BASE is cheaper while sales are small; Shopify pulls ahead as they grow
BASE is a Japanese hosted store builder (thebase.com). Its Standard plan has no monthly fee and charges only when you sell. Shopify charges a monthly plan fee but takes a smaller cut of each sale. So the question is where the lines cross for your store.
With an average order of 5,000 yen, the math below puts that crossover at about 95,000 yen in monthly sales between BASE Standard and Shopify Basic. BASE Growth, the paid plan, beats BASE Standard at about 370,000 yen. All figures come from the official Japan pages we read on October 26, 2026, shown in yen as the sites display them. Check at checkout whether each price includes consumption tax. The sales and order counts in the examples are made-up numbers.
If you want Shopify's fee schedule on its own, see our Shopify fees guide and Shopify pricing guide. For another platform comparison, see Shopify vs Wix.
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What each platform charges
Think of BASE as payment fee plus service fee, and Shopify as plan fee plus payment fee. Here is what the official pages list.
| Item | BASE Standard | BASE Growth | Shopify Basic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup cost | 0 yen | 0 yen | No setup fee (per Shopify's pricing FAQ) |
| Monthly fee | 0 yen | 16,580 yen (annual billing, per month); 19,980 yen if billed monthly | 3,650 yen (annual billing, per month); 4,850 yen if billed monthly |
| Card payment fee | 3.6% + 40 yen | 2.9% | 3.55% + 0 yen (Shopify Payments, online cards) |
| Service fee on sales | 3% when an item sells | 0 yen | None; 2% transaction fee if you use an outside payment provider |
BASE lists Growth at 198,960 yen per year, which is the 16,580 yen monthly figure. If customers pay with PayPay, Amazon Pay or PayPal, BASE shows 4.6% + 40 yen on Standard and 3.9% on Growth, both including a 1% system fee.
On Shopify, Grow is 10,100 yen per month on annual billing (13,500 yen monthly) with a 3.4% card rate. Advanced is 44,000 yen (58,500 yen monthly) at 3.25%. Outside-provider transaction fees are 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus, and they do not apply when customers pay through Shopify Payments.
BASE Standard stacks its 3.6% payment fee and 3% service fee into 6.6% plus 40 yen per order. That total is our addition of the two published figures.
Total cost at 100,000, 400,000 and 1,000,000 yen a month
BASE Standard grows in step with sales. BASE Growth and Shopify start heavier on fixed cost and flatten out. The example assumes a 5,000 yen average order, so 100,000 yen is 20 orders, 400,000 yen is 80 and 1,000,000 yen is 200.
The formulas:
- BASE Standard: sales x 6.6% (3.6% + 3%) + 40 yen x orders
- BASE Growth: sales x 2.9% + 16,580 yen
- Shopify Basic: sales x 3.55% + 3,650 yen (annual billing per month; online cards through Shopify Payments only)
| Monthly sales | BASE Standard | BASE Growth | Shopify Basic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100,000 (20 orders) | 6,600 + 800 = 7,400 | 2,900 + 16,580 = 19,480 | 3,550 + 3,650 = 7,200 |
| 400,000 (80 orders) | 26,400 + 3,200 = 29,600 | 11,600 + 16,580 = 28,180 | 14,200 + 3,650 = 17,850 |
| 1,000,000 (200 orders) | 66,000 + 8,000 = 74,000 | 29,000 + 16,580 = 45,580 | 35,500 + 3,650 = 39,150 |
These numbers leave out transfer fees, domain, theme and app costs, and refunds or chargebacks. Your payment mix matters too, because wallet payments change the rate.
To find your own crossover, turn BASE Standard into a percentage. At 5,000 yen per order it costs 7.4% of sales (6.6% plus 40 / 5,000). Against Shopify Basic's 3.55%, the gap is 3.85%, and 3,650 yen / 3.85% is about 95,000 yen. Against BASE Growth the gap is 4.5%, and 16,580 yen / 4.5% is about 370,000 yen. A different average order value moves these points, since the 40 yen is a bigger share of small orders. Billing monthly instead of annually pushes them higher.
Shopify Grow at 1,000,000 yen comes to 10,100 + 34,000 = 44,100 yen, more than Basic's 39,150 yen. Unless you need the extra staff accounts, sales alone do not justify the step up.
Payouts: BASE charges per transfer
On BASE, how often you request a payout changes your real cost. BASE's help page lists a flat 250 yen transfer fee per request, plus an administrative fee of 500 yen for requests under 20,000 yen and 0 yen at 20,000 yen or more (checked October 26, 2026; the page shows no update date). A request under 20,000 yen therefore costs 750 yen, and one of 20,000 yen or more costs 250 yen. Scheduled automatic transfers have no administrative fee, and rush transfers carry their own extra charges.
BASE pays out 10 business days after you apply, or as soon as the same day with its fastest option.
For Shopify's payout fees and schedule in Japan, check your own store. During a trial, open the payments settings and read the payout section for any fee and how often funds arrive.
Features, growth and selling to overseas customers
BASE has the same features and support on every plan, so its plans are only different ways to pay. You can switch whenever you like: Growth takes effect immediately, and Standard after your current contract period.
Shopify's plans differ in features and in how many staff accounts you get. If you plan to add teammates, check the numbers in our pricing guide.
One payment detail matters for overseas customers. Shopify's help page for Japan says JCB works only for yen transactions with customers in Japan, and JCB approval is a manual review that can take up to 3 weeks. Discover and Diners Club can also be enabled (checked October 26, 2026).
A feature-by-feature list (app ecosystem, cross-border selling tools, subscriptions, convenience-store payment, buy-now-pay-later) is not covered in this comparison. Check these in each platform's own settings:
- Which payment methods your customers in Japan expect, and whether each platform supports them
- Currencies, languages and shipping set-up if you will sell outside Japan
- Subscriptions, member pricing or whatever your selling model needs
- Whether you can export products and customers if you ever switch
Who should pick which
Choose BASE to start with no fixed cost; choose Shopify if you expect volume and room to grow.
BASE Standard suits you if:
- You want zero upfront and monthly cost and to pay only when you sell
- Monthly sales are still small and you want a few months of data first
- You like that every plan has the same features
Shopify suits you if:
- Your sales are likely to pass the crossover (about 95,000 yen in our example)
- You want payment fees laid out plan by plan
- You expect more staff or sales channels later
BASE Growth makes sense only if you stay on BASE and sales run above roughly 370,000 yen a month. Compare it with Shopify using your own numbers.
Shopify offers new stores a 3-day free trial with no credit card required. After it, most plans cost 150 yen a month for the first 3 months, then the standard price, so budget for the standard price. Check BASE's official page for whether it offers a free trial.
FAQ
When should I move from BASE to Shopify? In our math, with a 5,000 yen average order, Shopify Basic costs less than BASE Standard once monthly sales pass about 95,000 yen. Your payment mix and order value shift this, so rerun the formulas.
Do PayPay or PayPal change BASE's fees? Yes. BASE shows 4.6% + 40 yen on Standard and 3.9% on Growth for PayPay, Amazon Pay and PayPal.
Are Shopify's fees the same on every plan? No. Online card rates through Shopify Payments are 3.55% on Basic, 3.4% on Grow, 3.25% on Advanced and 2.9% on Plus, with no fixed fee.
Can I change BASE plans later? Yes, at any time. Growth starts immediately, and Standard starts after the contract period ends.
Next step: run your numbers, then test Shopify's payment settings
Choose the monthly sales you expect in six months and your average order value, and run the three formulas. Then start a Shopify trial, add one product, and read the payment and payout screens so you know the full cost before you commit.
Official sources checked (October 26, 2026)
