Shopify Third-Party Gateway Penalty Calculator
Not eligible for Shopify Payments? See how the extra 2.0%, 1.0%, and 0.6% gateway fees drastically lower the plan upgrade break-even point.
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BigCommerce Standard
$440.45 /mo
Take-rate: 3.67% · Net $11,560/mo
Shopify Grow (Standard)
$604.50 /mo
Take-rate: 5.04% · Net $11,396/mo
Shopify Basic
$682.50 /mo
Take-rate: 5.69% · Net $11,318/mo
Shopify Advanced
$826.50 /mo
Take-rate: 6.89% · Net $11,174/mo
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When using a third-party gateway, Shopify Grow ($105, 1% penalty) beats Basic ($39, 2% penalty) at just $6,600/month in sales—five times earlier than Shopify Payments users.
Total monthly cost across store revenue stages
All-in monthly fees (subscription + card processing at $65 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 Basic | $173 (6.92%) | $575 (5.75%) | $1,915 (5.47%) | $5,400 (5.4%) |
| Shopify Grow (Standard) | $209 (8.36%) | $521 (5.21%) | $1,561 (4.46%) | $4,266 (4.27%) |
| Shopify Advanced | $488 (19.52%) | $755 (7.55%) | $1,645 (4.7%) | $3,960 (3.96%) |
| BigCommerce Standard | $122 (4.89%) | $373 (3.73%) | $1,209 (3.45%) | $3,383 (3.38%) |
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Common questions
Which option is cheapest at $12,000/month in online sales?
At $12,000/month ($65 average order value), BigCommerce Standard has the lowest combined subscription + transaction cost at $440.45/month (3.67% effective take-rate), saving $4633/year versus Shopify Advanced.
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.