Shopify Transaction Fees: How Much Do You Actually Pay in 2026?

The Short Answer

With Shopify Payments, your transaction fee is set entirely by your plan: Basic 2.9% + 30¢, Grow 2.7% + 30¢, Advanced 2.5% + 30¢, Plus 2.25% + 30¢ on online card payments. On a $50 online order on Basic, that is $1.45 + 30¢ = $1.75, or 3.5% of the order. There is no separate transaction fee when you use Shopify Payments — but use any third-party gateway (PayPal checkout, Stripe direct, Authorize.net) and Shopify adds a surcharge of 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), 0.6% (Advanced), or 0.2% (Plus) on top of that gateway's own fees.

Model your real costs. Use our free Shopify Profit Calculator — enter your sale price, plan, and costs to see exactly what Shopify keeps per order.

This guide lays out the 2026 rates by plan, the third-party gateway trap that doubles many stores' fees, the fixed-30¢ bite on small orders, and the break-even math that tells you when upgrading plans actually pays for itself. Rates reflect Shopify's US pricing as of October 2026.

2026 Card Rates by Plan

There is no separate Shopify Payments contract or monthly fee — what you pay per transaction is set by your plan, and upgrading the plan lowers the rate. US rates:

Plan	Monthly price*	Online card rate	Third-party gateway fee
Basic	$39	2.9% + 30¢	2.0%
Grow	$105	2.7% + 30¢	1.0%
Advanced	$399	2.5% + 30¢	0.6%
Plus	from $2,300	2.25% + 30¢	0.2%

*Monthly billing. Paying annually cuts the subscription about 25% — Basic drops to $29/month, Grow to $79, Advanced to $299 — but the card rates stay the same. Note: in 2026 Shopify renamed its middle plan from “Shopify” to “Grow”; price and features did not change, so an old pricing page showing “Shopify $105” is the same plan. Starter ($5/mo) exists for pre-launch testing but is not a real storefront plan.

The Third-Party Gateway Trap

This is the fee that surprises store owners. If you do not use Shopify Payments and instead connect a third-party gateway, Shopify charges its surcharge on top of whatever that gateway charges. On Basic, a gateway charging 2.9% + 30¢ becomes 4.9% + 30¢ in total — on a $100 order, that is $5.20 in combined fees instead of $3.20. The surcharge is why most Shopify merchants stay on Shopify Payments; it is not subtle, and it is not going away. One more line item to know: chargebacks cost roughly $15 per dispute (orders covered by Shopify Protect are reimbursed).

The 30¢ Bite: Small Orders Pay a Higher Rate

The fixed 30¢ per transaction does not shrink with the order, so small orders carry a higher effective rate — the same structural reality as every flat-fee system:

Order value (Basic)	Fee	Effective rate
$15	$0.74	4.9%
$50	$1.75	3.5%
$150	$4.65	3.1%
$500	$14.80	3.0%

If your average order value is under $25, that 30¢ is quietly your biggest fee problem — raising AOV with bundles or free-shipping thresholds does more for your fee rate than any plan change. Test your own AOV in the Shopify Profit Calculator to see the real percentage leaving your store.

International Cards and Currency Conversion

Two more add-ons apply on cross-border sales: international cards add roughly 1% extra on top of your card rate, and US stores letting customers pay in another currency pay a 1.5% currency conversion fee on those payments. Premium cards also process at higher rates (up to ~3.5% + 30¢ on Basic). If a meaningful share of your sales is international, price those orders as a separate line in your margin math.

When Does Upgrading Plans Pay for Itself?

The plan upgrade saves you 0.2% per transaction between Basic and Grow. Basic costs $39/month and Grow $105 — a $66/month difference. Break-even: $66 ÷ 0.002 ≈ $33,000/month in online sales. Below that, Basic is cheaper overall; above it, Grow wins. The same logic applies up the ladder (Grow→Advanced saves 0.2% for a $294/month difference, so roughly $147,000/month to justify). Most stores operate on Basic or Grow for their first 12–24 months, and the jump usually happens when volume — not ambition — demands it. Do the upgrade math from your actual monthly volume, not your projected one.

Conclusion

Shopify's transaction fee is 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic and steps down with each plan — fair and transparent as long as you stay on Shopify Payments. The traps are the third-party gateway surcharge (up to an extra 2%), the fixed 30¢ on small orders, and upgrading plans before your volume justifies it. Calculate what Shopify really takes from your orders and make the plan decision with the math in front of you.