Shopify vs E-commerce Pricing (2026): Transaction Fee Breakdown Cost Comparison
Shopify Pricing 2026: The True Cost Explained As a B2B procurement consultant, it’s essential to understand the true cost of using Shopify, beyond the initial plan prices. In this analysis, we’ll break down the official tiers, hidden costs, and provide a comparison with competitors to help you make an informed decision. The Official Tiers (Simplified) Plan Price Key Limit Best For Free $0 25 products, 1 staff account Testing Starter $39/month 500 products, 2 staff accounts Solopreneurs Pro $105/month 5,000 products, 5 staff accounts Scaling Teams The “Hidden” Costs They Don’t Mention Seat Costs: Shopify charges $5 per additional staff account, which can add up quickly. For example, if you have 10 staff members, you’ll pay an extra $45 per month. Add-ons: API access and Single Sign-On (SSO) are included in the Pro plan, but cost extra in the Starter plan. API access costs $10 per month, while SSO costs $20 per month. Overage Fees: If you exceed the product limit in your plan, you’ll be charged $0.10 per product. However, if you’re consistently exceeding the limit, it may be more cost-effective to upgrade to the Plus plan, which costs $2,000 per month but includes up to 10,000 products. For instance, if you have 7,000 products, you’ll pay $200 in overage fees per month. In this case, upgrading to Plus would save you $1,800 per month. To determine when to switch to Plus, consider the following: ...