Shopify Fee Calculator
Shopify's pricing pages list "$39/mo" but the real number depends on your plan, your processor, and whether you use Shop Pay. This calculator shows you the per-sale cost on each plan so you can make a real decision before you subscribe.
Shopify (basic)
- Subscription
- $39.00/mo
- Processing per sale
- $1.17
- Total monthly cost
- $97.50
- Per-sale amortized
- $1.95
instxnt Free
- Subscription
- $0/mo
- Per sale (3% + Stripe)
- $2.07
- Total monthly cost
- $103.50
instxnt Pro
- Subscription
- $19/mo
- Per sale (Stripe only)
- $1.17
- Total monthly cost
- $77.50
Numbers reflect Shopify Payments (Stripe) and assume online card sales. Third-party processors add a 0.5–2% Shopify transaction fee on top. instxnt Free includes a 3% platform fee; Pro at $19/mo drops it to 0%.
How Shopify pricing actually works
Shopify charges a flat monthly subscription ($39 Basic / $105 Shopify / $399 Advanced as of 2026), plus a payment processing fee per sale. If you use Shopify Payments (powered by Stripe), processing is 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic, 2.7% on Shopify, 2.5% on Advanced.
If you use a third-party processor (e.g., your own Stripe account, PayPal), Shopify adds a "transaction fee" of 2% on Basic, 1% on Shopify, 0.5% on Advanced — on top of the processor's own fee. That gets expensive.
Net result: most sellers stay on Shopify Payments because the third-party transaction fee is punitive.
When Shopify's fee structure makes sense
For permanent stores doing meaningful volume, the fee delta between Shopify and instxnt is small relative to the value Shopify provides (apps, inventory, multi-location, B2B).
For pre-product-market-fit testing, that $39/mo is overhead before you have validated whether the product even sells. instxnt's free plan removes that risk.
Frequently asked
Does this include Shopify Plus?
No — Shopify Plus is custom-priced (typically $2,000+/mo). The calculator covers the public Basic / Shopify / Advanced plans most sellers use.
What about apps?
Apps are extra and vary widely. Common stack adds $50–$200/mo on top of the base subscription. The calculator does not include them — it shows base platform cost only.
How does this compare to instxnt?
instxnt Free is $0/mo + 3% platform fee + Stripe (2.9% + 30¢) — cheaper than Shopify Basic at any volume since you skip the $39/mo subscription. instxnt Pro at $19/mo drops the platform fee to 0% (Stripe processing only), still cheaper than Shopify on monthly cost.
Skip the math, ship the storefront
Free for unlimited storefronts. Stripe-only fees on the free plan.
See pricing