A small UK Shopify store on the Basic plan pays £19 a month on yearly billing or £25 on monthly billing, plus 2% + 25p on each online card payment through Shopify Payments. Grow, Advanced and Plus charge more up front and less per sale. For a store taking about £5,000 across 100 orders a month, Basic works out at £144 a month on yearly billing, and Grow only becomes the cheaper plan once monthly sales pass roughly £10,000.
This guide sets out the plan prices, the card and gateway fees, and the arithmetic for a realistic small store. If you are still deciding between platforms, read our best e-commerce platforms for small business guide first.
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Shopify plans and prices for UK stores
Shopify lists four main plans on its UK pricing page, in pounds sterling. The figures below were read from that page on 8 October 2026.
| Plan | Pay yearly (per month) | Pay monthly (per month) | Staff accounts | Inventory locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | £19 | £25 | Additional staff accounts not included | 10 |
| Grow | £49 | £65 | Up to 5 | 10 |
| Advanced | £259 | £344 | Up to 15 | 10 |
| Plus | From £1,800 | Not listed | Unlimited | 200 |
Date checked: 8 October 2026. Source: Shopify UK pricing page.
Shopify also advertises an introductory offer of a 3-day free trial, then £1 a month for 3 months. Its pricing FAQ states that the trial needs no credit card. The pricing page does not say whether the listed prices include or exclude VAT, so check the figure shown at checkout before you commit.
Billing is made in one of four currencies depending on your location: euros, British pounds, US dollars or Indian rupees. A UK store is billed in pounds.
Monthly vs annual billing
Yearly billing is cheaper per month on every plan. Switching means the full year is charged upfront in exchange for a lower effective monthly rate, according to Shopify’s billing overview.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Yearly billing | Saving per month | Saving over 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | £25 | £19 | £6 | £72 |
| Grow | £65 | £49 | £16 | £192 |
| Advanced | £344 | £259 | £85 | £1,020 |
The savings are my own subtraction from Shopify’s listed prices. The catch is cash flow and commitment. Shopify’s pricing FAQ says subscription charges are non-refundable, so paying a year ahead for a store that may not trade is a real risk. A sensible pattern is to start monthly while you prove demand, then move to yearly once orders are steady.
Transaction and card fees
Plan price is only half the bill. Each plan also sets the rate you pay when customers pay by card through Shopify Payments, Shopify’s own processor.
| Plan | Online card rate | In-person card rate |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2% + 25p | 1.7% + 0p |
| Grow | 1.7% + 25p | 1.6% + 0p |
| Advanced | 1.5% + 25p | 1.5% + 0p |
| Plus | 1.3% + 25p | 1.5% + 0p |
The online rate is a percentage of the order plus a flat 25p. That flat part matters most on low-value baskets. On a £10 order, 25p alone is 2.5% before the percentage is added. The in-person rates apply to Shopify POS card sales. If you sell at markets, our best POS system for small business guide covers the wider field.
Third-party gateway fees
If you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments, Shopify adds a third-party transaction fee on top of whatever that provider charges you.
| Plan | Third-party transaction fee |
|---|---|
| Basic | 2% |
| Grow | 1% |
| Advanced | 0.6% |
| Plus | 0.2% |
Shopify’s billing overview adds that these fees also apply to store credit and gift card payments on stores created on or after 12 May 2025. Its FAQ says the fee can be avoided by using Shopify Payments or other providers that carry no extra fee.
Take a Basic store with £5,000 of sales through a third-party gateway. Shopify’s own charge is 2% of £5,000, which is £100 a month, and your gateway’s fees come on top. On Grow the same sales attract 1%, or £50. Shopify’s fee page does not state the gateway’s own rates, so I have not estimated them. Compare gateways in our best payment gateways for UK e-commerce guide.
Apps, themes and domains
The Shopify pages I could open did not give verified UK prices for apps, themes or domains, so I have left figures out rather than guess. Budget for them separately. Check each app’s listing for its own monthly charge before installing, because app subscriptions are billed by their developers, not covered by the plan prices above.
Which plan suits which store
- Basic (£19 or £25): a new or part-time store, a single owner with no staff logins, and monthly sales below about £10,000 on yearly billing.
- Grow (£49 or £65): a store with up to 5 staff accounts, or one that sells enough that the lower card rate outweighs the higher plan fee.
- Advanced (£259 or £344): teams needing up to 15 staff accounts, or sales high enough that a 1.5% rate pays for the plan. That is far beyond a small store.
- Plus (from £1,800): large operations. Shopify lists unlimited staff accounts and 200 inventory locations. It is not a small-store decision.
Value analysis: what a small UK store really pays
Here is the arithmetic for a small store taking £5,000 a month across 100 orders, so an average order of £50. All sales go through Shopify Payments online, and billing is yearly. Only the rates above are used. Apps, domains, shipping and VAT are excluded.
| Line | Basic | Grow |
|---|---|---|
| Plan (yearly) | £19 | £49 |
| Percentage fee on £5,000 | 2% × £5,000 = £100 | 1.7% × £5,000 = £85 |
| Flat fee on 100 orders | 100 × 25p = £25 | 100 × 25p = £25 |
| Total per month | £144 | £159 |
Basic costs £15 a month less. On monthly billing the totals become £150 (£25 + £100 + £25) for Basic and £175 (£65 + £85 + £25) for Grow.
Now a busier store at £12,000 a month across 240 orders, again on yearly billing. Basic: £19 + (2% × £12,000 = £240) + (240 × 25p = £60) = £319. Grow: £49 + (1.7% × £12,000 = £204) + £60 = £313. Grow is now £6 cheaper.
The crossover follows from the rates. Grow costs £30 more per month on yearly billing (£49 minus £19), and saves 0.3 percentage points on card sales (2% minus 1.7%). £30 divided by 0.003 gives £10,000 of monthly sales. On monthly billing the plan gap is £40, so the crossover moves to about £13,333. The flat 25p is the same on both plans, so it does not affect the break-even.
The same logic applies one rung up. Advanced costs £210 more than Grow on yearly billing and saves 0.2 points, so it breaks even at £105,000 a month. Unless you need 15 staff accounts, you will not get there soon.
Cheaper alternatives
Shopify is a hosted all-in-one, which is what you pay for. If cost is the main worry, WooCommerce on WordPress has no platform subscription, though you then pay for hosting, maintenance and plugins. Our best WooCommerce hosting guide covers that route, and our e-commerce platforms comparison sets other low-cost builders side by side. I have not verified their prices for this article, so compare current figures yourself.
You can also cut Shopify costs without leaving: stay on Basic until sales near £10,000 a month, and use Shopify Payments to avoid the third-party fee.
Premium alternatives
If you outgrow Basic, the premium route within Shopify is Advanced or Plus. Outside Shopify, larger stores often move to enterprise platforms with custom pricing. Our e-commerce software buying guide explains how to weigh features, scale and support before paying more.
FAQ
How much does Shopify cost per month in the UK?
Basic is £19 a month on yearly billing or £25 on monthly billing. Grow is £49 or £65, and Advanced is £259 or £344. Plus starts from £1,800.
Is there a free trial?
Shopify’s UK page offers 3 days free, then £1 a month for 3 months. Its FAQ says the trial needs no credit card.
What are Shopify’s card fees for UK online sales?
Basic is 2% + 25p, Grow is 1.7% + 25p, Advanced is 1.5% + 25p and Plus is 1.3% + 25p.
What is the third-party gateway fee?
It is 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus, charged by Shopify on top of whatever your gateway charges.
Can I get a refund on my subscription?
Shopify’s pricing FAQ says charges for subscription plans are non-refundable, which is worth remembering before paying for a year in advance.
Final value verdict
For most small UK stores, start on Basic. The reason is arithmetic, not marketing: until monthly sales reach about £10,000, Grow’s £30 higher yearly plan price costs more than its 0.3-point card saving returns. Take yearly billing only after a few months of steady orders, because the saving is real (£72 a year on Basic) but the charge is non-refundable.
Move to Grow when sales cross the break-even, or earlier if you need more than one staff login, since Basic includes no additional staff accounts. Avoid third-party gateways unless you have a clear reason, because on Basic they add a 2% Shopify charge on top of the gateway’s own fees. Apps and domains sit outside these figures, so the true monthly bill will be higher than the examples.
Related reading: Shopify vs WooCommerce if you are still deciding on a platform.
Sources
- Shopify UK pricing page
- Shopify Help Centre: pricing plans and billing overview
- Shopify Help Centre: pricing plans FAQ
Prices and features were checked against the vendors’ official pages on 8 October 2026 and can change; verify before buying.
