How Much Does Shopify Really Cost in 2026?

Shopify advertises starting at $39/mo. That's the plan price. But no serious ecommerce store runs on the plan alone. By the time you add the apps most stores actually need — email marketing, live chat, product reviews, a page builder — you're spending $300–900/mo.

Here is the honest breakdown.

The Shopify Plan Itself

Shopify has three main plans:

• Basic — $39/mo. Two staff accounts, basic reports, 2% transaction fee on non-Shopify Payments gateways.
• Shopify — $105/mo. Five staff accounts, standard reports, 1% transaction fee.
• Advanced — $399/mo. 15 staff accounts, advanced reports, 0.5% transaction fee.

Most growing stores start on Basic. That's $39/mo.

What Shopify Does NOT Include

This is where it gets expensive. Shopify is deliberately a platform-only product — they make the majority of their revenue from the Shopify App Store, where third-party developers sell tools for everything a real ecommerce store needs.

The Transaction Fee That Nobody Talks About

On Shopify Basic, every sale through a non-Shopify Payments gateway costs you 2%. If you're doing $10,000/mo in sales, that's $200/mo in hidden fees. On top of your $39 plan, you're at $239/mo before a single app.

This is why Shopify pushes Shopify Payments so hard — it removes the transaction fee. But Shopify Payments has its own credit card processing rates (2.9% + 30¢ for Basic) and is not available in all countries.

What You Can Do Instead

If Shopify's real cost feels too high, there are alternatives that include these features out of the box:

• LaunchStore ($9/mo) — Includes email marketing, live chat, product reviews, page builder, and WhatsApp marketing. No app store, no add-ons, one flat price.
• WooCommerce (free platform, $150–350/mo in real costs) — If you're technical, WooCommerce gives you full control. But you'll still need plugins for email, chat, and reviews.
• BigCommerce ($39–399/mo) — Similar to Shopify but with no transaction fees. Still needs third-party email tools.