Shopify fees
Shopify Starter plan: closed to new stores, and what replaces it.
Starter is a Shopify plan that new stores can no longer choose. Here is what we could confirm about it, what we could not, and where a new store starts instead.
What we could confirm.
These come from Shopify's own help center and pricing page as of October 23, 2026. They describe stores that are still on Starter.
Archived figures, not confirmed for 2026
The last price Shopify published for Starter was $5 a month, with 5% transaction fees when using Shopify Payments, on its Starter page as archived on August 25, 2025. That page now redirects, and no current Shopify page states a Starter price or fee, so read both as history rather than today's rates.
| Open to new stores | No |
|---|---|
| Switching back after leaving | Not possible A Starter store that changes plan cannot return to Starter. |
| On Shopify's pricing page | Not listed |
| Staff accounts | None included The store owner, collaborators and POS-only staff do not count. |
| B2B catalogs | Not available |
| POS Pro | Not available |
| Theme | Spotlight theme only |
| Collections | Not available |
| Carrier-calculated shipping rates | Not available |
What a new store starts on instead.
The lowest-priced plan open to new stores is Basic: $39 a month in the US on monthly billing, or $29 a month billed yearly. It pays 2.9% + 30¢ on an online US card payment and 2% on top of another provider's fee when Shopify Payments is not used.
On October 23, 2026 Shopify's pricing page offered 3 days free, then $1 a month for the first 3 months, before the plan price starts.
Shopify also lists an Agentic plan with no monthly fee, for selling through AI channels only. The online store stays password protected, and checkouts in those channels pay the usual Shopify Payments rate or third-party fee.
- Customer pays
- $25.00
- Card processing (2.9% + 30¢)
- $1.03
- Item cost
- $8.00
- Shipping cost
- $5.00
- You keep
- $10.97
Margin 43.9%. Fees $1.03. Break-even price $13.70.
Moving off Starter: what Basic would cost.
Leaving Starter is one-way, so price the move first. Here is a month on Basic at three sales levels, with $25 orders all paid through Shopify Payments by US cards and billed monthly.
| Monthly sales | Orders | Plan price | Card fees | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1,000 | 40 | $39.00 | $41.00 | $80.00 |
| $5,000 | 200 | $39.00 | $205.00 | $244.00 |
| $10,000 | 400 | $39.00 | $410.00 | $449.00 |
Card fees are 2.9% + 30¢ per order on Basic, the online rate for US cards. Use the plan calculator for your own mix.
Your order on Basic.
The calculator is set to Basic, the plan that replaces Starter for a new store. The table at the bottom shows the other plans.
What you keep from this order
Profit per order
$27.25
Margin
54.5%
Total fees
$1.75
Break-even price
$21.94
- Customer pays
- $50.00
- Sales tax
- $0.00
- Card processing (2.9% + 30¢)
- $1.75
- Shopify third-party transaction fee
- $0.00
- Currency conversion fee
- $0.00
- Total fees
- $1.75
- Net revenue after tax and fees
- $48.25
- Item cost
- $15.00
- Shipping cost
- $6.00
- Other costs
- $0.00
- Profit
- $27.25
- Markup on item cost
- 233.3%
A month of orders
Add your orders per month to see a month's revenue, fees and profit after the plan price.
- Revenue before tax
- Fees
- Profit before the plan price
- Basic plan, billed monthly
- Profit for the month
- Plan price per order
- Break-even price with the plan price
The same order on every plan
| Plan | Fees | Profit | Margin | Month, after plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic selected | $1.75 | $27.25 | 54.5% | |
| Grow selected | $1.65 | $27.35 | 54.7% | |
| Advanced selected | $1.55 | $27.45 | 54.9% | |
| Plus selected | $1.43 | $27.57 | 55.1% |
Starter plan questions.
Can I still sign up for the Shopify Starter plan?
No. On October 23, 2026 Shopify's help center said Starter is not available to new stores, and its old Starter page now redirects to the free trial offer. A new store starts on Basic or a higher plan.
How much does the Starter plan cost?
Shopify no longer publishes a Starter price. The last one it published, on its Starter page as archived on August 25, 2025, was $5 a month with 5% transaction fees when using Shopify Payments. That is an archived figure, not confirmed for stores on Starter today.
What can a Starter store do?
Shopify's help center lists the limits: no staff accounts, the Spotlight theme only, no collections, no carrier-calculated shipping rates, no B2B and no POS Pro. Reports cover analytics, finances, products, sales, customers and the other standard report groups.
What replaces the Starter plan?
For a full online store, Basic: $39 a month or $29 a month billed yearly in the US, with 2.9% + 30¢ online card fees. For selling only through AI channels, Shopify lists an Agentic plan with no monthly fee; the online store stays password protected and checkouts pay the usual payment fees.
If I leave Starter, can I go back?
No. Shopify's help center says a Starter store that changes plan can't switch back, so compare Basic's cost on your own sales before you move.
What about the Retail plan?
Retail is closed to new stores too, and an existing Retail store that changes plan cannot switch back. Shopify does not publish its price on the pages we checked.
Sources
Where this comes from
- Help Center: Starter plan
- Shopify Starter page (now redirects to /free-trial-offer)
- Wayback Machine capture of shopify.com/starter, 2025-08-25
- Help Center: Retail plan
- Help Center: Agentic plan
- Help Center: Basic plan
- Shopify Pricing (USA, English)
- Help Center: Maximum number of users for each pricing plan
Price the move before you make it.
Put in your monthly orders and see what each open plan would cost you.