[Review] Shopify plans: which one to choose for my ecommerce store?

June 21, 2018

In this blog post we’ll review Shopify’s payment plans and outline the key differences between them. As experienced and certified Shopify Experts, we’re here to help entrepreneurs like yourself embark on their e-commerce journeys. Now, let’s get started with our review of Shopify pricing plans.

Outlines

• Shopify plans overview. Let’s take a quick look.
• How many people do you want to have access to your Shopify store?
• Do you need Professional Reports from your Shopify store?
• Do you have a need for gift cards?
• Shopify Payments fee. The last thing to decide before choosing your Shopify plan.
• Most popular questions regarding Shopify pricing plans.
• Can I downgrade or upgrade my Shopify plan?
• Does Shopify have an annual plan?
• Is there a free trial period?
• The Shopify Starter, Shopify Lite or Shopify $9 plan.
• Shopify Plus plan. Designed for businesses with a larger budget and a very high sales volume.
• Let’s wrap up: What’s the best Shopify plan for my business?

Shopify plans overview. Let’s take a quick look.

When you visit the Shopify pricing page, you’ll quickly spot a clear pricing table with the three most popular plans, including Shopify Basic, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify. These are the most popular plans, but they don’t include the Shopify Lite and Shopify Plus plans. We’re going to focus on the 3 standard plans featured in the price table.

The Shopify plans are almost identical and have no significant differences in terms of "features". We’ll break down the basics for you so you can easily decide which Shopify plan is right for your business. For this, we’ll need to answer some questions. Let’s start with the first one.

How many people do you want to have access to your Shopify store?

As the Shopify store owner, you are already given automatic access to the store. Now, you’ll need to decide roughly how many staff members you want to add to your store. For example, if you’re just running the store with a small group of friends, it’s best to choose the Shopify plan. If you’re a solo entrepreneur, or involved in dropshipping or Print On Demand businesses, the Basic Shopify plan is enough.

An important thing to keep in mind is if you’re using a content marketing blog and have a group of guest bloggers/freelancers, you’ll need to choose the Advanced Shopify plan. The user limit here also covers authors in the Shopify Blog feature.

• 2 people - Basic Shopify plan
• 5 people - Shopify plan
• 15 people - Advanced Shopify plan

In our example, we chose the Basic Shopify Plan for .

Do you need Professional Reports from your Shopify store?

The Professional Reports feature is available only with the Shopify and Advanced Shopify plans. Let’s take a closer look at the professional report feature.

The standard report with the Basic Shopify plan will present you with some statistics related to Acquisition, Behavior, Finances, and Marketing. It will look the image below.

Now, let’s have a look at the Professional Reports that come with the Shopify and Advanced Shopify plans. In addition to the standard reports, you’ll find Sales and Customers reports.

Do you have a need for gift cards?

Gift cards are available only with the Shopify and above plans. With this feature, you can create and sell gift cards to your customers. They can buy any amount of gift cards from your store, and each one is unique. You can learn more about the gift cards through Shopify Help Center.

Shopify Payments fee. The last thing to decide before choosing your Shopify plan.

If you’re just starting your business and still need to verify whether you can reach customers through Shopify, it’s a good idea to start with the Basic Shopify plan. Once you establish your online business and have returning customers, then you can consider upgrading your Shopify plan so you can save money on transaction fees.

Shopify Plans	Basic Shopify	Shopify	Advanced Shopify
Monthly price	$ $29	$ $79	$ $299
Online credit card rates	2.9% + 30¢	2.6% + 30¢	2.4% + 30¢
In-person credit card fees	2.7% + 0¢	2.5% + 0¢	2.4% + 0¢
Additional fees using all payment providers other than Shopify Payments	2.0%	1.0%	0.5%
	Choose this plan	Choose this plan	Choose this plan

The latest premium features that are available only with the Advanced Shopify plan are the Advanced report builder and 3rd party shipping rate calculator. If your store already has an existing audience and you’re looking to better understand your customers with data insights, then your best option is the Advanced Shopify plan. The Advanced report builder provides sellers with plenty of information, which will help you with picking your perfect marketing and promotional strategy.

That’s the main difference between the three most popular Shopify plans available at present. If you’re curious about the other less popular plans, such as Shopify Lite or Shopify Plus, then continue on to our discussion in the next section.

Most popular questions regarding Shopify pricing plans.

Can I downgrade or upgrade my Shopify plan?

Yes. You can quickly do that inside by selecting Shopify Admin -> Settings -> Account. If you’re on a paid Shopify plan, then you’ll clearly see the plan name. In my case, it’s the Basic Shopify plan.

Let’s say I want to upgrade to the Advanced Shopify plan. After clicking on the button "Choose this plan" the new page will load.

Does Shopify have an annual plan?

Yes, you can purchase an annual plan at any point. You can easily find the option to change your billing cycle by following Shopify Admin -> Settings -> Account. Here you can see the button "Change your billing period".

After clicking on that button, you’ll see a new page has loaded with 1-3 year payment options. The Shopify yearly plan is calculated using the base of your current Shopify plan. In my case, it’s the Basic Shopify plan at $29/month. So, if I pay for a year in advance, then I’ll save around $36. If you already have the Shopify store, login to your store at here and upgrade the plan.

Is there a free trial period?

Yes. All Shopify plans offer a standard 14 day free trial period without the need for a credit card. Let’s pick the Shopify plan and build business.

The Shopify Starter, Shopify Lite or Shopify $9 plan.

In the early days of Shopify, they had the Shopify Starter plan. The price was $14 month, and was designed for online entrepreneurs just starting their businesses with a limited number of products and 1GB of storage space.

Now, the Shopify Starter plan has been redubbed as the Shopify Lite plan (officially), and the price has been reduced to only $9/month. This plan is unofficially known as the Shopify 9 dollar plan. You might be wondering:"What do I get for $9 per month?" Well, here are the main considerations:

• Do you have a Facebook fan page or sell from your personal Facebook profile?
• Do you have a website/blog with an audience you want to monetize?
• Do you participate in "flea market" events and sell directly to customers?

Let’s see how it works in reality. I’ll start by registering the Shopify Lite plan via https://www.shopify.com/lite

When I visited the Shopify Lite plan product page, I noticed at the end of the page the following content section. In general, if you’re currently selling in places where you don’t have a domain yet (ex: Facebook or via a niche forum) then the Shopify Lite plan will suit your needs perfectly.

LEARN MORE OR SIGN UP SHOPIFY LITE

Shopify Plus plan. Designed for businesses with a larger budget and a very high sales volume

Accordingly to the Shopify Partners center (scroll a little bit down for a screenshot), this plan will cost you $2,000 per month and comes equipped with the best transaction fee rate. So what are the main things to pay attention to here?

"A dedicated support team—including a Merchant Success Manager and Launch Manager—will help merchants with the launch and provide around-the-clock priority support."

As we already know, Shopify Support is great. However, with Shopify Plus privileges you have access to a dedicated support team. As business owners, we understand quite well that every minute counts, and it’s of the utmost importance to get quick support when needed.

"Merchants will get additional access to the Shopify back-end to customize their store, such as cart scripting and a dedicated API. They’re also offered two additional clone storefronts for internationalization."

One of the most important ecommerce pages in any Shopify store is the checkout page. This page can be customized only with the Shopify Plus plan at present. With this Shopify plan you are granted more access to Shopify settings, so then leads to further store customization options that match your business and increase  conversion rates.

The User Interface back-end of the Shopify Plus plan will look like the image below. There are no significant changes compared with other Shopify plans. The difference is in the additional API support and better customer service.

You can learn more about the Shopify plus plan made for enterprise businesses at https://www.shopify.com/plus

In the case you’re interested in giving the Shopify Plus plan a try, please drop us a message at https://www.jasoncampaigns.com/pages/contact We’ll be in touch with you and can clarify any questions you may have regarding the Shopify Plus plan.

Let’s wrap up: What’s the best Shopify plan for my business?

If you’re just getting started with Shopify, the safest and the most relevant plan is the Shopify plan. With a starting price of $79 per month, you’ll have access to five staff accounts, gift cards, and professional report features. But why the Shopify plan and not the Basic Shopify plan? The payment charge will start only at the end of your trial period, so there is no risk involved. It’s good to explore essential Shopify features and figure out whether it fits your business or not. By the end of your trial, you can decide for yourself if you want to keep your existing plan or downgrade/upgrade.

TRY SHOPIFY 14 DAYS

Quick tip:If you forget to downgrade/upgrade your plan, you can contact Shopify support 24/7 and ask for help with manually changing your plan.