If you’re pricing products, running ads, or forecasting profit, “Shopify costs” shouldn’t be a vague monthly number in your head. What matters is what Shopify (and your payment setup) takes from each sale-because those per-order fees scale automatically as you grow.
In 2026, Shopify’s per-sale cost usually comes from two layers:
- Payment processing fees (apply on every transaction)
- Additional transaction fees (only if you use a third-party gateway instead of Shopify Payments)
Depending on your plan and payment method, Shopify typically takes $3.20–$5.20 on a $100 sale, and the percentage can effectively rise for low-priced orders because of the fixed $0.30 component.
This guide breaks down those fees clearly, shows real examples, and explains how to estimate what you’ll pay per order in your own store.
Quick answer: what Shopify takes per sale (2026)
For most Shopify merchants selling online in 2026:
- If you use Shopify Payments, Shopify typically charges 2.4%–2.9% + $0.30 per online sale (rate depends on plan).
- If you use PayPal, Stripe, or another third-party gateway, Shopify can add an extra 0.6%–2.0% transaction fee on top of your gateway’s fees.
- On a $100 sale, total fees often land around $3.20–$5.20 depending on plan and payment setup.
That’s the “headline” range. Now let’s make it precise.
Shopify per-sale fees explained: the 2-layer model
Layer 1: Payment processing fees (always apply)
Every time someone pays by card (or other supported payment methods), you pay a processing fee. If you use Shopify Payments, that processing happens inside Shopify and your fee rate depends on your plan.
Layer 2: Extra transaction fees (only with third-party gateways)
If you don’t use Shopify Payments (for example, you rely on PayPal or Stripe as a third-party payment gateway), Shopify can charge an additional transaction fee on each sale-on top of the gateway fee you already pay.
This is where many sellers get surprised: they budget for PayPal’s fee, but forget Shopify may add its own fee depending on plan and setup.
Online sales: Shopify Payments processing rates by plan (2026)
If you use Shopify Payments, you pay only the processing fee-no extra Shopify transaction fee. The reference rates shown in your source doc are:
| Shopify plan | Fee per online sale (Shopify Payments) |
| Basic | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Shopify (Grow) | 2.7% + $0.30 |
| Advanced | 2.5% + $0.30 |
A small but important detail: the fixed $0.30 means lower-priced orders get hit harder as a percentage. A $10 order doesn’t just pay “a few cents”-it pays 30 cents plus a percentage, which can materially change your effective margin.
In-person sales: Shopify POS fees (2026)
If you sell in person (pop-ups, retail, events), Shopify’s POS rates are typically lower than online rates. The document lists:
| Shopify plan | In-person fee |
| Basic | 2.6% |
| Shopify (Grow) | 2.5% |
| Advanced | 2.4% |
If you’re building a hybrid brand (online + pop-ups), this difference matters when you calculate blended margins.
Using PayPal or Stripe: the “double fee” scenario explained
If you don’t use Shopify Payments, Shopify may charge an extra transaction fee on top of the gateway’s fee. The document lists these extra transaction fees:
| Shopify plan | Extra transaction fee (third-party gateways) |
| Basic | +2.0% |
| Shopify (Grow) | +1.0% |
| Advanced | +0.6% |
It also notes that manual payment methods like cash on delivery or bank transfers don’t incur these transaction fees.
Real example: a $100 sale on Basic using PayPal
The document’s example uses:
- Shopify Basic plan
- Product price: $100
- Payment via PayPal
- PayPal fee: 2.9% + $0.30
- Shopify extra transaction fee: +2.0%
The math comes out to: PayPal fee = $3.20, Shopify transaction fee = $2.00, total = $5.20, and you receive $94.80.
That example is the clearest “feel it in your gut” moment: once you stack gateway fees plus Shopify transaction fees, your per-sale cost can climb above 5%.
Other per-sale Shopify fees that can apply in 2026
Beyond the “core” fee layers, there are other transaction-level fees that may apply depending on how and where you sell. The document calls out several common ones:
Currency conversion fees
If your customer pays in a different currency than your payout currency, a conversion fee may apply. The doc cites 1.5% for U.S. stores or up to 2.0% internationally as a reference range.
International card fees
International cards can be charged at higher rates (the doc gives an example like 3.9% + $0.30).
Shopify Tax (U.S. only)
For U.S. merchants using Shopify Tax, the doc notes a fee of 0.35% per order after $100,000 in annual sales in applicable states.
Tap to Pay on iPhone
The doc notes the first 100 transactions/month are free, then $0.25 per transaction after that.
The takeaway: per-sale fees aren’t always a single predictable percentage. They can change with customer location, currency, sales channel, and your payment setup.
What Shopify “takes” from a sale: practical examples
Here’s a simple way to think about it:
Per-sale cost = percentage fee + fixed fee (+ extra transaction fee if applicable)
If you use Shopify Payments on Basic for a $100 online sale, the typical processing cost is 2.9% + $0.30, which equals $3.20.
If you’re on Basic and use a third-party gateway, that same order can become $5.20 with the added Shopify transaction fee example shown earlier.
Now notice what happens as order value changes:
- On high-AOV orders, the fixed $0.30 is almost irrelevant.
- On low-AOV orders, the $0.30 becomes a meaningful share of revenue.
This is why two stores can “pay the same rates” and still experience very different profitability. Store A sells $80–$120 items and absorbs the fixed fee easily. Store B sells $12–$18 items and feels like fees are eating everything.
And if you want the TrueProfit reference breakdown for this exact topic, you can also read how much does Shopify take per sale for the per-sale walkthrough and examples.
How to track Shopify per-sale fees without getting lost
If you want accurate profit decisions, track fees at the product/order level, not only store-level averages. The document explicitly highlights product-level tracking as a way to avoid situations where products look successful in revenue but lose money after fees.
A simple workflow that works for most merchants:
- Pick 3–5 top SKUs (or your top offer).
- For each SKU, calculate per-sale fees on a typical order value.
- Recalculate using your “stress case” assumptions (more international orders, higher conversion fees, or a shift in payment method).
- Use that as your pricing and discount guardrail.
If you need a fast way to estimate total Shopify costs-not only per-sale fees but also the broader fee stack-use TrueProfit’s Shopify fee calculator once as a planning baseline.
Common mistakes merchants make with per-sale fees
- Thinking “fees are small” because the percent looks small: A few percent doesn’t feel like much until you multiply it by hundreds or thousands of orders. The compounding effect is real, especially once you add currency conversion, international cards, or third-party gateway transaction fees.
- Pricing without including the fixed fee: That $0.30 can quietly wreck low-AOV products if you don’t account for it.
- Discounting products that can’t support it: Some SKUs can handle discounts; others can’t. If you don’t know the per-sale fee impact, you’ll discount your way into thin margins.
- Using third-party gateways without noticing Shopify’s extra transaction fee: The “double fee” setup is the most common per-sale surprise.
If you’re past the “single spreadsheet” stage and want to track Shopify fees accurately without stitching together numbers from Shopify, payment providers, app bills, refunds, and ad platforms, TrueProfit is a strong candidate. It’s built for Shopify and ecommerce merchants who want a profit-first view of what they actually keep after fees. With TrueProfit, you get:
- Real-time profit dashboard (product, ad channel, store level): See which sales are truly profitable, then drill down into what to scale and what to stop.
- Accurate cost tracking: Capture the fees sellers often miss, payment processing fees, currency conversion fees, Shopify app fees, premium theme costs, shipping and fulfillment, refunds, taxes, and custom costs.
- Ad spend sync: Evaluate marketing by profitability, not vanity ROAS, by seeing spend alongside profit outcomes.
- P&L reporting: Review weekly or monthly performance in a clean structure and spot fee creep early.
- Customer value insights: Understand customer value so you know what you can afford to pay to acquire customers without squeezing margins.
- Mobile monitoring and all-store view: Monitor profit and fee changes quickly across stores without living in spreadsheets.
Final takeaway
In 2026, Shopify doesn’t take a single flat percentage per sale. What you pay depends on your plan, whether you use Shopify Payments or a third-party gateway, and whether you sell internationally.
If you want one practical rule: know your per-sale fee math before you price, discount, or scale ads. Those “small” fees compound fast-and the stores that track them early protect their margins and scale with fewer surprises.