right Shopify pricing plan. Also, we’ll cover whether Shopify is the right solution for you!

But first: an important question…

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a platform that allows you to build your e-commerce store in the online marketplace. Businesses can use Shopify to host their websites and offer a smooth buying experience for their customers.

In simpler terms, you don’t have to install software for using Shopify powered website, and because it’s a hosted portal, you don’t have to pay for it separately.

The set of features and functionalities that you get from Shopify depends on the pricing plan you choose – all these are discussed in depth below. But, the similarity between all the plans is they allow you to sell an unlimited number of products (whether it’s digital or physical), and they also allow you to choose a theme for store design.

Other than that, Shopify is a SaaS tool which means it is a software-as-a-service tool. It means that you don’t have a copy of the software, you just pay a monthly fee to use it.

Shopify Fees – Pricing Plans

There are five Shopify plans for online merchants:

• Starter — $5 per month
• Basic — $29 per month
• Shopify — $79 per month
• Advanced — $299 per month
• Shopify Plus — Costs around $2,000 per month

If you can afford to pay upfront, you can go for annual subscriptions since it can cut off the costs significantly.

You can even get 50% off on your Shopify plans for the first year, but it depends on your business niche. To know more about the latest offers, check out this page.

After the first year, you can even get 20% and 25% discounts if you pay for two or three years of service altogether.

Moreover, you get Shopify Free Trial that enables you to test out the features and functionalities provided by the above-mentioned plans.

Now, let’s check out each Shopify Price Plan one by one!

SHOPIFY STARTER PLAN

Shopify Starter is a pocket-friendly plan that allows you to sell products online for just $5 per month. Keep in mind, it doesn’t provide you with a fully-functional online store.

Now, let’s have a look at what this plan offers:

• Sell an unlimited number of products
• Sell on Facebook and other sales channels such as Instagram, eBay, Amazon, etc.
• Sell on messaging apps such as WhatsApp, Messenger, etc.

Is the ‘Shopify Starter’ plan ideal for you?

Shopify Starter plan is best for online merchants who:

• Want to add the dropshipping facility to their store
• Wish to sell their products on social media platforms
• Want access to live chat and email support
• Want cost-effective access to abandoned cart-saving functionality

Please note, this plan doesn’t provide you with an online store, still, you can add purchase links to your existing website. With this plan, you can get access to some simple features including managing inventory, orders, and customer profiles.

This plan is best for business startups or small businesses that are looking for an easy and quick setup.

BASIC SHOPIFY PLAN

Basic Shopify is the cheapest plan available that lets you build a fully-functional e-commerce store for just $29 per month.

Now, let’s have a look at what this plan offers:

• A fully-functional online store
• Sell an unlimited number of products
• Ability to sell in physical locations
• Unlimited bandwidth
• 2 staff accounts
• Discount code creation
• Free SSL certificate
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Gift cards
• A blog
• Ability to print shipping labels
• Discounted shipping rates of up to 77%
• 24/7 support via phone, email, and live chat
• Manual order creation
• POS features
• Fraud analysis

Is the ‘Basic Shopify’ plan ideal for you?

The Basic Shopify plan is best for online merchants who:

• Need a fully-editable standalone online store
• Do not need advanced selling functionality
• Need a platform for payments processing and inventory management
• Want to use the blog to attract traffic

With the Basic Shopify plan, you can expect online purchases of up to 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. Other than that, in-person purchases go by a 2.7% fee per transaction.

‘SHOPIFY’ PLAN

This plan is an extended version of the Basic Shopify plan that offers key additions at just $79 per month.

Some of the key additions that the Shopify plan brings to the board are:

• Lower transaction fees
• Professional reporting
• Option to use international domains
• Lower credit card fees
• Option to use USPS Priority Mail Cubic pricing (for US users only)

Is the ‘Shopify’ plan ideal for you?

The Shopify plan is best for online merchants who:

• Require professional reporting
• Wish to get discounted shipping rates
• Need to use Cubic Pricing
• Want to use task automation tools
• Have a high volume of sales in their store

The features that this plan provides can help businesses boost their sales and revenue, and it can give them deep insights into sales, locations, and shipping support.

With this plan, online transactions have a 2.6% plus 30 cents processing fee, and in-person transaction fee goes by 2.5% processing fee.

‘ADVANCED SHOPIFY’ PLAN

With the ‘Advanced Shopify’ plan, you get three important features that aren’t included in the above-mentioned plans. With this, you can get lower credit card rates and transaction fees if you use a third-party gateway.

Some of the key additions to the Advanced Shopify plan are:

• Advanced report building
• Real-time carrier shipping
• An option to set product prices separately for different countries

Is the ‘Advanced Shopify’ plan ideal for you?

The Advanced Shopify plan is best for online merchants who:

• Require advanced reporting features
• Have a good volume of sales on their website
• Want real-time-carrier shipping
• Need more control over pricing for international products

With the Advanced Shopify plan, Shopify charges up to 2.4% plus 30 cents for online transactions, and 2.4% for in-person purchases.

‘SHOPIFY PLUS’ PLAN

Lastly, there’s the Shopify Plus plan to check out. The main focus of offering this plan is to help large-scale business owners.

It is an enterprise-grade solution that offers all the features of the Advanced Shopify plan and some advanced features.

Some of the important functions that the Shopify Plus plan offers are:

• Multi-currency selling
• Advanced security
• Third-party software integrations features
• Personalized support services
• Customized shipping process

Is the ‘Shopify Plus’ plan ideal for you?

The Shopify Plus plan is best for online merchants who:

• Have an extremely high volume of sales
• Need for more handholding and support.
• Want to automate workflows
• Need a higher inventory location limit
• Require fully automatic currency conversion in place
• Need bespoke CRM tools

Shopify says that the online merchants who use this plan can access the Shopify Plus Certified Apps to get the most out of their store. The pricing for this plan, from transaction to monthly fee, all depends on your sales volume.

How to Save 50% on Shopify Pricing Plans?

One of the things that you would have noticed is that the monthly price for each plan is to be paid every month. This means that if you decide to discontinue the services, you just stop paying them.

On the other hand, if you decide to choose the one-year plan, you probably save up to 50% of the total costs. Please note, this is just for the first year, and thereafter, the prices will return to normal ones.

Shopify Plan Prices: Monthly VS Annual Costs

Free Shopify Trials

Shopify offers a free 14-day trial for new customers with all its plans (excluding the Shopify Plus plan). It allows you to build a store and try out different features and functionalities to determine how well this website builder platform works for your business.

But, keep in mind that you can’t sell your products online until you purchase a plan.

The free trial doesn’t sign you up for a plan after 14 day period ends. If you don’t choose a plan before the trial period ends, your store doesn’t function, and you’ll not be charged anything until you sign up for a paid plan.

Summary: Shopify Store Prices

We hope that this blog has helped you gain knowledge about Shopify pricing plans, and this will help you choose a plan generously.

So, let’s recap on how much Shopify costs:

• Starter Shopify Plan: If you are just starting in the e-commerce industry, go ahead with this plan!
• Basic Shopify Plan: If you own a small store, this plan is best!
• Shopify Plan: If your store is reaching heights rapidly, this plan is ideal for you!
• Advanced Shopify Plan: If you wish to grow 10 times larger, this plan will help you achieve your goal.
• Shopify Plus Plan: If you are a big store owner, this plan is ideal!

Before you get started with this platform, you must know that it isn’t as cheap as other e-commerce platforms and also comes with some transaction fees. If you wish to avoid it, you can go for Shopify Payments.

On the other hand, Shopify is considered one of the best e-commerce website platforms available in the online marketplace. Agreed, it isn’t the cheapest, but it scores high for customer score and sales features.

So, are you ready to give Shopify a go? Before you get down to a decision, try out Shopify for free for 14 days!