The ultimate guide to Shopify UK pricing and plans 2023

When it comes to starting your e-commerce business, choosing the right platform is the most fundamental step. Since Shopify is one of the favourites in the e-commerce world, it makes sense to go through what plans they offer and what works for you. Now, we’ll guide you through picking the right Shopify plan as simply as possible and provide a detailed pricing comparison.

Shopify UK Pricing Overview

Let’s start with Shopify’s pricing comparison. Below is a table for a quick comparison:

Shopify offers three standard pricing tiers for its UK subscribers: Basic, Shopify and Advanced. Each tier can do the same basic functions, but the higher the tier, the more advanced the functions get. For example, Shopify and Advanced tiers offer data reports and charge lower credit card payment fees than basic. The advanced tier could even help you calculate overseas shipping fees and taxes. But if you’re starting as a new joiner, basic would suffice for the time being. 

Shopify Basic - Features and Fee

Shopify Basic gives you all the basic functions for new entrants serious about e-commerce, ranging from 24/7 customer support, gift cards, inventory management to fraud detection and POS support. 

Shopify Standard - Features and Fee

This tier offers everything Basic offers and more. It offers extra perks like lower transaction fees and reporting services, making it great for e-commerce businesses already stable and gradually growing.

Shopify Advanced - Features and Fee

This tier offers even lower transaction fees and helps you determine import duties and customised pricing per country. Though this is for established brands hoping to scale their eCommerce business to another level, it takes a large monthly transaction for this tier to be worthwhile.

Check a complete comparison of all the features these three tiers offer. 

Shopify Lite - Features and Fee

Besides the three standard tiers, there are two more special tiers for Shopify UK pricing: Lite and Shopify Plus. 

Starting at only GBP7 per month, Shopify Lite gives you all the basic functions you need for a small online shop, such as inventory management and discount codes. It’s designed for merchants looking to sell in-person or add a buy button to their existing website. In addition, it supports different content management systems like WordPress, Squarespace and Tumblr, and other credit card payments. For the more convenient and functional acceptance of Visa / MasterCard / Amex and more than 200 other payment methods, you can use a third-party Shopify payment gateway such as Fondy.

Shopify Plus - Features and Fee

Shopify Plus has everything Shopify offers, plus personalised and dedicated support to your store. Shopify Plus also supports over 10,000 orders per minute, an AI-driven user experience feature to help you boost sales, and access to a dedicated customer service manager. Starting at USD2,000 per month, Shopify Plus is great for profitable brands hoping to expand their presence exponentially. However, it takes a monthly transaction volume of USD800,000 or above to really realise the tier’s potential.

Pricing in detail

At the start, you can enjoy a 14-day free trial for the three main tiers and Shopify Lite. Then, you can pay for your subscription according to the tier you need. Yet, on top of your monthly subscription fees by the service tier you choose, you still need to pay different fees. But don’t worry, we’ll make it clear and hassle-free for you.

These additional costs are mostly related to different online payment methods, such as online credit payments, Bancontact for Belgian users and iDEAL for Dutch users. Right now, the Basic tier charges an extra 2.2% per transaction plus 20p for these methods, Shopify tier charges 1.9% plus 20p and 1.6% plus 20p for the Advanced tier. On top of that, there’s an additional cost for in-person credit or debit card payment of 1.7%, 1.6% and 1.5% for the Basic, Shopify and Advanced tiers, respectively, and a monthly flat rate of USD89 per Shopify POS Pro point-of-sale installation. You can cancel your subscriptions under these four tiers at any time.

Extra fees

As for Shopify Plus, its pricing starts at USD2,000 per month and differs case by case, so you need to request a quote and find out. Typically, Shopify Plus charges by the percentage of your monthly revenue. For most move-up sellers, this percentage is 0.25% of the monthly revenue, and the fees cap out at USD40,000 per month.

Is there any hidden Shopify UK cost?

There are also some costs you’re likely to encounter: 

Themes

Now, you’ve spent ages trying to get your inventory and shop going. You’ve put in the hours sorting out your assortment and planning your promotion calendar. You’re now sure your products are exactly what your customers need. It’s time to add some personal flavour to your shop. Shopify offers a range of themes for your choosing, ranging from free to USD180 each. If you want something customised, you can hire freelancers or Shopify Experts, but the costs can vary drastically. 

VATs

All retailers would know that the not-so-glamorous sides of running a retail business are handling VATs. Yes, we get it. They’re no fun, so let’s make it quick. For UK stores, Shopify doesn’t charge or collect VATs, so you need to set it up yourself. Note that you’re legally required to register for VAT only if your volume exceeds GBP85,000 per year. If you’re planning to do business outside the UK, it’s best to check the VAT rates in different countries. For the UK’s VAT requirements, visit here. 

Refunds

We all know refunds happen. Whether it’s due to the wrong size, wrong colour or simply the customer’s mind changed. It’s also very common since a quarter of all customers have considered filing a refund at one point in time. 

Luckily, Shopify doesn’t charge you extra fees if a customer files a refund. However, you won’t be able to recover the transaction or card fees you’ve already paid. Usually, it’ll take 5-10 days for customers to retrieve their money. 

Which Shopify UK plan is the best?

You might be thinking, “what works for me?” but the answer to this question depends entirely on the nature and scale of your business. 

As a rule of thumb, the larger and more established your company is, the higher your tier of choice should be. 

Say if you’re a website wanting to experiment with monetising by selling merchandise, Shopify Lite is a great entry point for your e-commerce gig because it gives you the basic structure you need. If you’re a novice e-commerce store and somewhere between a serious novice and a juggernaut, Basic, Shopify and Advanced will be good for you. Of course, the larger your scale, the more transaction fees you get to save. As for Shopify Plus, if your brand is seriously taking off, or you can reasonably foresee you’ll be taking in loads of sales every day globally, this tier is the right choice for you. 

How can SleekFlow help you to boost Shopify sales?

When setting up your Shopify presence, SleekFlow can be your best companion. You can now integrate our SleekFlow interface with Shopify in a few simple steps. All you need is an account for both platforms. 

First, go to Channels on your SleekFlow interface, add Shopify as a tool, and confirm that you have a Shopify account.

Then, go back to Shopify, enable private apps, and create a private app for SleekFlow on Shopify. 

Next, get your Shopify store URL and API password, enter them on SleekFlow and click Submit. 

All set!

What can SleekFlow do for you? Check out our previous article for a quick guide!