Shopify Fees Explained: How Much Does Shopify Take per Sale?

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Shopify does not take the same percentage from every sale. A merchant in the US using Shopify Payments pays different processing charges from a store in India using a third-party gateway. The merchant’s Shopify plan, average order value, monthly sales volume and payment methods also affect the final cost.

For example, a standard $100 domestic online card transaction on Shopify Basic in the US incurs a $3.20 processing fee. In India, a ₹1,000 online payment on the Basic plan could incur ₹40 in combined Shopify and gateway charges, assuming the external gateway charges 2%.

Neither calculation includes the Shopify subscription, taxes on fees, or optional app costs.

This guide explains Shopify’s transaction fees in five countries, calculates the actual cost per order, and shows when upgrading plans can save money.

How Much Does Shopify Charge per Sale?

Shopify charges merchants for the platform and, depending on the payment arrangement, for processing transactions.

The main charges are:

A store using Shopify Payments for an eligible transaction generally does not pay Shopify’s additional third-party transaction fee on top of the Shopify Payments processing rate.

A store using an external payment gateway may pay both the provider’s processing charge and Shopify’s third-party transaction fee.

The distinction is important. Shopify’s processing fee and its third-party transaction fee are different charges, even though both are commonly described as Shopify fees.

Shopify Fees by Country: US, India, UK, UAE and Canada

Shopify’s payment-processing rates and subscription prices vary by country. It would be inaccurate to apply a US card-processing rate to an Indian or British store.

The following comparison uses published Shopify pricing, with promotional offers excluded.

Shopify Basic, Grow and Advanced payment rates

US, UK, UAE and Canada figures are published standard domestic online Shopify Payments card rates. India’s figures are Shopify’s third-party transaction fees, not total processing rates. They must be combined with the external payment provider’s charges. Rates vary for other cards, payment methods and transaction types.

The US, UK, UAE and Canadian stores in this table can use Shopify Payments subject to business eligibility. Shopify Payments is available in the UAE for online transactions, but not for in-person POS payment processing.

For Indian stores, the external gateway’s charges need a separate calculation. Our breakdown of payment gateway charges in India compares processing rates, settlement terms and other costs across major providers.

Shopify monthly subscription prices by country

The table below compares the regular monthly-equivalent subscription prices with annual billing, excluding introductory promotions.

All prices are per month when billed annually. UAE subscription amounts are displayed in USD, while the published card-processing charges use AED. Month-to-month billing prices are generally higher. Plan pricing may change.

These subscription prices should not be compared through currency conversion alone. Payment costs, local taxes, payment-method availability and business requirements vary between countries.

What does a 100-unit order cost in each country?

To make the payment-processing differences easier to understand, consider a standard domestic online card payment of 100 units in each market.

India assumes a third-party gateway fee of 2%, combined with Shopify Basic’s 2% third-party transaction fee. This is an illustrative calculation, not an advertised rate from any particular gateway.

These figures are not directly comparable across currencies or purchasing power. They demonstrate how each country’s published fee formula works.

The remaining amounts are not merchant profit. They exclude subscriptions, applicable fee taxes, fulfillment, merchandise, marketing and other expenses.

Shopify Transaction Fees in the United States

Shopify Payments is available to eligible US businesses and supports online card payments. The standard published domestic online card rates are:

Example: $20, $50, $100 and $500 sales

A merchant selling a $50 product on Shopify Basic would pay $1.75 in standard card-processing fees, leaving $48.25 before other expenses.

The fixed $0.30 component is particularly important for inexpensive products. A $10 order on Basic incurs a $0.59 processing fee, equivalent to 5.9% of its value.

That makes average order value a major factor in the effective payment-processing rate. Premium cards, international transactions, alternative payment methods and other payment arrangements may have different charges. The standard domestic card rates should not be applied to every payment.

Shopify Transaction Fees in India

India uses a different payment model because Shopify Payments is not available to India-based merchants. To collect online payments, merchants generally use a supported external gateway. Shopify may charge its own third-party transaction fee in addition to the gateway’s processing charges.

The published Shopify third-party rates are:

These are Shopify fees only. External gateway charges depend on the provider, merchant agreement and payment method.

Example: ₹1,000 online order

Assume an Indian store accepts a ₹1,000 payment through an external provider charging a hypothetical 2% processing fee, with no additional fixed charge.

The merchant’s actual charges could be higher or lower. Applicable GST on fees and payment-method-specific pricing must be calculated separately. A gateway advertising 2% processing does not necessarily mean a merchant’s entire Shopify payment cost is 2%.

Gateway pricing can change the final cost considerably. For a provider-specific breakdown, see our comparison of Cashfree, Razorpay, CCAvenue and PayU for Shopify, which examines processing charges, introductory offers and Shopify’s additional transaction fees.

Does Shopify charge on shipping and taxes?

Shopify’s third-party transaction-fee calculation generally takes into account the order amount after discounts, including applicable shipping and taxes.

Suppose an order contains ₹900 in discounted products, ₹50 shipping and ₹50 in applicable tax. If the resulting fee-eligible order amount is ₹1,000, Shopify Basic’s 2% transaction fee is ₹20. The merchant must separately account for any tax charged on Shopify’s services and gateway fees.

The exact tax treatment can depend on merchant registration and billing circumstances. Indian merchants should review their GST details in Shopify’s billing settings.

Shopify Transaction Fees in the United Kingdom

Shopify Payments is available to eligible UK merchants. For standard domestic online card transactions, the published rates are 2% + 25p on Basic, 1.7% + 25p on Grow, and 1.5% + 25p on Advanced.

A £100 standard domestic online card payment costs £2.25 to process on Basic. Businesses accepting American Express, international cards or alternative payment methods should consult the applicable UK rate table rather than applying the standard domestic rate to all orders.

Shopify Transaction Fees in the UAE

Shopify Payments is available in the United Arab Emirates for eligible online businesses. This is important because UAE stores are not necessarily required to use an external payment gateway, although merchants may still choose one.

The published domestic online card-processing rates are:

Example: AED 100 and AED 500 orders

For an AED 100 standard domestic online card order on Basic, the processing charge is AED 3.90.

UAE businesses should also distinguish domestic payments from international transactions and other card categories. Shopify publishes different rates for certain payment types. Shopify Payments in the UAE is limited to eligible businesses and online payment acceptance. Merchants must satisfy Shopify’s business registration and verification requirements.

Shopify Transaction Fees in Canada

Canadian merchants can use Shopify Payments if they meet the relevant requirements. The published standard domestic online card rates are:

Example: CAD 100 and CAD 500 sales

A CAD 100 standard domestic online card transaction on Basic produces a CAD 3.10 processing fee. Different terms can apply to American Express, international cards and Interac payments. For cross-border sales, Canadian merchants should also assess payout currency and conversion costs.

How Much Does Shopify Cost for 1,000 Orders per Month?

Per-order processing fees are only one part of the calculation. Monthly subscriptions can change which Shopify plan is most economical.

Consider an Indian store processing 1,000 paid online orders per month at an average order value of ₹1,000.

That represents ₹10 lakh in monthly sales.

Assume a third-party payment gateway charges 2%, the entire sales volume is subject to Shopify’s third-party fees, and the store pays Shopify annually.

These are modeled monthly cost allocations, not actual merchant bills. They exclude GST on fees, optional apps, refunds and additional provider charges.

Under these assumptions, Grow is the cheapest of the three plans. Although Basic has the lowest subscription price, its additional transaction fees exceed the subscription savings at this volume.

Advanced has a lower transaction fee than Grow but its higher subscription is not justified by ₹10 lakh in monthly fee-eligible sales alone.

When Is Upgrading Shopify Plans Worth It?

A more expensive Shopify plan can become economical when lower transaction charges outweigh the subscription difference.

For India-based merchants using third-party gateways, the calculation is relatively straightforward.

Basic vs Grow break-even in India

The monthly-equivalent subscription difference with annual billing is:

₹5,599 − ₹1,499 = ₹4,100.

The Shopify transaction-fee difference is:

2% − 1% = 1 percentage point.

Break-even monthly eligible sales:

₹4,100 ÷ 0.01 = ₹4,10,000

With these assumptions, Grow becomes less expensive than Basic above approximately ₹4.1 lakh in monthly sales subject to Shopify’s third-party transaction fee.

Grow vs Advanced break-even in India

The subscription difference is:

₹22,680 − ₹5,599 = ₹17,081.

The transaction-fee difference is:

1% − 0.6% = 0.4 percentage points.

Break-even monthly eligible sales:

₹17,081 ÷ 0.004 = ₹42,70,250

Advanced becomes cheaper than Grow on these two cost components above approximately ₹42.7 lakh in eligible monthly sales.

These break-even points assume unchanged gateway charges, annual billing, and no differences in taxes or other operating expenses. They are not universal plan recommendations.

What about the US, UK, UAE and Canada?

For stores using Shopify Payments, the break-even analysis differs because there is usually a percentage processing rate plus a fixed fee per transaction.

When the fixed amount remains the same between the plans being compared, the basic calculation is:

Break-even monthly card sales = Extra monthly subscription cost ÷ Reduction in percentage processing rate

For example, consider a US merchant comparing Basic and Grow with annual billing. The monthly-equivalent subscription increases from $29 to $79, while the standard domestic online card percentage falls from 2.9% to 2.7%.

The $50 subscription difference divided by the 0.2-percentage-point processing reduction produces a break-even level of $25,000 in eligible monthly card sales.

This comparison excludes any plan-feature value, other payment types, different card rates and optional services.

The same approach can be used in other supported countries, provided the appropriate local subscription and processing rates are used.

Other Shopify Costs to Include in Your Budget

Apps and subscriptions

Shopify includes core ecommerce functionality, but businesses may subscribe to apps for product reviews, subscriptions, loyalty programs, shipping, customer support, accounting or advanced reporting.

Consider a merchant spending $60 per month on apps. At 100 completed orders, that amounts to an average allocation of $0.60 per order. At 1,000 orders, the same fixed app spending contributes only $0.06 per order.

The effect of fixed app costs therefore depends heavily on sales volume.

Themes, domain and development

Shopify includes web hosting and SSL certificates, but premium themes, domains, custom development and implementation support can create additional expenses.

A premium theme may be a one-time cost, while an app or maintenance service could create an ongoing charge. These costs should be treated according to their actual billing structure instead of being described as universal Shopify transaction fees.

Cross-border payments and currency conversion

International sales can involve additional charges for card processing, foreign exchange and multi-currency payouts.

Shopify’s standard domestic rates are not suitable estimates for every international transaction. The country of the merchant, the customer’s payment method and the payout currency can all matter.

Refunds and chargebacks

Refunding an order does not necessarily recover its original payment-processing charges or Shopify’s third-party transaction fees.

Chargebacks may involve separate dispute-related costs, depending on the provider and circumstances. Returned goods also create operational expenses, including reverse shipping and restocking.

A business with frequent returns should include these costs in its margin model rather than looking only at successful completed sales.

Tax on Shopify and payment-provider fees

GST, VAT and other taxes may apply to Shopify subscriptions, transaction fees or payment services depending on the country and merchant’s tax status. These are separate from taxes collected from customers on product sales.

Merchants should verify their billing tax treatment and eligible exemptions rather than adding one universal tax percentage across all five countries.

Does Shopify Charge Transaction Fees on Cash on Delivery?

Shopify generally excludes ordinary manual payment methods, such as cash on delivery and bank transfers, from its third-party transaction fees.

For example, when an Indian merchant uses a standard manual COD payment method, Shopify’s online third-party gateway fee normally does not apply to that manual collection.

However, courier companies may charge COD collection or remittance fees. Merchants can also incur return-to-origin costs and other expenses associated with failed deliveries.

App-based or externally processed COD arrangements may work differently, so the merchant should check how the payment method is implemented.

Shopify vs WooCommerce and Wix: Which Costs Less?

Shopify is a hosted ecommerce platform. WooCommerce is open-source software typically operated on separate WordPress hosting, while Wix provides hosted website and ecommerce plans.

The platforms therefore have different cost structures.

WooCommerce may offer greater hosting and customization flexibility, but that does not automatically make it cheaper after development and maintenance.

Shopify can be convenient for merchants seeking a managed platform, although third-party transaction fees can make a difference at higher sales volumes.

The appropriate comparison is total annual operating cost for the same business requirements, not the advertised platform subscription alone.

For Indian D2C businesses, platform costs are only one part of the decision. Payment success rates, settlement timelines and refund handling also matter, as covered in our comparison of payment gateways for Indian D2C brands.

How to Calculate Your Actual Shopify Cost per Order

A useful monthly calculation is:

Monthly platform and payment cost = Shopify subscription + Processing fees + Third-party transaction fees + Paid app charges + Other relevant costs

Then divide the result by the number of completed paid orders.

For example, an Indian merchant might have the following monthly expenses:

Across 1,000 paid orders, that equals an average cost of ₹38.60 per order.

This allocation helps merchants understand the effective cost of operating their store, but it does not measure profit.

To calculate contribution margin, merchants must also account for product costs, discounts, fulfillment, packaging, returns and customer acquisition.

If UPI accounts for a substantial share of your Indian orders, compare the actual provider charges rather than assuming every UPI transaction is free to process. Our guide to the cheapest UPI payment gateways in India explains the differences.

How We Calculated Shopify’s Fees

We used Shopify’s official pricing and payment documentation for the US, India, UK, UAE and Canada. Calculations use published domestic card rates and annual-billing prices, excluding promotional offers. For India, we assumed a 2% external gateway fee alongside Shopify’s published transaction fees.

All examples and break-even figures are our own calculations, not live transaction tests. They exclude taxes, refunds, negotiated rates and optional costs unless stated. Actual fees may vary by payment method and merchant agreement.

Final Verdict: What Does Shopify Really Cost per Sale?

There is no universal Shopify fee per transaction.

In the US, UK, UAE and Canada, eligible merchants can use Shopify Payments with rates determined by their local plan and payment method. Indian merchants generally need an external gateway and must account for Shopify’s additional third-party transaction charges on applicable payments.

For low-volume stores, minimizing subscription costs may be more important than obtaining a slightly lower processing rate. As transaction volume increases, a higher plan can become more economical.

The most reliable approach is to calculate total monthly cost using actual order volume, average order value, payment-method mix, country-specific rates and required apps.

A store’s cheapest Shopify plan is not necessarily its lowest-cost option.

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