Shopify pricing: how much does it cost to sell with Shopify?

Can you use Shopify for free?

Shopify doesn’t have a free plan. Instead, Shopify offers a three-day free trial to users. This has been dramatically shortened, as users could previously trial the platform for a full two weeks. If you’re looking for a no-cost ecommerce solution, you can check out our roundup of the best free ecommerce platforms for SMEs.

You can set up your store during Shopify’s free trial, but you won’t be able to start selling until you sign up for a paid plan. If you don’t choose a paid plan at the end of your free trial, you’ll lose access to your online store as Shopify does not have a freemium tier.

That said, Shopify softens the blow somewhat with its current introductory deal, which lets you get the first three months for just £1 per month on select plans. 

There was a lot to wrap my head around during Shopify’s brief three-day free trial. Source: Startups.co.uk

Shopify’s cheapest website builder plan (besides the limited Starter plan) is the Basic plan, starting from £19 per month when billed annually. According to Shopify, this is its most popular plan – and it’s easy to see why, as it includes so many impressive features to support online businesses. For example:

• Unlimited products, which you can add with your own CSV – in comparison, Wix limits you to 50,000 products
• Quality sales features, including abandoned cart recovery, discounts, gift cards, and built-in fraud analysis
• One-click, customisable checkouts
• Multichannel selling through social media, marketplaces, and Shopify Marketplace Connect
• 24/7 live chat support – when testing, I asked to speak to a human Support Advisor and I got a response in a few minutes
• 10 inventory locations – this lets you sell across multiple locations, such as retail shops and pop-ups
• Standard analytics
• Marketing suite, including Shopify Inbox, automated messages, and customer segmentation to help target the right customers
• Free SSL certificate and web hosting
• POS Lite to support in-person selling (Shopify just launched the updated POS version 10)
• Access to thousands of third-party integrations and plugins in Shopify’s app store
• Localised selling tools – sell in up to three markets, get automated translation, convert currencies, and set local payment methods
• Shopify has recently launched an AI store setup tool, which can generate a bespoke website for you in mere seconds
• Shopify Magic’s suite of AI tools can assist entrepreneurs, including text generation
• Shopify has been rolling out Sidekick, an AI-powered, chat-based assistant that will guide you in setting up and running your store with tailored advice

As you can see from this list, you get a lot for your money. That said, there are a few areas where Shopify disappoints. There’s no option to add staff accounts on the Basic plan, meaning you’ll have to manage your site solo.

And, unfortunately, Shopify doesn’t include a custom domain name with its paid plans, so you’ll need to connect an existing domain name or purchase one through Shopify which can cost around £10 to £20 per year. Other website builders usually include this (at least for the first year), so it’s surprising that Shopify doesn’t offer this.

Shopify gave me a range of domain name options though it would’ve been nice to have GBP pricing information. Source: Startups.co.uk

Is the Basic plan right for your online shop?

Shopify’s Basic plan is the best option for small businesses who have a low monthly sales volume and aren’t looking for anything too sophisticated. In my opinion, it provides all of the essential sales features you need – at least for the start of your ecommerce journey. And, while the Basic plan is more expensive than other entry-level plans from alternative ecommerce platforms, it’s still a real bargain considering the features and tools you get with it.

Alternative Shopify plans

Shopify’s Starter plan is great for new entrepreneurs, but its features are very limited and focus on social media selling. Source: Startups.co.uk

As well as the three plans I’ve discussed above, Shopify offers some additional options for business owners:

1. Shopify Starter: £5 per month – This is a great simple option for those who don’t have the time to bother with coding or design. It lets you build a very limited online presence and sell products via social media. I’d recommend this option if you’re starting a side hustle and want to test things out first, but you’ll need to upgrade if you want to customise a full online store.
2. Retail: £69 per month – Shopify sets you up with features to start selling in person, whether you have a physical store presence or want to sell at marketplaces or pop-ups.
3. Shopify Plus: $2,300 per month – With pricing only available in US dollars, this is a real step up from Shopify’s standard website builder plans, and it’s more suitable for very large businesses. The plan offers impressive sales features, such as up to 200 inventory locations, priority 24/7 phone support, Shopify POS Pro integration, and unlimited staff accounts.
4. Enterprise commerce: custom pricing – This personalised plan is available upon request and targets industry-leading businesses. Mattel, Staples, and Glossier are a few examples of enterprises that rely on Shopify’s impressive ecommerce tools.

Is Shopify good value for money?

Our latest ecommerce website builder testing found that Shopify offers a premium product at a premium price. Competitors like Squarespace and Hostinger outperformed Shopify by a wide margin, while Square Online emerged as the best value for money option.

Shopify does provide an incredible range of sales features for business owners, with our new research finding that it boasts the strongest range of sales tools out of all the platforms we tried out. However, its plans are very expensive for what’s on offer. And, with such a brief free trial, choosing Shopify is a big commitment, especially when there are cheaper alternatives out there.

If value is your primary motivation, I’d recommend choosing Squarespace, Hostinger or Square Online. These builders balance decent sales and design features at a reasonable price point. Shopify’s cheapest plan costs £19 per month, whereas Squarespace’s cheapest ecommerce plan costs £17 per month, Hostinger’s cheapest ecommerce plan is £3.79 (on a 48-month term), and with Square Online you can start selling for free.

Hostinger is a better fit for new business owners who just want a simple platform at a cheap price point, whereas Squarespace is a more suitable choice for creative-focused businesses that prioritise design freedom. But ultimately, if you’re looking for powerful ecommerce tools that can support your business’s growth, Shopify may well be worth the price of admission for you.

How to save money with Shopify

I could choose from a range of free templates such as Shopify’s “Taste” theme. Source: Startups.co.uk

There are a few ways to save money if you choose to build an online store with Shopify. Here are my top tips:

• Pay annually, instead of monthly – If you pay more upfront by choosing a longer billing cycle, you can reduce the monthly cost of your website
• Be selective with your apps and plugins – You can use Shopify’s app store to enhance the functionality of your site, but keep an eye out for extensions that cost extra since your monthly costs can add up quickly.
• Choose a free template – Most of Shopify’s pre-designed templates come with a price tag, but there are currently 13 free templates to choose from. This can be a quick way to reduce costs.
• Use Shopify Payments – Shopify’s built-in payment gateway can remove third-party transaction fees (for select payments) and minimise processing fees, with rates depending on your chosen Shopify plan: