2026 cost guide
Shopify Plus pricing: what it actually costs
As of October 2026, Shopify Plus starts at $2,300/month on a three-year term or $2,500/month on a one-year term – $27,600–$30,000 a year. That fee is the predictable part of the bill. With apps and ongoing development, most brands spend $60,000–$250,000+ a year, plus payment processing, which grows with your sales.
What does Shopify Plus cost per year, all in?
Budget $60,000–$250,000+ a year for platform, apps and development, then add payment processing on top. The subscription is the most predictable line on the bill; everything else moves with your sales, your app stack and how much you change the store.
| Cost line | Typical cost | Who bills you |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Plus subscription | $27,600–$30,000 a year $2,300/month on a three-year term or $2,500/month on a one-year term | Shopify |
| Variable platform fee (high-volume stores) | Replaces the flat fee; commonly reported at about 0.35–0.40% of sales above roughly $800,000 a month | Shopify |
| Payment processing | 2.25% + 30¢ per US online card payment with Shopify Payments, or your processor’s rate plus a 0.20% Shopify fee | Shopify Payments or your processor |
| Stores beyond the 9 included expansion stores | $300/month each, or a revenue share across all stores | Shopify |
| Apps | $800–$6,000/month for a typical stack | Each app’s vendor |
| Theme | A one-time Theme Store purchase, plus customization – from $500, most single changes $1,000–$5,000; redesigns are scoped as projects | The theme’s developer or your agency |
| Development and support | $2,500–$9,500/month on an OUXP retainer, or priced per project | Your agency or in-house team |
| Migration (once) | $25,000–$250,000+, depending on the platform you leave | Your agency – Shopify charges no migration fee |
Shopify fees from Shopify’s pricing pages, checked in October 2026; the variable fee is not published and the rate shown is commonly reported, not confirmed. App and development figures are typical ranges, not quotes.
By store profile
Most stores land in one of three bands. What separates them is the size of the app stack and how much engineering the store needs each month, not the subscription.
| Store profile | Per year | What it usually includes |
|---|---|---|
| Growing brand | $60,000–$90,000 | Subscription, a lean app stack and light, project-based development |
| Mid-market | $100,000–$160,000 | Subscription, a full app stack and a monthly engineering retainer |
| Enterprise | $200,000–$250,000+ | B2B, several markets or expansion stores, and dedicated engineering |
Estimates from typical projects, not quotes. Payment processing is left out because it scales with sales – see payment processing.
How a mid-market year adds up
An example with round numbers, so you can swap in your own:
| Cost line | Monthly | Yearly |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Plus, three-year term | $2,300 | $27,600 |
| App stack | $2,500 | $30,000 |
| Growth retainer (45 hours) | $5,000 | $60,000 |
| Total before processing | $9,800 | $117,600 |
Illustrative. The app figure is an assumption inside the typical $800–$6,000/month range; Shopify and OUXP prices as of October 2026.
What does the subscription cost, and what does it include?
Shopify sells Plus on a one-year or three-year term. As of October 2026, the fee starts at $2,500/month on one year and $2,300/month on three – the three-year term saves $2,400 a year, or $7,200 over the contract, in exchange for the longer commitment.
The variable fee for high-volume stores
Larger or more complex businesses pay a revenue-based platform fee instead of the flat monthly fee. Shopify sets it per merchant and doesn’t publish the rate; about 0.35–0.40% of sales above roughly $800,000 a month is commonly reported. Treat that as a planning figure: get your rate in writing and model it at your sales forecast, not today’s numbers.
What the fee covers
- Hosting with unlimited bandwidth, a global CDN and scaling for traffic peaks – nothing to provision before Black Friday
- PCI DSS Level 1 compliance and platform security
- Continuous platform updates, so there are no version upgrades to pay for
- Your main store plus up to 9 expansion stores, and unlimited staff accounts
- Plus-only capabilities: checkout customization before payment, Shopify Functions in your own custom apps, B2B at scale, the highest API rate limits (up to 10x on select APIs) and POS Pro for physical stores
What it doesn’t cover
- Payment processing, apps and themes
- Design, development, integrations and the migration itself
- Stores beyond the 9 expansion stores: $300/month each, or a revenue share across all stores
- A second brand – each brand needs its own Plus contract
What will payment processing cost?
As sales grow, processing becomes the biggest cost on the bill by a wide margin. Model it as a percentage of sales first and the platform fee second: many “Shopify Plus is expensive” conversations turn out to be processing conversations.
With Shopify Payments
Shopify lists 2.25% + 30¢ per US online card payment on Plus, against 2.5–2.9% + 30¢ on the other plans. Rates vary by country, and in-person payments have their own rates.
With a third-party gateway
Keep a processor such as Adyen, PayPal Braintree or Authorize.net and you pay that processor’s fees plus a 0.20% Shopify transaction fee on every order.
The scale is what surprises people. At the listed rate, $20 million a year in online card sales costs about $450,000 in percentage fees through Shopify Payments – about 15 times the flat subscription, and still several times a commonly reported variable fee at that volume. On $10 million routed through a third-party gateway, the 0.20% Shopify fee alone adds $20,000 a year.
Keeping your gateway can still be right: rates you’ve negotiated that beat Shopify Payments even after the 0.20%, countries Shopify Payments doesn’t serve, or reconciliation your finance team has built around one processor. Just put the 0.20% in the budget.
How much will apps add?
Apps are the line most brands underestimate. Each looks cheap on its own, but a full stack typically runs $800–$6,000 a month – $9,600–$72,000 a year – and most apps price by list size, order volume or revenue, so the bill grows with you.
| Category | Typical per month | Apps we often see |
|---|---|---|
| Email and SMS | $150–$3,000+ Priced on list size | Klaviyo, Attentive |
| Reviews | $50–$500 | Yotpo, Okendo, Judge.me |
| Subscriptions | $100–$500 Plus a share of subscription revenue | Recharge, Skio |
| Search and merchandising | $300–$2,000 | Searchspring, Algolia, Rebuy |
| Helpdesk | $50–$750 | Gorgias |
| Loyalty, bundles, upsells, shipping and tax | $200–$1,500 Combined | Several smaller apps |
| Typical stack in total | $800–$6,000 | Not applicable |
Typical ranges as of October 2026. Each vendor sets and changes its own pricing.
Most surprise invoices we see trace back to app sprawl: two apps doing one job, apps nobody uses any more, and usage-based plans that crept up a tier. Check what Shopify does natively before adding one – its own Flow and Search & Discovery apps cover automation, search filters and product recommendations at no extra cost.
Apps cost speed as well as money: every app script adds weight to your pages. A $2,500 store audit gives a keep, replace or remove call on every app, with what each one costs in fees and load time; if speed is the main worry, performance optimization usually starts with the apps.
What do development and support cost?
Shopify runs the platform; it doesn’t build or change your store. Theme work, new features, integrations and fixes come from an agency, freelancers or your own team – budget them as an ongoing line, not a one-off. Here is what OUXP charges.
| Work | Price | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Migration to Shopify Plus | $25,000–$250,000+ Once | From $25,000 for WooCommerce, $30,000 for BigCommerce and $50,000 for a standard Magento store; fixed price and timeline agreed before work starts, SEO preservation always included |
| Store audit | $2,500 Flat | Written report in 5 business days; findings become a prioritized plan, and fixes are quoted separately |
| Theme customization | From $500 | Most single customizations cost $1,000–$5,000, quoted within 1 business day and delivered in 3–10 business days; redesigns are scoped as projects |
| Custom development | Fixed quote | Shopify Functions, checkout extensions, custom apps and integrations, quoted after we have read your store and code |
| Monthly retainer | $2,500–$9,500/month | Essential $2,500 (20 hours), Growth $5,000 (45 hours) or Dedicated $9,500 (90 hours or a dedicated engineer); month-to-month, cancel with 30 days’ notice |
| 24/7 emergency add-on | +$500–$750/month | +$750 on Essential, +$500 on Growth, included in Dedicated; 2-hour first response around the clock |
| One-time emergency support | $250/hour | 2-hour minimum, senior engineers, no retainer needed |
Every retainer tier includes a first response within 30–60 minutes during business hours, and unused hours roll over one month.
Over a year, the three retainer tiers come to $30,000, $60,000 or $114,000. For comparison, a senior in-house Shopify engineer costs $120K+ a year before benefits and recruiting – and one person rarely covers frontend, backend, integrations and CRO.
Moving from another platform? The migration cost guide breaks the one-time cost down by source platform, with the factors that move it.
Do you need Plus, or is standard Shopify enough?
Plus is bought for capabilities, not for lower fees. Its card rate is lower, but on fees alone the upgrade from Advanced only pays for itself at roughly $6–10 million a year in online sales.
| Cost or feature | Grow | Advanced | Plus |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan fee | $79/month billed yearly $105 billed monthly | $299/month billed yearly $399 billed monthly | $2,300/month on three years $2,500 on one year |
| Card rate | 2.7% + 30¢ | 2.5% + 30¢ | 2.25% + 30¢ |
| Gateway fee | 1% | 0.6% | 0.20% |
| Checkout | Limited Branding, Thank you and Order status pages | Limited Branding, Thank you and Order status pages | Full Including the steps before payment |
| B2B | Core | Core | Full Unlimited and company-specific catalogs, deposits |
| Expansion stores | Not included | Not included | 9 included |
- Prices and rates from Shopify’s pricing page, checked in October 2026. Shopify changes plans often, so we confirm the current list before recommending one.
- Basic (not shown): $29/month billed yearly ($39 monthly), 2.9% + 30¢ card rate, 2% gateway fee, core B2B.
- Card rate: Shopify Payments, US online card payments.
- Gateway fee: Shopify’s transaction fee when you use a third-party payment gateway.
- Core B2B: company accounts, up to 3 catalogs, volume pricing, quantity rules, net payment terms and quotes. Shopify’s pricing page lists up to 3 B2B catalogs on Basic, Grow and Advanced and unlimited catalogs on Plus.
The math behind that $6–10 million
On a three-year term, Plus costs about $24,000 a year more than Advanced billed yearly ($27,600 against $3,588). In return it charges less on every online sale, so where it breaks even depends on how you take payments:
| Line | Shopify Payments | Third-party gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Extra cost of Plus a year | about $24,000 | about $24,000 |
| Saved per online sale | 0.25 points Card rate 2.5% → 2.25% | 0.4 points Gateway fee 0.6% → 0.20% |
| Break-even online sales a year | about $9.6 million | about $6 million |
Percentage points of each online sale; the 30¢ per card payment is the same on both plans. Advanced billed yearly against Plus on a three-year term, as of October 2026.
That break-even sits close to where Shopify commonly moves stores to the variable fee – roughly $800,000 a month, or $9.6 million a year – which can absorb part or all of the saving, so model both before you count on it.
Since April 2, 2026, core B2B has worked on every paid plan, so wholesale alone no longer forces the upgrade. Below the break-even point, Plus has to earn its fee with what only it does. Stores under roughly $1M–$2M a year with a simple catalog rarely need any of it; between there and $6–10 million, the lists below decide.
Standard Shopify is enough if…
- You sell under roughly $1M–$2M a year with a simple catalog
- Checkout needs your branding and post-purchase content, not extra fields or rules before payment
- App Store apps already handle your discount and shipping rules
- Your wholesale fits 3 catalogs or fewer, without deposits
- You sell in a handful of countries from one store
Plus earns its fee if…
- Checkout has to collect, check or show something before payment
- Your discount, shipping or payment rules need Shopify Functions in a custom app – often logic that used to run in Shopify Scripts
- Wholesale needs more than 3 catalogs, catalogs per company or location, deposits or partial payments
- Regions or channels need their own expansion stores
- Integrations push past Advanced’s API limits, or online sales are past $6–10 million a year and you’ve modeled the variable fee
Honest note
If nothing in the “Plus earns its fee” list applies to you, stay on standard Shopify and put the difference – about $24,000 a year against Advanced – into apps or development. Not sure? On a strategy call we check your checkout, discount, wholesale and market requirements against that list and tell you which plan they need, even when the answer isn’t Plus.
How does Plus compare with what you pay now?
Compare what each platform includes, not the sticker price. Shopify Plus folds hosting, CDN, security, PCI compliance and platform upgrades into one fee; on self-hosted platforms each of those is its own line, and upgrades arrive as projects.
| Platform | Platform fee | Still on your bill |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Plus | $27,600–$30,000 a year, or a variable fee at high volume | Apps, development and payment processing – hosting, CDN, PCI and upgrades are included |
| Magento Open Source | No license fee | Hosting, CDN, DevOps and security, commonly $14,000–$115,000 a year, plus upgrade projects of $10,000–$100,000+ each |
| Adobe Commerce | $22,000–$125,000+ a year Industry estimate | Upgrade projects, specialist development, and hosting and DevOps unless you run on Adobe’s cloud |
| Salesforce Commerce Cloud | A share of sales, commonly reported at 1–3% of GMV Estimate | Development by specialist systems integrators, often across several sites |
| BigCommerce | From $1,499/month on Performance, billed annually and custom-quoted Smaller plans step up with trailing 12-month sales | Apps, development and payment processing |
| WooCommerce | Free software | Hosting, paid plugins, security and the maintenance hours to keep them working together |
Estimates, not quotes. Adobe and Salesforce don’t publish their prices; the Magento hosting and upgrade ranges come from our Magento vs Shopify Plus cost table.
Against Magento, Adobe Commerce and Salesforce Commerce Cloud, Plus usually costs less in total once hosting, security, upgrades and developer rates are counted. BigCommerce is hosted too and often costs less in fees; WooCommerce costs less in software but adds hosting, plugins and upkeep. Each comparison guide has the full cost table for its platform, and the migration cost guide prices the move itself:
How do you keep the bill down?
Most savings come from decisions made before the invoices start, not from haggling afterwards.
- Choose the term on purpose. Three years saves $7,200 over the contract but commits you for three years; take one year if a replatform, sale or restructure is possible.
- Price processing first. Compare your processor’s rate plus the 0.20% fee with Shopify Payments at your real order mix before you decide which to keep.
- Get the variable fee in writing. If your sales are near the high-volume threshold, ask Shopify for the rate and model it at next year’s forecast.
- Audit apps twice a year. Remove overlaps and unused apps, and check whether a native Shopify feature now does the job.
- Start with Markets, not extra stores. Shopify Markets runs several countries from one store; every expansion store needs its own apps and theme.
- Budget support up front. Covered retainer clients never pay hourly for emergencies; without cover, emergency work is $250/hour with a 2-hour minimum.
- Time a migration to your renewal. Start 6–9 months before a license or hosting renewal so you never pay for two platforms at once.
What will Shopify Plus cost your store?
The ranges above are typical. Your own number comes down to the apps you carry over, the integrations you run and how much of the store you change in the first year. The fastest way to get it depends on where you start:
- On Magento, Adobe Commerce, Salesforce Commerce Cloud, BigCommerce or WooCommerce: a free migration assessment. Within 2 business days an engineer sends a written platform verdict, a cost band and timeline band for the move, the 2–3 risks most likely to complicate it, and a map of which apps and integrations have a direct Shopify equivalent. No store access is needed; the fixed price comes later, from a deeper pass with read-only access under NDA.
- On standard Shopify and weighing the upgrade: a strategy call. We check which of your requirements actually need Plus, and tell you if none do.
- Already on Plus, with a bill that keeps climbing: a $2,500 store audit, with a written report in 5 business days that prices every app in fees and load time.
Shopify Plus pricing questions
Short answers to what buyers ask us most. Something else? Ask an engineer – first response within 30–60 minutes during business hours.
How much does Shopify Plus cost per month?
As of October 2026, Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 a month on a three-year term or $2,500 a month on a one-year term – $27,600–$30,000 a year in base fees. High-volume stores pay a revenue-based variable fee instead of the flat fee. Payment processing, apps, themes and development are billed separately, so a realistic all-in budget is $60,000–$250,000+ a year before processing.
How does the Shopify Plus variable fee work?
Larger or more complex merchants pay a fee based on revenue and business model instead of the flat monthly fee. Shopify doesn’t publish the rate. About 0.35–0.40% of sales above roughly $800,000 a month is commonly reported, but your contract sets the actual number – get it in writing before you sign, and model it at your sales forecast rather than today’s sales.
Is Shopify Plus worth it over standard Shopify?
Only if you need what it adds. On fees alone, Plus pays for itself against Advanced only at roughly $6–10 million a year in online sales, and the variable fee high-volume stores pay can cancel that saving. Below that you’re buying capabilities: checkout customization before payment, Shopify Functions in a custom app, B2B beyond 3 catalogs or with deposits, expansion stores and higher API limits. Under roughly $1M–$2M a year with a simple catalog, standard Shopify is usually the better deal – and we’ll say so.
Does Shopify Plus cost more than Magento?
On platform fee alone, sometimes. Magento Open Source has no license fee, and Adobe Commerce licenses, commonly estimated at $22,000–$125,000+ a year, can come in under or over Shopify Plus at $27,600–$30,000 as of October 2026. On total cost of ownership – hosting, security, upgrade projects and developer rates – Plus usually costs less: on our estimates, hosting, CDN, DevOps and security alone run $14,000–$115,000 a year on self-hosted Magento Open Source. Magento vs Shopify Plus has the full cost table.
Can you negotiate Shopify Plus pricing?
The published lever is the term: three years at $2,300 a month instead of one year at $2,500 saves $7,200 over the contract. Shopify publishes no other discount; for high-volume merchants the variable fee is set in the contract, so that’s where terms are discussed. Separately, start a migration 6–9 months before your current platform’s renewal so you never pay for two platforms at once.
Can we cancel Shopify Plus before the term ends?
Budget for the whole term. Shopify Plus is sold on one-year or three-year terms, and Shopify’s pricing FAQ says the subscription can be cancelled when the term commitment expires. If your plans could change – a sale of the business, a new brand structure, another replatform – the one-year term costs $2,400 more a year but keeps your options open.
What costs do brands miss when budgeting for Shopify Plus?
Apps and payment processing – apps first for mid-market stores, processing first at scale. After those: apps and a theme for every expansion store, the 0.20% fee for keeping a third-party gateway, the variable fee once sales grow, and keeping custom apps current with Shopify’s quarterly API versions, each supported for at least 12 months. None is large alone; together they decide whether the budget holds.
Does Shopify charge to migrate a store to Shopify Plus?
No – Shopify charges no migration fee. The cost of moving is the project itself: data, theme, apps, integrations and SEO preservation, done by an agency or your own team. Migrations to Shopify Plus typically cost $25,000–$250,000+, from $25,000 for WooCommerce and $30,000 for BigCommerce to $80,000–$250,000+ for Salesforce Commerce Cloud. The migration cost guide breaks down what moves the number.
Want the number for your own store?
Send your store URL and current platform. Within 2 business days an engineer sends a free written assessment with a cost band and a timeline band for moving to Shopify Plus – no store access needed, and an honest answer if standard Shopify or staying put is the better deal.