Shopify Plus Pricing and Cost of Ownership 2025

Understanding Shopify Plus pricing is important for any business planning to scale its online store on this platform. Many merchants assume the cost is limited to a flat monthly fee. However, that’s only part of the picture. There are also transaction fees, app costs, development fees, and more. These extra charges can become confusing if you don't have a clear picture of each Shopify Plus cost.

But don’t worry! We have estimated and wrapped up all the typical Shopify Plus costs for your information, including:

• Monthly subscription
• Transaction fees
• Third-party apps and software
• Premium themes
• Development and maintenance
• Migration fee

Without further ado, let’s dive right in!

How Much Is Shopify Plus: Total Cost of Ownership

When you ask, “How much is Shopify Plus?”, the answer isn’t as simple as a single number since the Shopify Plus pricing model includes more than just the monthly subscription. To help you visualize the total cost of ownership of using this platform, below is a table breaking down all the Shopify Plus fees you need to consider.

We hope that this broader view helps you avoid surprises and make better financial decisions in the long run. In the next section, we’ll dive deep into each part of the Shopify Plus pricing structure so you can see where your money goes.

Shopify Plus Pricing Breakdown

Monthly subscription

To start with our detailed Shopify Plus cost breakdown, let's talk about the its license cost.

Shopify Plus charges you a base of $2,300 per month for license fees. This will give you advanced API access, higher API call limits, and Plus-built features like Script Editor, Launchpad, etc.

Please note that this starting Shopify Plus pricing is applied for merchants who sign a 3-year contract. The price will be $2,500 per month if your contract is for a 1-year term.

However, Shopify uses variable pricing for Shopify Plus. This means the Shopify Plus license cost is not fixed. The platform takes a cut of 0.3% or 0.4% of your total revenue, based on your contract terms.

Here's a quick breakdown of how much is Shopify Plus based on your total revenue:

Shopify Plus transaction fees

Next, let’s examine another crucial fee that contributes to your Shopify Plus pricing: transaction fees and payment processing fees. Simply put, payment processing fees for Shopify Plus involve card processing and extra transaction fees for not using Shopify Payments.

Card processing fees

These are fees charged by payment gateways (like Shopify Payments, PayPal, or Stripe) for processing credit and debit card transactions. This typically adds a fixed fee plus a percentage of the transaction amount.

This card processing fee is variable based on your store's location and the customer's card type. For instance, payment with a credit card by Visa/Mastercard is 2.15% + 30¢, while the fee for an Amex credit card is 3.15% + 30¢.

Shopify Plus transaction fees

If you choose not to use Shopify Payments as your payment gateway or use Shopify Payments with other third-party payment gateways, you’ll be charged additional transaction fees.

For the Shopify Plus plan, this fee will be 0.2%, which is much lower than standard plans (2% for Basic Shopify, 1% for Shopify, and 0.6% for Advanced Shopify).

Third-party apps and software

No matter how powerful Shopify Plus is, you’ll need to rely on Shopify apps or third-party software to extend your store functionality. Therefore, when calculating the total cost of ownership for Shopify Plus pricing, don't forget to consider the cost for integrations.

The cost of apps and software varies greatly depending on your demand. For instance, basic apps might offer free versions with limited features or charge a modest monthly fee, typically ranging from $10 to $50.

More advanced tools, particularly those offering specialized services or extensive customization, can cost several hundred dollars monthly.

Here are the apps that every store needs and their estimated cost per month:

• Landing page builder apps: $20 – $100;
• Upsell & cross-sell apps: $20 – $200;
• SEO apps: $30 – $100;
• Email marketing apps: $20 – $500;
• Analytics apps: $30 – $200;
• Customer relationship management apps: $50 – $300;
• Customer support apps: $50 – $250.

Premium Shopify Themes

Premium themes are a common add-on cost that contributes to your overall Shopify Plus pricing. While Shopify offers free themes, many brands on Shopify Plus choose premium options to achieve a more polished, custom look.

A premium theme typically costs between $100 and $500 as a one-time fee. This price depends on the design quality, built-in features, and support from the theme developer. Some themes are optimized for speed, mobile responsiveness, and large catalogs, making them a better fit for enterprise-level stores.

To sum up, premium themes are a smart investment, but they’re more than just a design choice; they’re part of your total cost. Make sure to include them in your Shopify Plus budget from the start.

Development and maintenance

And let’s not forget about the agency outsourcing cost when calculating the Shopify Plus pricing.

Services commonly outsourced include website design and development, digital marketing (SEO, PPC advertising), content creation, and maintenance. For instance, professional website design can range from $5,000 to $20,000, while ongoing SEO services might cost between $500 to $5,000 per month, depending on your complexity and goals.

💰 Estimated: Agency outsourcing costs will vary significantly depending on the service you outsource and the complexity of your project. From our experience, many Plus users would spend big upfront (around $10,000) for web design and ongoing costs of around $500–$1,000/month for SEO, maintenance, etc.

Shopify Plus cost for migration

If you are on another platform and want to migrate to Shopify Plus, the cost of migration is also a factor that needs to be considered. The main cost areas during migration include:

• Data migration: Moving products, customers, order history, and content from your old platform to Shopify Plus.
• Testing and QA: Ensuring your new site works perfectly across devices and browsers before going live.
• SEO setup: Preserving URLs, redirects, and metadata to maintain search engine rankings.
• App and integration setup: Replacing or reconfiguring tools you used before (such as CRMs, email platforms, or ERPs).
• Website redesign post-migration: Recreating your current website’s look on a new Shopify theme, or building a fresh design from scratch.

💰 Estimated: The actual cost of migration varies depending on platform complexity, design needs, and data volume. A simple store might spend as little as $254 to $5,000, while complex, large-scale stores could pay $10,000 or more for a successful migration project.

Bonus Reading: Shopify vs Shopify Plus Pricing

To best cater to customers of all sizes, Shopify comes with 4 different pricing plans. This seems like quite a lot of options, you might wonder “What is the difference between Shopify Plus and other standard fees?”

There's no doubt that each subscription tier comes with its own set of powerful features, so choosing the right fit can feel like picking the perfect outfit for a big presentation. Let's break down how different it is when comparing Shopify vs Shopify Plus pricing.

Standard Shopify plans: Great for startups and growing businesses
Standard Shopify plans are like starter kits for online stores. They offer a fixed monthly cost, making budgeting a breeze. It's like getting everything you need to get started in one convenient package, with a clear price tag upfront.

There are three plans, each of which offers more features as you go:

• Basic ($39/month): This is the essentials package, perfect for those just starting out. It has all the basics to build your store, but some advanced features like abandoned cart recovery are missing.
• Grow ($105/month): This mid-tier plan adds some extra bells and whistles. It includes everything in Basic Shopify, plus features like abandoned cart recovery to win back those indecisive shoppers.
• Advanced ($299/month): This plan is the complete package – it offers the most features, including advanced inventory management and potentially lower credit card transaction fees. Ideal for businesses with a lot of products or high sales volume.

But that's not all. While standard Shopify pricing plans offer a set monthly cost, there's another element to consider: transaction fees. These fees are a small percentage taken from each sale you make, kind of like a sales tax for Shopify. It ranges from 2.5% to 2.9% based on your chosen pricing plan, plus a flat rate of 30¢ per transaction.

While these fees might seem small, they can add up quickly, so keep them in mind when choosing your plan.

Shopify Plus: The powerhouse for enterprise
Shopify Plus is for businesses with high sales volume and complex needs. Unlike the standard plans with their fixed costs, Shopify Plus takes a more customized approach. Here's what sets it apart:

• Lower transaction fees: With Shopify Plus, you might actually pay less per sale in transaction fees compared to standard plans. This plan only charges 0.15% transaction fee for each order processed via third-party payment gateways, while this fee for other standard Shopify plans ranges from 0.5% to 2%.
• More powerful features: Standard plans give you the basics, but Shopify Plus is all about making your online store truly yours. It grants you complete control over several aspects of your site, including storefront design, app integration, and so much more.
• Built for scalability: Standard plans are fantastic for getting started, but Shopify Plus is designed to handle a high-volume business. No matter how many orders you get or how much your inventory grows, Shopify Plus can keep up with your success.

Shopify Plus Pricing – FAQs

Wrapping Up!

Unlike standard Shopify pricing plans, Shopify Plus is a custom plan built for enterprises. Hence, the Shopify Plus pricing can be a bit trickier. Though it starts from $2300/month, you need to factor in other crucial costs to run and scale up your business as well.

We hope that after reading this article, you can get an estimate of Shopify Plus cost if you plan to choose this enterprise-grade plan to embark on your selling journey.

Remember to check out the LitExtension blog and join our active eCommerce Facebook community to get yourself updated with all things eCommerce, from tutorials to growth hacks, tips, and tricks.

💡 Relevant reading:

• What is Shopify Plus – Everything You Need to Know
• A Closer Look at Exclusive Shopify Plus Features