The True Cost of Shopify for a Canadian Store
Last updated
The Basic plan costs $49 a month in Canadian dollars — $37 if you pay yearly. That number leads every pricing article, and it is the smallest line on your actual bill: transaction fees run several times the plan cost, apps add a second subscription stack, and taxes and conversion fees land on top. Plan tiers in CAD, real processing costs, app prices, and all-in first-year totals at three revenue levels. Prices verified 2026-10-05. General information only — not tax advice.
The plan is the smallest line item
| Plan | Monthly (CAD) | Yearly rate (CAD/mo) | Online card rate | Third-party gateway surcharge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $49 | $37 | 2.8% + 30¢ | +2.0% |
| Grow | $132 | $99 | 2.6% + 30¢ | +1.0% |
| Advanced | $517 | $389 | 2.4% + 30¢ | +0.6% |
Two things to notice: yearly billing is the cheapest lever — Basic drops from $588 to $444 a year. The surcharge applies only if you skip Shopify Payments for a third-party gateway, stacking on top of that gateway's own fees.
Transaction fees are where the real money goes
Processing is usually a store's largest ongoing cost — often two to four times the plan. With Shopify Payments there is no extra Shopify fee: you pay only your plan's card rate. With a third-party gateway, you pay the gateway's own fees plus Shopify's surcharge. A gateway at roughly 1.8% on Basic lands around 3.8% all-in — well above the 2.8% + 30¢ of Shopify Payments.
Amex costs 3.5% + 30¢ on Basic, international orders run 3.5% + 30¢ plus a 2% currency-conversion fee for stores outside the US, and the flat 30¢ per order means small baskets carry a higher effective rate than large ones. For in-person sales, Interac debit is the Canadian standout: 0% plus a flat 15¢ per transaction, no matter the order size.
The apps every store ends up paying for
No store runs on the plan alone. Heads-up for Canadian buyers: apps bill in USD — Shopify App Store listings state all charges are billed in USD, and Klaviyo bills in US dollars too, so there is no CAD billing tier. CAD equivalents below use the mid-market rate checked 2026-10-05 (US$1 ≈ CA$1.43):
- Reviews: Judge.me's paid plan is a flat US$15/month (billed in USD ≈ CA$21/month at current rates, checked 2026-10-05) regardless of order volume; the free tier covers unlimited reviews to start.
- Email: Klaviyo starts at US$20/month (billed in USD ≈ CA$29/month at current rates, checked 2026-10-05) for up to 500 active profiles and climbs with list size — it bills on profiles stored, not emails sent. Free tiers cover the first few hundred contacts.
- SEO and image optimization: typically US$20–$40/month (billed in USD ≈ CA$29–57/month at current rates, checked 2026-10-05).
- Upsells and bundles: typically US$30–$100/month (billed in USD ≈ CA$43–143/month at current rates, checked 2026-10-05) once you have the traffic to justify them.
That puts a starter stack at roughly ≈ CA$21–50/month and a growing store's at ≈ CA$70–285/month (USD-billed apps converted at the rate above, checked 2026-10-05). Premium themes are a separate one-time US$350–$400 (billed in USD ≈ CA$500–570 at current rates, checked 2026-10-05); a custom domain runs about CA$10–$20 a year. The discipline that matters most: audit the app list monthly. Installed-and-forgotten apps are the most common leak in a Shopify budget.
What a realistic first year costs at three revenue levels
Year one, all in — yearly billing, a $75 average order, Shopify Payments, and the app stacks above (USD-billed apps at US$1 ≈ CA$1.43, checked 2026-10-05):
| Annual sales | Plan (yearly) | Processing | Apps + domain | Year-one total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $60,000 | Basic, $444 | ~$1,920 | ~$265 | ~$2,630 |
| $150,000 | Basic, $444 | ~$4,800 | ~$1,130 | ~$6,375 |
| $400,000 | Grow, $1,188 | ~$12,000 | ~$2,570 | ~$15,760 |
The pattern is the point: at every level, processing dwarfs the plan. (This is a budgeting guide, not a how-to — the TCO table and upgrade formula are the actionable core.)
When a bigger plan actually pays for itself
Upgrade math: divide the extra monthly plan cost by the rate difference. Basic ($37) to Grow ($99) on yearly billing costs $62 more a month and saves 0.2% — breakeven is $31,000 a month, about $372,000 a year. Below that, Basic wins on fees alone.
Advanced is a longer shot: the 0.4% rate gap against a $352/month plan difference breaks even around $88,000 a month — over a million a year in sales. Most stores take Advanced for the features (custom reports, calculated shipping, duty calculation), not the fee savings.
The Canadian extras most breakdowns forget
- Tax on the subscription itself. Shopify adds applicable GST/HST/PST as a separate line on your bill — in Ontario, 13% turns a $49 plan into $55.37 before you have sold a thing.
- Amex is the expensive card. At 3.5% + 30¢ on Basic, an Amex-heavy customer base pays well above the headline rate.
- Debit is your friend in person. The flat 15¢ Interac rate carries no percentage at all. POS Pro ($119/month per location) only earns its keep if you need the pro retail features.
FAQ
How much is Shopify per month in Canada?
Basic is $49/month or $37/month yearly, Grow is $132 or $99, Advanced is $517 or $389 — all CAD, before applicable taxes.
Does Shopify charge transaction fees with Shopify Payments?
No extra Shopify fee — only your plan's card rate (2.8% + 30¢ online on Basic). The surcharge applies only with a third-party gateway.
What percentage does Shopify take per sale?
On Basic with Shopify Payments: 2.8% + 30¢ per online sale for standard cards, 3.5% + 30¢ for Amex and international cards, 2.6% in person. A third-party gateway adds 2%/1%/0.6% on top of its own fees.
Is there tax on the Shopify subscription in Canada?
Yes — Shopify adds the applicable GST/HST/PST as a separate line on your bill. Budget the plan price plus your provincial rate.
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