Shopify fees per sale: your plan price plus a cut of every order
On every sale, Shopify's cost comes down to two layers: the subscription you pay each month, and the fees taken from each order. With Shopify Payments (Shopify's built-in card processing), the second layer is a percentage plus a fixed amount per transaction. If you use an outside payment provider instead, Shopify adds a separate transaction fee on top of whatever that provider charges.
This guide covers the per-sale layer: what Shopify's card processing rates are, when the third-party transaction fee applies, what a chargeback costs, and what a $50 order and a $5,000 month look like once the fees come out. For plan prices and annual billing, see our Shopify pricing guide. Every sales figure below is a made-up example, not a store's results.
Help-center rules were checked on October 13, 2026. US plan prices and card rates come from the US version of Shopify's pricing page as published on October 12, 2026. The page shows rates for your region, so confirm the figures on the page you see when you sign up.
A Shopify free trial lets you add a product, open the payment settings and see which payment methods you can switch on, which tells you which fee layer your store would sit in.
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Shopify transaction fees and card rates, by plan
Shopify Payments online card processing in the US is 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction on Basic, 2.7% + 30 cents on Grow, and 2.5% + 30 cents on Advanced. Premium and international cards are listed separately on the pricing page and carry different rates.
| Plan | Rate per online card sale |
|---|---|
| Basic | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Grow | 2.7% + $0.30 |
| Advanced | 2.5% + $0.30 |
Two details change how these rates add up:
- The 30-cent part is charged per transaction, so it takes a bigger bite out of small orders (see the example below).
- Shopify Payments is available only in certain countries, and eligibility depends on your business. Check the US requirements before you plan around it.
Card processing fees from Shopify Payments are not billed to you on your Shopify invoice. They are deducted from your payouts. Shopify's breakdown of charges
The third-party transaction fee: when it applies, and when it doesn't
If you take payments through a provider other than Shopify Payments, Shopify charges a third-party transaction fee. The rate depends on your plan and is listed on the pricing page. It is on top of the provider's own processing charges, and it is not refunded when you refund an order.
Shopify's help center gives the calculation: over a 30-day period, the fee is (product cost minus discounts, plus tax, plus shipping) multiplied by your plan's rate. For stores created on or after May 12, 2025, the portion of an order paid with store credit or gift cards counts too. Third-party transaction fee rules
The fee does not apply to:
- Orders paid through Shopify Payments, Shop Pay or Shop Pay Installments
- Manual payment methods such as cash on delivery, bank deposits and checks, plus test orders and draft orders marked as paid or pending
- Point-of-sale orders
- PayPal orders, when Shopify Payments is your primary provider
That last rule matters for planning. If your customers will mostly pay by card, Shopify Payments or PayPal alongside it keeps you out of the third-party fee. If you need a different gateway, ask what the provider charges, then add the transaction fee for your plan on top. Take the third-party rate for your plan from the pricing page you see at signup.
Worked examples: a $50 order and a $5,000 month
On a $50 order paid by a standard online card, Shopify Payments takes $1.75 on Basic, $1.65 on Grow and $1.55 on Advanced. The calculation is the order total times the percentage, plus the 30-cent fixed fee. These examples are fictional and assume Shopify Payments, a standard online card, and a charge equal to the order total.
One sale
| Plan | Calculation | Fee | Left after fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $50 × 2.9% + $0.30 | $1.75 | $48.25 |
| Grow | $50 × 2.7% + $0.30 | $1.65 | $48.35 |
| Advanced | $50 × 2.5% + $0.30 | $1.55 | $48.45 |
The fixed 30 cents makes small orders cost more in percentage terms. On Basic, a $20 order loses $0.88 (4.4%), a $50 order loses $1.75 (3.5%), and a $100 order loses $3.20 (3.2%). If your average order is small, that effective rate is the number to use when you price products.
If you used an outside provider instead, you would add the provider's own charge plus the third-party fee: your plan's rate times the base above. For a $50 order with $5 shipping and $4 tax, the base is $59, so a placeholder rate of 1% would add $0.59. The 1% is only a stand-in for your plan's actual rate.
One month
Now take a fictional store with 100 orders at $50 each, $5,000 in total, all paid by standard online card through Shopify Payments, on monthly billing.
| Plan | Plan price | Card fees | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39 | $5,000 × 2.9% + 100 × $0.30 = $175 | $214 |
| Grow | $105 | $5,000 × 2.7% + 100 × $0.30 = $165 | $270 |
| Advanced | $399 | $5,000 × 2.5% + 100 × $0.30 = $155 | $554 |
Moving up a plan saves only $10 in card fees here, while the plan price rises by $66 from Basic to Grow. To make up that $66 through the 0.2-point rate drop alone, you would need about $33,000 in monthly card sales ($66 ÷ 0.2%). From Grow to Advanced the gap is $294, which works out to roughly $147,000. A higher plan can still make sense for staff accounts or features, but this shows when the fee rate alone is not the reason. The example leaves out apps, domains, inventory, shipping and ads.
Where to check your Shopify fees
Shopify fees show up in two places. Third-party transaction fees and app charges appear on your Shopify bill, and Shopify Payments card fees come out of your payouts.
- Bill: in the admin, go to Settings, then Billing, open a bill under Past bills, and look at the Transaction fees section.
- Payouts: card processing fees are deducted before the money reaches your bank.
- Activity report: the Shopify Payments activity report breaks down balance activity, fees and payouts for a date range and currency. Shopify Payments help
A chargeback, where a cardholder disputes a payment with their bank, costs $15 in the US on Shopify Payments, and the disputed amount is deducted from your next payout. If you win the dispute, the fee is returned; if the customer wins, you lose both the amount and the fee. Chargeback process
Currency conversion and international-card charges do not appear with a number on the help pages checked today. If you plan to sell in other currencies, read the multi-currency requirements in the help center and the rates shown in your own payments settings before you turn it on.
How to keep Shopify fees down
The biggest lever is the payment path, not the plan. Keep orders on Shopify Payments (or PayPal alongside it) so the third-party fee never applies, then look at the plan only when staff accounts or features, not the rate, justify it.
- Pick the gateway first. List the payment methods your customers use and see which of them run through Shopify Payments.
- Price with the effective rate. Use the per-sale math above, including the 30 cents, to set minimum order values or shipping thresholds for low-priced items.
- Run the break-even before you upgrade. Divide the plan price difference by the rate difference, as in the example.
- Reconcile monthly. Compare your bill, payouts and the activity report so a new app charge or unexpected fee shows up quickly.
Questions people ask about Shopify transaction fees
What are Shopify's fees per sale? With Shopify Payments, a standard US online card sale costs 2.9% + 30 cents on Basic, 2.7% + 30 cents on Grow and 2.5% + 30 cents on Advanced (US pricing page, October 12, 2026).
Does Shopify charge a transaction fee if I use Shopify Payments? No. The third-party transaction fee applies when you use another payment provider. Orders through Shopify Payments, Shop Pay and Shop Pay Installments are exempt.
Are Shopify transaction fees refunded when I refund an order? No. The help center says transaction fees are not refunded when you refund an order.
Is there a Shopify fee calculator? The math is the order total times the rate, plus the fixed fee. The tables above show it for a $50 order and a $5,000 month, and you can swap in your own numbers.
Your next step: check your payment methods in a Shopify trial
Start a Shopify free trial, add one product, and open the payment settings. See which methods you can turn on through Shopify Payments and which would route through another provider. That one check tells you which fee layer applies, and the examples above turn it into dollars per order and per month.
For the first steps after signup, see our Shopify setup guide, and for plan prices see the Shopify pricing guide.
Official sources checked
- Shopify US pricing page (plan prices and US online card rates, US version as published October 12, 2026; archived copy: https://web.archive.org/web/20261012093236/https://www.shopify.com/pricing): https://www.shopify.com/pricing
- Shopify Help: third-party transaction fees (October 13, 2026): https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/your-account/manage-billing/billing-charges/types-of-charges/third-party-charges/third-party-transaction-fees
- Shopify Help: types of charges and what appears on a bill (October 13, 2026): https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/your-account/manage-billing/billing-charges/types-of-charges
- Shopify Help: Shopify Payments fees and the activity report (October 13, 2026): https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/shopify-payments/shopify-payments-fees
- Shopify Help: chargeback process and fees (October 13, 2026): https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/chargebacks/chargeback-process
- Shopify Help: Shopify Payments in the United States (October 13, 2026): https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments/shopify-payments/supported-countries/united-states
