Shopify Pricing UK (2023) – How Does It Work, and Which Plan Is Right for You?

If you’re looking to start your own ecommerce store in the UK, you have undoubtedly stumbled across Shopify. It's hard not to. The eCommerce platform is one of the most popular in the world, with over 1.7 million active merchants worldwide. 

In 2020 alone, Shopify processed over $5.1 billion in sales. To put that in perspective, that's over £4.16 billion! Although the platform originates in the US, it has received worldwide acclaim from solopreneurs and larger enterprises alike, and when it comes to the UK, Shopify is a popular ecommerce option, with over 2.6 million stores.

If you’re wondering how Shopify’s pricing holds up for your new UK-based online store, you've come to the right place. Shopify offers three premium plans: Basic, Shopify, and Advanced. But there are other costs and models to consider. 

So, in this article, we’re breaking down Shopify costs in the UK and providing recommendations for each plan.

There's lots to cover, so let's dive in.

Shopify Pricing UK – Overview

The Enterprise plan, Shopify Plus, isn't currently translated into UK pricing. It starts at $2,000 USD per month and is based on a custom quote. So, you’ll need to contact Shopify's sales team directly to discuss your needs and negotiate a more specific quote.

It’s also worth noting that Shopify fees are billed in US dollars and subject to government tax and other prevailing charges. However, credit card fees are billed in your selected currency.

Shopify Pricing UK – Hosting, Domains, and Cancellations

Web hosting is included in all Shopify's pricing plans, except for the Starter package, because that's just a social selling tool. This means you won’t have to find a third-party web hosting provider or shell out for these additional costs. You'll also enjoy unlimited bandwidth on any tier. 

While Shopify pricing plans are generally billed monthly, there's an option to sign up for an annual plan or biennial program, which will save you 10% or 20%, respectively.

However, suppose you're just starting out. In that case, we recommend paying monthly, so you aren't locked into any contracts if Shopify doesn’t work out for you. After all, you can cancel at any time without incurring cancellation fees. However, your fee won't be refunded if you leave Shopify after taking out an annual contract.

On top of your Shopify plan, you'll need to obtain a domain name. You can purchase a domain through Shopify itself. Shopify domains come with a free SSL certificate and renew at the same rate yearly. In addition, they offer a wide range of domain extensions, starting at around £7. Alternatively, you can use a Shopify subdomain for free, but that doesn't look as professional. 

While Shopify domain pricing is affordable, you can also purchase your domain elsewhere and link it with your Shopify account. As such, it might be worth looking at what’s available and seeing if there are lower prices for the name you're after. Domain providers like GoDaddy and NameCheap are among the many domain registrars worth checking out.

Shopify UK Pricing Plan Comparison: What Does Shopify Cost?

As we've already hinted, there are three core pricing plans and a free trial. 

The three Shopify plans are as follows:

• Basic Shopify Plan: This costs £19 per month and is the cheapest full-fledged Shopify plan for those just starting out. It offers all the basics you need to launch your online store. For instance, two staff accounts, 24/7 support, a blog, you can list an unlimited number of products, and access various sales channels. It also features customer segmentation, gift cards, basic reports, discount codes, and abandoned cart recovery. Plus, you can hold inventories in up to four physical locations.
• Shopify Plan: This will set you back £49 per month. This slightly more expensive option allows you to further scale your store. It comes with everything included in the Basic plan, as well as five staff accounts, five physical inventory locations, improved reports, and eCommerce automations. 
• Advanced Shopify Plan: At £259 per month, this package is suited for thriving, quickly expanding eCommerce businesses. It allows for 15 staff accounts and up to eight physical inventory locations. You also have access to advanced reports and third-party calculated shipping rates. Shopify will also help you estimate and collect duties and import taxes and allow you to set custom pricing per market. This is great for international businesses, selling across multiple countries!

But, aside from the monthly fees associated with each plan, it’s also important to consider processing fees. As transaction fees decrease on the higher plans, upgrading your Shopify plan (eventually) may prove more cost-effective in the long run. 

That said, below we've listed the aforementioned credit card rates:

• Basic: 2% + 25p 
• Shopify: 1.7% + 25p 
• Advanced Shopify: 1.5% + 25p 

Suppose you’re not going to use Shopify Payments (Shopify’s native payment provider). In that case, you'll also be subject to third-party transaction fees, which are as follows:

• Basic: 2.0% 
• Shopify: 1.0% 
• Advanced Shopify: 0.5%

All UK plans come with the Shopify POS Lite app. This allows you to instantly accept in-person payments at pop-ups, markets, fairs, and more from the convenience of your smartphone.

In-person credit and debit card rates are:

• Basic: 1.7% 
• Shopify: 1.6% 
• Advanced Shopify: 1.5%

The Pro version of Shopify's POS app is available for an additional $89 USD per month (Roughly £76 per month).

The Shopify Starter Plan

As we've already mentioned, Shopify offers a starter plan to UK merchants for £5 per month. This enables you to sell products via social media apps like Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. You can also create ‘buy buttons' that enable customers to make purchases on existing websites. Of course, you can't build an entire online store with this plan, nor can you access Shopify's marketing or customer management tools. In fact, the Starter Plan is barely comparable to the plans that enable you to build full-fledged Shopify stores. That said, it has its applications. For instance, small online businesses that already have a website and only sell a few select products may find this package useful.  

Who's This Shopify Pricing Plan Best For?

As noted, Shopify’s Starter plan adds basic eCommerce functionality to existing websites and blogs. So, it best suits those that already have a website and want to sell the occasional item without building an entire store.

The Basic Shopify Plan

The Basic Shopify plan outfits you with a fully functional online store. You can sell unlimited products from your customizable storefront and benefit from a wide range of store management and sales features. For instance, you can set up discount codes and gift cards, access basic reports, benefit from fraud analysis tools and even recover abandoned carts to ensure extra revenue. In addition, this plan includes unlimited file storage, a free SSL certificate, manual order creation, and 24/7 support.

The Basic Shopify subscription fee costs £19 per month, and online credit card payments sit at 2% + 25p per transaction. 

Who's This Shopify Pricing Plan Best for?

If you’re committed to creating your own, fully functional online store and are just starting out, this plan is for you. Although it's more of a financial commitment than the Starter plan, it provides you with all the features you need to start selling and marketing your products effectively. 

Businesses can often sustain their operations with the Basic Shopify plan for a long time before upgrading. In fact, this program includes advanced features that many competitors don’t offer at this price range, most notably abandoned cart recovery.

The bottom line: Choose this plan if your business is new and you want to create a comprehensive online store. Then, later down the line, you can upgrade to unlock additional features and more staff accounts (should you need to).

The Shopify Plan

The Shopify Plan expands on all the Basic Shopify features by providing additional tools for growing businesses. At £49 per month, with transaction costs of 1.7% + 25p, Shopify claims it's its most popular package. 

Most notably, the Shopify plan unlocks professional reports and eCommerce automations. The latter is vital for busier store owners looking to cut out tedious work from their day-to-day operations to save e time. The Shopify plan also unlocks five staff accounts, making it an excellent option for small teams. 

Who's This Shopify Pricing Plan Best for?

Opt into the Shopify Plan if you're a small team or if your Shopify store has gained more traction. As soon as your daily operations feel overwhelming, eCommerce automations will be especially useful. This plan unlocks all Shopify features, so you won’t have to upgrade unless you need to facilitate a larger team or more inventory locations.

The Advanced Shopify Plan

The Advanced Shopify plan costs £256 per month with a transaction rate of 1.5% + 25p.

It comes with a few additional capabilities for thriving stores with high revenues. On top of everything in the previous plans, you get access to the advanced report builder that enables you to get more in-depth insights into your business. 

You can also calculate third-party shipping rates and estimate and collect duty and import taxes. In addition, you can create custom pricing per market. Simply put, you can finetune your international pricing strategy by setting specific prices for products or product variants depending on the market you’re selling to.

You can also register 15 members to your Shopify account and assign up to eight physical inventory locations.

Who's This Shopify Pricing Plan Best for?

The Advanced plan is best for businesses that want to join forces with a third party to handle their shipping at a better rate. It’s also a good option for companies with very high revenues, as it features lower transaction fees overall. Once you're bringing in over £10,000 per month, these lowered fees and discounts make the plan more affordable than lower tiers.

Shopify Plus Pricing

The Shopify Plus plan is Shopify’s enterprise pricing tier. It's intended for businesses that act on an international level, making millions of dollars in revenue. On the Plus plan, transaction fees are eradicated. In addition, you have 200 TB of storage, which can handle even the most extensive of online stores. 

To obtain a quote for Shopify Plus, you’ll need to contact Shopify directly to discuss your requirements and annual revenue. According to the website, you can expect prices at around $2000 (or £1,627).

Who's This Shopify Pricing Plan Best for?

Only huge companies processing high volumes of orders will benefit from the Shopify Plus plan. While you won't have to worry about transaction fees, the price will likely surpass the budgets of most small to medium-sized companies. 

Shopify Pricing UK – Transaction Fees and Credit Card Rates

Shopify is competitively priced when compared with other eCommerce solutions that offer a similar breadth of features. However, where it can get more expensive are its transaction fees and credit card rates. As you make more sales, these can start cutting into your profits.

If you opt to use Shopify’s payment processing gateway, you don’t have to worry about this as much. However, if you go with a payment processor like PayPal or Stripe, you'll likely pay rates starting at 2% + 25p per transaction. On top of this, Shopify charges a fee on your turnover ranging from 0.5% to 2.0%, a cost that falls away for users using Shopify Payments.

However, these transaction fees and credit card rates aren't all that unusual. While it would be nice to rake in high monthly revenues and not pay an extra penny, most eCommerce platforms charge at least a basic transaction fee.

Of course, as we've already said, the fees depend on which Shopify plan you choose. The more you sign on to pay per month, the lower the fees:

Basic Shopify charges 2% + 25p on online credit card transactions, 1.7% on in-person credit cards, and a 2% turnover fee. 

The Shopify plan charges 1.7% + 25p on online credit card transactions, 1,6% on in-person credit and debit card rates, and a 1.0% turnover fee.

Finally, the Advanced Shopify plan takes 1.5% + 25p on online credit card transactions, 1.5% for in-person sales, and a 0.5% turnover fee.

There are further, more unique, transaction fees. For instance, online international/Amex credit card rates range from 3.1% + 25p on the Basic Shopify plan to 2.5% + 25p on the Advanced plan. Whereas, Bancontact and iDEAL rates are 2.2% + 20p to 1.6% + 20p.

Can You Avoid Shopify’s Transaction Fees?

To understand and evaluate Shopify’s transaction fees, it’s essential to understand why the platform charges them. Whenever a customer buys from you via your Shopify POS or eCommerce website, this takes processing bandwidth for Shopify, which handles things like the checkout process and file storage. 

In other words, Shopify charges a transaction fee to cover the work happening invisibly behind the scenes. At first glance, Shopify’s transaction rates might seem expensive compared to other providers. But a more in-depth money-for-value comparison typically highlights how that isn’t the case.

BigCommerce, for example, doesn’t charge you any fees on sales you make. However, once you make a certain number of monthly sales, you are automatically upgraded to a more expensive monthly tier, which is how BigCommerce covers its expenses. This means you might be paying a considerable premium for features you don’t need.

Wix also doesn’t charge regular transaction fees. Still, it only allows you to sell products on their more expensive eCommerce plans. These are similarly priced to Shopify plans but offer much fewer sales features overall.

Each eCommerce platform will find a way to cover its own transaction and processing costs. 

So, although you can't escape transaction fees altogether, you can save a great deal by opting into Shopify Payments. In addition, Shopify's credit card rates are usually lower than PayPal's fees, and you aren't charged a turnover fee for Shopify's 0.5 – 2.0%.

Other Shopify Costs in the UK – What Else Might You Have to Spend Money On?

When considering any eCommerce platform, you often have to look at more than just its advertised pricing. For example, although Shopify includes everything you need, some store owners may want to invest a little extra in additional features or services to improve their site.

With that said, here are some common additional pricing considerations:

Plugins and Apps

Shopify comes with an extensive app store featuring over 3,200 apps. This includes plugins for improved automation, more customizable website design, marketing features, forms, and much more. Many plugins come with a free version or a one-off fee, but many also come with their own subscription models.

Individual plugins could cost anywhere from nothing to several hundred pounds a month. 

Shopify Themes

Shopify allows you to choose from nine free themes to start with. But if you want more design freedom or a more unique look, you might want to purchase a premium theme for your store. There are 80 themes in total, which will roughly cost you a one-off fee between £110 and £150.

Email Hosting

Shopify doesn't provide internal email hosting for email marketing purposes. Unfortunately, if you want to set up your own professional business email, this is an additional cost. 

Domain

As discussed above, you'll need to purchase a custom domain name to give your Shopify store a more credible appearance. Shopify’s domain prices start at £7 per year, but you can shop around for slightly cheaper options.

Point of Sale (POS)

If you run a brick-and-mortar store that you want to connect to your Shopify store, you'll need software and hardware to support it. Shopify offers a Pro version of its POS app at an additional fee and various hardware accessories to help you process in-person transactions. 

We'll go into POS costs in more detail below:

Shopify POS Pricing

Shopify’s point of sale solution (POS) helps brick-and-mortar retailers bridge the gap between their physical stores and online presence. With its POS, you can sell offline and process payments via cash and card in person while syncing your sales and inventory to the same system as your online transactions. 

To enable POS, you need two things:

POS software, which integrates your retail transactions on and offline. Shopify provides an app for this purpose. Shopify POS Lite is available for free with any Shopify package. With the Lite version, you can access Shopify customer profiles and manage your sales, orders, and products. In addition, you can support in-person credit cards and take payments on the go.

Whereas Shopify POS Pro is available for an additional $89 per month for each location that requires access. On top of everything in the Lite plan, the Pro solution also includes intelligent inventory management, staff roles and permissions, omnichannel selling features, in-store reporting and analytics, and more. 

Next, you need POS hardware. This might simply be your smartphone, a card reader integrated with the Shopify POS, or a full retail setup. Shopify’s hardware works with iPads, which you can connect with card readers, retail stands, and charging cables. Besides using your smartphone, the most straightforward POS setup, the WisePad 3 reader, is available for £49.

Shopify Pricing UK Compared to Other Providers

When considering the value of a platform’s pricing, you also need to consider how it compares to others. With that said, here are a few alternatives and our opinions on their value for money.

Wix

Wix eCommerce is an easy-to-use website builder suited to small businesses and sole traders. Its website plans start as cheap as £4 per month, but to unlock eCommerce, you have to opt in to a more expensive plan. For £15 per month, you can sell unlimited products and process payments, and you’ll get access to abandoned cart recovery. For £20 a month, you can also sell subscriptions and sell in multiple currencies. The Business VIP plan for £27 per month adds dropshipping and loyalty programs.

While Wix looks much cheaper initially, it’s essential to consider that its features are much less advanced. For instance, there are few basic shipping options, limited tax, and cart functionality, fewer payment gateways, and you can only generate basic reports. POS is also only available in the US.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is free to download and add to your WordPress website. It’s an open-source tool with a wide range of eCommerce functionality. All you need to pay for is your hosting and domain name. However, high-quality WordPress hosting for eCommerce will easily set you back £20 a month. So while WooCommerce could be cheaper, it’s not much more affordable than Shopify – especially if you need additional plugins and themes. Depending on your requirements, WooCommerce costs may even outpace your Shopify Subscription.

WooCommerce is a very valid alternative, but it leaves a lot of decisions up to you. As a result, you must carefully plan what you might need to spend to accurately compare WooCommerce and Shopify prices.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce prices are very similar to Shopify's. They start at roughly £23 per month and go up to £242 per month on its highest tier. However, the biggest difference is that BigCommerce doesn't demand transaction fees. In addition, you can host unlimited products with unlimited file storage and bandwidth and enjoy a wide range of sales features. BigCommerce also offers unlimited staff accounts.

This means that for bigger teams looking for a more affordable solution, BigCommerce might be a great alternative. However, storing customer credit cards and abandoned cart recovery are locked behind more expensive plans. This may make BigCommerce too pricey an option for small businesses to consider. 

BigCommerce also puts a cap on how much you can sell each year. So if your annual revenue surpasses its pre-set value, you're moved up to the next plan, even if you were thrilled with the features available on the lower plans.

Squarespace

On monthly pricing, like with Shopify, Squarespace’s ecommerce prices range from £21 to £37 per month. This includes unlimited bandwidth, a highly customizable website with great image support and stunning themes, and fully integrated eCommerce functionality. 

You're charged a 3% transaction fee on the cheapest Business plan, which drops away with the more expensive Commerce and Advanced Commerce plans. 

You can sell unlimited products and accept donations. However, point of sale, product reviews, customer accounts, and eCommerce analytics are available only on the mid-tier package. In contrast, abandoned cart recovery and subscription-only are locked behind Squarespace's most expensive plan.

One major downside to Squarespace compared to Shopify is that the platform allows for very few plugins and integrations. Squarespace prefers to design, test, and implement its own features, creating a neat all-in-one solution. However, the Shopify App Store provides more flexibility even on the Shopify Basic plan.

How to Choose the Best Shopify Plan for Your Business?

To arrive at an educated decision about which Shopify plan to choose, ask yourself:

• How many products do you want to sell?
• How big is your team, and how many team members need access to the online store?
• How much revenue are you expecting to generate each month?
• Can you consider Shopify’s own native payment processor?
• How vital are additional features to you, like advanced analytics and automation?
• Do you need access to an advanced point of sale system? 
• How many inventory locations might become relevant?

Here is a quick final run-down of when you should consider a Shopify subscription:

If you already have your own website and want to sell occasional merchandise, opt for the Shopify Starter Plan to add basic eCommerce functionality for £5 per month.

But, suppose you run a small business and want to sell multiple products online from a dedicated store. In that case, the Basic Shopify plan provides everything you need for £19 per month. While this is more expensive than some cheaper competitors, it’s an excellent option for anyone serious about their online selling.

Those with growing website traffic overwhelmed with their daily administrative responsibilities should consider the Shopify Plan for £46 per month. Use eCommerce automations to lighten your load, and decrease transaction fees.

Finally, consider upgrading to the Advanced Shopify plan if your monthly revenue is in the thousands, you’re an international business, and you want to use third-party shipping providers. This plan will set you back £256 per month.

Shopify Pricing UK: FAQs

Before wrapping up this blog post, let's answer some frequently asked questions we hear about Shopify pricing in the UK:

Does Shopify charge setup fees?

No! Setting up your Shopify account is entirely free. There are no additional costs on top of your monthly plan and the transaction fees on each sale.

Does Shopify have a free plan?

Unfortunately, Shopify doesn’t offer a free plan. However, you can try the platform for free for 14 days to test its features. During this trial, you can build your online store and make it available to the public. However, you can only process sales once you've opted into one of the three Shopify plans.

Do I need to enter my credit card details for the Shopify trial?

The 14-day free trial comes with no strings attached. You don’t have to enter any of your credit card details. Once the trial is over, you can decide whether to convert to a paid plan. Only then will you need to hand over your payment details.

How long are Shopify’s contracts?

Shopify primarily offers monthly contracts, so you can easily cancel or upgrade your plan anytime. However, you can also opt into annual contracts for a 10% discount or a biennial plan for a 20% discount. These plans are paid upfront. So, you won’t be refunded your fee if you decide to leave the contract early, so be sure you're committed!

Shopify Pricing UK – Our Final Thoughts

With the growth of Shopify’s merchant base in the UK market, the platform has recently added these pricing details in British pounds. As such, we hope this review gave you clear insight into what costs to expect when you opt for a Shopify store in the UK.

Shopify fees can be challenging to evaluate with their various transaction rates and additional costs. But, overall, the platform is very transparent about its pricing and offers excellent value. In addition, even the Basic Shopify plan includes features that many other eCommerce platforms only offer on higher tiers. Unsurprisingly, Shopify remains one of the industry's most popular online store platforms.

Nonetheless, Shopify isn’t the cheapest solution. As a result, small businesses will need to carefully consider whether they can justify the cost. 

So, what’s the best Shopify plan, in your opinion? How do you think it compares to other providers on the market? Let us know in the comments below!