Is Shopify Free? That is a million-dollar question flashing through every beginner’s mind. And do you think it is free to use or not?
Shopify is a trump card for the business. Easy process. Simple and classy store design. And one-stop-shop. All you get comes up at a cost. And that costs depend on the various pricing plans, themes, plugins, apps, etc.
Do you want to know how much this cost? Read this article. We have highlighted the Shopify pricing plans, hidden fees, and Shopify Plus.
Shopify Overview
Thinking about starting an online business? Say welcome to the magic tool— Shopify.
Shopify is an online platform that helps scale your business globally. From managing your inventory to improving sales, Shopify is an all-in-one solution. You can build a Shopify store app. List your products. And boom! You’ll start printing money.
But a question is here. How does it all work? How does Shopify work?
No rocket science at all. You get access to the admin panel of the Shopify store app. Connect your dropshipping sales channel. And start selling.
Is it even difficult?
Before you move forward, here are some pros and cons of the Shopify online store.
Pros
Here are some benefits of using the Online Shopify store.
- Quick and easy to set up. No time waste. No more tension about the complex process of selling.
- Integration with multiple channels. Whether social media or dropshipping channels, Shopify is your die-hard fan!
- Advanced security. Ride the tide of a 100% secure system with no risks of hacks or data leaks.
Cons
No need to check the pros. Take a look at the cons, too, for informed decisions.
- You’ll get stuck in the whirlpool of pricing. Fewer features of the beginner plan even cost $29.
- No email hosting is a potential reversal sign for decisions about the Shopify app store.
Is Shopify free?
No. We can’t say it is 100% free. If you think Shopify is free, drop this idea.
Shopify has a free trial for the users. For example, if you want to buy the basic plan of the Shopify web shop, it will not charge until your 14-day free plan. After 14 days, you need to pay the fee.
Different plans are coming up with other pricing structures. Shopify starter, basic, and advanced plans are there to subscribe to.
Plus, you must pay additional fees for the plugins and custom domain names. Always check all the hidden costs and start selling on a Shopify App store.
Is Shopify Plus free?
No. Shopify Plus is an excellent choice if you are an enterprise. Having a more extensive business scalability, it is one of the top and most expensive plans.
The cost of Shopify Plus is 2000 USD per month. But it has a lot of benefits.
- Higher conversion rates are there. You can increase conversions by up to 18%.
- Multiple stotes and languages support is taking your business to the next level.
- Unlimited transactions with 99.99% uptime is one of the top benefits of Shopify Plus.
- A faster navigation system improves the customer experience to a greater extent!
Does Shopify have a free trial?
Yes. Shopify allows users to use it without any charges for three consecutive days. The cream of the crop is that you don’t have to add payment options.
Moreover, if you plan to use the Basic, Shopify, or Advanced plan, no need to worry about it. You’ll get a 14-day free trial without any payments.
Within the trial period, you can test the various features. List the products. But one thing is important— No selling. If you plan to sell, Shopify asks you to pay the fee for the given plan. Keep it in mind when using the Shopify free trial.
Shopify Pricing Plan 2024
Too confusing. As a beginner, you do not even know what Shopify plan you should prefer. Four Shopify Plans Pricing are there. You just check them.
Shopify Starter Plan
It is the plan with the lowest fee of just $5 per month. Not very high compared to another app for Shopify.
You get the following perks.
- Not the whole site design but only you can add the button to your website.
- Get access to unlimited products.
- SSL certificates are available for all users.
Who should use it? POS service providers. Those businesses that work as the point of sale.
Basic Plan
Greetings to one of the most popular SHOPIFY plans— The basic plan. Suitable for individual sellers or small businesses.
The Shopify basic plan costs only up to $39 per month. And if you use the yearly payments, enjoy 25% discounts. It costs 29 USD per month.
Here are features you’ll get with the Shopify Basic plan.
- Download the Basic inventory reports from the users.
- Add up to 2 staff accounts
- Relish up to 77% discounts on the shipping
- Up to 1000 inventory locations
Credit card rates are 2.9% plus 30 cents transaction fee when online. And in person, Shopify costings are 2.7% plus zero cents.
Shopify Plan
Are you a small business owner? Here is the perfect plan— Shopify plan. It costs 105 USD monthly when paid monthly and 79 USD when you subscribe to a yearly plan.
Credit card rates are 2.5% when online and 2.4% when offline. In comparison, the transaction fee of 30 cents applies to online transactions.
Here are the features of the Shopify plan.
- You’ll download the Professional reports.
- Hassle-free 1000 inventory location access.
- Add up to 5 accounts of your staff.
- Get up to 88% discounts on the shipping.
That is all!
Advanced Plan
The beast is here! Higher price with unlimited access to the inventory and reporting system. But it is not a good option if you’ve just started selling.
There are tons of features of the advanced plan. Wondering what features? Take a look!
- You’ll get full access to report customization.
- Add up to 15 employees or partners to your account.
- Heavy shipping discounts of up to 88% for most users.
- Access to 1000 inventory locations.
Isn’t it the larger-than-life option? Wait. What is the cost of it?
The pricing is up to 399 USD per month. If you are planning to use it yearly, save 25%. Get it at 299 USD per month.
Credit card rates are 2.4 cents. Transaction fee is 30 cents for online and zero cents for offline payments.
Different Shopify costs
Shopify has multiple types of charges from businesses. Not only the paid plans are there. Apart from that, here is the complete list of Shopify fees.
Payment Processing Charges
Do you want to rely on a Shopify payment processor? Get ready to pay a small fee. And essentially, it depends on your plan.
For example, if you use a Shopify basic plan, payment processing charges are 2.9% for online transactions. And 2.7% for in-person transactions.
The higher the plan, the lower the costs. On the other hand, the Advanced Shopify plan has a fee of 2.4% whether you use the online payment processor or offline.
Transaction Fees
Shopify won’t spare you from the transaction feed. But congrats! It is a fixed fee for all your payments. 30 cents per payment is not an enormous amount, to be honest.
Paid Shopify Apps
Not just the Shopify store is sufficient for a business. There are hundreds of plugins and tools to beautify your store. And guess what?
All of them are not free at all. You need to pay a fee for using them. So, depending on the plugin, you need to pay the price.
Custom domain names
A website has a domain name. And if you want a custom domain for your business name, get ready to pay the fee. It depends mainly on the type of the domain. From $10 to $50 can be an average price for the custom domain names. The cost can increase in most cases.
Hosting costs
The domain is just the link to your website. Here is the game-changing tool— Hosting. It can range from fast to medium-paced hosting. The downtime matters a lot.
Shopify has different plans for hosting. Most of the time, you’ll get free hosting with your given Shopify plan.
Six methods to save money on Shopify
Tired of paying fees on Shopify? It can empty your pockets if you go on buying custom domains, adding plugins, and buying paid Shopify apps.
Any solution to tackle this situation?
Let’s think for a moment. Here are six methods you’ll save money.
1. Choose the Right Shopify Pricing Plan
One of the best ways to rethink your Shopify subscription. If you are using the Shopify Advanced plan, wait a minute. Is that really suitable for your business?
Is there any risk to your business if you downgrade it?
Evaluate all the factors. And try to choose the most suitable yet affordable plan. That is the way you’ll save more price.
2. Try to consider Yearly payments
Shopify offers heavy discounts on yearly payments. You can save up to 25% on the annual fees.
Before that, you should try the free trial and consider whether Shopify suits your business. If it does, let’s make up a better plan. Subscribe to the yearly plan. You’ll save 250 USD per 1000 USD. Isn’t it a high-cost savings?
3. Use Free Themes
Why even invest in the paid themes? Don’t overthink. Not all the Shopify store themes are paid. There are plenty of free themes. Head over to them.
Check all the features available in the free themes. If they are sufficient for your requirements, that is quite amazing. You can save the money at this point.
4. Minimize Shopify Apps Costs
Not only the free themes are there, but also the free Shopify apps are there. You need to get some time. Do research. And make a list of the top tools you need.
Filter your search. And narrow it down to the best free tools suitable for your business. Once you get the free apps ideal to your requirements, superb! Your quest ends here.
5. Deploy Shopify Payments
Shopify payments have a processing fee of 2.4% or more in the primary and Shopify plans.
Guess what? It is the lowest fee as far as external payment options are concerned, such as Stripes. Moreover, Shopify has various payment benefits you’ll get. For example:
- Payment Security. Shopify has added SSL certificates and various payment security layers. So, all your payments processed through Shopify are 100% safe and secure.
- Advance Capital. If you have reached a certain amount of transactions, Shopify allows you to get the Capital advance. You can invest it and
If you want to save some bucks, use the Shopify payment processor. It will ignite the internal security system in case of any problem. And give you affordable yet additional security.
6. Choose Shopify Shipping
Don’t use any external shipping services. Shopify has a well-established shipping line offering you ultimate security.
The best part?
It is the 88% discount offer you get on choosing the Shopify plans. One more thing. Shopify works with reliable shipping partners such as
- USPS
- UPS
- DHL Express
- Canada Post
- Sendle
So, no worries at all about the shipping. You can safely ship to your consumer and save the additional costs you’ll get with other shipping partners.
Does Shopify have any hidden fees?
There are many types of fees Shopify charges from businesses. Some can be:
- Paid plans.
- Transaction fees.
- Payment processing fees.
These are the clear-cut fees you’ll have to pay to Shopify. Apart from that, there are some fees that you might not know already.
- Store customization tools can charge you a lot of pocket money.
- Web hosting is sometimes separately available. It costs a fortune.
- Customized domains have a cost for the users.
Before you proceed to sell on Shopify, allocate the budget. Know where to spend and how much you need to pay.
Benefit?
You’ll be in your budget plan. No worries at all.
FAQs About Is Shopify Free
What’s Next?
A perfect Shopify store can guarantee success. An ideal store is incomplete without a complete list of tools. Those tools include the Shopify app, themes, and plugins ready to accomplish your dream store.
Do you have that?
If not, no problem. ChannelWill is an all-in-one platform with dedicated 24/7 support. You’ll get affordable Shopify apps and plugins. And enjoy an increase in your conversions. A more profitable business will be yours!
