How the fee is calculated
Fee = 2.9% × sale + $0.30 (Basic online). Plans: Basic 2.9%, Shopify 2.7%, Advanced 2.5% + $0.30. External gateways: +2%/1%/0.5% transaction fee by plan.
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Shopify Payments Fee Calculator — 2.9% + 30¢ (Basic)
On the Basic plan, Shopify Payments costs 2.9% + $0.30 online (2.7% in person). Using PayPal/Stripe as an external gateway adds a 2% Shopify transaction fee on top. Enter your sale amount for the Basic online rate.
Worked examples (2026 rates)
| Sale total | Fee | You keep | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10.00 | $0.59 | $9.41 | 5.9% |
| $25.00 | $1.02 | $23.98 | 4.1% |
| $50.00 | $1.75 | $48.25 | 3.5% |
| $100.00 | $3.20 | $96.80 | 3.2% |
| $250.00 | $7.55 | $242.45 | 3% |
Every number above is computed by the same in-browser engine as the calculator, from the published 2026 fee schedule — nothing is hardcoded.
Shopify Payments rates by plan, and the real cost stack
Shopify Payments pricing is plan-dependent: Basic takes 2.9% + $0.30 online (2.7% in person), the Shopify plan 2.7% + $0.30, and Advanced 2.5% + $0.30, all with the $0.30 fixed component. Layer on the $39/mo Basic subscription (higher on upper plans), apps, and theme costs — and the per-sale platform economics change. At $2,000/mo in sales across 40 orders on Basic, card fees are ~$70 plus the $39 subscription: a ~5.5% all-in platform cost before inventory. At $20,000/mo, upgrading to Advanced cuts the card rate half a point, saving ~$100/mo versus Basic, which can offset the higher subscription. The calculator here shows the per-sale card fee; honest planning adds subscription, apps and gateway transaction fees on top.
The external gateway trap: 2%/1%/0.5% explained
Many merchants wire Stripe or PayPal into Shopify without realizing Shopify adds its own transaction fee on any order not paid through Shopify Payments: 2% on Basic, 1% on Shopify, 0.5% on Advanced. Route a $100 order through external Stripe on Basic and you pay Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 ($3.20) plus Shopify 2% ($2) — $5.20, versus $3.20 through Shopify Payments at the same card rate. The double-fee only makes sense when the gateway offers something Shopify Payments cannot: a payment method Shopify does not support, or a country where Shopify Payments is unavailable. Otherwise, enabling Shopify Payments is the single cheapest fee decision a Shopify merchant makes.
Shopify vs Gumroad vs marketplaces: when owning the stack wins
Shopify's 2.9% + $0.30 (Basic) is far below Gumroad's 10% + $0.50 and below every marketplace commission here — eBay 13.6% + $0.40, Amazon 15%, Etsy ~9.9%, Whatnot ~11.2%. But the fee gap is paid for in traffic and infrastructure: marketplaces bring buyers, Gumroad handles sales tax as merchant of record, and Shopify brings neither — you fund acquisition and configure tax settings yourself. The crossover is volume and audience: with an existing email list or social following and roughly $3,000+/mo in sales, Shopify's ~$39/mo plus 2.9% + $0.30 beats paying 10-15% commissions everywhere. Below that, or in a market where you depend on discovery, the higher-percentage platform is often the cheaper customer-acquisition cost.
FAQ
What does Shopify take per sale?
With Shopify Payments: 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic (lower on higher plans). With an external gateway, Shopify adds a 0.5–2% transaction fee on top of the gateway's own fees.
Is Shopify Payments cheaper than Stripe directly?
Same online rate (2.9% + $0.30) — but using Stripe inside Shopify adds Shopify's transaction fee, so Shopify Payments is cheaper on the platform.
Does Shopify charge monthly?
Yes — $39/mo Basic and up, unlike Gumroad or marketplaces.
What do disputes cost on Shopify Payments?
Shopify Payments charges a dispute fee (commonly $15 in the US) when a cardholder files a chargeback, refunded if you win with sufficient evidence. The original 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee on Basic is not returned on a lost dispute. Shopify also pauses payouts on the disputed amount and can hold reserves if your dispute rate climbs. Keep tracking numbers, delivery confirmations and customer communication — Shopify's dispute flow lets you submit this evidence directly from the admin.
Do international cards cost more on Shopify?
Yes. On top of the plan rate (2.9% + $0.30 online for Basic), international cards add a surcharge (about 1.5% for cards issued outside the US) and currency conversion adds roughly another 1-2% when Shopify converts at checkout. A UK customer paying in GBP on a Basic store can therefore cost ~4.5-5% + $0.30. Higher plans reduce the base rate (Shopify 2.7%, Advanced 2.5% + $0.30 online) but the international adders still apply.
When does the 2% transaction fee apply?
Only when you bypass Shopify Payments and use a third-party gateway such as PayPal or Stripe directly at checkout: Shopify adds 2% on Basic, 1% on the Shopify plan and 0.5% on Advanced, on top of whatever the gateway charges. Using PayPal Express alongside Shopify Payments triggers the fee only on orders actually paid through PayPal. For most US stores, Shopify Payments plus PayPal-as-wallet still beats routing card payments through an external gateway once you add up both fee layers.