Shopify Fees Explained: How Much Does Shopify Take Per Sale?

Shopify's cut per sale depends on your plan and how you take payment. Here's the short version: on Shopify Payments, Shopify takes a card processing fee (no separate transaction fee). On third-party payment gateways, Shopify adds an extra transaction fee on top of what your processor charges. Here's the complete breakdown.

How Much Does Shopify Take Per Sale?

When using Shopify Payments, the fee Shopify takes per online sale is your card processing rate:

If you use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify charges an additional transaction fee on every order:

This means a merchant on the Basic plan using Stripe would pay Stripe's processing fee plus Shopify's 2% transaction fee on every sale. For most merchants, this makes Shopify Payments the better choice on a per-transaction basis.

Shopify Plan Costs: Monthly Fees

Beyond per-sale fees, Shopify charges a monthly platform fee depending on your plan. All plans include hosting, SSL, an online store, unlimited products, and 24/7 support.

Paying annually saves approximately 25% on monthly fees. For most established stores, the annual commitment is worthwhile.

Shopify Payment Methods

Shopify supports over 100 payment gateways. The main options merchants choose between:

Shopify Payments is Shopify's built-in processor, powered by Stripe. Using it eliminates the additional transaction fee. It supports all major credit cards, Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Shop Pay Installments. Available in the US, Canada, UK, Australia, Ireland, and other markets.

PayPal is supported as an additional payment option. Most merchants keep both Shopify Payments and PayPal active, since some customers strongly prefer paying via PayPal. Note that PayPal orders processed through a separate PayPal account — not through Shopify Payments — incur the third-party transaction fee.

Stripe, Square, Braintree, and others can be connected as third-party gateways. These are useful if you have an existing relationship with a processor, need specific payment methods, or operate in a market where Shopify Payments isn’t available. All third-party gateways incur Shopify’s additional transaction fee.

Which Shopify Plan Is Right for Your Business?

The right plan depends on your monthly sales volume. The upgrade from Basic to Shopify saves 0.3% in processing fees — on $10,000/mo in sales, that's $30/mo in savings. Since the plan upgrade costs $66/mo more (monthly billing), you'd need roughly $22,000/mo in sales for the fee savings to offset the plan cost. At $105 vs $39, the break-even volume for moving from Basic to Shopify is approximately $22,000/month. For Advanced at $399/mo vs $105/mo, the break-even is approximately $147,000/month.

Most Shopify merchants starting out should begin on Basic and upgrade when their volume makes the math work in their favor.

Does Shopify Work With Amazon?

Yes. Shopify integrates with Amazon in several ways. You can list Shopify products on Amazon through the Amazon sales channel, sync inventory between platforms, and fulfill Amazon orders through Shopify. This is separate from Shopify's fee structure — Amazon charges its own referral fees (typically 8–15% depending on category) on top of any Shopify costs.

How Does Shopify Make Money?

Shopify's revenue comes from three main sources: monthly subscription fees from merchants, payment processing fees through Shopify Payments, and merchant solutions (including Shopify Capital, Shopify Shipping, and partner/app revenues). For most merchants, the monthly plan fee and payment processing fee are the only direct costs they pay to Shopify.