Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced: The Revenue Where Plus Pays for Itself

Key Takeaways

• Shopify Plus costs £1,800 a month on a 3 year term or from £1,950 on a 1 year term in the UK; Advanced costs £259 billed yearly or £344 billed monthly.
• Plus's UK online card rate is 1.3% plus 25p against 1.5% plus 25p on Advanced, a saving of 0.2% on every card sale.
• On Shopify Payments, Plus pays for itself on fees alone at £770,500 of online card sales a month, about £9.2 million a year. With a third party payment provider the crossover is £385,250 a month, about £4.6 million a year.
• A store taking £250,000 a month pays about £1,041 a month more on Plus; one taking £10 million a year pays about £126 a month less.
• Below the crossover, Plus is a feature decision: checkout apps on the information, shipping and payment pages, the Checkout Branding API, B2B catalogue assignment, expansion stores, 200 locations and unlimited staff.
• Shopify says higher volume businesses move to a variable fee, so get the card rate and the fee in writing before you sign a term.

Quick Answer

In the UK, Shopify Plus costs £1,541 a month more than Shopify Advanced billed yearly and charges 0.2% less on every online card sale through Shopify Payments. Divide one by the other and Plus becomes the cheaper plan at £770,500 of card sales a month, which is about £9.2 million a year. If you take payments through a third party provider, the gap in Shopify's own fee is 0.4%, and the crossover falls to £385,250 a month. Below those levels, move to Plus only for a feature you will use: deeper checkout customisation, B2B catalogue assignment, expansion stores, more locations or more staff accounts.

Table of Contents

• The UK Prices Side by Side
• Where Plus Becomes Cheaper
• Two Worked Examples
• What Plus Adds Beyond Price
• What Advanced Already Includes
• When to Move to Plus
• Why Matters Perspective
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Final Thoughts
• Related Articles

Every growing Shopify store eventually asks whether it should be on Plus. Shopify's own pages describe Plus in terms of scale and customisation, which is true but does not answer the question most owners are really asking: at what point does it cost less, or earn more, than the plan I am on? This article answers it with the current UK prices and the sums shown.

The UK Prices Side by Side

All figures are from Shopify's UK pricing page and UK Plus pricing page, read on 15 October 2026. Shopify changes them, so check both before deciding.

Shopify also says that more complex, higher volume businesses switch to a variable platform fee based on revenue and business model, and gives no threshold. The sums below use the published £1,800 figure; if Shopify quotes you a variable fee, redo them with that figure.

Where Plus Becomes Cheaper

The platform fee is fixed and the card rate is a percentage, so the comparison is one line against another. The extra platform cost of Plus over Advanced billed yearly is £1,800 less £259, which is £1,541 a month. The card saving is 1.5% less 1.3%, which is 0.2% of online card sales. Plus costs the same as Advanced when 0.2% of monthly sales equals £1,541, so at £1,541 divided by 0.002: £770,500 a month, or £9,246,000 a year. The 25p per transaction is the same on both plans and drops out.

The third party row surprises people. Shopify charges 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus for orders paid through another provider, on top of that provider's own fees, so the gap is double the Shopify Payments gap and the crossover is half the revenue. A store on PayPal, Adyen or Stripe direct reaches it at £4.6 million a year of online sales.

Two Worked Examples

A £3 million store. £250,000 a month of online card sales on Shopify Payments. Advanced billed yearly costs £259 plus 1.5% of £250,000, which is £259 plus £3,750, or £4,009 a month. Plus costs £1,800 plus 1.3% of £250,000, which is £1,800 plus £3,250, or £5,050. Plus costs £1,041 a month more, about £12,500 a year, before any benefit from its features.

A £10 million store. £833,333 a month. Advanced costs £259 plus £12,500, or £12,759. Plus costs £1,800 plus £10,833, or £12,633. Plus is now £126 a month cheaper, and every extra pound of sales widens the gap by 0.2p. At this size the card rate matters far more than the platform fee, which is why the rate you are quoted should be in writing.

What Plus Adds Beyond Price

Most stores that move to Plus below the crossover do so for one of these.

Checkout is the one that pays most often. An app that changes what a customer sees on the shipping or payment page, such as a delivery date picker, a rule that hides a payment method for certain orders, or a field that captures a gift message, needs Plus. Our conversion guide covers what those changes are worth; at a 1.7% baseline, every tenth of a point of conversion is worth about 5.9% of revenue, so a checkout change that adds one tenth of a point on a £3 million store is worth about £176,000 a year, far more than the £12,500 fee gap.

What Advanced Already Includes

A surprising amount of what people buy Plus for is already on Advanced, or on every plan. Shopify Markets, Shopify Flow, B2B with up to 3 catalogues, 2,048 variants per product, POS, 10 inventory locations, the checkout and accounts editor, standard checkout branding and apps on the thank you and order status pages are all available below Plus. Advanced also brings the card rate down to 1.5% plus 25p and the third party fee to 0.6%, which is where most of the saving over Grow sits. If you are on Grow and thinking about Plus, move to Advanced first; our platform comparison hub sets out the plan prices and our store cost guide covers the rest of the budget.

When to Move to Plus

1. Your online card sales pass about £770,000 a month on Shopify Payments, or £385,000 with another provider. Plus is then cheaper on fees alone and every feature is a bonus.
2. You need checkout changes on the information, shipping or payment pages. Cost the conversion gain against the fee gap for your revenue.
3. You sell wholesale with customer specific pricing. Direct catalogue assignment is Plus only.
4. You need more than one store under one brand. Nine expansion stores are included; separate brands need separate contracts.
5. You have more than 10 locations or 15 staff who need accounts. Advanced stops there.
6. Otherwise, stay on Advanced and put the £1,541 a month into marketing, where it will earn more.

Why Matters Perspective

We build and market Shopify stores on every plan, and the Plus conversation usually starts for the wrong reason: a founder has heard that serious brands are on Plus. The sums above are the test we use instead. Among our own clients, the most common triggers for a custom pricing tier are bespoke functionality and complex international shipping, and both are checkout problems before they are platform problems; some are solved by an app on Advanced and some need the Plus checkout. We work that out before anyone signs a 3 year term.

We are a Shopify Select partner, so read this knowing who wrote it. The advice is the same either way: get the fee and the card rate in writing, compare them with Advanced billed yearly at your real monthly sales, and count only the features you will use in the next twelve months. Our pricing is published and our retainers can be ended at any time. If you would like us to run the numbers for your store, our free SEO audit is the easiest way to start the conversation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does Shopify Plus cost in the UK?

Shopify's UK Plus pricing page lists £1,800 a month on a 3 year term and from £1,950 a month on a 1 year term, and says that more complex, higher volume businesses move to a variable platform fee based on their revenue and business model. The main store and 9 expansion stores are included; further stores cost £250 a month each or a revenue share.

What are Shopify Plus card rates in the UK?

Shopify's UK pricing page shows online card rates on Shopify Payments of 2% plus 25p on Basic, 1.7% plus 25p on Grow, 1.5% plus 25p on Advanced and 1.3% plus 25p on Plus. If you use a third party payment provider, Shopify adds 2%, 1%, 0.6% and 0.2% respectively.

At what revenue does Shopify Plus become cheaper than Advanced?

On Shopify Payments, Plus at £1,800 costs £1,541 a month more than Advanced billed yearly at £259, and saves 0.2% on every online card sale. The two meet at £770,500 of online card sales a month, about £9.2 million a year. With a third party payment provider the saving is 0.4%, so the crossover falls to £385,250 a month, about £4.6 million a year.

Is Shopify Plus worth it below that revenue?

Only if a Plus feature earns more than the extra fee. The common ones are apps that customise the information, shipping and payment pages of checkout, the Checkout Branding API, direct catalogue assignment for B2B customers, up to 9 expansion stores for other countries or brands, 200 inventory locations and unlimited staff accounts. If none of those applies, Advanced is the better buy.

Does Shopify Plus have a contract?

Yes. Shopify's UK pricing page refers to 1 year and 3 year Plus subscriptions and says you can cancel when the term commitment expires. The lower £1,800 price is the 3 year term. Basic, Grow and Advanced can be paid monthly with no term.

What does Advanced include that people assume is Plus only?

Shopify Markets, B2B with up to 3 active catalogues, Shopify Flow, standard checkout branding, the checkout and accounts editor, apps that customise the thank you and order status pages, 2,048 variants per product, POS and 10 inventory locations are all on Advanced. Plus adds depth to each rather than switching them on.

Can I negotiate Shopify Plus pricing?

Shopify publishes the from prices and says higher volume businesses move to a variable fee, so the price is set by a sales conversation rather than a checkout page. The term length is the main lever in that conversation. We recommend asking for the card rate in writing, because it affects the sum more than the platform fee once sales pass a few hundred thousand pounds a month.

Final Thoughts

Shopify Plus is cheaper than Advanced above about £9.2 million a year of card sales on Shopify Payments, or £4.6 million with a third party provider. Below that it is a purchase of checkout depth, B2B pricing, expansion stores, locations and staff accounts, and it is worth it when one of those earns more than £1,541 a month.

Work the sum with your own figures, and work it again when Shopify changes its prices, because it will.

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• How Much Does It Cost to Build a Shopify Store?
• How to Increase Shopify Conversions
• Shopify Markets: How to Sell Internationally
• Why Your Shopify Conversion Rate Matters
• What Is the Shopify Partner Program?