How Much Does Shopify Take Per Sale? (2026 Fee Breakdown)
Published July 2026 · 7 min read
Quick Answer
Shopify takes 2.9% + $0.30 per sale on the Basic plan if you use Shopify Payments (no extra transaction fee). If you use a third-party gateway like PayPal, add Shopify's 2% transaction surcharge — bringing your real cost to ~5%+ per sale. On Grow it's 1% + processing; on Advanced 0.5% + processing. The number most sellers miss: refunds still cost you the original processing fee, which most calculators never subtract.
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You sold a $100 item. Shopify deposits $94.40. Where did the other $5.60 go — and is that the real total?
Most merchants glance at the Shopify dashboard, see a fee number, and move on. The dashboard shows fees as a single line. It does not separate the card-processing fee from Shopify's transaction surcharge, and it does not tell you that the number is often an estimate based on your plan's default rate — not what you actually paid on each specific order.
This guide breaks down every fee layer (2026 rates, verified against Shopify's published pricing), shows worked examples per plan, and explains how to see the exact fees you paid by uploading your Orders CSV — not a guess.
The three fees Shopify can take per sale
Every sale on Shopify can carry up to three separate charges. Whether you pay all three depends on your plan and your payment gateway.
1. Payment processing fee (always, if a card is used)
2.9% + $0.30 per transaction (Basic, domestic online). This is the card-network + gateway fee. Lower rates (down to 2.4% + $0.30) apply on Advanced or for in-person card-present sales.
2. Shopify transaction fee (only if you don't use Shopify Payments)
If you use a third-party gateway (PayPal, Stripe direct, etc.), Shopify adds a surcharge: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.5% on Advanced. Use Shopify Payments and this fee is $0.
3. Monthly plan fee (not per-sale, but it's part of your cost)
Basic $39/mo, Grow $105/mo, Advanced $399/mo (2026 pricing). Spread across your order volume, this adds $0.30–$2+ per order depending on volume.
Worked example: $100 sale, Basic plan
Sale price: $100.00
– Processing fee (2.9% + $0.30): –$3.20
– Shopify transaction fee (if 3rd-party gateway, 2%): –$2.00
With Shopify Payments: $96.80 (you keep 96.8%)
With PayPal + Shopify surcharge: $94.80 (you keep 94.8%)
The difference between using Shopify Payments and a third-party gateway on Basic is 2 full percentage points. On $50,000/month in sales, that is $1,000/month — real money that rarely shows up clearly in the dashboard.
The fee most calculators ignore: refunds
Here is the part that trips up nearly every seller. When a customer refunds, the payment processor typically does not return the original $0.30 fixed fee, and sometimes keeps a portion of the percentage too. So a refunded $100 order can cost you $0.30–$3.20 in fees with zero revenue to show for it.
Yet most online "Shopify fee calculators" only ask for sale price and plan — they never subtract refund fees because they do not have your order data. They give you a theoretical fee on perfect, never-refunded sales. Real stores refund 2–10% of orders.
See your exact fees, not an estimate
The only way to know what Shopify actually took from you is to look at every order's real payment method and apply the correct rate — then subtract refund fees. A flat 2.9% across all orders is almost always wrong, because different gateways charge different rates and refunds distort the total.
Export your Shopify Orders CSV (Admin → Orders → Export → All orders, Plain CSV) and drop it into the free CSV Profit Checker. It reads each order's PaymentMethod column, groups by gateway, applies the right rate per gateway, and shows total fees broken out — next to refunds, shipping, and COGS. Nothing is uploaded; the file is parsed in your browser.
Fee-by-plan cheat sheet (2026)
| Plan | Monthly | Processing (Shopify Payments) | Transaction fee (3rd-party gateway) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39 | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2.0% |
| Grow | $105 | 2.6% + $0.30 | 1.0% |
| Advanced | $399 | 2.4% + $0.30 | 0.5% |
Rates verified against Shopify's published 2026 pricing page. In-person and international rates differ.
Bottom line
On Shopify Basic with Shopify Payments, expect ~2.9% + $0.30 per sale plus your monthly plan fee spread across orders. The moment you add a third-party gateway or factor in refunds, the real number is higher than any simple calculator shows. To stop estimating and see what you actually paid, run your Orders CSV through the Profit Reality checker.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- How much does Shopify take per sale on the Basic plan?
- On Shopify Basic ($39/month), if you use Shopify Payments there is no extra Shopify transaction fee — you only pay the card processing rate of 2.9% + $0.30 per domestic online transaction. If you use a third-party gateway like PayPal, Shopify adds a 2% transaction fee on top of the gateway's own processing fee. So on a $100 sale, expect roughly $3.20 with Shopify Payments, or $5+ with a third-party gateway.
- What is the difference between Shopify's transaction fee and the payment processing fee?
- The payment processing fee (2.4%–2.9% + $0.30) is what the card network and gateway charge to move the money. The Shopify transaction fee (0% with Shopify Payments, otherwise 2%/1%/0.5% by plan) is an extra surcharge Shopify adds only when you bypass Shopify Payments. Many merchants conflate the two and underestimate their true cost — check your gateway breakdown to see both.
- Does Shopify take a cut of my shipping revenue?
- Shopify does not take a percentage of the shipping you charge customers, but shipping still erodes profit if your carrier cost exceeds what you charged. The bigger hidden cost is that Shopify Shipping labels are bought separately and most profit calculators do not subtract actual carrier cost from revenue — they only look at the shipping line item the customer paid.
- How can I see the exact fees I actually paid, not an estimate?
- Export your Shopify Orders CSV and drop it into the free CSV Profit Checker. It reads each order's payment method, applies the correct rate per gateway, and breaks out fees line by line — including refunds and shipping — so you see what you really paid, not a flat 2.9% guess. Nothing leaves your browser.