Shopify costs have three distinct layers: the store subscription, payment processing and, for some payment methods, additional transaction fees. Apps and your own selling expenses add to them. This guide covers stores based in Germany and shows how those costs affect the contribution from an order.
Sources and worked examples checked on 17 September 2026.
Which Shopify costs belong in your calculation?
The subscription pays for the store platform. Payment processing pays for handling a payment. A third-party transaction fee is a separate Shopify charge on certain payment routes; it does not replace the provider’s processing fee.
Shopify Payments deducts card-processing charges from payouts. Subscriptions and many other costs appear on invoices. Reviewing only your monthly Shopify bill can therefore miss part of the payment cost.
Sources: Shopify: billing charge types
| Cost | Where to check |
|---|---|
| Store plan and apps billed through Shopify | Shopify invoices |
| Shopify Payments | Payment transactions and payouts |
| PayPal or another payment provider | That provider’s statements |
| Additional third-party transaction fees | Shopify invoices |
| Purchasing, shipping, advertising and external apps | Your records and supplier invoices |
German Shopify plans: monthly or annual billing?
These are the regular German prices for Basic, Grow and Advanced, checked on 17 September 2026. The annual-billing column is a monthly equivalent paid annually. Introductory promotions are excluded. Check your offer for applicable terms and any taxes.
Sources: Shopify: German pricing
- Compare total annual cost and commitment, rather than only the prominently displayed monthly equivalent.
- A higher plan may reduce processing rates. Whether it pays off depends on the payment volume actually affected and your need for additional features.
- Assess Shopify Plus and add-ons such as POS Pro separately; they are outside this selection.
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing: per month |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | EUR 36 | EUR 27 |
| Grow | EUR 105 | EUR 79 |
| Advanced | EUR 384 | EUR 289 |
Shopify Payments: what are the processing rates?
The published starting rates below apply to the stated online card payments in Germany. They are not universal rates for all payment methods: card type, origin and currency can affect charges. Check your account-specific terms under Settings → Payments → Shopify Payments → Manage.
A fee-only comparison of Basic to Grow with monthly billing: an extra EUR 69 in subscription cost buys a 0.3 percentage-point reduction on online standard card payments. At EUR 23,000 of that card volume per month, these two differences offset each other. Other payment methods, annual billing and additional features change the comparison.
Sources: Shopify: German pricing · Shopify: payment rates for Germany
| Plan | Online card rate from |
|---|---|
| Basic | 2.1% + EUR 0.30 |
| Grow | 1.8% + EUR 0.30 |
| Advanced | 1.6% + EUR 0.30 |
Related: Payment fee in the glossary
When does Shopify charge an additional transaction fee?
An external payment provider can trigger a Shopify third-party transaction fee on top of that provider’s processing charge. The calculation base includes products after discounts, tax and shipping. Published rates for the three standard plans are listed below.
Payments processed by Shopify Payments itself do not attract this additional fee. That does not exempt every order in a store with Shopify Payments activated: the actual payment route and the exceptions below still matter.
Sources: Shopify: third-party transaction fees · Shopify: German pricing
| Plan | Third-party transaction rate |
|---|---|
| Basic | 2% |
| Grow | 1% |
| Advanced | 0.6% |
PayPal, bank transfers and gift cards: the exceptions
PayPal Express Checkout does not incur Shopify’s additional third-party transaction fee when Shopify Payments is also activated. PayPal’s own processing fees still apply. Without Shopify Payments activated, your plan’s third-party transaction rate can apply in addition. Check the actual PayPal integration instead of treating PayPal as universally free.
Sources: Shopify: third-party transaction fee exemptions
- Manual payments such as bank transfer or cash on delivery do not incur third-party transaction fees.
- For stores created on or after 12 May 2025, third-party transaction fees apply to the part paid with store credit or gift cards. This can also affect stores using Shopify Payments.
- Shopify lists a Plus exemption for stores using Shopify Payments as their only payment provider. Check any individual contract terms separately.
Apps, domains and other recurring expenses
Apps can charge recurring, usage-based or one-off fees. Some suppliers bill outside Shopify. Include domains, themes, shipping labels and purchased add-ons in your cost overview. Uninstalling an app does not automatically remove already incurred charges or cancel an externally billed subscription.
Separate the payment date from the period the service covers. For monthly analysis, an annual subscription can be spread across twelve months. An assumed EUR 100 monthly store and app bill means EUR 1 per order at 100 orders, or EUR 0.20 at 500. This allocation does not change the supplier’s invoice.
Sources: Shopify: app charges · Shopify: billing charge types
Worked example: contribution from a Shopify order
Assume a EUR 59.50 customer payment including 19% VAT, one item and no separate shipping charge. Net revenue is EUR 50.00. Use the published German Basic rate for an online standard card payment: 2.1% plus EUR 0.30. The payment is processed entirely through Shopify Payments, with no gift card, currency conversion or third-party transaction fee.
Product cost, shipping, advertising and fixed-cost allocations are assumed net business expenses, not customer data. Recoverable input VAT is excluded; non-recoverable tax would need to be added. There is no return.
| Item | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Net revenue | EUR 59.50 ÷ 1.19 | EUR 50.00 |
| Payment processing | EUR 59.50 × 2.1% + EUR 0.30, rounded | −EUR 1.55 |
| Cost of goods | Assumed | −EUR 20.00 |
| Shipping and packaging | Assumed | −EUR 4.00 |
| Allocated advertising | Assumed | −EUR 6.00 |
| Contribution before fixed costs | 50.00 − 1.55 − 20.00 − 4.00 − 6.00 | EUR 18.45 |
| Store and apps allocation | Assumed: EUR 100 ÷ 100 orders | −EUR 1.00 |
| Result after this allocation | 18.45 − 1.00 | EUR 17.45 |
Put payment rates and advertising costs in perspective
The example spends EUR 1.55 on processing and EUR 6.00 on advertising. If allocated advertising rises to EUR 12.00, the result after allocation falls to EUR 11.45. Low card rates alone do not make an order profitable.
For Google Ads, Meta Ads or other campaigns, show how costs are allocated: directly to a sale, to a product or across a reporting period. Allocation is an analytical method, not proof of a causal advertising effect. Keep the method consistent when comparing periods.
Related: ROAS and break-even ROAS
What happens to fees when an order is refunded?
Shopify Payments card-processing fees are not returned when you issue a refund. For German stores, already incurred Shopify third-party transaction fees are also not refunded. Whether an external payment provider returns its own fee depends on that provider’s terms.
A fully refunded order can leave costs even when you receive the goods back: payment handling, outward and return shipping, processing and advertising. Record revenue reversals, fee credits and goods returned to stock separately. A resalable item is not automatically a complete inventory loss.
Sources: Shopify: refunding orders and fee treatment
Related: How to calculate the return rate
What do Shopify’s own profit reports cover?
Shopify has native profit reports, including product, variant and order-level views. Product-based reports require product costs to have been recorded at the time of sale. Missing cost information can explain why a sale appears in a revenue report but not the profit view.
Check the costs included in each metric. The calculation in this guide needs payment processing, fulfilment, advertising and any fixed-cost allocation alongside revenue and product costs. Use the reports as a starting point and add missing items until both analyses use the same cost basis.
Sources: Shopify: native profit reports
Avoid missing costs and double counting
Start with a completed reporting period and record sales, payments, refunds and fees separately. This keeps differences between sale and payout dates explainable.
- Record plan, billing cycle, store country, payment method and actual rate.
- Reconcile Shopify invoices with all payment-provider statements and add externally billed apps.
- Include purchasing, shipping and advertising. Do not add directly allocated costs again as indirect expenses.
- Review returns, remaining charges and resalable goods received back into stock.
- Distinguish fixed-cost allocations from the period-level accounts and keep your comparison method consistent.
From a worked example to ongoing analysis
The profitkonsole Shopify page explains how order and payment data combine with your purchase costs, shipping expenses and advertising spend. It provides the product overview for ongoing cost analysis.
Explore Shopify profit analytics
What is contribution margin? · German online marketplaces compared