Ecommerce platform
Shopify transaction fee calculator
Estimate US Shopify payment costs per order — Shopify Payments card rates vs third-party gateway + Shopify’s plan transaction fee — then see plan-by-plan savings. Nothing is uploaded.
Breakdown
How the numbers work
Shopify has two payment-related fees people mix up:
- Card processing — what you pay to accept cards. With Shopify Payments, this is Shopify’s published plan rate (US online: Basic 2.9% + $0.30, Grow 2.7% + $0.30, Advanced 2.5% + $0.30; in-person: Basic 2.6% + $0.10, Grow 2.5% + $0.10, Advanced 2.4% + $0.10). There is no extra Shopify transaction fee on Shopify Payments card / Shop Pay / PayPal Express Checkout / manual methods.
- Third-party transaction fee — an extra Shopify fee when you use an external payment provider instead of Shopify Payments. US published rates: Basic 2%, Grow 1%, Advanced 0.6%. That sits on top of whatever your gateway charges.
This calculator’s unique angle vs typical Shopify fee pages: side-by-side Shopify Payments vs third-party on the same order, with editable gateway %, online vs POS channel, and Basic / Grow / Advanced fee compare so you can see when upgrading a plan (or switching to Payments) actually saves money.
Example: $100 online order on Basic with Shopify Payments → $3.20 (2.9%+$0.30) → take-home $96.80. Same order through a 2.9%+$0.30 third-party gateway → gateway $3.20 + Shopify 2% $2.00 = $5.20 → take-home $94.80. Switching to Shopify Payments saves $2.00 on that order.
Primary sources: Shopify Pricing; Shopify Help — Pricing plans and billing overview.
FAQ
Do I pay a Shopify transaction fee with Shopify Payments?
No. Shopify’s Help Center states you are not charged third-party transaction fees for orders processed with Shopify Payments, Shop Pay, Shop Pay Installments, PayPal Express Checkout, or manual methods (cash, COD, bank transfer). You still pay the plan’s card processing rate.
What is the third-party transaction fee?
When you use an external payment provider (for example Stripe or PayPal as your primary gateway), Shopify adds a plan-based percentage on the order: 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), or 0.6% (Advanced) in the US. Your gateway’s own processing fee is separate and additional.
Are fees charged on shipping and tax?
Payment processing and Shopify’s third-party fee are typically calculated on the amount charged to the customer (order total). Exact treatment can vary by setup; use your order total including shipping/tax for a conservative estimate, then confirm on a test order in admin.
When does upgrading plans save money on fees alone?
On Shopify Payments, online rates drop 0.2 points from Basic→Grow and Grow→Advanced, so you need high monthly card volume before the rate cut covers the higher subscription. On third-party gateways the Shopify txn fee drops more (2%→1%→0.6%), so upgrades break even sooner — or switch to Shopify Payments first, which removes that fee entirely where available.
Is this exact to the penny Shopify will take?
No. It is an estimate from Shopify’s published US pricing and Help overview. Premium cards, international surcharges (+1% online on many plans), currency conversion, refunds (processing generally not returned), Plus negotiated rates, and regional pricing differ. Confirm live rates in your Shopify admin billing / payments settings.