Guide · Shopify pricing
How much does a Shopify store cost in 2026?
A Shopify store costs $29–$359 a month for the plan on yearly billing ($39–$399 month to month), plus card fees of 2.5–2.9% + 30¢ on each online sale and whatever paid apps you add. Getting it built is the bigger number: most launches with me cost $3,750–$7,500, a directory of Shopify agencies puts a basic theme build at $5,000–$15,000, and doing it yourself costs your time plus an optional $150–$400 theme.
Those are my real prices, at $125 an hour, and Shopify’s published rates as of October 2026. Use the estimator for the build and the calculator for the monthly bill.
Estimate your Shopify build
A few quick taps. Watch the price, and your store, take shape.
Step 1 of 5
Your estimate
On its way. I’ll email a copy with a few notes within one business day.
That’s complex-project territory ($15,000+). Let’s scope it together on a call.
Where the hours go
Your answers
A starting point, not a quote. I’ll confirm a fixed price after a short call.
What will Shopify cost you each month?
Your plan, card fees and apps, worked out from your sales. Change anything.
Shopify’s plans in 2026
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Online card rate | In person | Another provider | Staff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $29/mo | $39/mo | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.6% + 10¢ | +2% | Owner only |
| Grow | $89/mo | $105/mo | 2.7% + 30¢ | 2.5% + 10¢ | +1% | 5 staff accounts |
| Advanced | $359/mo | $399/mo | 2.5% + 30¢ | 2.4% + 10¢ | +0.6% | 15 staff accounts |
| Plus | From $2,300/mo | — | 2.25% + 30¢ | 2.3% + 10¢ | +0.2% | Unlimited |
US prices from Shopify’s pricing page, checked October 15, 2026. Card rates are for standard cards with Shopify Payments; premium and international cards cost more. Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 a month. (Shopify)
What I charge for Shopify work
| Type | What you get | Price | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify store launch | A theme set up and customized to your brand, products loaded, payments, shipping, taxes and launch checks. | $3,750–$7,500 | 30–60 hours |
| Moving to Shopify | Products, customers and order history moved over, with redirects so your Google rankings come along. Grows with your catalog. | Adds $500–$7,500 | 4–60 hours |
| Features | Subscriptions, wholesale pricing, email flows and reviews, product options, in-store sales. | Adds $375–$1,500 each | 3–12 hours each |
| Custom feature | A product finder, quiz or configurator built for your store. | $1,875–$5,000 | 15–40 hours |
| Ongoing help | New pages, seasonal updates, app changes, fixes. | $125 an hour | As needed |
| Complex builds | Custom-designed themes, Shopify Plus, heavy integrations. Quoted after a call. | $15,000+ | 120+ hours |
My prices at $125 an hour. Every project gets a fixed quote after a short call.
Three ways to get a Shopify store, and what each costs
Prices for the same kind of store: a theme-based Shopify store with a typical catalog.
Build it yourself
$350–$1,700
first year: plan and theme, plus your time
Shopify’s Basic or Grow plan runs $29–$105 a month and a paid theme $150–$400 once (free themes are solid too). A good fit for a small catalog when you have time to learn the platform. (Shopify, Shopify Theme Store)
Hire an independent developer
$3,750–$7,500
my price, built and launched
You work directly with the person building your store, from the first call to launch. Moving from another platform and extra features add to it.
Hire an agency
$5,000–$15,000
for a similar theme-based store
That’s what a directory of 900+ Shopify agencies reports for a basic theme build. Advanced theme builds run $15,000–$30,000, and custom themes $20,000–$50,000. A good fit when you need a team for design, marketing and development at once. (Shopify Agency Directory)
What drives the build price
- 01
A theme, or a custom design
A well-chosen theme customized to your brand is the biggest money-saver there is, and it’s what most stores need. A custom-designed theme pays off when the store has to do something a theme can’t.
- 02
Your products, and how ready they are
More products means more setup, but readiness matters more than count. Products with photos, descriptions and clean variants load fast. Count products, not variants.
- 03
Moving from another platform
Products, customers and order history have to move, and every old product URL needs a redirect or its Google rankings walk away. The work grows with your catalog.
- 04
Features that need apps
Subscriptions, wholesale pricing, bundles and reviews each mean an app to choose, set up and fit into your theme, and often a monthly fee.
- 05
Shipping and taxes
Flat rates are quick. Local delivery, freight, multiple warehouses or selling into other countries add setup and testing.
The Shopify costs people miss
- Yearly vs monthly billing
- Paying for the year cuts the plan price 10–26%: $29 instead of $39 on Basic, $89 instead of $105 on Grow, $359 instead of $399 on Advanced. (Shopify)
- Premium and in-person cards
- Premium cards cost more online (3.5%, 3.3% or 3.1% + 30¢). In person, cards are 2.6%, 2.5% or 2.4% + 10¢. (Shopify)
- Other payment providers
- Use something other than Shopify Payments and Shopify adds 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow) or 0.6% (Advanced) on top of what your provider charges. (Shopify)
- Apps
- Most stores spend little, but it adds up: established stores doing under $1M a year typically spend $50–$300 a month on apps. (Eight X)
- Theme
- Free, or about $150–$400 once for a paid theme from Shopify’s Theme Store. (Shopify Theme Store)
- Domain
- About $11–$25 a year for a .com. (Findstack)
- Selling in person
- Shopify POS Pro, if you need it, is $89 a month per location. (Shopify)
When to move up a Shopify plan
Start on Basic. On yearly billing, Grow costs $60 a month more and saves 0.2% on every online card sale, so it pays for itself at about $30,000 a month in online sales. Advanced pays for itself over Grow at about $135,000 a month. Below those numbers, upgrade for the features, not the fees: staff accounts (Grow includes 5, Advanced 15) or live third-party shipping rates on Advanced.
The math changes if you take payments through another provider. Shopify’s extra fee drops from 2% on Basic to 1% on Grow, so Grow pays for itself at about $6,000 a month in sales. That’s a good reason to use Shopify Payments if you can. The calculator above flags the cheapest plan for your numbers.
Do you need a developer at all?
Not always. If you have a small catalog, your photos are ready and you’re comfortable in Shopify’s theme editor, you can launch on a good theme yourself for the cost of the plan. Plenty of stores start that way.
Bring in help when the store has to look like your brand rather than the theme demo, when you’re moving from another platform and can’t afford to lose Google traffic, or when you need subscriptions, wholesale or anything custom working on day one. That’s where a few weeks of focused work saves months of trial and error.
How to compare Shopify quotes
Ask
- Who will build the store, and can you talk to them directly?
- Which theme, and is it a customization or a custom-designed theme?
- Which apps will the store need, and what will they cost each month?
- Who loads the products, and who writes the descriptions?
- If you’re moving platforms, what’s the plan for redirects, customers and order history?
- Will you own the Shopify account, the theme and the domain?
Red flags
- The store is set up under the developer’s Shopify account, not yours.
- A custom theme quoted for a store a good theme would handle.
- A long list of paid apps with no monthly total.
- A platform move with no mention of redirects.
Questions people ask
How much does Shopify cost per month?
$29 (Basic), $89 (Grow) or $359 (Advanced) a month on yearly billing, or $39, $105 or $399 month to month. On top of that come card fees (2.9%, 2.7% or 2.5% + 30¢ per online sale with Shopify Payments) and any paid apps.
How much does it cost to build a Shopify store?
With me, $3,750–$7,500 for most launches, more if you’re moving from another platform or need features like subscriptions or wholesale. Agencies commonly charge $5,000–$15,000 for a theme-based store. Doing it yourself costs your time, plus an optional $150–$400 theme.
Which Shopify plan do I need?
Start on Basic. Grow pays for itself at about $30,000 a month in online sales on yearly billing, or sooner if you need staff accounts. Advanced makes sense from about $135,000 a month.
Does Shopify charge transaction fees?
Not with Shopify Payments; you pay the card rate. With another payment provider, Shopify adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow or 0.6% on Advanced, on top of the provider’s own fees.
Do I need a paid theme?
No. Shopify’s free themes are well built. A paid theme ($150–$400 once) is worth it when its built-in features match what you need, because that saves customization hours.
Can I move my store to Shopify without losing Google rankings?
Yes, if every old product and page URL is redirected to its new home and the content that ranks comes along. That’s the “another platform” step in the estimator.
What about Shopify Starter or Shopify Plus?
Starter ($5 a month) is for selling through social posts and links; it doesn’t give you a full online store. Plus starts at $2,300 a month and is built for high-volume brands.
Do you only work with stores in Michigan?
No. I’m in Chelsea, just west of Ann Arbor, and build Shopify stores for businesses anywhere in the US.
I’m Erik Leavell, an independent web designer and Shopify developer near Ann Arbor, Michigan. I’ve built for the web since 2009, led digital teams as a director, and still do the design and development myself. You work with me directly, from the first call to launch.
Sources
- Shopify, “Pricing” (plans, card rates and fees, checked Oct. 15, 2026)
- Shopify Theme Store (free and paid theme prices, checked Oct. 15, 2026)
- Eight X, “Average Shopify app spend by revenue band, 2026” (June 15, 2026)
- Shopify Agency Directory, “How Much Does a Shopify Store Really Cost?” (updated June 1, 2026)
- Findstack, “Domain Renewal Prices” (Sept. 11, 2026)