Shopify Pricing, Actually Explained
The advertised price, the fine print, and the hours nobody counts.
Shopify's sticker ($29 to $299/mo) is half the story: apps add $50 to $200/mo for most real stores, external payment processors trigger penalty fees, and the $1 intro months end. It remains the best commerce money can rent; just budget the whole invoice, not the plan line.
Shopify plans in 2026
Prices move; these are the published numbers as of July 2026, worth re-checking on Shopify's own pricing page before you buy.
| Plan | Advertised price | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $5/mo | Selling via link-in-bio, not a real site |
| Basic | $29/mo annual | $39 monthly; where most stores start |
| Grow | $79/mo annual | $105 monthly; staff accounts and reports |
| Advanced | $299/mo annual | $399 monthly; volume economics |
The fine print that changes the math: As of July 2026 Shopify runs $29 (Basic annual, $39 monthly) to $299/mo (Advanced annual) plus Plus from $2,300/mo, with the $1-for-3-months intro; the realistic bill adds $50 to $200/mo of apps and a transaction penalty if you skip Shopify Payments.
The cost nobody puts on the pricing page: your hours
Shopify is priced like software, but it consumes your time like a job. Budget the hours honestly: learning the editor, fighting layouts, writing every word of copy, sourcing images, making it work on mobile. For most owners that is 20 to 60 hours for a first site. At even $50 an hour of your time, the "cheap" plan costs $1,000 to $3,000 in labor you paid yourself, before the subscription.
That is the actual comparison with PISCES: Starter at $99/mo or Pro at $399/mo is more than Shopify's entry plans on the sticker, but the AI does the design, the copywriting and the structure in about 90 seconds, and you edit by typing instructions. You are not buying software; you are replacing the labor.
Side by side
| Feature | PISCES | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | Free preview; paid from $99/mo | Starter $5/mo; Basic $29/mo annual; Grow $79; Advanced $299 |
| Who does the work | The AI builds the whole site; you approve and edit in plain English | You configure themes and apps around the checkout |
| Time to a finished site | About 90 seconds to a full preview | Days for a store, longer for a good one |
| Blog / CMS | Yes (Pro) | Weak, an afterthought |
| E-commerce | Yes, Stripe checkout (Pro) | The best in the world |
| Booking / scheduling | Yes, built in | Via apps |
| AI edits in plain English | Yes, core feature | Sidekick agentic AI, impressive and occasionally destructive |
| Own your code (export) | Yes, full Next.js project zip on Pro | Data CSVs yes; store no |
| Best for | Business owners who want the site done for them, with code they own | Real e-commerce businesses at volume |
See your site rebuilt by AI, free
Paste your current website's URL and PISCES rebuilds it, 10x better, in about 90 seconds. Keep it only if you love it.
Get my free rebuild →Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to use Shopify?
Starter at $5/mo sells through links without a real site; Basic at $29/mo annual is the true entry. The intro deal ($1 for three months) softens the start.
What does Shopify really cost per year?
A typical small store on Basic with normal apps runs $900 to $2,400 per year plus processing; growing stores on Grow with more apps easily double that.
Is PISCES really free to try?
Yes. The free preview rebuilds your site (or builds one from scratch) with no credit card. You only pay if you keep it: Starter is $99/mo for a 5 page site with a custom domain, Pro is $399/mo with blog, CMS, lead forms with Stripe checkout and full code export.
Am I locked into PISCES the way I would be with a site builder?
No. On Pro and up you can download your entire site as a Next.js project zip and host it anywhere. Most website builders, including Shopify, never let you take working code with you. PISCES treats your site as code you own.