Shopify fees are not just the monthly plan. Your real cost is plan fee plus payment processing plus third-party transaction fees, POS add-ons, apps, tax tools, themes, domains, and optional services. The good news: once you know the formula, the bill is not mysterious.
The Shopify Fee Formula
Use this monthly formula:
Estimated Shopify cost = plan fee + card processing + third-party transaction fees + apps + POS Pro + tax tools + other add-ons.
For Canadian stores, Shopify Canada lists Basic at $37 CAD/month yearly or $49 CAD/month monthly, Grow at $99 CAD/month yearly or $132 CAD/month monthly, and Advanced at $389 CAD/month yearly or $517 CAD/month monthly. Shopify Plus starts at $3,400 CAD/month.
Step 1: Pick The Plan Fee
| Plan | Yearly monthly price | Monthly price | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $37 CAD/month | $49 CAD/month | New stores and solo operators. |
| Grow | $99 CAD/month | $132 CAD/month | Small teams and growing sales. |
| Advanced | $389 CAD/month | $517 CAD/month | Higher volume, reporting, and lower card rates. |
| Plus | From $3,400 CAD/month | Contract pricing | Complex and high-volume businesses. |
Step 2: Estimate Shopify Payments Fees
Shopify Canada lists online standard card rates of 2.8% + 30 cents CAD on Basic, 2.6% + 30 cents on Grow, and 2.4% + 30 cents on Advanced. It lists online Amex and international rates at 3.5% + 30 cents on Basic, 3.4% + 30 cents on Grow, and 3.3% + 30 cents on Advanced.
Example: if your Shopify Basic store processes 1,000 online standard-card orders at $75 CAD average order value, the rough card processing estimate is:
($75,000 x 2.8%) + (1,000 x $0.30) = $2,400 CAD.
Step 3: Add Third-Party Transaction Fees
If you use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify charges third-party transaction fees in addition to your processor’s own fees. Shopify Canada lists the third-party fee as 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced, and 0.2% on Plus.
Shopify’s billing help says the formula is: cost of products minus discounts, plus tax and shipping charges, multiplied by the plan rate. Shopify also says these fees are not returned when you refund an order.
Step 4: Add POS, Tax, Apps, And Themes
Shopify Canada lists POS Pro as an add-on at $119 CAD/month for physical storefronts. Shopify Tax in Canada adds another potential cost: Shopify’s help center says Starter, Basic, Grow, and Advanced stores pay a 0.25% fee on Canadian orders calculated with Shopify Tax, capped at $0.99 CAD per order, while Plus pays 0.15% capped at $0.99 CAD per order.
Apps are the real swing factor. A lean store might spend $0 to $100/month on apps. A growing store can spend several hundred dollars a month across email, reviews, subscriptions, loyalty, returns, search, bundles, and support. For examples, see our guide to Shopify apps for repeat purchases.
When Should You Upgrade?
Shopify’s plan guidance says the break-even point depends on location and whether you use Shopify Payments. For Canada, Shopify estimates Grow can save money around $300,000 USD/year when using Shopify Payments, and Advanced can save money around $880,000 USD/year. Those are estimates, not rules.
The manual test is better: calculate the extra monthly plan cost, then compare it against payment-rate savings, staff needs, reporting needs, shipping rates, and operational features. Do not upgrade only because the dashboard suggests it. Upgrade when the math or workflow justifies it.
Quick Calculator Inputs
Use these inputs for your own spreadsheet: monthly orders, average order value, percentage paid by standard domestic cards, percentage paid by Amex or international cards, third-party provider volume, POS locations, app stack, tax tool usage, and theme or development cost.
If payment processing is the main confusion, our Canadian payment-processing fee comparison goes deeper into processor options.
Calculator Template For Canadian Stores
Start with a simple tab that separates revenue assumptions from fixed costs. Put monthly order count in one cell, average order value in another, and monthly gross merchandise value in a third. Then split payments into domestic standard cards, Amex or international cards, Interac or in-person volume, and third-party gateway volume. This matters because one blended percentage hides the real reason your bill changes.
| Input | Why it matters | Common mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Order count | The fixed 30-cent card component scales with transactions, not just revenue. | Using only monthly sales and ignoring small-order volume. |
| Average order value | Higher AOV spreads fixed payment fees over more revenue. | Comparing stores with different AOVs as if they pay the same effective rate. |
| Card mix | Amex and international cards can price differently from standard domestic cards. | Assuming the lowest posted domestic rate applies to every order. |
| Gateway choice | Third-party processors can add Shopify transaction fees on top of processor fees. | Comparing only the processor rate and forgetting Shopify’s platform fee. |
| App stack | Recurring apps often become the largest non-payment monthly cost. | Installing apps during trials and never auditing the bill later. |
Three Worked Examples
Early store: a store on Basic with $8,000 CAD monthly online card volume, 160 orders, Shopify Payments, and $50/month in apps would estimate card processing at about $272 CAD, plus the $37 CAD annual-plan fee and apps. That rough total is $359 CAD/month before tax, domains, themes, and optional tools.
Growing store: a store on Grow with $80,000 CAD monthly standard-card volume, 1,000 orders, Shopify Payments, and $350/month in apps would estimate card processing at about $2,380 CAD, plus the $99 CAD annual-plan fee and apps. That rough total is $2,829 CAD/month before other costs. At this size, the plan fee is not the cost driver; payment mix, conversion rate, and app discipline matter more.
Third-party gateway store: a Basic store with $50,000 CAD in applicable monthly volume through an outside gateway could add about $1,000 CAD in Shopify third-party transaction fees before the outside processor’s own charges. That does not automatically mean Shopify Payments is always better, because some stores need specialized gateways, multi-currency setups, high-risk processing, or local payment methods. It does mean the comparison must include both layers.
Fees That Do Not Show Up In A Simple Plan Comparison
There are several costs that are easy to miss in a quick Shopify plan comparison. Paid themes can be a one-time expense, but redesign work, app configuration, custom development, and conversion testing can recur. Domains, email, analytics tools, support tools, product feed tools, subscriptions, loyalty programs, upsell apps, review apps, returns software, and inventory systems can each look small alone and meaningful together.
Shipping can also distort the picture. A store might pay more for shipping software, label tools, warehouse integrations, or carrier-calculated rates, yet still come out ahead if fulfillment becomes faster and fewer orders need manual handling. For operational context, pair this calculator with our guide on how to choose inventory software and our return-management software comparison.
How To Lower Shopify Costs Without Hurting Growth
First, audit your apps every quarter. Cancel duplicate pop-up, upsell, review, search, and analytics tools that no one uses. Second, look at effective payment rate, not just headline rate. Divide total payment and transaction fees by processed volume, then compare month to month. Third, test whether an upgrade reduces enough processing cost or staff time to justify the higher plan fee.
Fourth, protect margin with better merchandising instead of blunt discounting. A higher average order value can reduce the fixed fee burden per dollar of revenue, and better retention can make the same platform cost support more repeat orders. For margin-friendly tactics, read our guide on reducing cart abandonment without constant discounts.
When A Spreadsheet Is Not Enough
A spreadsheet gives a useful estimate, but the real invoice depends on live order mix, refunds, taxes, shipping charges, app billing cycles, international card share, chargebacks, and how Shopify classifies each transaction. Review actual invoices for at least three months before making a platform decision. If seasonality is strong, compare peak, slow, and normal months separately.
Also remember that platform cost is only one part of profitability. A store that pays slightly more for Shopify may still win if it launches faster, converts better, or needs fewer maintenance hours than an open-source build. A store that has in-house WordPress skill may prefer WooCommerce because it wants deeper control. The right comparison is total business cost, not just the lowest monthly subscription.
Example Monthly Estimate
Say a Canadian store uses Basic on annual billing, processes $25,000 CAD in standard online card sales from 400 orders, uses Shopify Payments, spends $120/month on apps, and has no POS Pro. The rough monthly estimate is $37 plan fee + $820 card processing + $120 apps = $977 CAD before tax and any optional services.
Change one assumption and the answer moves. If the store uses a third-party payment provider on Basic, Shopify’s 2% third-party transaction fee would add about $500 CAD on $25,000 CAD of applicable volume, before the outside processor’s own fee. That is why payment choice is one of the biggest Shopify cost decisions.
Common Mistakes
Do not ignore refunds, international cards, Amex, app trials that become paid, POS Pro, paid themes, extra staff workflows, or tax tools. Also do not assume a higher plan is wasteful. If the lower payment rate, staff accounts, shipping features, and reporting save enough money or time, upgrading can be rational.
Sources
- Shopify Canada pricing.
- Shopify Payments Canada.
- Shopify third-party transaction fees.
- Shopify choosing the right plan.
- Shopify Tax in Canada.
Last Reviewed
Last reviewed: July 22, 2026.
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