The fees that eat your Shopify margin
Shopify takes two kinds of cut. The one on every order is the payment fee: with Shopify Payments it is 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, dropping to 2.7% and 2.5% on the higher plans. If you use a third-party processor like PayPal instead, Shopify adds a transaction surcharge (2% / 1% / 0.5%) on top of that processor's own fee, which usually makes the total worse, not better.
The second cost is the monthly plan ($39 Basic, $105 Grow, $399 Advanced). That is a fixed cost, so it only matters per order once you divide it by how many orders you do. The calculator keeps it separate so your per-order margin is honest.
From margin to the ROAS your ads need
Your net margin after Shopify fees is what sets the return your ads have to clear. Break-even ROAS is roughly 1 divided by that margin, so a 30% margin needs about 3.3x just to cover the ad spend. Find the exact target with the Target ROAS calculator, or check your real gross margin first.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Shopify take per sale?+
With Shopify Payments, the online card rate is 2.9% + $0.30 on Basic, 2.7% + $0.30 on Grow, and 2.5% + $0.30 on Advanced. So a $50 order costs about $1.75 on Basic. If you use a third-party processor instead, Shopify adds a surcharge of 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow) or 0.5% (Advanced) on top of that processor's own fees.
What are Shopify transaction fees?+
Transaction fees are the surcharge Shopify charges when you do NOT use Shopify Payments: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.5% on Advanced. Using Shopify Payments drops that surcharge to 0, so it is almost always the cheapest option.
How do I calculate Shopify profit per order?+
Net profit = price + shipping charged, minus cost of goods, shipping you pay, the Shopify payment fee, any ads and other costs. The monthly plan fee ($39 to $399) is a separate fixed cost spread across all your orders, not a per-order charge.
Which Shopify plan is cheapest?+
It depends on volume. Higher plans charge a lower payment percentage but a higher monthly fee, so they only pay off once you do enough sales for the percentage saving to beat the extra subscription. At low volume, Basic is usually cheapest overall.
Are these Shopify fees accurate?+
They use Shopify's 2026 published US rates as estimates. Exact rates vary by country, plan and payment method, and Shopify updates them, so verify in your Shopify admin.