Shopify Fees at a Glance
Shopify charges its fees on the order total.
| Fee | Percentage | Flat | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments (Basic) | 2.9% | $0.30 | — |
Fees That Apply in Some Cases
| Fee | Percentage | Flat | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Third-party gateway fee | 2% | — | Charged when not using Shopify Payments |
What You Keep
The flat component is what makes small sales expensive. The same fee schedule costs a very different effective rate depending on the order size:
| Sale | Fees | You receive | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $0.44 | $4.56 | 8.90% |
| $20.00 | $0.88 | $19.12 | 4.40% |
| $50.00 | $1.75 | $48.25 | 3.50% |
| $100.00 | $3.20 | $96.80 | 3.20% |
| $500.00 | $14.80 | $485.20 | 2.96% |
Plan Rates
Shopify's card rate falls as the monthly plan rises, so the right plan depends on volume:
| Plan | Monthly | Online card rate |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39 | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Grow | $105 | 2.7% + 30¢ |
| Advanced | $399 | 2.5% + 30¢ |
The Third-Party Gateway Penalty
Using a payment gateway other than Shopify Payments adds a further 0.5%–2% depending on plan, on top of whatever that gateway charges. On Basic that is 2% extra, which almost always exceeds any saving from the alternative processor.
| Setup | Effective rate on $100 |
|---|---|
| Shopify Payments, Basic | 3.20% |
| Stripe via third-party, Basic | 3.20% + 2.00% = 5.20% |
Apps Are the Hidden Line
A typical store runs five to ten paid apps at $10–$50 each. That is $100–$300 a month before a single order, and it does not appear in any fee calculator. Audit it quarterly.
Charging to Hit a Target Payout
Adding 2.90% to your price under-recovers, because the percentage then applies to the larger amount as well. The correct gross-up divides:
``
charge = (target + flat fees) ÷ (1 − percentage rate)
``
| To receive | Charge |
|---|---|
| $100.00 | $103.30 |
| $1,000.00 | $1,030.18 |
Reducing What You Pay
- Raise average order value. The flat fee is fixed, so bundling two $20.00 orders
- Watch the optional surcharges. International and currency-conversion fees stack on top
- Negotiate at volume. Most processors will discuss custom rates once you are processing
- Do not migrate for 0.2%. The engineering and support cost of changing platforms
Basic plan online rate. Grow and Advanced plans lower the percentage.
Shopify Against Every Other Channel
What each platform takes from the same $100 sale:
| Platform | Effective rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb | 3.00% | $97.00 |
| BigCommerce | 3.08% | $96.92 |
| Stripe | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| Shopify | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| Square | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| GoFundMe | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| Podia | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| Wix | 3.20% | $96.80 |
| PayPal | 3.98% | $96.02 |
| Lemon Squeezy | 5.50% | $94.50 |
| Paddle | 5.50% | $94.50 |
| Squarespace | 6.20% | $93.80 |
| Ko-fi | 8.20% | $91.80 |
| Buy Me a Coffee | 8.20% | $91.80 |
| Kickstarter | 8.20% | $91.80 |
| Teachable | 8.20% | $91.80 |
| Indiegogo | 8.30% | $91.70 |
| Etsy | 9.95% | $90.05 |
| Upwork | 10.00% | $90.00 |
| Gumroad | 10.00% | $90.00 |
| Patreon | 11.20% | $88.80 |
| Whatnot | 11.20% | $88.80 |
| StockX | 12.00% | $88.00 |
| Substack | 13.20% | $86.80 |
| Mercari | 13.40% | $86.60 |
| eBay | 13.55% | $86.45 |
| Bandcamp | 14.70% | $85.30 |
| Amazon FBA | 18.22% | $81.78 |
| Fiverr | 20.00% | $80.00 |
| Poshmark | 20.00% | $80.00 |
| DoorDash | 30.00% | $70.00 |
The Rate Is Not Fixed
Shopify's effective rate on a $10 sale is 5.90%, and on a $1,000 sale it is 2.93%. The flat component does not scale, so raising average order value lowers your effective rate without negotiating anything.
| Sale | Fees | You keep | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $0.59 | $9.41 | 5.90% |
| $100 | $3.20 | $96.80 | 3.20% |
| $1,000 | $29.30 | $970.70 | 2.93% |