The market for AI in e‑commerce is expected to grow rapidly: estimates suggest it will reach US $9.01 billion by 2025 and then grow to US $26.79 billion by 2030, continuing upward beyond that.
When you are thinking of opening an online store, one of the initial questions that you would ask yourself is, “How much does Shopify cost?” Shopify is among the most popular e-commerce platforms in the world, supporting more than one million businesses worldwide. Its pricing system will be confusing at first and even at the stage of developing the business, as the costs are different, depending on the plan that you select, extra features, and the specific needs of your business. Whether you are building a small boutique or a large e-commerce store, understanding Shopify’s pricing will help you plan your budget effectively.
We will deconstruct every one of the Shopify plans, pricing provisions, features, and concealed expenses in this all-encompassing manual so you can make a prudent choice and spend money without any issues.
Why Shopify Pricing Matters

It is important to know the cost of Shopify before investing in the system. The wrong plan may either cost you the features that you are not using or restrain the potential of your store.
Shopify is not a mere website maker but an entire e-commerce platform. It manages all the functions, such as web hosting, online transactions, stock control, marketing software, and analytics. There are several plans offered, and the price will depend on the features you require and the size of the store you have.
Having an understanding of the amount of Shopify cost will guarantee you the ability to plan your budget and cash flow and grow your business without any hidden surprises.
Shopify Pricing Plans Overview
Shopify offers several pricing tiers, each designed for different business needs. Here’s an overview of the main plans as of 2025:
Plan Name |
Monthly Cost (Annual) |
Monthly Cost (Monthly) |
Ideal For |
| Starter | $5 | $5 | Selling via social media, small sellers |
| Basic Shopify | $29 | $39 | Small online stores starting out |
| Shopify / Grow | $79 | $105 | Growing businesses needing more features |
| Advanced Shopify | $299 | $399 | Established stores with higher volume |
| Shopify Plus | Custom (from $2,300) | — | Large enterprises needing full customization |
What Every Shopify Plan Includes

1. Starter Plan: Beginner Sellers
The starter plan costs less than five dollars per month and is for small sellers who would prefer to sell mostly using social media or messaging applications. It is easy to create a store and list several products, and begin selling without creating a complete site.
Features include:
- Capability to sell through social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram
- Simple checkout page
- Minimal reporting and analytics
The Starter plan is very affordable, but it does not have a complete online store experience. The Basic or Grow plans are more appropriate to every individual who has serious intentions about establishing an e-commerce site.
2. Basic Shopify Plan: The Online Store, the Entry Level
The basic Shopify plan is available at a monthly charge of $29/month (annual billing) or $39/month (monthly billing). This strategy is best suited to small business organizations that are willing to open up an online store completely.
Key features:
- Complete online shop and website, and blog
- Unlimited product listings
- 2 staff accounts
- 24/7 customer support
- Standard analytics reports
- Online payment: 2.9% + 30C/ per transaction
The Basic plan balances the cost and features of many small businesses. This plan will frequently get you started if you’re asking yourself, ‘How much does Shopify cost for a small business?
3. Standard Plan: To Grow Businesses
The Grow or Standard Shopify is 79/month (annually) or 105/month (monthly). It is aimed at the business that is expanding and requires extra equipment to scale up.
Features include:
- Everything in the Basic plan.
- Up to 5 staff accounts
- Analytics and professional reports.
- Gift cards and cart recovery.
- Lower transaction fees of 2.7% + 30C/
In case your business is growing, this plan offers the characteristics that are required to process more orders, multiple employees, and reporting improvements. In the context of the extent of Shopify’s costs at this level, it should not be forgotten that investment is accompanied by productivity and growth advantages.
Advanced Shopify Plan: For Established Stores
The Advanced plan will cost $299/month (annual) or $399/month (monthly). It targets the business that is already established in terms of sales.
Features include:
- All the features of lower-tier plans
- Up to 15 staff accounts
- Advanced report builder
- Shipping rates are calculated by a third party
- Priority support
- Lower transaction fees at 2.5% + 30¢/
In the case of bigger stores, the Advanced plan gives advanced tools to achieve growth and efficiency. Knowledge of the price of Shopify at this level will be important in budgeting since the investment is substantial but comes with the functions necessary to scale operations.
Shopify Plus: Business-level Solutions
Shopify Plus is available with custom pricing at approximately $2300/month in the case of businesses of the enterprise level. The plan is aimed at large companies with complicated requirements.
Features include:
- Unlimited staff accounts
- Customizable checkout to the full extent
- High-level automation and API access
- Premier services and special account management
- Multi-channel and wholesale distribution
Companies that question how much does Shopify cost in large-scale operations should take into consideration other expenses that are in addition to subscription costs, such as custom development, apps, and software integration costs.
The ecommerce industry has reached massive proportions, with a global value of $6.8 trillion that is expected to reach $8 trillion by 2027. Online retail continues to alter the map of shopping worldwide.
Additional Costs That Affect Shopify Pricing
To know the extent of Shopify costs, it is always necessary to look past the base plan. The additional expenses are as follows: Many merchants underestimate them:
- Domain Names: $10-15/year of a personal domain
- Premium Themes: 75-300 single-use on professional design
- Apps and Plugins: $5-50/month per app to market, optimise, ship and analyse
- Transaction Fees: Extra 0.5-2% when an externally payment gateway is used
- Shipping and Fulfillment: The cost would depend on the volume and the location
- Marketing and Advertising: Expenses for campaigns in social media or Google Ads
These are additional expenses that may considerably add to your monthly spending, thus when considering the cost of Shopify, you should always make sure to add these to the amount.
Shopify Cost Scenarios in the Real World
To provide you with a better idea of what Shopify costs would be in practice, the following are some of the common cases:
Scenario 1: Side-Hustle Seller
- Plan: Starter ($5/month)
- Domain: Optional
- Theme: Free
- Apps: None
- Transaction fees: Minimal
- Projected Cost per Month: 5-20
This would be appropriate where individual sellers are trying out the market or when there is a small product line to be sold.
Scenario 2: Small Business Store
- Plan: Basic Shopify ($29-39/month)
- Domain: $12/year
- Theme: Premium $100 one-time
- Apps: $20/month
- Transaction fees: Standard
- Monthly Cost: 60-80 on average
This situation is a reflection of almost every small business owner who was wondering how much Shopify costs to start a decent online store.
Scenario 3: Expanding Mid-Sized Store
- Plan: Shopify / Grow ($79-105/month)
- Apps: $50-100/month
- Staff: 5 accounts
- Transaction fees: Reduced
- Projected Monthly Price: 150-300
This is typical of companies that are upgrading and require sophisticated reporting and capabilities.
Scenario 4: Enterprise Store
- Plan: Shopify Plus (~$2,300/month)
- Apps and Customization: $500+
- Staff: Unlimited
- Transaction fees: Minimal
- Total Cost per Month: Est. 2500+
This case provides the answer to the question of the extent of the Shopify expense of large volume, worldwide e-commerce corporations.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Shopify Pricing

In assessing the impact of the cost of Shopify, consider the balance between the advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages
- Scalable: Serves a business in the side hustles to the enterprise scale
- User-friendliness: User-friendly, does not need to be coded
- Big App Ecosystem: Customization through apps
- Trustworthy Support and Protection: 24/7 company support and uptime
- Multi-channel Selling: Marketplace, Sell on social media, marketplaces, and POS
Disadvantages
- Expenses Can Be Extravagant: Applications, premium themes, and transaction fees add up to total expenditure
- Minimized Features at Low Tiers: Some tools can only be found on the higher plans
- Monthly Guarantee: You make a payment even in slow-selling months
- Data Customization It may be required: Large stores can require custom development
The Process of Selecting an Appropriate Shopify Plan
In determining the level of Shopify expenses to incur in your business, take into consideration:
- Business Size and Growth Potential: Start small when you are new, but make sure that you can grow
- Sales Volume: With more sales, the volume can receive reduced transaction charges on more advanced plans
- Staff Accounts: It might need more plans from the staff members
- Functionality demanded reports, shipping, and multi-channel
- Budget of Apps and Customization: All additional expenses should be taken into consideration
- Future Growth: Intend to expand to prevent changes of plans on a regular basis
Key Takeaways
- Prices of Shopify are $5/month (Starter) to $2,300+/month (Enterprise)
- An exact monthly cost of small companies is between $50 and $150, with apps, domain, and transaction fees
- Expanding stores can afford to spend $150-$500/month
- Enterprise stores have a price of over $2,500/month based on size and customization
- There are various unseen costs, such as apps, themes, shipping and marketing, that cost a lot of money
- Scalability, reliability, and rich features make Shopify an investment worth making
Through a close assessment of your business requirements and knowing how much does Shopify cost, you can choose a plan that will be cost-effective and at the same time enable growth.
Visual Summary: Shopify Plans vs Total Monthly Costs
Scenario |
Plan |
Estimated Monthly Cost |
| Side Hustle | Starter | $5–20 |
| Small Business | Basic Shopify | $60–80 |
| Growing Store | Shopify / Grow | $150–300 |
| Enterprise | Shopify Plus | $2,500+ |
Tips to Save Money on Shopify Without Sacrificing Features

A lot of business owners who pose the question how much does Shopify cost?” fear additional costs accruing under the carpet. Shopify offers very good tools, but it is easy to waste money on apps, themes, and features that a person will not need. The following are some of the useful ideas that can be used to minimize your costs:
1. Choose the Right Plan for Your Current Needs
Avoid committing to a high-tier plan when starting out. The Basic or Starter plan will fit many new stores. Always keep in mind that you may upgrade with the increase in sales.
2. Capitalize on the Built-In Feature and Themes
Shopify has a number of professional free themes, which are mobile-responsive and customizable. Because higher-level plans include most paid apps and features, you should check whether upgrading your plan costs less than purchasing several apps.
3. Leverage on Free/Free/Low-Cost Apps
Paid apps are optional, so you can also look at free alternatives or consider the capabilities of Shopify to determine whether you need an app or not. It is not advisable to install several applications that perform the same tasks since each of these applications contributes to your monthly pay.
4. Optimize Transaction Fees
Application of Shopify Payments as opposed to third-party gateways may help in cutting transaction fees. In cases where the stores have a high sales volume, hundreds of dollars or even thousands can be saved each year.
5. Plan Domain Cost and Branding Cost
Do not purchase several domains at once, but purchase one major domain. Premium themes or custom development may quite frequently get pushed off until your store attains greater revenue streams.
6. Monitor App & Usage and Subscriptions
Most of the stores are still paying for apps that they do not use anymore. Review your subscriptions every month to be sure that you only pay for the necessary tools.
Using these techniques, you will be able to reduce your costs in Shopify considerably and still enjoy the power of the platform. Adopting cost-saving habits will enable your question to not be a shocking financial liability as your business expands, which is, how much does Shopify cost?
“Building a successful online store isn’t just about the platform you choose; it’s about making the right decisions, optimizing your costs, and delivering value to your customers.”
– Rashid Shafique, CTO at 8ration
Want to Build Your Own Shopify Website? We Will Help You as 8ration
When you were asking yourself the question of how much does Shopify cost and when you are just confused with the various plans, features, and other costs, you were not the only one. To create an effective online store, it is necessary to plan it, select the necessary tools, and use the assistance of experts.
We build customized Shopify websites at 8ration, which is based on your specific business requirements. We are the ones who will help you select the right plan in Shopify, streamline your expenses, and create a store that will generate sales, whether you are a small business that is just beginning or an enterprise that wants to grow.
From the beginning of establishing your online store, app integration, theme choice, and even payment processor and shipping choice, our team makes sure that your shop on Shopify is not only useful but also easy to use and beautiful.
We will take you through the process one step at a time so that you can be able to concentrate on growing your business, and we will take care of the technical bit. Contact 8ration now and begin developing a Shopify store that works.





