How the Shopify Fee Calculator Works
The Shopify Fee Calculator estimates your total monthly Shopify cost from a few details about your store. You enter your numbers, and the tool applies Shopify’s current US rates to return three answers: your cost per month, the gap between Shopify Payments and an outside gateway, and the plan that costs least at your sales volume.
The calculator reads six inputs:
- Average sale price, the typical value of one order.
- Monthly sales volume, your total sales in a month.
- Where you sell, online or in person.
- How you take payment, Shopify Payments or a third-party gateway.
- Your Shopify plan: Basic, Grow, or Advanced.
- Billing term, monthly or yearly.
When you select a third-party gateway, two more fields appear for your processor’s own rate and per-sale fee, because Shopify charges its transaction fee on top of whatever the gateway charges. Every result recalculates as soon as you change a field, and the calculator shows a worked example on load.
The Two Shopify Fees You Are Actually Paying
Shopify charges two different fees, and they are not the same thing. One is a payment processing fee on every sale. The other is a third-party transaction fee that applies only when you use an outside payment provider. Mixing them up leads merchants to overpay or choose the wrong plan.
Payment processing fee
The payment processing fee is the charge for accepting a card on a sale. Shopify applies it to every transaction, including sales taken through Shopify Payments. The rate depends on your plan and your sales channel.
Online card rates are 2.9% plus $0.30 on Basic, 2.7% plus $0.30 on Grow, and 2.5% plus $0.30 on Advanced. In-person card rates are 2.6% plus $0.10 on Basic, 2.5% plus $0.10 on Grow, and 2.4% plus $0.10 on Advanced.
Third-party transaction fee
The third-party transaction fee is an extra charge Shopify adds when you process payments through an outside gateway instead of Shopify Payments. Shopify sets it by plan: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, and 0.6% on Advanced. It stacks on top of whatever your gateway charges, so a single sale pays two providers. Shopify Payments removes the third-party transaction fee. It does not remove the payment processing fee.
Shopify Plans and Fees in 2026
Shopify sells three standard plans for most merchants: Basic, Grow, and Advanced. Shopify renamed its mid-tier plan from Shopify to Grow in 2026, so older guides that list a plan called Shopify are out of date. Each plan carries a monthly subscription and its own card rates. Higher plans cost more per month but charge lower rates per sale, so the cheapest plan depends on your sales volume.
| Plan | Monthly (Annual) | Online Card Rate | In-Person Card Rate | Third-Party Fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39$29 annual | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.6% + $0.10 | 2% |
| Grow | $105$79 annual | 2.7% + $0.30 | 2.5% + $0.10 | 1% |
| Advanced | $399$299 annual | 2.5% + $0.30 | 2.4% + $0.10 | 0.6% |
Annual prices, shown in parentheses, are the per-month cost when you pay for a year up front. Two more options sit outside the standard three. Starter costs $5 a month for selling through links and social channels without a full online store. Plus starts at about $2,300 a month for high-volume and enterprise merchants, with negotiated rates.
All rates above are US standard card rates from Shopify’s pricing page, current as of June 2026. Premium cards, international cards, and certain wallets are charged at higher rates.
What Shopify Takes Per Sale
The fee on one sale is the card rate for your plan plus a fixed charge of $0.30 online or $0.10 in person. The examples below use a $100 online sale.
A $100 sale with Shopify Payments
On a $100 online sale paid through Shopify Payments, the fee is $3.20 on Basic, $3.00 on Grow, and $2.80 on Advanced. Each figure is the plan’s percentage plus the $0.30 fixed fee.
A $100 sale through a third-party gateway
A third-party gateway charges its own rate, and Shopify adds its transaction fee on top. With a typical gateway at 2.9% plus $0.30, the same $100 sale costs:
- Basic: $5.20, which is $3.20 to the gateway plus $2.00 for Shopify’s 2% fee.
- Grow: $4.20, which is $3.20 plus $1.00 for the 1% fee.
- Advanced: $3.80, which is $3.20 plus $0.60 for the 0.6% fee.
The gap between the two scenarios is the cost of not using Shopify Payments. On Basic, that gap is $2.00 on a single $100 sale, or 2% of every order.
Shopify Payments vs a Third-Party Gateway
Shopify Payments is almost always the cheaper way to take card payments, because it avoids the third-party transaction fee. A third-party gateway only wins on cost when its own rate is low enough to beat Shopify Payments after Shopify’s extra fee is added.
The math sets a clear break-even. For a third-party gateway to cost less than Shopify Payments, the gateway’s rate plus Shopify’s third-party fee has to come in below the Shopify Payments rate. On Basic, Shopify Payments charges 2.9% and the third-party fee is 2%, so a gateway would need a rate under 0.9% to win. No standard processor charges that little. On Advanced the third-party fee falls to 0.6%, so the gateway only needs to beat 1.9%, but that still rules out most processors, which sit near 2.9%.
So when does a third-party gateway make sense? Cost is rarely the reason. A gateway can still be the right call when:
- Shopify Payments is not available in your country.
- Your business is in a category Shopify Payments does not support.
- You hold a negotiated processing rate low enough to absorb the third-party fee.
For most merchants on Basic, Grow, or Advanced, Shopify Payments is the lower-cost option, and the calculator above shows the exact difference for your numbers.
When Shopify Fees Justify Switching
Shopify’s fee structure works against high-volume, low-margin retail. A liquor store, vape shop, or convenience store runs thousands of small transactions a month, and the percentage on every sale adds up faster than the monthly subscription ever will. When that is your reality, the question stops being which Shopify plan is cheapest and becomes whether Shopify is the cheapest platform at all.
The pressure comes from two directions. Shopify ties its lowest card rates to its most expensive plan and charges a third-party fee for any outside processor. A processor-agnostic POS removes both. You negotiate your own processing rate with a provider, and no platform fee sits on top of it.
KORONA POS works that way. It does not lock you into one payment processor, and it does not add a transaction fee for using your own. For a store running high volume on thin margins, control over the processing rate often pushes the effective cost per sale below what any Shopify plan can reach. Our Shopify POS pricing breakdown lays out the comparison.
Switching is not right for everyone. Low-volume sellers and merchants tied to Shopify’s ecosystem are often better off staying. If fees are cutting into your margin, our guide to Shopify POS alternatives weighs the options, and uptime belongs in that math too, since a Shopify POS outage halts every register until it clears.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Shopify take in fees?
Shopify charges a monthly plan fee plus a card processing fee on every sale. Online rates run from 2.5% to 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction, depending on your plan. An outside payment provider adds a separate fee of 0.6% to 2%.
How much does Shopify take from a $100 sale?
On a $100 online sale through Shopify Payments, the fee is $3.20 on Basic, $3.00 on Grow, and $2.80 on Advanced. Each amount is the plan’s card rate plus the fixed $0.30 charge per transaction.
Does the Shopify fee apply to shipping I charge?
Yes. Shopify’s processing fee applies to the full transaction amount, and that covers any shipping you charge the customer. A $90 order with $10 shipping is treated as a $100 sale, and the fee is calculated on the entire $100.
What is Shopify’s 2% transaction fee?
The 2% transaction fee is the charge Shopify adds on the Basic plan when you process payments through a provider other than Shopify Payments. It sits on top of your provider’s own rate. The fee drops to 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced.
Which Shopify plan has the lowest fees?
It depends on your sales volume. Advanced has the lowest card rates but the highest monthly fee, so it wins only at higher volume. Basic has the lowest monthly fee and suits lower-volume stores. The calculator finds the cheapest plan for your numbers.
Does Shopify Payments remove all fees?
No. Shopify Payments removes the third-party transaction fee, but it does not remove the card processing fee. You still pay your plan’s rate, such as 2.9% plus $0.30 on Basic, on every sale you take through Shopify Payments.
