Fees and take-home
Shopify Fee Calculator
Estimate Shopify seller take-home for a US online store using Shopify Payments. Covers the plan monthly cost and the per-transaction card processing fee. Does NOT include apps, themes, ads, third-party gateways, POS, international, chargebacks, taxes, or shipping.
Formula
- Gross revenue = Order amount * Orders per month
- Shopify Payments card processing = (Order amount * plan rate + $0.30) * Orders per month
- Effective monthly plan cost when billed Monthly = Starter $5, Basic $39, Grow $105, Advanced $399
- Effective monthly plan cost when billed Annual (Shopify's standard ~25% off) = Starter $5, Basic $29, Grow $79, Advanced $299
- Total fees = Card processing + Effective monthly plan cost
- Net take-home = Gross revenue - Total fees
- Effective fee rate = Total fees / Gross revenue * 100
Examples
- Basic plan at $50 x 100 orders: card processing = (50 * 0.029 + 0.30) * 100 = $175. Plan cost $39. Total $214. Net $4,786. Effective 4.28%.
- Grow plan at $50 x 200 orders: card processing = (50 * 0.027 + 0.30) * 200 = $330. Plan cost $105. Total $435. Net $9,565. Effective 4.35%.
- Advanced plan at $50 x 1000 orders: card processing = (50 * 0.025 + 0.30) * 1000 = $1,550. Plan cost $399. Total $1,949. Net $48,051. Effective 3.90%.
When to use this calculator
- Choose between Shopify plan tiers (Starter, Basic, Grow, Advanced) for a US store at your monthly order volume.
- Compare Shopify Payments take-home with a direct Stripe checkout if you sell digital products outside the Shopify ecosystem.
- Estimate when an upgrade to Shopify or Advanced beats Basic on fees alone.
Common mistakes
- Treating the plan monthly cost as the only Shopify cost; the card processing rate is usually the bigger line.
- Comparing Basic vs Advanced without normalizing for monthly cost, which is what break-even logic accounts for.
- Ignoring third-party gateway surcharges (0.5% to 2%) when using a non-Shopify-Payments processor.
Frequently asked questions
What does this calculator estimate?
It estimates Shopify seller take-home for a US online store using Shopify Payments. The calculator combines monthly plan cost and the per-transaction card processing fee. It does NOT model apps, themes, ads, third-party gateways, POS, taxes, shipping, chargebacks, or international card surcharges.
Which Shopify plan tier should I pick?
It depends on monthly order volume. Basic (monthly $39, annual $29 effective, 2.9% + $0.30) is the entry point for serious sellers. Grow (monthly $105, annual $79 effective, 2.7% + $0.30) - formerly named Shopify - starts paying off around $20k-$40k monthly gross because the 0.2% rate reduction offsets the higher monthly cost. Advanced (monthly $399, annual $299 effective, 2.5% + $0.30) is for high-volume stores. The Starter plan ($5/mo with 5% processing) suits link-in-bio sellers who only need a small storefront. Shopify's pricing page often displays the discounted annual effective price by default; this calculator defaults to Monthly billing and exposes a Billing cadence selector so the price you see matches the cadence you actually pay.
Why is the card processing rate so important?
Card processing is usually the largest single Shopify cost for any store doing meaningful volume. At $50,000 monthly gross on Basic, processing is $1,450 vs $39 plan cost. The plan rate difference between Basic and Grow saves $100 per $50k of gross revenue, which is why the higher plan can pay off.
Does this include international cards or shipping?
No. International cards add a surcharge (commonly 1% on Shopify Payments). Shipping cost, taxes, refunds, chargebacks, currency conversion, and POS hardware costs are also not modeled. Add them separately to your full landed margin calculation.
What about Shopify Plus?
Shopify Plus is enterprise tier with custom pricing (typically starts at $2,000+/mo). It is not modeled in this calculator. For Plus pricing, contact Shopify Sales for a custom quote.
Are apps and themes modeled here?
No. The Shopify app store and theme marketplace add significant recurring cost for many stores. Common app categories (email marketing, reviews, returns, inventory, subscriptions) can add $50-$500/mo. Use the Team Software Cost Calculator or AI Tool Stack Annual Cost Calculator to model the full SaaS stack.
How does Shopify Payments compare to third-party gateways?
Shopify Payments has no extra gateway fee. Using a third-party gateway like PayPal or Stripe adds a 0.5% to 2% surcharge depending on plan (Basic gets 2%, Advanced 0.5%). The calculator assumes Shopify Payments only, so the surcharge does not appear.
When does upgrading from Basic to Grow pay off?
Break-even is roughly (Plan cost difference) divided by (Rate difference). Grow minus Basic equals $66/mo extra. Rate difference equals 0.2%. Break-even equals $66 divided by 0.002 equals $33,000 monthly gross. Above $33k/mo, Grow saves money vs Basic. Below that, Basic is cheaper.
Related calculators
Sources and assumptions
- US online store using Shopify Payments. Domestic credit/debit card transactions only.
- Starter plan: 5% online card processing rate plus $5/month (annual saves nothing, Starter has no annual discount; this rate and price are subject to Shopify's Starter tier policy and may be revised).
- Basic plan: 2.9% + $0.30 online card processing plus $39/month (Monthly) or $29/month effective (Annual ~25% off).
- Grow plan (formerly named Shopify): 2.7% + $0.30 online card processing plus $105/month (Monthly) or $79/month effective (Annual ~25% off).
- Advanced plan: 2.5% + $0.30 online card processing plus $399/month (Monthly) or $299/month effective (Annual ~25% off).
- Billing cadence defaults to Monthly because the calculator's gross/cost math is monthly. Switching to Annual applies the discounted effective monthly cost. The Shopify pricing page's headline numbers often display the Annual effective price by default; the calculator shows the cadence explicitly so users understand which price they're seeing.
- NOT modeled: Shopify Plus, third-party gateway gateway fee (0.5% to 2% surcharge), Shopify Capital, apps, themes, ads, chargebacks, taxes, POS, international card surcharges, shipping costs, or buy buttons embedded outside Shopify.
Formula reviewed:
Last updated:
Shopify pricing varies by region, plan, billing cadence (annual discount), and payment method. This calculator assumes a US store on Shopify Payments with monthly billing. Always verify the current rate on Shopify's pricing and payments-rates pages.