TPHUBS.COMHow much does it cost to start a Shopify store in 2026?
Most new sellers ask the same first question: what will Shopify actually cost me? The short answer is that a small store usually spends a few hundred dollars a year on the platform, plus a one-time cost to get the store built. Here is each line item, so you can budget without surprises.
1. The monthly Shopify plan
This is the fixed fee you pay Shopify. These are the list prices on Shopify's US-dollar pricing page at the time of writing:
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly (per month) | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $5 | n/a | Selling through links and social media, no full store |
| Basic | $39 | $29 | New stores; where most sellers start |
| Grow | $105 | $79 | Stores with steady orders that need more staff accounts and reports |
| Advanced | $399 | $299 | High-volume businesses |
Shopify usually offers a 3-day free trial followed by $1/month for the first 3 months on Basic or Grow. Prices and offers change and can differ by country, so check shopify.com/pricing before you sign up.
2. Transaction fees
If Shopify Payments is available in your country and you use it, Shopify charges no extra transaction fee on top of card processing. If it is not available, or you use another gateway such as PayPal, Shopify adds a percentage on each order:
- Basic: 2%
- Grow: 1%
- Advanced: 0.6%
That is on top of the gateway's own fee. On a $50 order on Basic, Shopify takes $1 and the gateway takes its usual cut. As sales grow, the gap between 2% and 1% can be bigger than the difference in plan price, which is the moment to reconsider moving up to Grow.
Manual methods such as bank transfer or cash on delivery carry no Shopify transaction fee, but you reconcile those orders yourself.
3. Domain
A .com domain is typically around $10 to $20 a year, bought inside Shopify or from a registrar such as Namecheap or Cloudflare. Country domains vary in price. Keep the domain registered in your own name.
4. Theme
Shopify's free themes are fast and good enough for most new stores. Paid themes in the Shopify Theme Store mostly cost from about $150 to over $400, paid once. Buy one only when a free theme is genuinely missing a feature you need, not because the demo photos look nicer.
5. Apps
Apps are where costs creep up. Many have free plans; paid apps usually run from a few dollars to a few dozen dollars a month each. A new small store typically needs product reviews, email marketing and perhaps translation. Every extra app can also slow your store, so remove the ones you stop using.
6. Getting the store built
- Do it yourself: no labor cost, but you will spend time learning payments, shipping, taxes, policy pages and SEO.
- Hire a freelancer: prices vary widely; agree on scope and account handover in writing.
- Use a fixed-price setup service: clear pricing and process. At TPHubs, for example: Shopify Launch $199, Shopify Starter $349, Shopify Professional $739 (details in our pricing).
Whichever route you pick, make sure the Shopify account and the domain are in your name. The store should be your asset, not your developer's.
Sample first-year budget for a small store
| Item | Lean | Comfortable |
|---|---|---|
| Basic plan, 12 months | $348 (yearly) | $468 (monthly) |
| .com domain | ~$15 | ~$15 |
| Theme | $0 (free) | $0 to ~$400 |
| Apps | $0 | ~$120 (about $10/month) |
| Platform total | ~$363 | ~$600 to ~$1,000 |
This excludes per-order transaction fees and the one-time build cost. Treat it as a guide; the real figure depends on your plan and the offers when you sign up.
Ways to spend less
- Start on Basic and upgrade only when the fee savings outweigh the higher plan price.
- Switch to yearly billing once you know you are in it for the long run.
- Use a free theme first and put the money into better product photos and descriptions.
- Review your apps every quarter and uninstall what you do not use.