You might have heard of Shopify Plus if you are in the e-commerce niche. It is a prominent choice among e-commerce business owners. Thousands of companies worldwide trust their services, including many popular brands such as Red Bull, Victoria Beckham Beauty, and Heinz.
So, are you looking for solutions to grow your online business store? Or are you looking for an upgrade from the less powerful Shopify pack? Then, Shopify Plus will prove to be a great option for you.
You might argue that many other, more affordable solutions are available in the e-commerce world, so why should I go with Shopify Plus? How does it intend to justify its pricing?
Also, you might be wondering How much it costs. Are there additional fees? What about its competitors’ prices? And much more. This single blog is enough to answer all those questions – let these questions be about the payment gateway, total cost of ownership of Shopify Plus plan, benefits of using Shopify Plus, platform fee, free trial, etc.
Key Takeaway :
Shopify Plus is a prominent choice for large e-commerce businesses, offering features like handling high traffic, 99.98% uptime, and various integrations. The pricing starts at $2,000 per month and increases to 0.25% of monthly revenue after crossing $800,000, with an upper limit of $40,000 per month. The program is designed for high-growth brands and enterprises netting more than one million annually, providing enterprise services and support for development.
What is Shopify Plus?
Large Stores and enterprises often face difficulties while handling high volumes of traffic. So, Shopify has brought a solution to this problem with the Plus version. It can handle traffic in your online store without a hitch. So you can easily handle large numbers of customers, orders, and inventory.
With Shopify Plus, you get a promise of 99.98% uptime, and your customers will have faster checkout times. You also get access to various integrations such as Shopify Launchpad, Shopify Flow, and Shop Pay. Shopify highly suggests this plan if your annual revenue is over $1 Million.
How much does Shopify Plus cost in 2023?
Shopify is very straightforward with its pricing structure. Shopify Plus starts from a base rate of $2,000/month for everyone. It will stay the same until your revenue crosses over $800,000 monthly. Most merchants come under this category.
Now, when your store starts making over $800,000 monthly in revenue, Shopify asks for 0.25% of your monthly revenue. Shopify is not so heartless to take more than necessary from your hard-earned money. Therefore, they have set an upper limit on this fee of $40,000/month or $480,000/year. So even if you make $100M+ monthly, you will only have to pay $40,000 instead of $250,000.
If you are wondering why there’s such a pricing structure, then the reason is very simple. When your store gets more customers and orders, Shopify needs to provide you with more support, and your store will require more server resources to handle increased data.
If you want to know the exact fee for your store, we suggest you chat with Shopify Plus experts. But if you want to do some quick calculations, then we are providing some estimates below:
- If you make less than $800,000 per month, the fee is $2,000/month.
- If you make $1 Million per month, you need to pay $2,500/month.
- For anything more than $16 Million+ per month, you will need to pay a max of $40,000/month.
If you feel Shopify Plus is too much expensive, and want to go with normal Shopify plan and do something special to increase your revenue to afford the Shopiy Plus plan in future, read these guides full of master tips:
How to Connect Shopify Forms to HighLevel
Increase user-engagement by adding a video to Shopify Video Banner Section
What are the differences between Shopify and Shopify Plus?
Before we go into the difference between Shopify Plus and Standard Shopify, let us give you some quick information on the Different plans offered by Shopify and their Pricing. There are four different Plans currently available:
- Basic: which costs flat $39/month
- Shopify: It costs flat $105/month
- Advanced: with flat $399/month
- Plus: which starts from $2,000+/m
The three standard plans come with flat pricing tiers. When you go with more expensive options that cost $105 or $399, you will get more benefits, Including lower transaction fees and more staff accounts.
These plans help you to operate and spread your business to almost the entire world while also providing you with the ability to accept payments from your customers. With Shopify, you also get access to many customization options, Detailed analytics, 24/7 support, and the ability to connect with social media apps.
Shopify Plus has all the features from the lower-end options we discussed. Moreover, when you have heavy traffic in your store, it will ensure that your customers don’t face any crashes or performance issues. You will also get access to their partner program (for Shopify Plus), Merchant Success program, and Shopify POS Pro.
Rest Shopify Plans Comparison
Shopify offers more features when you opt for more expensive plans. It offers many powerful built-in tools, such as the new Shopify Magic, which is an AI-powered tool.
We would like to point out that you will be charged a Payment handling fee unless you choose to go for Shopify payments. Choosing it will also bring the starter plan fee to 5% and remove transaction fees on all other standard plans.
Shopify Starter ($5/month)
Are you planning to sell from Instagram, Facebook, or any other social media platform? Then, the Shopify starter is a good option for you. With this plan, you won’t have a website but get a link to guide your users from social media sites like Instagram to a store. If we talk about the advantages of this plan, then you can share unlimited Items, get SSL certificates, blogging options, and lost(abandoned) cart recovery.
There are some limitations, too, such as no reporting features, discount coupons, and the highest credit card fee of 5% + 30¢ USD.
Also read: How to Put Icon Images in Shopify Footer: Expert’s Guide
Basic Shopify ($29/month)
If you are someone starting a small online store or searching for an online platform for an existing one, then Basic Shopify is the best plan for you.
In addition to abandoned cart recovery and unlimited products, you will also get a website. There is a 2.7% + 0¢ transaction fee for offline payments. However, if you are selling many expensive Items, you will be charged a 2.9% + 30¢ fee.
Shopify ($79/month)
Let’s say you already have a small business that is growing fast, and you need a more powerful website. Then, this Shopify plan will prove to be useful as you will get reporting features. They are useful to track your progress and make future plans accordingly. Moreover, you also receive all the features from previous plans.
You will be required to pay a transaction fee of 2.6% + 30¢ for online transactions and 2.5% + 0¢ for offline payments. So, who should go with this plan? If your monthly revenue is around $5000, this plan is for you.
Advanced Shopify ($299/month)
Do you already have a medium or large-scale business but are thinking of growing it tenfold? You reduce your burden by opting for advanced Shopify YouTube access to advanced reporting, pickup, and delivery. Of course, you also get access to features from previous plans too.
If you go for this plan, you’ll also be paying lesser transaction fees of 2.4% + 30¢ for online transactions and 2.4% + 0¢ for offline payments. We recommend it if your monthly revenue is more than $10,000. It may look expensive at first glance, but you can recover your investments quickly with lower transaction fees and extra features.
Why Choose Shopify Plus?
Now you’ve got an idea of what Shopify Plus actually is. So let’s talk about why you should go with it.
1). Scalability
You can effectively increase your income with Shopify Plus. You will be able to focus on other important areas of your business by taking some burden off. So you can expand your influence to new markets and enjoy more income and growth. More than 25,000 merchants have taken advantage of it.
2). Easy App Integration
Shopify offers a lot to its shop owners, but If you ever need to connect more third-party apps, then Shopify has got you covered. And it’s all because of the new API of Shopify Plus. This feature is only available in the Plus plan since other standard plans don’t use this API. The ability to seamlessly integrate amazing chat support tools like Desku is like a free cherry on top.
3). User-friendliness
If you’re already using the Shopify E-commerce platform, then you will be amazed by how user-friendly Shopify Plus is, even if it has more advanced features. You won’t face any challenges while setting up your Shopify Plus store. 25,000+ live Shopify plus stores are a testament to this fact.
4). Customer Support
You get 24/7 support with Shopify Plus to get an uninterrupted service. So your online store is always running.
5). Order Details
Shopify Plus puts complete details of every order in the palm of your hand. You can quickly check every little detail, including Payment status, shipping details, and refund status.
6). Data Organization
It becomes very hectic when you urgently need some information, but there is a lot of data to go through. Shopify Plus helps you organize all the data so you have easy access to any information you seek.
7). Shopify Flow
Shopify Plus understands that large organizations have to manage a lot of stuff on their e-commerce sites. That’s why they bring Shopify Flow, which automatically updates your tools and apps without disturbing your store’s live operations.
Other costs associated with Shopify Plus
We discussed previously that Shopify Plus offers you many services for your $2,000/month or revenue-based fee. But that doesn’t mean it covers all the expenses of your store. You have to consider three major things when setting up your store. It includes the following:
Credit Card Transaction Fees
Payment Handling fees will be a major expense when your Shopify Plus store starts running, and you start receiving payments. They increase as your business increases, so they are pretty much unavoidable. However, there’s still a way to reduce it a little bit.
Shopify allows you to accept payments in 133+ global currencies. These charges are different for every country. So, we can’t provide you with an exact figure, but it will be somewhere between 1.5% and 3% for every transaction.
In the USA, credit card transaction fees on domestic Mastercard and Visa cards are 2.15% + 30¢. An additional 1% adds up if it’s an international payment.
Now, If your shop starts accepting Shopify Payments, then you won’t be charged anything extra. But those who are opting for third-party payment handling will be asked for a small fee of 0.15% extra.
You might be thinking that this cost is very high for a plan with such high initial monthly fees. But they are very low compared to other standard plans. Let’s compare costs for all Shopify plans:
- Basic Shopify ($39/month): 2.9% + 30¢ USD per transaction
- Shopify ($105/month): 2.6% + 30¢ USD per transaction
- Advanced Shopify ($399/month): 2.4% + 30¢ USD per transaction
- Shopify Plus ($2,000+/month): 2.15% + $0.30 USD per transaction
You can save up to 0.75% in comparison to the basic plan. This number may seem insignificant at a glance. However, keep in mind that Shopify Plus was created for large stores that receive lots of orders every day, so these savings can stack up very quickly.
App Fees
The other aspect of your monthly expenditure is the Shopify App. They enable you to fully make up your store and can be found in the Shopify App store starting at $0 and reaching up to several hundreds of dollars monthly. Apps are provided as an afterthought once your shop is well set up. However, they make a lot of improvements to your store, thereby boosting user experience and store process.
Development and Maintenance Costs
Once you start migrating your store to the Shopify Plus store, the whole process can take around 3-4 months. So, you will be paying fees for Shopify Plus and your old Store during that time. We’ve heard some users even have to pay fees for quitting their old platform. So we suggest you keep these costs in mind and plan accordingly.
Development costs are a matter of your choice, as they will greatly vary based on what kind of customizations you choose to go with and what your developer charges for it. You can also use most of the tools without any help from a developer. Still, if you encounter any issues, then Shopify also offers 24/7 support via phone, chat, or email.
Shopify Plus is a fully hosted platform, so maintenance costs are very low. You will never have to worry about server maintenance, development, or security updates. It saves your development and installation costs, too.
Long story short, with the help of Shopify Plus, you will never have to worry about the hosting side of things. Shopify Plus also promises 99.98% uptime, so your store will always remain operational.
Ensure Effortless Support Excellence With Desku for Shopify Plus
No matter which products you are selling through the eCommerce platform, you should never compromise when it comes to customer support.
As a proud Shopify Plus user, you understand the significance of delivering a seamless shopping experience to your customers, right? That’s where Desku, a modern customer support software, elevates the overall engagement of your Shopify store.
Desku seamlessly integrates with Shopify Plus, and the setup is very easy. There are no complex configurations to add this streamlined customer support system that works effortlessly with your eCommerce platform. Also, with Desku, you can easily manage customer inquiries from various channels in one centralized dashboard.
Besides that, you can take advantage of Desku’s intelligent automation and respond to common queries instantly! It’ll help your support team by providing more time to focus on complex issues.
FAQ
Will Shopify ever charge any hidden fees?
NO, Shopify is very transparent in terms of not just monthly costs but also its overall fee structure. You have to pay for whichever plan you choose and pay credit card transaction fees based on your transactions. If you purchase any apps or services outside your plan, then you only need to pay based on that.
Does Shopify Charge transaction fees for Refunded orders?
You don’t have to pay transaction fees for a completely refunded order. It will be automatically removed. If the month has passed and you’ve already been billed for it, then it will give you credit on your upcoming invoice. However, it’s a different story for partial refunds, so you will be charged the primary transaction fee.
Are there any Discounted Shopify Price Plans?
Yes, Shopify will give you a 25% discount if you sign up for a year. You must pay subscription fees for the whole year upfront to avail of the discount. Those who use Shopify payments are on the beneficial side.
There’s also one more $1 for the first 3 months deal available right now. Which can reduce your yearly Shopify bill by $84.
Can you negotiate fees with Shopify?
Shopify Plus pricing can be very costly for a start-up E-commerce firm down-cycle, and if you wish to invest in an online store, the Shopify Plus fee could be inappropriate.
Nevertheless, Shopify has also made provisions for individuals who cannot meet these fees and can easily have them negotiated through writing or calling customer support. It should be noted that Shopify has very little publicized information on any negotiations regarding this matter. Thus, you need to contact them directly to see what they are offering your establishment.
What is the difference between Shopify Plus and Shopify Starter?
Shopify Plus is specifically designed for large enterprises and has many customization options and a promised 99.98% uptime to storm through the heaviest traffic surges.
Shopify Starter is your go-to choice if you are planning to sell your products through social media apps like Facebook and Instagram. Even though you won’t have a website to scroll through, you get a link to add to your social media page and drive customers from there.
Conclusion
Shopify Plus is a good program for high-growth brands and enterprises netting more than one million annually. Although not as direct as Shopify’s three basic plans, this pricing structure is understandably straightforward and permits monthly budget planning in advance. (Reminder: Note that it’s always at least $2,000 or 0.25% of your monthly revenue!
Hence, if your store hovers around this annual revenue threshold, you should think about moving up to the plus version because Shopify will give more enterprise services and support for development, together with lots of transactions saved per your store sale. Also, if you want to ensure chat support effortlessly, you can integrate Desku for the first 14 days for free!
