Guide Planning
How much does a Shopify store cost to build and run?
By Studio Swing
A Shopify store has two kinds of cost. The first is what you pay Shopify and the businesses around it every month: the plan, payment processing, any apps, and sometimes a theme or a domain. Shopify publishes the plan prices, and the table below shows what sets the price of each plan. The second is the build, which is the work of setting the store up, designing it and filling it. That depends on your products and your choices, so no honest figure exists without knowing them. We give none, and we would be wary of any page that does. This guide lists every line that can appear, so you can ask for a quote that names each one.
On this page
- 01Two shops, four lines each
- 02What Shopify charges you directly
- 03What other businesses charge you through Shopify
- 04The build: what sets the cost
- 05Where costs creep
- 06When Shopify costs more than it should
- 07What this guide will not tell you
- 08A checklist you can use without us
- 09Where to go next
- 10Sources
Two shops, four lines each
Say you sell hand-dyed yarn. You start with a free theme from Shopify's theme store, upload sixty products and use no apps. Your monthly costs are the plan and payment processing. One-off costs are your photographs, and your time.
Now say you sell ceramics and also take commissions. You want a product page that asks for a name and a date, a subscription for a monthly box, and a review app. Your monthly costs are the plan, payment processing and two or three app charges. Your one-off costs include a theme chosen or customized for you, and the work of making the commission form behave.
The platform is the same in both cases. The total is not, and the difference comes from the choices, not from Shopify.
What Shopify charges you directly
The plan
Shopify sells plans by month, with a discount if you pay for a year up front. Shopify's own billing page describes annual billing as charging “the full year upfront” at “a lower effective monthly rate.” Its prices depend on where you are. Shopify's own pricing page shows the current plan prices for your country.
| Plan | What sets its price |
|---|---|
| Basic | The lowest monthly plan fee, with a lower effective monthly rate if you pay for a year up front |
| Grow | A higher plan fee than Basic, also lower effective monthly rate on a yearly plan; third-party transaction fees are lower than on Basic |
| Advanced | A higher plan fee again, also lower effective monthly rate on a yearly plan; third-party transaction fees are lower again |
| Plus | Priced from a starting figure Shopify publishes for larger businesses; see its pricing page |
Shopify's pricing changes, and it differs by country, so open Shopify's pricing page for your own country to see the current plan prices. Shopify also advertised a trial of three days free, then a low introductory monthly rate for three months.
The cheapest plan is not always the right one. Shopify's own FAQ suggests considering an upgrade when your third-party transaction fees, described below, become larger than the difference between your plan and the next one up.
Payment processing
When you take cards through Shopify Payments, Shopify charges a percentage plus a fixed amount per order, and its help center says those rates “vary depending on the plan that you choose.” The standard online card rate is a percentage plus a fixed amount per order, set by your plan and by your country. Rates for other card types and for international cards differ.
Third-party transaction fees
If you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments, Shopify's help center says Shopify charges third-party transaction fees, and that they vary by plan. On the UK page these fees were lower on each higher plan. Your payment provider charges its own fees on top. Using Shopify Payments as your only provider means no third-party transaction fees, according to Shopify's documentation, but Shopify Payments is not available in every country.
What other businesses charge you through Shopify
Shopify's help center lists third-party apps (purchases, subscriptions and usage), third-party transaction fees and third-party theme purchases as charges that can appear on your Shopify bill.
Apps. An app can be free, a monthly subscription, charged per use, or a one-time purchase. App subscriptions follow their own billing cycles, apart from your plan. Refunds and disputes go to the app developer, not Shopify.
Themes. The Shopify theme store offers free and paid themes. Paid themes are a one-time purchase, and Shopify says theme purchases are non-refundable. On the theme store's front page, paid themes are listed at one-time prices that vary by theme. A free theme can be enough.
Your domain. Every store has a free myshopify.com address. You can buy a domain from Shopify or connect one you already own from another provider. Domains renew on a schedule, so add the renewal to your list.
The build: what sets the cost
The build is where a large part of a one-off cost sits, and where quotes differ most. Whoever quotes should be able to tell you which of these they have priced. Our guide to what affects the cost of a website explains the general version, and the same factors apply to a Shopify store.
How many kinds of page. Home, collection, product, cart, and content pages each need a design. Ten product types with different information need more work than one.
Content. Who writes the product text and takes the photographs. Sixty products with three photographs each is 180 images.
Visual work. Whether you customize a ready-made theme or have a theme designed for your products.
Features beyond a standard store page. A name-on-the-product field, a size guide, a delivery cutoff or a bundle builder.
Integrations. Accounting, shipping, stock systems or marketplaces.
What launch requires. Moving products from an old shop, redirecting old addresses, setting up tax and shipping, and testing the checkout.
A customized ready-made theme is often enough, and costs less than a custom theme. When it is, we will say so.
Where costs creep
Apps are the usual source. Each solves one problem for a monthly fee, and they add up. They also carry a second cost: Shopify's help center warns that “too many apps loading assets on your storefront can slow performance”, and that “uninstalling an app doesn't automatically remove its code from your theme.” So audit them before launch, and again each year. Ask three questions about each app. What does it do that the theme cannot? What does it cost per month at your order volume? Who removes its code if you stop using it?
Other costs appear after launch: product photography for new items, writing and updating content, and someone to make changes. Our guide to website maintenance describes what that work includes.
When Shopify costs more than it should
Shopify is built for a familiar way of buying: product, cart, checkout. Trade pricing does not automatically require apps: Shopify includes native B2B on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus. Basic, Grow and Advanced support up to three active B2B market catalogs when using new Shopify Markets; assigning catalogs directly to individual companies requires Plus. Compare the exact quote and product-configuration workflow with the chosen plan before budgeting for apps or custom code. For the platform decision, see Shopify, WooCommerce or custom and custom website, Shopify or a website builder. If you already have a store and want to redesign it, the cost questions differ, and how much a website redesign costs covers them.
What this guide will not tell you
It cannot give you the total for your store. It also cannot tell you what Shopify will charge next year: prices, plan features and processing rates change, and differ by country. Treat the numbers above as a dated snapshot and confirm them on Shopify's pricing page before you plan around them. Tax is separate again, and your accountant should advise you on it.
A checklist you can use without us
Checklist
- I have opened Shopify's pricing page for my own country and noted the plan price and billing option.
- I know which payment provider I will use and what the card rate and any third-party fee will be.
- I have listed every app I expect to use, with its monthly cost.
- I have decided between a free theme, a paid theme and a custom theme, and know which one my quote assumes.
- My domain is bought or connected, and I know when it renews.
- My quote says who writes the product content and who takes the photographs.
- The quote names setup of tax, shipping and checkout testing.
- I have a line in my budget for the year after launch.
Where to go next
If you are planning a Shopify store, our Shopify store service shows what we build and what you keep at handover. Your Shopify account is in your name, and we work in it as a collaborator. Your quote is tailored to your products and your choices, and your scope is agreed in writing before any work starts. Before a quote, what must be decided before you build a shop will help you answer the questions a good quote depends on. When you are ready, tell us about your project, and we reply with next steps. No cost, no obligation. Discuss your project
Sources
Shopify, Pricing (euro page, read 1 October 2026): https:/
Shopify, Pricing for the United Kingdom (read 1 October 2026): https:/
Shopify Help Center, Pricing overview (billing cycles, annual billing, card processing, third-party transaction fees): https:/
Shopify Help Center, Pricing plans FAQ (trials, changing plans, upgrading when third-party fees grow): https:/
Shopify Help Center, Third-party charges (apps, themes, who bills them): https:/
Shopify Help Center, Using Shopify Payments with a third-party provider (third-party transaction fees): https:/
Shopify Theme Store (free and paid themes, one-time prices as listed on 9 October 2026): https:/
Shopify Help Center, Domains: https:/
Shopify Help Center, Improving web performance (apps and storefront speed): https:/