Shopify plans explained: Basic vs Grow vs Advanced, and which one a beginner should pick

Prices on this subject change several times a year. So check Shopify's pricing page before you pay. And we recheck these prices every month, so the date next to each price tells you when it was last confirmed. Everything below is a Shopify rule or a Shopify price, unless I say it's my opinion.

Quick picks

What does each Shopify plan cost?

So Shopify sells four plans to new stores: Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus. These prices come from Shopify's pricing page, checked October 15, 2026, for US stores. The page has a switch between yearly and monthly billing, and the table below shows both.

Basically, "billed yearly" means Shopify charges you for the full year at once, and in return the monthly price is lower. Shopify's help page on the free trial says yearly billing "charges the full year upfront." The last column shows what that one payment adds up to.

Now Shopify's Plus plan is for complex businesses, so it isn't for a beginner. I only list Plus so you can see where the price ladder ends. And Shopify's pricing page says none of the plans has a setup fee.

Something to note is that Shopify's pricing page also shows a trial offer, 3 days free and then $1 a month for 3 months, on most plans. The $1 offer changes what you pay at the start, not the plan prices in the table above. I cover every step in my guide to Shopify's free trial and $1 offer. And for the full monthly bill with apps added, see what Shopify really costs per month.

And keep in mind that Shopify sometimes shows different visitors different prices for Grow and Advanced, so check Shopify's pricing page for yours. Basic is $29 yearly and $39 monthly either way.

Which Shopify plan should a beginner start on?

So I'd start on Shopify's Basic plan. That's my opinion, and here's why. Basic includes the full online store, with unlimited products, hosting and a custom domain connection, per Shopify's pricing page. Shopify's help page on features on all plans adds discount codes, manual orders and abandoned cart recovery.

Basic charges 2.9% + 30 cents on a standard online card sale. And Shopify lets you change plans any time, so starting on Basic doesn't lock you in.

Now the two main things you give up on Basic are real, so here they are plainly:

• Extra staff accounts. A staff account is a separate login for someone who helps run your store, such as a part-time helper. Shopify's Basic plan help page says Basic doesn't support adding staff accounts. Shopify's Grow plan has 5 and Shopify's Advanced plan has 15.
• A slightly lower card fee. Higher plans charge less on each sale, but the difference is small until your sales are large. I work out where it pays off below.

And one seller wrote in the Shopify Community on January 15, 2026 that two staff logins on their Basic store disappeared. They say Shopify support later restored the logins as a legacy feature. That's one seller's report, not a promise of what you'd get today.

What do Grow and Advanced add over Basic?

Basically, all three plans give you the same online store. The higher plans add logins, cheaper card fees and a few tools for bigger stores. The table below comes from Shopify's pricing page and its help pages for Basic, Grow and Advanced, checked October 15, 2026.

Now a few of the rows in that table need a plain explanation.

• Live third-party shipping rates means the store asks a shipping company for the exact price at checkout, instead of charging a flat price you set. Shopify's Basic plan help page says Basic doesn't support live third-party shipping rates. Shopify's pricing page includes them on Advanced and marks them as an add-on for Grow, without a price for the add-on.
• Shopify POS Lite is Shopify's point of sale, which means the checkout you use in person with a phone or card reader. Every plan includes Shopify POS Lite. Shopify POS Pro is a paid extra on every plan, at $89 a month for each location, per Shopify's pricing page.
• Reports. Shopify's pricing page says all three plans include 200+ real-time reports. Shopify's Basic plan help page says Basic comes with access to all reports, including custom reports. The Advanced help page adds predicted values for certain reports.

And Shopify's own wording is worth knowing. Shopify's help page on choosing a plan says Basic is for new businesses ready to launch a store and start selling. The same page says Grow is for stores with consistent sales that need advanced reporting or more staff accounts. And the page says Advanced is for high-volume businesses and businesses moving over from another platform.

What does Shopify charge on each sale, plan by plan?

So every plan has two kinds of costs. First is the plan price. Second is a fee on each sale. A payment processor is the company that moves your buyer's card money into your bank account and keeps a small fee for doing it. Shopify Payments is Shopify's own payment processor. A card rate has two parts, a percentage of the sale plus a fixed number of cents. All of these are US rates from Shopify's pricing page, checked October 15, 2026.

Now the last row matters. An outside payment provider, which Shopify calls a third-party provider, is any processor other than Shopify Payments. If you use one, Shopify adds its own fee on top of whatever that provider charges you. Shopify's pricing page doesn't define "premium cards," so I explain card fees in more detail in my guide to what Shopify really costs per month.

When does a higher plan pay for itself?

So a higher plan costs more each month, and in return the higher plan charges less on each sale. A break-even point is the amount of sales where those two things cancel out. Below the break-even point, the cheaper plan costs you less. Above the break-even point, the higher plan does.

Shopify gives its own estimates on its help page on choosing a plan, checked October 15, 2026. For US stores, Shopify says Grow pays off at about $200,000 a year in sales with Shopify Payments, and about $60,000 a year without it. For Advanced, Shopify says about $1,320,000 a year with Shopify Payments and about $528,000 without. Shopify adds that "your actual break-even point may vary."

Now my own math with today's prices gives different numbers, so here are the steps. The assumption is standard online cards, US store, no premium or international cards.

1. Find the gap in card rates. Basic charges 2.9% and Grow charges 2.7%. So 2.9% − 2.7% = 0.2%, which is 0.002 as a decimal.
2. Find the gap in plan prices. With yearly billing, Grow's $89 minus Basic's $29 is $60 a month. With monthly billing, $105 minus $39 is $66 a month.
3. Divide the price gap by the rate gap. $60 ÷ 0.002 = $30,000 a month, which is $360,000 a year. And $66 ÷ 0.002 = $33,000 a month, which is $396,000 a year.

The 30 cents on each order is the same on every plan, so the 30 cents never changes the answer. As a check, take $30,000 a month in $50 orders, which is 600 orders, on yearly billing. Basic's card fees are $870 + $180 = $1,050, and adding the $29 plan price gives $1,079. Grow's card fees are $810 + $180 = $990, and adding the $89 plan price gives $1,079. The two totals match, so $30,000 a month is the break-even point.

The outside provider rows assume the outside provider charges you the same on every plan, so only Shopify's own extra fee changes.

Now Shopify's estimates are lower than my math on every row. For Grow with Shopify Payments, Shopify says $200,000 a year, and my math says $360,000 to $396,000. For Advanced with Shopify Payments, Shopify says $1,320,000 a year, and my math says $1,620,000 to $1,764,000. Shopify's help page doesn't show its arithmetic, and it doesn't say which plan the Advanced estimate is measured against. And Shopify sometimes shows different visitors different prices for Grow and Advanced, so check Shopify's pricing page for yours.

So basically, for a beginner the answer is the same either way. With Shopify Payments, Shopify's Basic plan stays cheaper than Shopify's Grow plan until you're selling tens of thousands of dollars a month. With an outside payment provider, Grow starts to pay off sooner, at about $6,000 to $6,600 a month. And if you need staff logins before then, the logins are the reason to move up, not the card fee.

What would I pay at $1,000, $3,000 and $5,000 a month?

So here's the math at three small-store sizes, and you guys can redo it with your own numbers.

The assumptions: Every sale is one $50 order, paid by a standard US card through Shopify Payments, so the orders are 20 at $1,000, 60 at $3,000 and 100 at $5,000. Shipping isn't charged. There are no taxes, apps, premium or international cards, and no $1 trial months. Prices are the ones I checked October 15, 2026.

The formula: The card fee is the percentage times your sales, plus 30 cents times your orders. For Basic at $1,000, that's 0.029 × $1,000 = $29, plus 20 × $0.30 = $6, so $35. For Grow at $1,000, it's $27 + $6 = $33. For Advanced at $1,000, it's $25 + $6 = $31. The same steps give these card fees:

Now add the plan price to get the real monthly bill. First, with yearly billing, using $29, $89 and $359 a month:

And with monthly billing, using $39, $105 and $399 a month:

So at $5,000 a month, Shopify's Grow plan has a $10 lower card fee than Basic. But Grow's plan price is $60 to $66 higher, so Basic is still $50 to $56 cheaper overall. That's why I'd start on Basic.

Now if you use an outside payment provider instead of Shopify Payments, add Shopify's extra fee on top. On Basic that's 2% of sales, so $20 at $1,000, $60 at $3,000 and $100 at $5,000. On Grow it's 1%, so $10, $30 and $50. On Advanced it's 0.6%, so $6, $18 and $30.

How do I change my Shopify plan?

So you can change plans any time. Only the store owner can do it, or staff with the "Manage plan" permission. That's from Shopify's help page on plan changes, checked October 15, 2026. Here are the steps, with the screens you'll see in your own Shopify admin.

1. Open Settings, then click Plan. The Plan screen shows a box called "Plan details." On a store in its free trial, the box shows "Trial" with a green "3 days remaining" label. Next to the label are a red "Cancel trial" button and a black "Choose plan" button. Shopify's plan changes help page says the black button can also read "Change plan" or "Select plan."

Shopify's Settings, Plan screen on a trial store, in a US account, from Shopify sign-up step by step by Shopify Ecom Store Pro, September 2026, at 5:05.

2. Click "Choose plan." A screen opens with four plan cards: Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus. One recording shows this screen titled "Plans starting at $1" and another shows "Pick your plan." The Basic button reads "Try Basic" in one and "Select Basic" in the other.

Shopify's plan picker in a US account, from Shopify sign-up step by step by Shopify Ecom Store Pro, September 2026, at 4:05. The monthly prices on this screen match Shopify's pricing page today.

3. Pick the plan card you want. Each card lists the card rate, the number of staff accounts and a few extras. During the $1 offer, each card shows the monthly price struck through, with $1 a month beside the monthly price.
4. On the Subscribe screen, choose yearly or monthly billing. At the top is a switch called "Save with yearly billing." On Basic, a blue label next to the switch reads "$120 off ($29/mo)." The $120 matches the saving in the cost table above. The right side lists your bill and the date each price starts.
5. Add a payment method and click Subscribe. You can pick "Credit or debit card" or "PayPal." The black "Subscribe" button finishes the plan change.

Shopify's Subscribe screen for Basic, from a Canadian account, so the Country box says Canada. From How To Change Plan Level On Shopify by Just Kristers, February 2026, at 2:25. The dates on this screen are from February 2026, and the $39 monthly and $29 yearly Basic prices match Shopify's pricing page today.

Now what happens next depends on which way you're moving. All of these rules come from Shopify's plan changes help page, checked October 15, 2026.

• Moving up to a higher plan. Shopify bills you right away for the new plan only, the new features turn on immediately, and the cost is prorated. Prorated means Shopify charges only for the days left, and takes off the unused part of your old plan.
• Moving down to a lower plan. Shopify's help page says your plan is pre-paid, so the move takes effect at the end of your current billing cycle. A billing cycle is the month or year you already paid for. One video's narrator says a new plan typically takes effect immediately. That statement only fits moving up.
• Going from yearly to monthly billing. The change takes effect at the end of the yearly cycle. You start it at Settings, then Plan, then "Switch to monthly."
• Going from monthly to yearly billing on Basic or Grow. Shopify says this resets your saved shipping carrier information, so you have to enter it again.
• Changing during the free trial or the $1 months. During the trial, upgrading doesn't change the trial length. During the $1 months, a plan change takes effect immediately, you pay the $1 price prorated, and the end date of the $1 months doesn't move. After the $1 months end, you pay the new plan's regular price.

And about refunds, Shopify says plans are generally non-refundable. Shopify's refund policy page says support looks at each request one by one. The page lists 7 days from the invoice for monthly plans, 30 days from the first invoice after the trial, and 30 days for yearly plans. For the full cancel steps, see my guide to Shopify's free trial and $1 offer.

What happened to Shopify's Starter plan?

So Shopify's Starter plan was a plan for selling through product links on social media and in messages, with a simplified online store. Shopify's help page on the Starter plan says the Starter plan isn't available to new stores. And Shopify's pricing page, checked October 15, 2026, lists only Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus.

Some older articles still describe Starter as Shopify's cheapest plan. Shopify's own help page is the one to trust. And the help page says a store already on Starter can't go back to Starter after changing plans.

Now two other plans are closed to new stores too, according to Shopify's help pages. Those are the Lite plan, which didn't include an online store, and the Retail plan, which centered on in-person selling. Shopify also has a newer Agentic plan with no monthly fee, for selling in AI chat channels. But Shopify's help page on the Agentic plan says a store on the Agentic plan stays password protected, and checkout doesn't work until you move to a paid plan. So the Agentic plan isn't a way to run a normal store for free.

So basically, the cheapest way into a normal Shopify store is Basic. And if you only want to sell in person, Shopify POS Lite comes with every plan, so Basic covers a phone or card reader too.

When is Shopify's Basic plan, or Shopify itself, the wrong choice?

• You need other people logged in. Basic has no extra staff accounts, so if a helper needs their own login, Grow is the first plan that gives you one.
• You need live carrier shipping rates. Shopify's Basic plan help page says Basic doesn't support live third-party shipping rates, and Shopify's pricing page lists them for Advanced.
• Your site is mostly a business site with a small shop. If you're a coach or photographer who sells a few things, I'd look at Wix or Squarespace before paying for a Shopify plan. I compare them in my guide to Shopify vs Wix.
• You're happy selling on Etsy and don't need your own store. Then a Shopify plan is an extra monthly cost. For me personally, I'd read my guide to Shopify vs Etsy before paying for anything.

Videos worth watching about Shopify's plans

And if you'd like to see the screens, here are the videos I'd pick. You can play each one right on this page, with YouTube's usual controls. Under each video, I've put a summary of what it covers, so you can decide whether it's worth your time.

More shopify guides

Is Shopify's $1 for 3 months offer real, and how do you avoid being charged?

A walk through the real signup screens, the exact fine print, the price after the $1 months, and the cancel steps.

How to start a Shopify store, step by step, if you've never sold online

Every screen from signup to launch, in the order you'll see it, with what each one asks for and what you can skip.

Is Shopify worth it in 2026? What it costs, what sellers complain about, and who it fits

A straight answer for someone who has never sold online, with the fee math shown so you can redo it.

See all shopify guides