Setting up an online shop used to be a small IT project. You needed hosting, software, a payment gateway, some security know-how, and the patience to make them all talk to each other.
Shopify makes most of that go away. Sign up, pick a theme, add your products, connect a payment method, and you’re open for business. Hosting, checkout, inventory and order management are already built in. That convenience is the whole pitch, and it’s what the monthly fee pays for.
Where it earns its keep
Shopify was built for selling, not for building websites that happen to have a cart. Your products, stock levels, shipping, customer records and orders all sit in one dashboard, and you can sell from your own site, social media, marketplaces and even a physical till through Shopify POS.
The editor is easy to get along with, the themes look good, and the App Store covers nearly everything else, from subscriptions and reviews to email marketing.
Where the bill creeps up
The sticker price is the smallest part of the story. In the US, Basic was listed at $39 a month, or $29 if you pay annually, with Grow and Advanced costing noticeably more.
Then come payment processing fees, premium themes and apps. One $15 app is nothing. Six of them are a running cost you’ll feel. And if you skip Shopify Payments in favor of a third-party processor, Shopify may add its own transaction fee on top.
So “how much does Shopify cost?” is the wrong question. Ask what your store will cost once it works the way you want.
Shopify or WooCommerce?
WordPress with WooCommerce gives you far more control, and far more to look after: servers, plugins, backups, security. Some people love that. Others discover they’ve taken on a second job.
Shopify trades control for peace of mind. If tinkering sounds like a chore, that’s a good deal.
Who should bother
If selling online is the heart of your business, or will be, Shopify is easy to recommend, especially if you plan to add products, sell on several channels or open a physical shop later.
If you need a simple brochure site, a publication, or somewhere to sell the odd item, you’re overpaying. Cheaper tools do that job fine.
The verdict
Shopify is neither the cheapest option nor the most flexible. What it offers is a working ecommerce operation without having to build the machinery yourself. For many businesses that’s worth far more than a few saved dollars a month. For some it isn’t.
See Shopify’s current plans and start the trial →