Shopify Starter ($5) vs Shopify Basic ($39) Calculator
Starter saves money when testing a new link-in-bio product, but its 5% transaction rate gets expensive fast.
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Stan Creator ($29/mo)
$99.00 /mo
Take-rate: 4.95% · Net $1,901/mo
Shopify Basic
$109.00 /mo
Take-rate: 5.45% · Net $1,891/mo
Shopify Starter
$117.00 /mo
Take-rate: 5.85% · Net $1,883/mo
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Because Starter charges 5% vs 2.9% on Basic (a 2.1% gap), Basic ($39/mo) becomes cheaper the moment your store passes $1,619/month in sales.
Total monthly cost across store revenue stages
All-in monthly fees (subscription + card processing at $50 AOV) as monthly GMV scales from $2,500 to $100,000.
| Plan | $2,500/mo sales | $10,000/mo sales | $35,000/mo sales | $100,000/mo sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Starter | $145 (5.8%) | $565 (5.65%) | $1,965 (5.61%) | $5,605 (5.61%) |
| Shopify Basic | $127 (5.06%) | $389 (3.89%) | $1,264 (3.61%) | $3,539 (3.54%) |
| Stan Creator ($29/mo) | $117 (4.66%) | $379 (3.79%) | $1,254 (3.58%) | $3,529 (3.53%) |
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Common questions
Which option is cheapest at $2,000/month in online sales?
At $2,000/month ($50 average order value), Stan Creator ($29/mo) has the lowest combined subscription + transaction cost at $99.00/month (4.95% effective take-rate), saving $216/year versus Shopify Starter.
Does billing annually change the e-commerce plan break-even point?
Yes. Annual Shopify and BigCommerce plans cut fixed monthly subscription fees by roughly 25%, pulling upgrade break-even thresholds noticeably lower—use the Annual Billing toggle in the calculator above to test exact numbers.
How do third-party payment gateway fees affect store profit?
Using an external gateway on Shopify adds 2.0% on Basic, 1.0% on Grow, and 0.6% on Advanced on top of your card processor fee, whereas WooCommerce and BigCommerce add 0% gateway surcharges.