Plan overhead + card processing per order. Compare Payments vs third-party rates.
Updated October 2026 · Estimates for planning — confirm rates in Shopify admin
Shopify is not a marketplace commission model. You pay for the platform (monthly plan, often apps) and for payment processing when a card is charged. Your net per order also depends on product cost and shipping. This page spreads plan and app cost across your monthly order volume so you can see plan overhead per order, then subtract processing and COGS.
Suppose Basic at $39/mo, $29 apps, 100 orders, US-style 2.9% + $0.30 processing, $15 COGS+ship, $55 average order. Plan+apps is $68/mo → $0.68 per order. Processing on $55 is about $1.90. After COGS, net is driven more by product margin than by the $39 plan — but app creep and low order volume make plan overhead painful. Raise volume or cut apps and the per-order plan cost falls quickly.
Shopify tends to win when you already have traffic (email, social, SEO) and want lower variable platform take. Marketplaces tend to win for discovery when you have little audience. Compare scenarios on the marketplace fee comparator and the Etsy / Amazon calculators.
Shopify charges your monthly plan (spread across orders) plus payment processing if you use Shopify Payments or a third-party gateway. Per-order take depends on plan and card rates. Model it on the Shopify fee calculator.
If you use Shopify Payments, you typically avoid extra third-party transaction fees on the plan; external gateways may add a percentage. Always check your plan’s current rates in Shopify admin.
Etsy is listing + percentage heavy; Shopify is plan + payments heavy. High volume often favors Shopify; low volume marketplace discovery may favor Etsy. Compare with the fee comparator.
Public Shopify plan prices are only the starting point. Most active stores pay more for apps (subscriptions, upsells, reviews, loyalty, tax). When you enter “Apps / tools” on this calculator, use the sum from your last Shopify bill—not a guess. Stores that “only” pay for Basic often still spend $50–$200/mo on apps once checkout and marketing tools stack up.
Upgrading the plan can lower card rates on Shopify Payments in some regions, but the higher monthly fee only pays off if volume is high enough. Run the monthly mode with your real order count and both plan options before you upgrade.
Using Shopify Payments typically avoids an extra third-party transaction fee on top of card processing. If you use an external gateway, some plans add a percentage on top of the gateway’s own rate. That double layer is easy to miss when comparing “2.9% + 30¢” marketing numbers. Confirm under Settings → Payments for your shop’s country.
This is an independent planning worksheet, not Shopify’s billing engine. Regional pricing, trial credits, annual discounts, and Plus contracts differ. For decisions that move real money—plan changes, app cancellations, or pricing tests—verify the live invoice and payment rate card in admin. Then re-run this calculator with those confirmed inputs.
Cross-check marketplace alternatives with the fee comparator when you still rely on Etsy or Amazon for discovery.