The decision at a glance
Start with Basic unless a specific staff, shipping, or payment-cost requirement makes the next tier economical. A higher subscription is not a growth strategy by itself.
Scroll the table sideways to compare all columns.
| US plan | Annual-billing equivalent | Month-to-month |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $29/month | $39/month |
| Grow | $79/month | $105/month |
| Advanced | $299/month | $399/month |
Research checked September 9, 2026. This update combines official-document review with editorial buying guidance. It is not a new hands-on test or a measured performance ranking. Prices and availability can vary by country, account, and purchase channel.
Separate the subscription from payment costs
Shopify’s US pricing page lists standard online card rates of 2.9% + 30 cents for Basic, 2.7% + 30 cents for Grow, and 2.5% + 30 cents for Advanced. Additional third-party transaction fees are a different charge. Your country, card type, and payment setup can change the applicable rate. Use the official checkout and fee schedule for your store, not a universal percentage copied from a comparison article.
Calculate an upgrade instead of guessing
For an illustrative Basic-to-Grow calculation on annual billing, the subscription difference is $50 a month. If the only saving were a 0.2 percentage-point card-rate reduction, $50 divided by 0.002 gives $25,000 of eligible monthly card volume. This is arithmetic, not a vendor quote: it excludes card mix, refunds, third-party fees, and feature value. Recalculate with your actual rates before upgrading.
Budget for the store you will operate
Write down each required app, its renewal price, and whether its charge increases with orders or contacts. Add the domain, theme, any POS locations, and the time needed to maintain the catalog. Keep launch-only expenses separate from recurring costs. Do not compare a promotional first month with a competitor’s full-year renewal price; compare the same operating period and your cash payment due today.
When not to choose the next plan
If the upgrade does not remove a current bottleneck, keep the lower tier and review again after a normal sales month. Test the checkout, returns workflow, shipping rules, and staff permissions before committing annually. A small store with a simple catalog may gain more from fewer apps and clearer product pages than from a larger platform subscription.
A simple plan-selection worksheet
Create three columns for Basic, Grow, and Advanced. Put the subscription at the top, using the same billing cycle. Under it, enter eligible card volume multiplied by your quoted rate, fixed per-transaction charges, and the required apps. Add an explicit line for any additional gateway fee. Leave unknown charges marked unknown until the provider confirms them. This makes the comparison auditable and prevents a lower percentage from hiding a higher fixed bill.
What would justify paying more?
Treat an upgrade as a response to an observed constraint: someone needs a particular staff permission, a shipping workflow requires a higher tier, or measured fee savings exceed the subscription difference. Write down the constraint and the expected benefit before purchasing. If the benefit is mainly that the plan sounds more professional, keep the smaller plan. Revisit after a representative month rather than during an unusually strong promotion.
Which plans are outside this comparison?
This table covers the three standard full-store plans. Starter, enterprise agreements, retail hardware, and POS upgrades solve different buying problems and should be quoted separately. Do not use a Starter transaction percentage to calculate a break-even against Basic without also including Basic’s processing charges. For enterprise or retail needs, ask for the full recurring and upfront cost in writing.
Keep recurring costs under control
App bloat is the quiet killer of Shopify profitability. Many merchants keep paying for tools they replaced, barely use, or only needed during launch. A quarterly app audit can save more money than downgrading a plan.
If you sell in person, do not budget only for the store plan. POS Pro, barcode scanners, receipt printers, card readers, and retail setup work can materially change your first-year cost. Online-only merchants often miss this because Shopify’s headline pricing is framed around ecommerce, not retail operations.
Before you choose
- Confirm local currency and billing cycle.
- Model eligible payment volume, not total revenue alone.
- Price every required app at renewal.
- Verify staff permissions before annual commitment.
Verify the current offer
Use the vendor’s current plan details to confirm the features, total payment, renewal terms, and eligibility that apply to you. These are direct official links; no special discount is claimed.
Official sources
Source review: September 9, 2026. Confirm changed terms on the vendor site before purchase.