Shopify Plan Break-Even Calculator
Fee-only planning model. Feature value, taxes on Shopify bills, premium or international-card pricing, negotiated rates, apps, and other operating costs are not modeled. Confirm current prices and account-specific rates before changing plans.
A more expensive Shopify plan can reduce the percentage charged on each online payment, but a lower rate does not automatically make the upgrade worthwhile. The saving has to exceed the extra subscription cost. This calculator compares Basic, Grow, and Advanced on the same monthly payment volume and order count, identifies the lowest modeled fee total, and estimates the volume where each pair of plans reaches break-even.
This is deliberately a fee-only decision tool. It does not assign an invented dollar value to staff accounts, reporting, shipping tools, regional controls, or other plan features. Use the result as a clean financial baseline, then decide whether the operational value of a higher plan justifies upgrading earlier.
How to use the Shopify plan comparison calculator
- Select the United States or United Kingdom so the tool loads the correct currency, public plan prices, and standard online card rates.
- Choose yearly billing or month-to-month billing. Yearly prices are shown as monthly equivalents even though Shopify charges the full year upfront.
- Enter gross monthly payment volume and paid-order count. Use completed checkout volume that is subject to the modeled rate.
- Select Shopify Payments or a third-party provider. In third-party mode, replace the provider placeholder with the provider's actual percentage and fixed charge.
- Review all three monthly totals, the fee-only recommendation, savings against the selected current plan, and the pairwise break-even volumes.
Run at least three cases: a conservative month, a normal month, and a strong month. A one-off sales spike is weak evidence for accepting a higher recurring plan cost. Sustained volume, or feature value that you can defend, is a better reason to move.
Shopify Basic, Grow, and Advanced prices used
| Plan | US yearly / monthly | UK yearly / monthly | Standard online Shopify Payments rate | Shopify third-party rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $29 / $39 per month | £19 / £25 per month | US 2.9% + $0.30; UK 2% + £0.25 | 2% |
| Grow | $79 / $105 per month | £49 / £65 per month | US 2.7% + $0.30; UK 1.7% + £0.25 | 1% |
| Advanced | $299 / $399 per month | £259 / £344 per month | US 2.5% + $0.30; UK 1.5% + £0.25 | 0.6% |
Sources are Shopify's US pricing page and UK pricing page. Shopify's pricing-plan overview explains that plan price and card rates depend on plan and location. The public rates are useful official indicators, but your account-specific charge can differ because of card type, payment method, business location, tax, promotion, or negotiated terms.
The transparent Shopify plan break-even formula
For an upgrade from a lower plan to a higher plan, subtract the higher plan's rate from the lower plan's rate. Divide the extra subscription by that rate difference. If fixed processing fees differ, add the order-count effect to the subscription difference before dividing. With the current public standard rates, the fixed fee is $0.30 across all three US plans and £0.25 across all three UK plans, so order count cancels from the default Shopify Payments break-even calculation.
In third-party mode, the outside provider's own processing charge is added to every plan. If its rate is identical across the plans, that provider cost cancels from the upgrade threshold. The deciding variable is Shopify's additional plan-based transaction percentage.
Worked US example: $30,000 volume and 300 orders
Assume annual billing, standard US Shopify Payments cards, $30,000 of monthly payment volume, and 300 paid orders. Basic costs $29 + $870 percentage fees + $90 fixed fees, or $989. Grow costs $79 + $810 + $90, or $979. Advanced costs $299 + $750 + $90, or $1,139. Grow is the fee-only winner: $10 below Basic and $160 below Advanced. The example also shows why selecting the lowest card percentage alone would give the wrong answer.
Shopify Payments adjacent-plan break-even thresholds
| Store and upgrade | Yearly billing, monthly volume | Month-to-month billing, monthly volume |
|---|---|---|
| US Basic → Grow | $25,000 | $33,000 |
| US Grow → Advanced | $110,000 | $147,000 |
| UK Basic → Grow | £10,000 | £13,333.33 |
| UK Grow → Advanced | £105,000 | £139,500 |
These thresholds assume every modeled payment uses the public standard online rate. For example, US Basic to Grow on annual billing costs $50 more per month and saves 0.2 percentage points: $50 ÷ 0.002 = $25,000. They are equality points, not promises of savings at lower volume.
Why Shopify's published estimates can differ
Shopify's official plan-selection guidance publishes indicative annual break-even estimates and explicitly says the actual point varies by location and use of Shopify Payments. MakerGauge does not copy one cross-market estimate into every result. It derives the equality point from the selected market, billing cadence, current public standard-card rates, order count, and editable plan prices. Card mix, promotions, account terms, currency conversion, or a different billing assumption can therefore produce a different answer. Treat both sets of figures as planning references and reconcile the decision with the rates in your admin.
Third-party provider adjacent-plan thresholds
| Store and upgrade | Yearly billing, monthly fee base | Month-to-month billing, monthly fee base |
|---|---|---|
| US Basic → Grow | $5,000 | $6,600 |
| US Grow → Advanced | $55,000 | $73,500 |
| UK Basic → Grow | £3,000 | £4,000 |
| UK Grow → Advanced | £52,500 | £69,750 |
Shopify's third-party fee documentation defines the fee base as products after discounts, plus tax and shipping. The outside provider's charges are separate. Use the eligible fee base, not a payout after deductions.
How to model a mixed payment setup
If some checkout volume uses Shopify Payments and some uses a direct third-party provider, neither single-mode threshold describes the whole store. Compare each plan with a weighted model: apply the Shopify Payments rate to its eligible volume, apply Shopify's third-party percentage to the documented third-party fee base, and add fixed charges only to the orders processed by the relevant provider. The upgrade breaks even when the combined savings equal the subscription difference. Do not apply both plan percentages to the same payment. If the payment mix changes materially from month to month, model a conservative range instead of presenting one threshold as certain.
Why Basic to Advanced break-even can mislead
The calculator also displays a direct Basic-to-Advanced equality point. That is a valid pairwise comparison, but it does not prove Advanced is the cheapest of all three plans. Grow can sit below both at the same volume. A plan recommendation must compare the total cost of Basic, Grow, and Advanced together; use the adjacent thresholds to understand when the lowest-cost path normally changes.
Annual billing is paid upfront
The yearly figures are monthly equivalents, not monthly installments. Shopify charges the full annual amount at the beginning of the annual cycle: $348, $948, or $3,588 in the US and £228, £588, or £3,108 in the UK before applicable tax. Shopify's billing-cycle guidance says month-to-month subscriptions use a 30-day cycle. Its plan-change guidance explains that upgrades can be activated and prorated immediately, while downgrades generally take effect at the end of the current cycle.
Fee-only results do not measure feature value
Grow or Advanced may be worthwhile before the payment-rate threshold when staff access, enhanced reporting, carrier-calculated shipping, regional customization, or operational efficiency has measurable value. The reverse is also true: a projected threshold is not a reason to prepay for capacity you do not need. Shopify's plan FAQ suggests considering an upgrade when third-party transaction-fee savings exceed the plan-price difference, but the plan that best fits a business still depends on its needs.
Important card, refund, and mixed-payment caveats
Standard online card rates are defaults, not a complete card mix. Premium, American Express, commercial, international, local-payment, PayPal, and in-person transactions can have different rates. Shopify's Shopify Payments guidance also says different rules apply when Shopify Payments is used alongside a direct third-party provider; eligible Shopify Payments transactions can carry a 1.25% premium in that setup. A charge that is identical across plans raises total cost but does not change the rate-only upgrade threshold.
Refund-heavy stores should use completed gross volume cautiously because Shopify says card-processing and third-party transaction fees are not returned in relevant refund cases. Stores created on or after May 12, 2025 can also incur a third-party transaction fee on amounts paid with gift cards or store credit. Taxes on Shopify invoices, promotions, negotiated rates, chargebacks, currency conversion, apps, POS Pro, and provider reserves are outside this fee-only model. Reconcile the estimate with recent bills and payment statements.
Frequently asked questions
Which Shopify plan is cheapest at $30,000 per month?
Under the default US annual-billing and standard-card assumptions, Grow is cheapest at $979 versus $989 for Basic and $1,139 for Advanced. Different markets, billing choices, payment methods, or custom rates can change that answer.
Does order count change the plan break-even point?
Not with the default standard rates, because the fixed fee is equal across all three plans in each market. Order count still affects every plan's total processing cost. It would affect break-even if the fixed fee differed between plans or your account used custom rates.
Should I upgrade as soon as volume crosses the threshold?
Confirm that volume is repeatable, compare the entire plan set, and check your real card mix first. Also account for annual prepayment and the timing of plan changes. A small modeled saving may not justify reduced cash flexibility.
Is yearly billing always the cheaper choice?
Its advertised monthly equivalent is lower, but the year is paid upfront and subscription charges are generally non-refundable. A new or seasonal store might rationally value month-to-month flexibility even when its twelve-month nominal cost is higher. Compare the discount with cash-flow risk and confidence in the store's operating horizon.
Can this calculator estimate product profit?
No. It isolates subscription and payment charges. Use the Shopify fee and profit calculator for apps, advertising, production, fulfillment, tax, conversion, and per-order profit. Compare channel economics separately with the Etsy versus Shopify calculator.
Methodology and independence
MakerGauge's methodology explains formula scope, precision, and update practices. Our editorial policy covers sourcing, corrections, and commercial independence. Calculations retain more precision than some displayed currency values.
Need the profit on one order rather than a plan-only comparison? Add product, fulfillment, advertising, app, and currency costs in the full Shopify model.
Open the Shopify fee calculator