The Shopify Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Shopify in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Shopify
The Insider’s Guide
Hosted commerce platform for online, in-person and social selling
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among online store builders, read from Shopify’s own pages.
Made by Shopify · checked Oct 18, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Shopify’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Shopify’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.8
GPA, above 8 of the 9 other online store builders we grade
Shopify is a hosted platform for running an online store, with themes, checkout, inventory, shipping labels, marketing email and point-of-sale selling in one admin. Stores can also sync products to marketplaces, social channels and AI chats, and the Shopify App Store adds more features. Plans differ mainly in staff accounts, card rates and the fee charged when you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Shopify, taken from its own pages and our grades.
A theme or a written prompt gets the storefront going, and Sidekick answers questions and does jobs in the admin.
- 1
Best for stores selling online, in person and on social
Shopify is the safe big pick: store, checkout, shipping labels, email campaigns and in-person selling in one admin, with more than 13,000 apps for anything missing.
- 2
Paid plans start at $29 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $29 per month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly).
- 3
You can try it first
3-day free trial, no credit card required
- 4
It runs on 3 platforms
Web, iOS and Android.
- 5
Store builder and themes
Build the storefront from a theme (Shopify lists more than 200) or from a written prompt, with hosting, SSL and a custom domain on every plan and no cap on products.
- 6
Checkout and Shopify Payments
Shopify's own checkout and payment processing are built in, with fraud analysis, local currencies and local payment methods where Shopify Payments is offered.
- 7
Inventory, orders and shipping
Track stock across up to 10 locations (200 on Plus), buy and print discounted shipping labels, with live third-party carrier rates included from Advanced up.
- 8
A 2.8 GPA, above 8 of 9
That is against the other online store builders we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Shopify you would be making checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Shopify at a glance
- Pricing
- Free trial, from $29 per month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly)
- Free plan
- No
- Free trial
- 3-day free trial, no credit card required
- Runs on
- Web, iOS, Android
- Made by
- Shopify
- Category
- Online Store Builders
- Our grade
- 2.8 GPA, good
- Store rating
- 4.7 on the App Store, 42,752 ratings
The report card
Best for stores selling online, in person and on social
Shopify is the safe big pick: store, checkout, shipping labels, email campaigns and in-person selling in one admin, with more than 13,000 apps for anything missing. Basic is $29 a month on yearly billing. What sends some people elsewhere is the 2% fee if you skip Shopify Payments, and a free trial of just 3 days.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | Basic is $29 a month on yearly billing ($39 monthly), with your own domain and unlimited products. That's right at this category's middle. Shopify takes no extra cut if you use Shopify Payments, but adds 2% to each sale on Basic if you use another payment provider. |
| Free plan and trial | D | No free plan, and the trial is just 3 days, though it needs no card. After that it's $1 a month for 3 months, which is a cheap start rather than a free one. |
| Features | A | The whole job and then some: themes, checkout, stock across up to 10 locations, discounted labels, email campaigns, selling at pop-ups from your phone, marketplace and social sync, even listing products in AI chats. More than 13,000 apps cover the rest. |
| Ease of use | A | 4.7 from about 42,800 App Store ratings, far more than any other store here. A theme or a written prompt gets the storefront going, and Sidekick answers questions and does jobs in the admin. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Web, iPhone and Android, with Amazon, eBay, Walmart, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Google and YouTube, plus APIs for custom apps. There's no desktop app, which keeps it off an A. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Shopify is for
- Great if you sell online and at markets or pop-ups and want one stock count for both
- Handy when you plan to grow and add staff and channels without switching platforms
- Good for sellers happy to use Shopify Payments and its discounted shipping labels
Who it is not for
- Pricey if you want your own payment provider, as Basic adds 2% to each of those sales
- Not for you if you want a few weeks to try it, since the free trial is 3 days
- Tight if you run a real shop counter, as POS Pro is $89 a month per location
Good to know
Good for
- Brands that sell online and in person from one stock count
- Growing stores that want to add staff and channels without moving platforms
- Sellers who will use Shopify Payments and its shipping discounts
Worth knowing
- Using a payment provider other than Shopify Payments adds a fee of 2% per sale on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus.
- The free trial lasts 3 days; Basic, Grow and Advanced then cost $1 a month for 3 months before the regular price.
- POS Pro for physical shops costs $89 a month per location, and syncing more than 50 marketplace orders a month costs 1%, up to $99 a month.
- Plus is sold only on a 1- or 3-year term, starting at $2,300 a month on the 3-year term.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$29
A month to start
Shopify is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $29 per month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly).
Basic
$29
per month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly)
For solo sellers: online and in-person sales, card rates from 2.9% + 30¢ online, and a 2% fee on sales taken through another payment provider.
Grow
$79
per month, billed yearly ($105 billed monthly)
Up to 5 staff accounts, card rates from 2.7% + 30¢ online and a 1% fee on sales through other payment providers.
Advanced
$299
per month, billed yearly ($399 billed monthly)
Up to 15 staff accounts, live third-party shipping rates, card rates from 2.5% + 30¢ and a 0.6% fee with other payment providers.
Plus
$2,300
per month and up, billed yearly on a 3-year term
On a 1- or 3-year term: unlimited staff, a fully customizable checkout, card rates from 2.25% + 30¢ and a 0.2% fee with other providers.
Trying it first
3-day free trial, no credit card required
Read from shopify.com on Oct 18, 2026.
Ways to pay less
Annual discount
Pay yearly to save about 25%
Basic costs $29 a month billed yearly against $39 billed monthly, Grow $79 against $105, and Advanced $299 against $399.
Stated on shopify.comOther savings
$1 a month for the first 3 months
After the 3-day free trial, the Basic, Grow and Advanced plans cost $1 a month for the first 3 months, then the regular price.
Stated on shopify.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
3
Places it runs: Web, iOS and Android
Hosted commerce platform for online, in-person and social selling. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, AI features, email campaigns, inventory, online store, shipping labels.
Web, iPhone and Android, with Amazon, eBay, Walmart, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Google and YouTube, plus APIs for custom apps.
- Store builder and themes
- Build the storefront from a theme (Shopify lists more than 200) or from a written prompt, with hosting, SSL and a custom domain on every plan and no cap on products.
- Checkout and Shopify Payments
- Shopify's own checkout and payment processing are built in, with fraud analysis, local currencies and local payment methods where Shopify Payments is offered.
- Inventory, orders and shipping
- Track stock across up to 10 locations (200 on Plus), buy and print discounted shipping labels, with live third-party carrier rates included from Advanced up.
- Selling in person and on other channels
- Sell at pop-ups from the mobile app or a card reader, and sync products to marketplaces and social channels. A separate $0 Agentic plan lists products in AI chats.
- Marketing email and automations
- Email campaigns, customer segments, abandoned checkout recovery, discount codes and gift cards come with every plan; SMS campaigns are paid per send.
- Sidekick AI assistant and apps
- Sidekick answers questions and takes actions in the admin, and the Shopify App Store lists more than 13,000 apps for features the core plans lack.
Where it runs
- Web
- iOS
- Android
What it works with
- Amazon
- eBay
- Walmart
- TikTok
- YouTube
Shopify is made by Shopify.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
8/9
Other online store builders it is graded above
Shopify's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 8 of the 9 other online store builders we grade, and level with 1.
It stands best on features (A, above 9 of 9) and worst on free plan and trial (D, above 1).
Its paid plans start at $29 a month, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 3 of the 7 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.7 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 10 online store builders we grade, cut by the letter each got. Shopify’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 1 of 9
- DFree plan and trialAbove 1 of 9
- AFeaturesAbove 9 of 9
- AEase of useAbove 8 of 9
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 2 of 9
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 8 online store builders. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Shopify is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Shopify you would be making checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.8 is higher than 8 of the 9 other online store builders we grade. It costs $348 a year.
What you could make
- Inventory: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you.
- Discounted carrier rates and labels, which take an agreement with each carrier.
- Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, Amazon, eBay and Walmart among them, and has an API.
- AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself.
- The depth: we grade its features A, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Shopify’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace and Square Online
The 5 tools Shopify is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.6GPA
BigCommerce
Free trial · from $29/mo
Hosted ecommerce platform with plans set by yearly sales.
- Shopify also covers email campaigns and shipping labels.
- BigCommerce also covers reports.
- 2.2GPA
WooCommerce
Free plan
Free, open-source store plugin for WordPress that you host yourself.
- WooCommerce has a free plan. Shopify does not, though it has a free trial.
- WooCommerce is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Shopify also covers email campaigns, inventory and shipping labels.
- 2.8GPA
Wix
Free plan · from $17/mo
Drag-and-drop website builder with an AI agent and business apps.
- Wix has a free plan. Shopify does not, though it has a free trial.
- Shopify also covers email campaigns, inventory, online store and shipping labels.
- Wix also covers templates, AI agents and no-code.
- 2.6GPA
Squarespace
Free trial · from $19/mo
Template-based website builder with an online store and invoicing.
- Shopify also covers email campaigns, inventory, online store and shipping labels.
- Squarespace also covers templates, forms and invoicing.
- 2.6GPA
Square Online
Free plan · from $49/mo
Online store builder that shares stock and payments with Square POS.
- Square Online has a free plan. Shopify does not, though it has a free trial.
- Shopify also covers email campaigns.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
15
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Shopify free?
No, Shopify is a paid product, but you can try it first. 3-day free trial, no credit card required.
How much does Shopify cost?
Shopify lists 4 plans. Basic: $29 per month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly).
What platforms does Shopify work on?
Shopify is available on Web, iOS and Android.
Does Shopify offer any discounts?
Shopify publicly lists the following: Pay yearly to save about 25%; $1 a month for the first 3 months.
How is Shopify rated?
Shopify's iPhone and iPad app averages 4.7 out of 5 from 42,752 ratings on the App Store in the United States, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does Shopify have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Shopify is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Shopify have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Shopify is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Shopify open source?
Shopify is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does Shopify have an API?
Yes. Shopify offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Shopify integrate with?
Shopify's listing names Amazon, eBay, Walmart, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Google and YouTube.
Who makes Shopify?
Shopify is made by Shopify.
What are the alternatives to Shopify?
The closest alternatives to Shopify in our directory are BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace and Square Online.
How does Shopify compare with other online store builders?
Shopify's GPA of 2.8 is higher than 8 of the 9 other online store builders we grade, and level with 1.
Is Shopify good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Shopify C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $29 a month, against a middle price of $29 for the category: 3 of the 7 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Shopify?
To replace Shopify you would be making checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Shopify’s own pages on Oct 18, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 18, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Shopify's own pages on 18 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Shopify. Prices change, so check shopify.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
2,068
Tools graded, in 57 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
2,068
tools graded
57
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Shopify, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/shopify
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Shopify: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 18, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/shopify
Know someone choosing between online store builders?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/shopify/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded online store builders after Shopify, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Online Store Builders Insider's GuideEvery one of the 10 online store builders we grade, compared
- Big Cartel Insider's GuideSimple online store for artists, makers and independent sellers2.8 GPA
- BigCommerce Insider's GuideHosted ecommerce platform with plans set by yearly sales2.6 GPA
- Square Online Insider's GuideOnline store builder that shares stock and payments with Square POS2.6 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Shopify’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Shopify is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Shopify. Prices and plans change: check shopify.com before you buy.