What does it cost to sell on Shopify?

The main costs are the monthly plan, the card processing fee on each order and, if you use a payment gateway other than Shopify Payments, an additional transaction fee. Many stores also pay for an app subscription, a domain and ads. Plan prices and rates change and depend on yearly or monthly billing, so confirm them on shopify.com/pricing and edit the fields in this calculator.

How are Shopify card processing fees calculated?

Each online card payment is charged a percentage of the order total plus a fixed amount, for example 2.9% + $0.30 on a basic plan. The percentage usually falls on higher plans. Because it is applied to the shipping you charge as well, a higher shipping charge raises the fee slightly.

Why does the plan cost depend on my number of orders?

The monthly plan is a fixed cost, so each order carries a share of it. At 20 orders a month a $25 plan adds $1.25 to every order; at 500 orders it adds $0.05. Entering your real order volume gives a more honest profit per order.

What is the ad cost per order?

It is your total ad spend divided by the number of orders those ads produced, also called customer acquisition cost. If you spent $500 and got 100 orders, enter $5. Orders that did not come from ads can use 0.

When is a higher Shopify plan worth it?

Higher plans cost more per month but charge lower card rates. Switch the Plan preset and compare the profit per order at your real order volume: the more orders you ship and the higher the order value, the sooner the lower rate covers the extra monthly cost.

Does this include sales tax, returns or refunds?

No. Sales tax is collected from the customer and sent to the state, so it is not part of your revenue. Refunds, chargebacks, app subscriptions and other overhead are not modelled; add them to the cost of the item or lower your margin target to cover them.

📊 Business & Ecommerce

Shopify Profit Calculator · Fees, Margin and Pricing

A Shopify store does not take a commission on each sale the way a marketplace does, which makes it tempting to think the margin is simply price minus cost. In practice three things sit between your revenue and your profit: the monthly plan, the card processing fee on every order, and what you spend on ads to bring the customer in. Each looks small on its own, but together they decide whether an order makes money.

This calculator adds them up for a single order. The monthly plan is spread across the orders you ship each month, so a store with 20 orders carries a much heavier plan cost per order than a store with 500. Card processing is a percentage of the order total plus a fixed amount, and the ad cost per order is your ad spend divided by the orders it produced. Enter the shipping you charge separately from the postage you pay, since the gap between the two comes straight out of your profit.

It then works backwards: it finds the lowest item price at which you break even and the price that reaches the profit margin you want, so you can set prices with every cost counted. The defaults describe the US Basic plan. Shopify's plan prices and card rates depend on the plan, on yearly or monthly billing and on your country, and a third-party payment gateway adds an extra fee, so check shopify.com/pricing and edit each field to match your account.

Detailed Breakdown

9 metrics

PRIMARY RESULT

$20.12

Net Profit per Order

Profit Margin

43.73%

Total Shopify Fees

$1.88

Card Processing (2.9% + $0.30)

$1.63

Plan Cost per Order

$0.25

Ad Cost per Order

$5.00

Fees as a Share of the Order Total

4.1%

Break-Even Item Price

$19.29

Item Price for a 30% Margin

$30.59

Calculation Formula

Standard Method

Order Total = Item Price + Shipping Charged Card Processing Fee = Order Total × Card Rate + Fixed Fee Plan Cost per Order = Monthly Plan ÷ Orders per Month Net Profit = Order Total − Card Processing Fee − Plan Cost per Order − Ad Cost per Order − Cost of the Item − Postage You Pay Profit Margin = Net Profit ÷ Order Total The break-even price and the price for your target margin are found by searching for the lowest item price, to the cent, whose profit (and margin) reaches the goal with every cost applied. A price is reported as not reachable when the costs make that margin impossible at any price.

Benchmark Example:

A $40 item with $6 charged for shipping. It costs $12 to buy and $7 to ship, you spend $5 on ads per order, and you are on a $25 plan with 100 orders a month: • Order total: $40 + $6 = $46.00 • Card processing (2.9% + $0.30): $1.63 • Plan cost per order ($25 ÷ 100): $0.25 • Total Shopify fees: $1.88 (4.1% of the order total) • Net profit: $46.00 − $1.88 − $5.00 − $12.00 − $7.00 = $20.12, a 43.7% margin With only 10 orders a month the plan cost per order rises to $2.50 and the profit falls to about $17.87.

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Frequently Asked Questions

6 answers

Applicable Laws & Regulatory Standards

Internal Revenue Service & Federal Trade Commission

Official Legal Reference

Internal Revenue Code § 6050W (Returns Relating to Payments Made in Settlement of Payment Card and Third Party Network Transactions)

Requires payment processors, including the one behind an online store, to report card and third-party network payments to the IRS on Form 1099-K, so store sales are visible to the IRS regardless of the fees deducted.

FTC Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule — 16 CFR Part 435

Requires sellers to have a reasonable basis for the shipping time they promise, to notify buyers of delays and to offer a refund or the chance to cancel when they cannot ship on time.

South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc. — 585 U.S. 162 (2018)

Allows states to require online sellers without a physical presence to collect sales tax once they pass the state economic nexus threshold, which affects store owners who sell across state lines.

Legal citations and statutes are provided for consumer transparency, analytical validation, and educational reference under U.S. consumer financial regulations. This tool is not a substitute for formal legal, accounting, or tax counsel.

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exploreReal-World Scenarios

When to Use This Calculator

Everyday financial situations where this tool gives you fast, accurate clarity:

🏷️

Price a New Product

Find the item price that covers card fees, your plan and ads and still reaches the margin you want.

📣

Check Your Ad Spend

Enter your cost per order from ads to see whether paid sales are still profitable.

🧮

Compare Shopify Plans

Switch between Basic, Grow and Advanced to see when a higher plan with lower card rates pays for itself.

📊

Review Your Store

Test your current prices to spot products that lose money once every cost is counted.

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