Shopify Transaction Fees Explained (2026): Every Fee Per Sale

Every Shopify sale carries a payment fee, and some sales carry more than one. If you use Shopify Payments, you pay a card rate that depends on your plan: 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic, 2.7% + 30¢ on Grow, 2.5% + 30¢ on Advanced and from 2.25% + 30¢ on Plus for standard US online cards. If you use an outside payment provider instead, Shopify adds its own third-party transaction fee of 2%, 1%, 0.6% or 0.2% on top of whatever your provider charges.

On top of the basic card rate, some orders pick up extra charges: premium cards such as American Express, international cards, currency conversion, Shop Pay Installments, marketplace orders and chargebacks. None of these are hidden, but they're spread across several Shopify pages, which is why so many store owners are surprised by their first payout.

This guide lists every per-sale fee a US Shopify store can pay as of October 2026, with the official rates and worked examples you can copy for your own numbers. Monthly subscription costs are covered separately in our Shopify plans and pricing guide, and our Shopify hub links to the rest of the series.

Two ways Shopify charges you per sale

Shopify's per-sale fees depend on which payment provider processes the order.

• Shopify Payments: Shopify's own processor. You pay one card rate per transaction, set by your plan. According to Shopify's Help Center, there are "no monthly fees, no hidden fees, and no setup fees" beyond the card rate and your subscription.
• A third-party payment provider: your provider charges its own processing fee, and Shopify adds a third-party transaction fee on each order "for security and compliance costs," as the Plus pricing page puts it.

If Shopify Payments is available in your country, it's usually the cheaper route because the third-party fee disappears. Our Shopify Payments guide covers eligibility, payouts and holds.

Shopify Payments rates by plan (US)

These are the US rates from Shopify's pricing page as of October 2026:

Two points catch people out. First, American Express isn't charged the same as Visa or Mastercard in the US; it falls under the premium rate along with business cards. Second, the Plus column is a starting point: the Plus pricing page says "Card rates vary by country" and asks you to contact sales for your rate.

Third-party transaction fees

If you process cards through a provider other than Shopify Payments, Shopify charges a percentage of each order on top of the provider's fees:

Shopify's pricing overview lists the cases where this fee doesn't apply. When Shopify Payments is active, there's no third-party fee on orders paid through Shopify Payments, Shop Pay, Shop Pay Installments, PayPal Express Checkout or manual payment methods such as cash, cash on delivery and bank transfers.

Two newer rules matter:

• Gift cards and store credit: "For Shopify stores created on or after May 12, 2025, orders that include store credit or gift cards as a payment method are charged third-party transaction fees on the amount paid for using store credit or gift cards." Stores created before that date aren't affected. Plus stores using Shopify Payments as their only provider have these fees waived too.
• Mixing providers: if you run Shopify Payments alongside a direct third-party card provider, Shopify's Help Center says transactions processed by Shopify Payments (such as Shop Pay and local payment methods) "are charged at standard Shopify Payments rates plus a 1.25% premium," and the third-party transactions pay the normal third-party fee.

Currency conversion fees

When you show prices and charge customers in their own currency, Shopify converts the payment into your store currency and charges a conversion fee. According to Shopify's international fees page, US stores pay 1.5%, while France and all other Shopify Payments regions pay 2%. PayPal Wallet payments through Shopify Payments carry a 3% conversion fee in the US and France.

Since 6 April 2026, the fee is calculated on the gross order amount. Shopify's own example: a Canadian customer places a $100 CAD order with a US store, and the conversion fee is $100 CAD × 1.5% = $1.50 CAD. Before that date, Shopify calculated the fee on the amount left after other fees, so the effective rate was slightly lower than the stated one. The conversion fee isn't refunded if you refund the order.

Note that the conversion fee is separate from the 1% international card surcharge. A foreign customer paying in their own currency with a foreign card can trigger both.

Shop Pay Installments fees

Shop Pay Installments lets customers split payments, with Affirm as the lender. It's available to eligible stores in the US, Canada and the UK, and for US orders of $35 to $30,000. Shopify pays you the full order amount, minus the fee, within 1 to 3 business days, and you aren't at risk if the customer stops paying.

Shopify doesn't publish the merchant rate. Its Help Center says only that "you're charged a higher transaction fee because it also includes the standard Shopify Payments processing fee." You can see your exact rate in your admin under Settings, then Payments, then View payment rates. The installments fee isn't returned when you refund an order.

Chargeback fees

When a customer disputes a charge with their bank, Shopify withdraws the disputed amount plus a chargeback fee from your account. The fee is $15 for US stores. Shopify's chargeback guide lists other countries, including £10 in the UK, $25 AUD in Australia and €15 in most of the EU.

"If you win the chargeback, then the fee is returned to you." You usually have 7 to 21 days to respond, and the card company's review can take up to 75 days. Inquiries are different: no money is taken while an inquiry is open, but it can turn into a full chargeback. Our Shopify security guide covers fraud prevention steps that help keep disputes down.

In-person (POS) fees

In-person card payments use lower rates with a 10¢ fixed fee instead of 30¢: 2.6% on Basic, 2.5% on Grow, 2.4% on Advanced and 2.3% on Plus. Keying in a card number by hand costs 3.5% + 10¢ on every plan except Plus (3.4% + 10¢), so it's worth making sure your card reader is working before a busy day.

The POS subscription is separate from these rates. Casual in-person selling is included in every paid plan. POS Pro costs $89 a month per location, billed yearly, and Plus includes 20 POS Pro locations.

Other fees that apply to some sales

• Marketplace orders: syncing up to 50 marketplace orders a month is free; above that, Shopify charges 1% up to $99 a month.
• Shopify Tax: free until you pass a $100,000 sales threshold (annual for stores created before 13 May 2026, lifetime for stores created on or after that date). After that, US stores pay 0.35% on Basic, Grow and Advanced and 0.25% on Plus, capped at $0.99 per order.
• Managed Markets: if Global-e acts as merchant of record for your international orders, there's a 3.5% transaction fee on Basic, Grow and Advanced (3.25% on Plus), plus currency conversion and normal processing fees.
• Refunds: "Credit card transaction fees aren't returned to you when you issue a refund." A refunded order still costs you its original processing fee.

Worked examples

These examples use the published US rates. Your own numbers will vary with your card mix and plan.

Example 1: an $80 domestic order on each plan

• Basic: 2.9% × $80 = $2.32, plus $0.30 = $2.62
• Grow: 2.7% × $80 = $2.16, plus $0.30 = $2.46
• Advanced: 2.5% × $80 = $2.00, plus $0.30 = $2.30
• Plus (published starting rate): 2.25% × $80 = $1.80, plus $0.30 = $2.10

Example 2: the same $80 order paid with American Express on Basic

3.5% × $80 = $2.80, plus $0.30 = $3.10. That's $0.48 more than the same order on a standard Visa card.

Example 3: an $80 order with a foreign card on Basic

2.9% + 1% = 3.9%. 3.9% × $80 = $3.12, plus $0.30 = $3.42. If the customer also pays in their local currency, add the 1.5% conversion fee on the gross amount.

Example 4: an $80 order through a third-party provider on Basic

Shopify's fee is 2% × $80 = $1.60, and your provider's own processing fee comes on top. On Grow the Shopify portion falls to $0.80, and on Advanced to $0.48.

Example 5: a month of sales

Say you take $20,000 a month online through 250 standard-card orders on Basic. Percentage fees are 2.9% × $20,000 = $580. Fixed fees are 250 × $0.30 = $75. Total: $655. On Grow, the percentage part drops to 2.7% × $20,000 = $540, so the total is $615, a saving of $40 a month. Grow costs $66 more per month than Basic on monthly billing, so at this volume Basic is still cheaper. We work out the exact break-even points in our Basic vs Grow vs Advanced comparison.

Example 6: a lost chargeback

A customer disputes a $120 order on Basic and you lose. You've already paid 2.9% × $120 + $0.30 = $3.78 in processing. You lose the $120 and the $15 fee, so the order costs you $138.78 plus the product you shipped.

How to keep your fees down

• Use Shopify Payments as your only card processor if it's available to you, so you avoid both the third-party fee and the 1.25% premium for mixing providers.
• Check your card mix. If a large share of your orders are Amex or business cards, your effective rate will sit above the headline rate.
• Run the break-even math before upgrading. Lower rates only pay for a higher plan once your volume is large enough.
• Reduce refunds and disputes with clear product pages, accurate shipping times and a visible returns policy. Our checkout optimization guide covers the checkout side.
• Export your Shopify Payments transactions regularly to see what you actually paid per order.

Conclusion

A Shopify sale costs the card rate for your plan, plus extras for premium cards, international cards, currency conversion, installments and any third-party provider. The simplest way to keep fees predictable is to use Shopify Payments as your only processor, track your card mix and upgrade only when the numbers say so. If you're planning a new store and want the payment setup right from day one, eSEOspace's Shopify website design team can help.

Frequently asked questions