Say you’re ready to launch your ecommerce business and you’ve settled for Shopify as an ecommerce platform. Now you’re confused about which of the Shopify pricing plans to choose. That’s normal for a beginner who wants to be sure of choosing the best pricing plan.
The fear of making the run wrong choice is always there hence the need to guard against it. Don’t worry, that’s what I’m here to help you with.
I welcome you to this ultimate guide where I will discuss with you Shopify pricing plans. The goal is to keep you informed so as to make the best choice base on the type of Shopify store you plan to run. This guide will cover the following:
- Shopify pricing plans
- Features
- Pros and Cons
- Relevant factors revolving around Shopify pricing plans
- Extra Shopify costs to take note of
- Frequently asked questions on Shopify pricing plans
Before we head to details, let’s look at the basics.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is an all-in-one robust e-commerce platform where you can set up your own online store. It is designed to help you start, run, and grow your business. As a leading ecommerce platform, it powers over 1,000,000 businesses worldwide.
There are over 70 professionally designed themes that make it easy for you to customize your store without writing a single line of code. As a website builder, you can host build any kind of ecommerce website with it.
A full-featured content management system is attached to your online store.
To prove that it’s a force to reckon with in the ecommerce world, Shopify made a revenue of $714.3 million in Q2 of 2020. 71% of the revenue came from new stores that were opened under the period in review.
What are Shopify pricing plans?
Shopify pricing plans are different monthly or yearly subscription plans you need to pay to keep your online store up and running on Shopify.
That’s the first choice you make after you have decided to start your ecommerce business on Shopify.
Now let’s go into details.
Shopify has 5 different pricing plans from which you can make a choice either as a beginner or someone who is already in the game of selling online.
These pricing plans have different features they offer and the amount you need to pay monthly or yearly to run your online store on them.
The higher the plan, the more advanced features you enjoy.
Let’s take them one after another.
1. Shopify lite ($9/month)
Shopify lite is the least plan that Shopify offers. You can’t build a full-fledged online store with this plan but you can sell products on your website or blog.
Be it Tumblr WordPress, SquareSpace, or any other content management platforms, selling on your website is just a click with the Buy Button which Shopify lite offers.
Receiving payment for products purchased is simplified with the Sale on Point app which allows you to receive payment via Android or iOS devices. You can even decide to receive payment in person.
Basic features of Shopify lite
Buy Button: Designed for customers to make purchases from your store.
Point of Sale app: This is a kind of made easy payment that allows you to accept payment via IOS and Android.
Pros of Shopify lite
- You can create custom orders and send them directly to your customers.
- It allows you to sell on your blog or website.
- It’s cheap.
Cons of Shopify lite
- You can’t run a full-fledged online store.
- Some basic integrations with social networks like Pinterest and Twitter are lacking.
2. Basic Shopify ( $29/month)
This is the second least Shopify pricing plan in terms of a monthly subscription. Basic Shopify is the plan that best suits beginners who just want to try out ecommerce business to see If it’s for them.
Its subscription goes for $29/ month.
Let’s see some basic features it offer.
Basic features of Basic Shopify
Integration: You can integrate any of the over 1400 apps on Shopify into your store for various functionalities.
Sell anywhere: Sell your products on any platform you like including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Aliexpress, or even with the buy button.
Different payment methods: You have various payment methods through which you can receive money. E.g Paypal, Stripe, 2checkout, Authorize.net, etc.
Build an online store: Unlike Shopify lite, you can build a full-fledged online store with all the tools and features you need to succeed in it.
Pros of Basic Shopify
- Up to 64% shipping discount if from DHL express and USPS.
- Print your shipping labels yourself.
- Sell any kind of product you want without restriction.
- Create coupons and discounts for your customers. Coupons are codes your loyal customers can use to make purchases from your store at a lower price.
- The discount could be a reduction in the price you offer to customers that bought a large unit of products in your store.
- You’ve access to Shopify APIs which makes it easy for you to connect to third-party apps.
- Offers customer support through livechat, email, or phone.
- Speedy checkout.
Cons of Basic Shopify
- Only 2 of your staff can have access to your Shopify store.
- Selling of products, order fulfillment, and stock inventory is restricted to only 4 locations.
- Doesn’t support professional report.
- 2.0 % transaction fee is deducted for payments received through third party payment gateways.
- 2.9% + $0.3 charges for payments received through online credit card.
- For in-person credit cards, a fee of 2.7% applies.
- Basic Shopify plan doesn’t integrate with your shipping account.
- Doesn’t support advanced report builder.
3. Shopify ( $79/month)
This’s the next plan in price after Basic Shopify.
It is also the mid-range of Shopify pricing plans. It becomes a plan to aim for after you’ve already test run ecommerce business with Shopify basic plan and it turned out good.
If you make a profit of $5000 consistently through dropshipping or selling your products, then this plan is for you. This’s because as your business grows, you already have plans to scale it with more ecommerce features.
Basic features of Shopify Plan
Sell anywhere: With Shopify plan, you can sell anywhere you want. Be it on Amazon, Aliexpress, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, etc.
Online store: Design and build your online store with awesome features that this plan offer.
Integration: Shopify has 1400+ apps that can integrate with your store for additional functionalities.
Multiple payment methods: Accept payment through Stripe, Paypal, Authorize.net, 2checkout, etc.
Marketing platforms like Facebook and Google are integrated into this plan.
Pros of Shopify plan
- Speedy checkout
- Access to Shopify APIs
- Offer coupons and discounts to your customers.
- 24/7 customer support.
- Shopify fulfillment network is fully integrated.
- Print shipping labels for your customers.
- Up to 5 of your staff can have access to your Shopify account.
- Ship products, stock inventory and sell your products in 5 different locations.
- Professional report is supported.
Cons of Shopify Plan
- Your shipping account is not integrated into your Shopify account.
- Lacks advanced builder report.
- 2.6% + $0.3 are charged for transactions carried out with online credit card.
- For payments received through in-person credit card, 2.5% is charged.
- A transaction fee of 1.0 % is charged for payment made through third-party payment gateways.
4. Advanced Shopify ( $299/month)
Advanced Shopify is the next to the highest Shopify plan.
It costs $299/month. This Shopify pricing plan is for merchants who have already scaled their business but want to keep improving with more features.
For businesses that are steadily making $10,000 profit on a monthly basis, this might be a plan to consider.
Although it is expensive, its low transaction fee and more advanced features aimed at scaling your store compensate for that.
Basic features of Advanced Shopify
- Just like Shopify and Basic Shopify, advanced Shopify integrates with many apps on Shopify. E.g Salesforce, Google Analytics, Livechat, Printiful, Oberlo, etc.
- You can sell on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, Aliexpress, Messenger, or even with the Buy Button.
- Connect to third-party apps using Shopify APIs.
- Receive payment through different third party payment gateways.
- You can create, design, and launch your ecommerce store.
- Your shipping account is integrated into your store.
- Shopify fulfillment network is completely connected to your store.
Pros of Advanced Shopify
- Fast and reliable checkout is guaranteed.
- Sell any kind of product you want. No restrictions.
- Shipping rates are calculated by the third party.
- O.5% transaction fee is charged.
- Offers email, Live chat, and phone call support.
- 74% reduction in shipping price from USPS and DHL express.
- You can make use of the Point of Sale app for in-person payment.
- Up to 15 staff can have work in your store.
- Stock inventory, sell and fulfill orders in 8 different locations.
Cons of Advanced Shopify
- It is expensive.
- It charges 2.4% + $0.3 for online credit card transactions and 2.4% charges for in person credit card transactions.
5. Shopify Plus ( Starting from $2000/month)
Shopify plus so far is the highest pricing plan on Shopify. It is exclusively designed for large businesses and companies that record large volumes of sales every now and then.
Shopify created this plan to empower large businesses to use the latest and modern ecommerce features, add ons, and tools to run their businesses.
These large businesses have the choice to customize, tweak their designs to suit their stores. Starting with $2000 per month, you can subscribe to Shopify plus.
This is quite expensive but hey, over 7,000 companies trust it to run their ecommerce business. Let’s look at the features of this powerful plan.
Basic features of Shopify Plus
- Take your ecommerce business internationally by creating different stores in different languages.
- Access to ecommerce project management tools to turn manual tasks into an automated workflow.
- Has a robotically driven fulfillment center to handle large volume of orders. This is key for large businesses that run dropshipping business.
- Explore all the 20 sale channels on Shopify so as to skyrocket your sales.
Pros of Shopify Plus
- Work with Shopify certified partners to grow your business into a global brand.
- Sell in over 130 global different currencies.
- Launch an unlimited number of stores.
- Monitor orders and sales from different stores in a single dashboard.
- Access to Shopify pay to ensure one-tap checkout for your customers.
- Avalara Ava tax handles your per sales tax through automation to save you stress and time.
- 24/7 fast and quality customer support through livechat, email, and phone.
- Choose from 100+ payment gateways. E.g Google Pay, Amazon Pay, PayPal, Stripe, 2Checkout, Authorize.net, etc.
Cons of Shopify Plus
- It’s very expensive.
- $250 is paid monthly for the tax services offered by Avalar Avatax.
Now that you have known the 5 different Shopify pricing plans, let’s look at things to consider before choosing a Shopify pricing plan.
Factors to consider before choosing a Shopify pricing plan
You don’t just choose a Shopify pricing plan. Otherwise, you make the mistake of choosing a plan that isn’t for you at a particular time. There are factors that will inform such a decision.
1. Type of ecommerce business to run
Some people just jump to any plan because at least there is a 14-day free trial. What if the trial expires only to realize that the pricing plan you’ve chosen isn’t suitable?
The question should be; what kind of ecommerce business do I want to start? Do I want to start small and see how it works for me?
Do I want to launch a large ecommerce business straight up no matter the risk that comes with it? Could it be that I’m not ready to run for a full-fledged online store but just want to use Shopify to sell on my website or blog? These are the questions you need to answer.
2. Level of experience
Some people haven’t run an ecommerce business. To such people, they want to give it a trial base on what they have learned on how ecommerce works.
They are prepared to make mistakes through the process and learn from them.
Another set of people are those who are already in ecommerce business either as store owners or drop shippers.
For them, they want to switch to Shopify as an ecommerce platform. For a beginner with little or no experience, it is expected that you start with a lower plan and gradually upgrade to a higher plan.
3. Budget
You may prefer a plan because of the awesome features it offers. But it’s your budget that’ll decide if it’s what you should go for.
I mean the budget to pay for the monthly subscription and other extra Shopify cost pending when you will be making a reasonable amount as profit.
4. Features
As Shopify pricing plans differ, so are the features they offer. The higher the plan the more advanced features you enjoy.
It’s important you take your time to check out all the features each of the Shopify pricing plans offer.
Compare them side by side against your requirements and the kind of ecommerce business you plan to run before making your final decision.
With that being said, it’s time we discuss relevant factors revolving around Shopify pricing plans that you need to know.
This is to ensure that you get clarified on questions that bother you as it concerns Shopify pricing plans.
Discounts on Shopify pricing plans
We all want to get discounts when we purchase products of large quality. That’s normal. The same applies to software. Shopify isn’t an exception here. It offers discounts too. Its discounts are of 2 types:
- 10% discount for 12 months upfront subscription.
- 20 % discount for 24 months upfront subscription.
Let me break it down.
Take for instance you chose basic Shopify as a plan and paid for 12 months upfront.
Let’s do the maths.
Basic Shopify costs $29/month.
12 * 29 = $348.
10% of $348 = 34.8
348 – 34.8 = 313.2.
This means that at a discount of 10% for Basic Shopify plan paid for 12 months, you pay $313.2 instead of $348.
What if you decide to pay for 24 months for the same basic plan?
Here is it:
24* 29 = $696
20% of 696 = 139.2
696 – 139.2 = 556.8
At a discount of 20% for 24 months subscription on Basic Shopify, you pay $556.8 instead of $ 696.
Shopify transaction fees
I see a lot of Shopify merchants complain about Shopify transaction fees and its effect on their revenue.