Shopify Fees Explained (2026): Payment Processing, Transaction Fees & Profit

Published on January 5, 2026

Shopify is powerful for building your own store, but “Shopify fees” can mean different things depending on your plan and payment setup. If you price products without a clear fee model, it’s easy to underestimate costs and overestimate profit.

To compare Shopify against Etsy and Amazon using the same price assumptions, visit our platform fee comparison guide.

What Shopify fees usually include

For most sellers, your per-order costs come from three buckets:

Payment processing fees (e.g., Shopify Payments).
Shopify transaction fees (only when you use a third-party payment provider).
Your own costs (COGS, shipping, packaging, and any per-order operational costs).

Your monthly Shopify subscription is also a cost, but it isn’t strictly “per order” unless you allocate it across orders.

1) Shopify Payments processing fees

Shopify Payments typically charges a percentage of the order total plus a fixed amount per transaction. The exact rate depends on your country, payment method, and Shopify plan.

A common way to model processing fees is:

Processing fee = (Order total × % rate) + fixed fee

2) Third-party transaction fee (if applicable)

If you use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify may add an additional transaction fee on top of your provider’s processing fees. This rate varies by plan.

Shopify transaction fee = Order total × transaction fee %

If you use Shopify Payments, this Shopify transaction fee is typically 0%.

3) The simple profit formula per order

Once you have the fee model, your per-order profit calculation can be summarized as:

Profit = Revenue − (Processing fees + Transaction fees) − (COGS + shipping + other costs)

Example: quick profit estimate

Suppose you sell an item for $50 with free shipping, your product cost is $20, and your shipping cost is $6. If payment processing is 2.9% + $0.30, your fees would be about:

Processing fee ≈ $50 × 2.9% + $0.30 = $1.75
Total fees ≈ $1.75 (assuming no Shopify transaction fee)
Profit ≈ $50 − $1.75 − $20 − $6 = $22.25

This is a simplified example, but it’s enough to prevent pricing surprises.

Use the free Shopify profit calculator

Skip spreadsheets and get an instant breakdown for each order. Choose your plan, payment provider, and costs to see net profit and margin.

Open the Shopify Calculator

Tips to reduce Shopify-related costs

Prefer Shopify Payments when available to avoid extra Shopify transaction fees.
Reduce shipping cost variance with clearer product weights, packaging standards, and shipping rules.
Track contribution margin per product to spot items that look “high revenue” but are low profit.

Data accuracy & source

Shopify fee structures vary by country and can change over time. Always verify your exact rates in Shopify admin and Shopify’s official documentation for your region.

Model Shopify profitability and compare against other platforms in seconds.

For a cross-platform snapshot, see the fee comparison page.

Conclusion

Shopify fees are easiest to understand when you split them into processing fees, (optional) Shopify transaction fees, and your own fulfillment costs. Once you model each piece, you can price with confidence and protect your margins.

Updated 2026 guide

For the latest plan and transaction fee updates, read:

Shopify pricing & transaction fees update →

Next read

See how Etsy fee structures compare to Shopify payments and transactions.

Etsy fees explained (2026 guide) →