Shopify Pricing: TCO Calculator

Choosing Your Store Model (D2C, B2B, D2C + B2B)

One of the first elements in the calculator is selecting your store model:

• D2C (Direct-to-Consumer) – Selling directly to individual customers.
• B2B (Business-to-Business) – Wholesale or sales to business clients.
• D2C + B2B – A hybrid model combining consumer and business sales.

Why is this important?

Your business model significantly impacts your store's cost structure and requirements:

A D2C store focuses on serving retail consumers. This usually means a larger number of transactions with a smaller individual value. In terms of costs, D2C often requires investment in marketing (e.g., product reviews, social media) and customer service, but typically doesn't need advanced wholesale features. For a D2C store, a standard set of apps (e.g., customer reviews, remarketing) and basic Shopify plans are often sufficient – unless, of course, the sales volume is enormous.

A B2B store serves corporate clients or handles wholesale orders. Here, you typically have a smaller number of orders, but with a much higher value. This model often demands additional functionalities: individual price lists for contractors, the ability to place bulk orders, company invoicing, deferred payment options, or B2B client logins. Shopify Plus offers built-in B2B features (e.g., a separate wholesale buying experience, wholesale pricing, B2B client management), but it's quite expensive. If you're not using Shopify Plus, implementing the B2B model might require additional apps (e.g., for creating wholesale accounts, hiding prices for logged-out users, integrations with wholesalers) – which increases the TCO. Therefore, when B2B is selected, the calculator always recommends the Plus plan to meet wholesale requirements.

A hybrid model store (D2C + B2B) is the most complex – you need to conduct both retail and wholesale sales simultaneously. In practice, this means your cost basket will be the broadest: you'll need both marketing and UX tools for individual customers, as well as solutions typical for B2B (wholesale) sales. Often, companies combining D2C and B2B opt for Shopify Plus to, for example, run two connected stores (a separate frontend for wholesale clients) or utilize advanced permissions and integrations. However, if Plus is too high a cost to start with, apps facilitating business client service on lower plans will be necessary, which also increases costs (e.g., apps for wholesale quoting or loyalty programs for business partners). Due to the B2B elements, the calculator will also recommend the Plus plan.

How does this affect the calculator?

Choosing your store model helps the tool tailor cost recommendations:

• For D2C, the calculator will focus on costs typical for retail sales (e.g., marketing apps) and may recommend a lower Shopify plan, if other parameters (sales, turnover) allow.
• For B2B, the calculator will assume the need for more extensive features, recommending the Plus plan.
• For D2C + B2B, the calculator will also suggest the Plus plan.

Tip: Match the store model to your business reality. If you're just starting out and don't have wholesale contractors, choose D2C – you'll then see minimal costs. If you plan to quickly enter B2B sales, indicate this immediately to account for future expenses. This way, you'll have a more complete financial picture from the e-commerce budget planning stage.

Payment Operators: Shopify Payments vs. Alternatives

Payment processing is another factor that significantly impacts the costs of using Shopify. The platform offers its own gateway, Shopify Payments (launched in the Polish market at the beginning of 2025), or the option to integrate with external operators (Tpay, Przelewy24, imoje, PayPo, PayU, Klarna, Stripe, PayPal, Ayden, Google Pay, Apple Pay, etc.). In the calculator, you choose one of two options: Shopify Payments or Alternative, which changes how commissions are calculated.

Here's what you need to know about these options:

Shopify Payments is Shopify's built-in payment system. Its advantage is that Shopify doesn't charge an additional transaction fee (0% Shopify transaction fee) beyond the standard card processing fees. Simply put: if you use Shopify Payments, you pay only one commission on each sale – the one for processing the card payment (or other method) according to rates dependent on your plan. There's no additional 2%, 1%, 0.6%, or 0.2% fee to Shopify, which applies to external gateways (more on these commissions in a moment). Shopify Payments simplifies the fee structure and is often cheaper on lower subscription plans.

What's more, Shopify Payments in Poland supports not only payment cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, but also local payment methods popular among customers, such as BLIK. This allows you to offer buyers all preferred payment methods without the need for separate integration with local operators. This is a big convenience and potential saving. Keep in mind that using Shopify Payments requires meeting certain requirements (you need to have a company in a country where this service is available and pass a verification process), but if you have this option, it's worth considering for cost optimization.

Alternative payment gateways include all other methods when you're not using Shopify Payments. This might be necessary if Shopify Payments isn't available in your country or if you prefer to use another operator (e.g., Tpay, PayPal, PayU, Przelewy24, Stripe). In such a situation, you must account for an additional Shopify commission for using an external gateway. Shopify adds a fee to each order, representing a specific percentage of the gross transaction value (order value) – depending on your subscription plan. The rates for this additional commission are: 2% on the Basic plan, 1% on the Grow plan, 0.6% on Advanced, and 0.2% on Plus.

To illustrate, if you sell a product for PLN 100 gross on the Basic plan and the customer pays through an external system (e.g., via PayU bank transfer), Shopify will charge PLN 2 commission for this transaction (2% of PLN 100) – this is an additional fee, independent of the commission of the PayU operator itself. On higher plans, this fee decreases (e.g., Advanced is 0.6%, or PLN 0.60 per PLN 100). This commission is one of the main reasons why, with higher turnovers, it's worth considering a more expensive plan – we discuss the detailed profitability thresholds in the section on Shopify plans.

In addition to the commission for Shopify, when using an alternative payment gateway, you also bear the cost of the operator itself (e.g., PayPal charges around 2.5–3% + a fixed fee). The Shopify calculator in the "Alternative payments" field takes these costs into account. For simplicity, a certain average rate may be assumed there (e.g., 1.5% for a local gateway), or you may have the option to enter your own value. In this way, the final total payment commission is the sum of the operator's fee + the Shopify fee. So, for example:

• For a gateway with a 1.5% rate and a store on the Basic plan, you'll pay a total of ~3.5% on each transaction (1.5% operator + 2% Shopify);
• On the Grow plan, it will be ~2.5% (1.5% + 1%);
• On Advanced, ~2.1%;
• On Plus, ~1.7%.

You can see that with external payments, transaction costs can be significant – several percent of your store's turnover. That's why it's so important to include them in your TCO.

Tips for Optimizing Payment Costs:

• If you operate on a small scale, and Shopify Payments is available and feasible to implement – use it, at least for testing. The lack of an additional Shopify commission (0%) means a real 0.5–2% higher profit from sales. In the long run, this makes a huge difference in your margin.
• If you want to use an external gateway, choose a Shopify plan appropriate for your turnover so that the Shopify commission is as low as possible. Sometimes it pays to pay a higher subscription to save on commissions – a discussion of these thresholds is below.
• Remember that you can always negotiate operator rates. Some local payment providers have significantly lower commissions than the most popular ones. If most customers pay by bank transfer, integrating with a cheaper operator can reduce the cost of "Alternative Payments."

In summary: the type of payment operator has a significant impact on your Shopify store's TCO. The calculator helps you understand this difference – just switch the option from "Shopify Payments" to "Alternative" (or vice versa), and you'll see how monthly fees change. This is valuable information when deciding which payment systems to use.

Shopify Pricing by Plan: Basic, Grow, Advanced, Plus

Shopify offers several subscription plans, differing in features and costs. In the calculator, after you enter your data, a plan recommendation will appear (e.g., "Based on the provided data, we recommend the Basic plan"). You can also change the plan yourself to see the impact on costs. Below, we describe each plan and its significance:

Basic

This is Shopify's basic plan, designed for beginners and small stores. It offers all the key functions needed to start (unlimited products, two staff accounts, basic reports, online channel sales). Its subscription is approximately €36 per month (for Poland, with monthly payments), which translates to roughly PLN 160–200 gross (depending on the exchange rate and VAT). The commission on external payments for this plan is the highest, at 2%, significantly affecting costs with higher sales. The Basic plan works well when you're just starting, have low turnover, and want to minimize fixed monthly costs. However, remember that as sales grow, an additional 2% of turnover can outweigh the savings from a lower subscription – at the right moment, it's worth considering an upgrade.

Grow (Shopify)

This is the mid-tier plan (formerly simply called Shopify). It's designed for growing stores with increasing sales. The subscription is approximately €105 per month (about PLN 470–500 gross). This plan offers several important benefits: up to 5 staff accounts, more extensive professional reports, the ability to set prices in different currencies and languages (important for international expansion), and a lower commission on external payments – 1%. Additionally, Shopify Payments rates are slightly cheaper at this level. The Grow plan is usually profitable when your store is already generating some revenue – the higher subscription can pay for itself through lower commissions and additional sales-boosting features (e.g., better reports to help analyze data and optimize conversion).

Advanced

This is an advanced plan for large stores with significant sales volumes or advanced needs. The subscription is approximately €384 per month (about PLN 1700–1800 gross), so this is a serious fixed expense. In return, you get up to 15 staff accounts, advanced reports and analytical capabilities (e.g., custom reports), a third-party shipping rate calculator (you can connect your own courier rates), the ability to conduct B2B sales on one platform (though full B2B is only on Plus), and the lowest Shopify commission on external gateways – 0.6%. Shopify Payments rates are also lowest here. The Advanced plan is primarily profitable for stores that generate large turnovers – the monthly subscription is high, but if, for example, a 1% difference in commission on a lower plan means more than ~PLN 1700 in value, it's better to pay a higher subscription and less in commissions. This plan is also often chosen by stores conducting international sales in multiple markets (thanks to features for customs and import calculation, multiple warehouses, etc.).

Plus

The highest plan, Shopify Plus, is an enterprise offering for very large businesses. Pricing starts from $2300 USD per month upwards (around $2500 USD standard, which exceeds PLN 10,000 per month). For this price, you get dedicated Shopify support, the ability to run multiple stores (so-called expansion stores for different countries/markets, up to 9 additional ones without subscription fees), access to advanced B2B features (wholesale, individual price lists, B2B login), the ability to heavily customize the checkout process (access to checkout.liquid code), integration with corporate systems, better discounts on shipping services, etc. In terms of costs, the Plus plan virtually eliminates Shopify transaction fees – the additional commission can be a symbolic 0.15–0.2% or even zero (depending on negotiations and Shopify Payments configuration). Plus therefore makes sense for truly high turnovers, where even fractions of a percent translate into large sums, and also when you need functionalities not available on lower plans. In the calculator, if you choose a model that includes B2B transactions, the Plus plan will be recommended due to the additional functionalities supporting this type of sale.

Which Shopify Plan to Choose?

The TCO calculator selects a plan based on your input data. It considers both your sales volume (number of orders and average cart value) and your store model or chosen payment operator. The goal is to suggest the most cost-effective plan for a given turnover level. For example:

• For a small D2C store with a few orders a day, it will recommend Basic.
• For a growing store with several hundred orders a month, it may suggest upgrading to Grow due to commission savings that will be greater than the subscription difference.
• For a store with very high turnover or specific requirements, it will indicate Advanced or Plus.

It's worth using this suggestion, but also testing different scenarios – for example, what if you stay on a lower plan, or what if you upgrade immediately? The calculator will show you how your total monthly cost changes. Sometimes, an earlier upgrade might save you money on commissions.

Profitability thresholds for plans (with external payments): External analyses show specific monthly turnover thresholds at which it pays to switch to a higher plan (due to total commissions, assuming ~1.5% payment operator commission):

• ~PLN 25,000 / month – above this sales level, it's better to switch from Basic to Grow (because the Shopify commission will decrease from 2% to 1%).
• ~PLN 240,000 / month – above this sales level, it's profitable to change from Grow to Advanced (commission drops from 1% to 0.6%).
• ~PLN 2.1 million / month – at this turnover, it's worth considering Shopify Plus (lowest commissions ~0.2% or less, which at this scale offers significant savings).

Of course, in addition to costs, functionality can also be a deciding factor in choosing a plan – for example, if you need advanced reports, you might choose Advanced even with lower turnover. However, the above thresholds provide an idea of when a higher subscription will pay for itself purely financially. The cost calculator takes these dependencies into account, making it a valuable guide when planning your store's development.

Annual Payment – Savings

Shopify allows you to pay for your subscription one or two years in advance, which reduces the effective cost of the plan by approximately 25%. For example, the Advanced plan, costing ~$399/month with monthly payments, works out to about ~$299/month when paid annually in advance (a saving of $100 per month). In the calculator, the annual result already includes this discount if you selected upfront payment. It's worth taking advantage of this option if you're sure you'll be using Shopify for longer – you'll pay more upfront, but you'll save over the year (e.g., according to official data, the annual fee for the Advanced plan saves about €1140). For Basic, Grow, and Advanced plans, the standard discount is 25% for annual payments. The Plus plan can also be negotiated for a lower price with a longer commitment.

Summary: Your choice of Shopify plan significantly impacts your TCO – both directly (subscription cost) and indirectly (sales commissions). Select a plan appropriate for the scale of your business and remember that you can always change it as your store grows. With the cost calculator, you'll immediately see how such a change affects your monthly expenses, allowing you to make an informed decision and optimize your costs.

Additional Costs and Apps

Shopify subscription and transaction fees aren't everything. The Shopify ecosystem allows you to extend your store's functionalities through apps from the Shopify App Store. Many of these are essential for professionally running a store but come with additional fees. The TCO calculator has an "Apps" section, which includes the most popular add-ons, and where you can select which ones you plan to use. Some are marked as "Recommended" (useful for most stores), while others are "Required" – meaning those without which the store won't meet, for example, legal requirements.

Let's discuss the most important apps and additional costs appearing in the calculator:

• Pandectes GDPR Compliance (cookie banner) – Required. This app handles cookie consent, which is mandatory to comply with European privacy regulations (GDPR, ePrivacy). In practice, every online store in the EU must display a cookie banner to users and allow them to manage consents. The lack of such a mechanism can result in penalties. Shopify doesn't have a natively robust cookie tool, so an app is needed. Pandectes is one of the more popular solutions – it offers a full consent banner, cookie scanning, script blocking mode until acceptance, etc. Cost: The app has a free plan (basic banner), but many stores choose a paid plan for better personalization – around $9 per month (approx. PLN 40). In the calculator, this item is marked as mandatory because a cookie banner is now standard and a legal requirement. You can, of course, choose another cookie app (there are others, including free ones), but Pandectes is recommended due to its quality and compliance with many regulations (GDPR, CCPA, etc.).
• Sniffie Omnibus Pricing – Required. This app ensures compliance with the Omnibus Directive in the EU, which came into effect in 2023. According to this directive, sellers are obliged to display the lowest price of a product from the last 30 days alongside the current price for every promotion. In practice, this is to prevent customers from being misled by fictitious discounts. Shopify currently doesn't have a built-in function to display this information, so an app is needed. Sniffie Omnibus is one of the most popular solutions – it automatically tracks product prices in your store and displays information on the product page like "Lowest price in the last 30 days: ...". The cost of this app is approx. $14.90 per month (~PLN 60–70). In the calculator, it's marked as required because for stores operating in the EU market, compliance with the Omnibus Directive is mandatory – the lack of this information during discounts can result in penalties from the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK). Of course, you can opt for another app for this purpose (or your own solution), but the calculator assumes you will incur some cost related to this, hence the inclusion of Sniffie.
• Pickup Points PRO (store pickup) – Recommended. This is an app (by Octolize) that allows you to offer customers a convenient delivery option to parcel pick-up points (e.g., InPost Parcel Lockers, DHL, Orlen, Żabka points, and others). In Poland, deliveries to parcel lockers or points are very popular, so a competitive store should offer them. The Pickup Points PRO app integrates a map of points in the cart and handles shipping labels for these carriers. Cost: The app offers a free plan (limited) and a paid one for approx. $9.99 per month (full functionality). In the calculator, it's recommended because it increases customer satisfaction and potentially conversion (the ability to choose a parcel locker during checkout). If you plan your own solution or integration without an app – you can skip this cost, but for most new stores, the app will be the simplest way to add pick-up point delivery options.
• SC Back in Stock (availability notifications) – Optional (visible on the list without a label). This app allows customers to sign up for notifications when an currently out-of-stock product returns to the warehouse. This is an important sales-boosting tool – instead of losing a customer, we can automatically send an email when the item is available again. This specific app (SC Back in Stock by Shop Circle) has a free plan (up to 50 notifications per month) and paid plans starting from approx. $10 for higher volumes. If you have a small assortment or always full stock, it may not be necessary, but in most stores, something will sell out sooner or later – so it's worth considering. The calculator may not mark it as required by default, but if you expect inventory rotation, include this cost.
• Judge.me Product Reviews – Optional (often Recommended for D2C). This is a popular app for customer product reviews. Product reviews build trust and increase conversion, which is why almost every store displays them. Shopify does have its own simple (free) Product Reviews app, but it's very basic and lacks, for example, automatic email collection of reviews from buyers. Judge.me offers richer features and, most importantly, has a free plan allowing you to collect and display reviews. Many stores remain on the free plan, so the cost can be PLN 0. The paid "Awesome" plan costs $15/month, offering additional features (review carousel, customer photo uploads, more automation). In the calculator, you can enter any subscription amount in "Additional app costs" if you plan to use a paid version, but even the free version is worth considering as an essential app (though not generating a cost). Alternatively, there are other review apps (Loox, Yotpo, etc.), often more expensive, so Judge.me is considered the best value for money (zero or low fee).
• Instafeed (Instagram feed) – Optional. This app allows you to display the latest Instagram posts (or TikTok posts in the Pro version) on your store's page in a gallery format. This is useful for building social proof and maintaining a consistent brand image. Instafeed has a free plan (basic IG photo grid) and a paid one for approx. $5–10 for more elaborate layouts and features. You can select it in the calculator if social media is an important part of your marketing – the cost isn't high, and you can also start with the free version.
• Loyalty & Wishlist (e.g., Froonze VIP) – Optional. Loyalty programs, points systems, wishlists – these features increase customer retention and customer lifetime value (LTV). There are apps combining these functionalities, such as Froonze VIP Loyalty & Wishlist. They often offer a free plan for small stores (e.g., up to 100 orders per month free), and then paid tiers – around $5, $10, $20 depending on the number of features and scale. If you're just starting, this isn't a necessary expense, but it's worth knowing that as you develop your store, you might want to invest in a loyalty program – the calculator allows you to add such a cost in the "Additional app costs" field when needed.
• GPSR Compliance (General Product Safety Regulation) – Optional (but may soon be required). In the calculator's app list, you'll also find an item regarding GPSR – this is a new EU product safety regulation (successor to the General Product Safety Directive) that will come into force in December 2024. It will require e-sellers, among other things, to provide data on the "responsible person" for the product, information on compliance with standards, etc. Apps have already appeared (e.g., GPSR Compliance Manager) to help meet these requirements. Currently, they are often free (developers encourage installation before the regulations come into force). The calculator includes such an app as a reminder of the upcoming obligation, although today it doesn't affect the cost (PLN 0). In the future, however, similar to GDPR or Omnibus, this may generate additional tasks and potentially expenses (if premium versions become paid). It's important to be aware that compliance with regulations is a separate category of activities and potential costs in e-commerce.

Besides apps, "additional costs" can include other individual expenses for your store, such as:

• Website domain – Your own domain for the store (e.g., yourstore.pl) usually costs approx. PLN 50–100 per year (depending on the .pl, .com, etc. extension). Shopify provides a free myshopify subdomain, but for a professional image, most companies buy their own domain. The calculator may not automatically account for this, so it's worth remembering on an annual basis (~a few PLN per month).
• Graphic template (theme) – Most Shopify themes are free, but some stores buy a paid theme with more design possibilities. The one-time cost of such a theme is usually $150–$350. This is a one-time expense (theme license), so it's not included as a monthly cost in the TCO calculator – but it's good to include it in your store's startup budget.
• Marketing and advertising – This is not directly a cost of the Shopify platform, so the calculator doesn't include it, but keep in mind that, for example, using external marketing tools may add monthly fees (e.g., for integrations with Facebook, Google Shopping – although Shopify provides these for free, costs will likely arise from the ads themselves).
• Email marketing – Shopify has its own email module (Shopify Email) with a free limit of 10,000 emails per month, then a paid $1 for every additional 1000 emails. So if you plan intensive email marketing (newsletters, automations) and your database grows – above approx. 10k sends per month, an additional cost may appear. Alternatively, you can use external tools like Klaviyo, which can be quite expensive (e.g., several hundred PLN per month for larger email lists). The calculator includes a field "Number of emails sent (monthly)" – by entering, for example, 20,000, the additional email cost will be estimated (e.g., ~$10 for an extra 10k, or ~PLN 40). This will allow you to assess whether you'll fit within the free limit or if you need to budget for emails.

As you can see, apps and additional services can significantly increase the monthly cost of maintaining your store – in some cases, the sum of app subscriptions exceeds the cost of Shopify itself! That's why it's so important to plan them wisely:

• Install only truly needed and verified apps – each additional one means a few more dollars per month.
• Look for free plans or cheaper alternatives – many needs (reviews, cookie banners, wishlists) can initially be met with free tools before investing in paid ones.
• Avoid duplicating functions – for example, if you choose an extensive loyalty app, it may also have a wishlist function, so you don't need to install a separate one.
• Monitor effects – pay for apps that genuinely bring benefits (increase sales, save your time). If you're not actively using an app – consider canceling it to reduce costs.

In the calculator, you can manually enter an additional amount in the "Additional costs (monthly)" field – this is for any other fixed expenses not listed. This could include, for example, the monthly cost of accounting for the store, marketplace fees (if you also sell via Amazon, Allegro, etc.), ERP integration costs, etc. By adding these, you'll get an even more complete picture of your TCO.

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Interpreting Calculation Results (Gross Monthly and Annual Totals)

After entering all your data, the calculator displays a cost summary – usually in the right-hand column of the page. You'll find two key results there:

• Gross Monthly Total (PLN) – the total gross cost of using Shopify per month in Polish Zlotys (including VAT).
• Gross Annual Total (PLN) – the same amount converted to an annual scale.

Additionally, detailed components are typically listed in rows:

• Total Cost – This is simply a repeat of the gross total (monthly and annually) for clarity.
• Shopify License – The monthly and annual cost of your Shopify plan subscription. For example, if your chosen plan costs PLN 116 monthly and you've selected annual payment with a discount, it might show PLN 116 monthly and, for instance, PLN 1384 annually (indicating a discount compared to 12 × PLN 116). This row lets you easily see how much you pay Shopify just for platform access.
• Fees to Shopify – This sums up the transaction commissions paid to Shopify. Depending on the scenario, these could be:
  • Commissions from external payments (i.e., the 2%, 1%, 0.6%... of sales) – if you're using an alternative gateway.
  • Shopify Payments fees – if you use Shopify Payments, Shopify doesn't charge an additional commission, but the card processing fees themselves also go to Shopify/partner. In such a situation, the calculator might show the sum of card payment processing fees (e.g., 1.7% of turnover) as "Fees to Shopify." In other words, "Fees to Shopify" includes everything you give the Shopify platform from each transaction (whether as a commission for an external gateway or a card payment commission in Shopify Payments).
  • For the Plus plan, if Shopify completely waives commissions (with active Shopify Payments), this row might be zeroed out.
• Alternative Payments – These are fees charged by external payment operators. If you selected "Alternative" and, for example, a 1.5% operator commission was assumed, the calculator will show the sum of these commissions here (monthly and annually). If you use only Shopify Payments, then "Alternative Payments" will be 0, because you're not paying anything to an external company – everything goes through Shopify. This row helps you understand how much payment processing costs you outside of Shopify – for example, how much you pay annually to Tpay, PayU, etc.
• Apps – Here you see the total monthly and annual cost of all paid apps you've selected or entered. For example, if you chose Pandectes ($9/month), Sniffie ($14.90/month), and Pickup Points ($9.99/month), this would approximately add up to $34.89 monthly, or ~PLN 150 – and this amount will appear under "Apps" (converted to PLN, gross). If you have apps billed annually in advance, the calculator will still provide the monthly equivalent amount. This row is important because it shows how large a portion of your TCO add-ons can be. Often, novice entrepreneurs focus only on the Shopify subscription cost, only to find that apps "eat up" as much or more. Thanks to the calculator, you'll immediately see that, for example, 5 apps mean an additional X PLN per month.
• Other Costs – This includes the sum from the "Additional costs" and "Additional app costs" fields. For example, if you entered PLN 100 per month in additional costs (e.g., for ERP integration or a specific module), you'll see this amount under "Other Costs." Other costs therefore sum up everything not covered by the categories above.

Finally, we have the aforementioned "Gross Total" – both monthly and annually:

• The monthly gross total is practically the sum of all the above monthly items. It gives you clear information: this is how many zlotys you need to allocate each month to keep your Shopify store running (based on the assumptions you entered).
• The annual gross total is 12 × the monthly cost.

The summary panel often includes a "Download full calculation" button – this likely allows you to generate a report (PDF) with additional calculations, tables, and charts showing Shopify costs. This can be useful if you want more details, share these calculations with your team or an investor, or simply save them for later.

How to Interpret the Results?

First and foremost, pay attention to which cost category is the largest in your case. Does "Shopify License" dominate your monthly cost (which might mean you're on an expensive plan but have low sales), or perhaps "Fees to Shopify" and "Alternative Payments" together constitute the lion's share (indicating that transaction commissions consume a significant portion of your revenue – typical with high turnover on a lower plan or with expensive payment methods)? Or maybe "Apps" have grown to a considerable sum? By analyzing this, you'll find potential areas for optimization:

• A high share of transaction fees suggests considering a plan change or payment method (e.g., switching to Shopify Payments, upgrading to a higher plan to lower the percentage).
• A large app cost prompts the question of whether you truly need all paid plugins, or if there are cheaper alternatives or bundles that combine functionalities.
• High "other costs" – can these expenses be renegotiated or eliminated?

Also, remember that all amounts are gross. If you run a business and are a VAT payer, you can realistically deduct VAT from most of these costs (e.g., from your Shopify subscription if VAT is charged, and from app invoices if they are properly issued). In that case, your actual "net" cost might be ~23% lower. However, in the TCO calculation, we intentionally use gross amounts to give you a conservative, safe picture (because, for example, at the beginning of your business, you still have to pay the full amounts before you recover VAT).

Why Accurate TCO Calculation is Important for E-commerce

Finally, it's worth emphasizing why calculating this total cost is important and how you can use this knowledge. Accurately calculating the TCO for your store is crucial for several reasons:

• Realistic Budget Planning: By knowing all your costs, you'll avoid financial surprises. Many people only look at the Shopify plan price (e.g., "$39 a month – that's not much"), and then they're surprised that they actually spend hundreds of dollars a month after adding apps and commissions. TCO gives you the full picture, allowing you to secure funds for running your store in advance and determine if the business is profitable at your assumed margin.
• Product Pricing and Margin Setting: When you know your platform costs as a percentage of sales, you can better calculate product prices. For example, if you see that, on average, 5% of the order value is "eaten up" by Shopify fees and payments, and another 2% by apps (loyalty programs, reviews generating discounts, etc.), then you know that approximately 7% of your turnover goes to fixed e-commerce costs. Then, if your product margin is 30%, your real profit drops to ~23%. Such data helps you decide whether to raise prices, look for a cheaper supplier, or cut other costs. Without TCO, it's easy to overlook that, for instance, large payment commissions are eating a significant portion of your profit.
• Comparing Shopify with Other Solutions: When investing in e-commerce, you might consider various platforms (SaaS like Shopify vs. open-source like WooCommerce or Presta). Comparing subscriptions alone can be misleading – because, for example, Shopify is subscription + commissions, while open-source has no subscription but higher self-costs (hosting, security, premium plugins, developer on retainer). By calculating Shopify's TCO, you can consciously compare "how much will it cost me here, and how much elsewhere?" It often turns out that Shopify is still cost-competitive because, for example, the cost of server administration and updates is eliminated, and commissions compensate for these conveniences. But that's an individual analysis – the key is that with data from the calculator, you have concrete numbers for such a comparison.
• Scaling Decisions and Plan Changes: TCO shows critical points when it's worth changing your operating model. For example, by seeing cost projections, you can plan: "When I reach 200 orders a month, I'll switch to the Grow plan, because I see that Basic commissions will then cost me a lot." Or: "With such costs for the loyalty app, maybe it's better to switch directly to Shopify Plus, which has a built-in points program?" etc. This way, you don't react only when something hurts financially, but you have a cost strategy in advance.
• Cost Optimization: By identifying which category generates the highest costs, you can look for ways to optimize. For example, if apps are a big expense – look for "all-in-one" packages (there are apps that combine several functions into one subscription), or plan the implementation of custom solutions by a developer (sometimes custom code written once can replace 2-3 paid apps). If payments are expensive – negotiate rates with the operator for higher volumes, or encourage customers to use cheaper methods (e.g., fast bank transfers instead of PayPal). TCO is a map that shows where to cut costs without sacrificing quality.
• Security and Compliance: Some costs (like Pandectes, Sniffie) result from legal obligations. The calculator reminds you of them so you don't miss them. This helps you avoid the risk of penalties – and potential penalties for violating GDPR or the Omnibus Directive can be significantly, significantly higher than the cost of these applications. This means an investment of a few dozen zlotys per month protects you from, for example, a penalty of tens of thousands of zlotys. In a broader sense, TCO covering these elements ensures that you conduct your business in accordance with regulations, which is also an important aspect of professional e-commerce.
• Peace of Mind and Focus on Growth: With well-calculated costs, you gain peace of mind. You know that nothing important has been overlooked. You can focus on developing sales, marketing, and customer service because your finances are under control. When Shopify bills or app fees arrive – they won't surprise you, because they were included in your TCO. This makes it easier to run an e-business and make decisions (e.g., about hiring an employee, investing in advertising) with a full picture of your fixed costs.

In conclusion: accurate TCO calculation is the foundation of a healthy e-commerce business. Shopify provides excellent tools for online sales, but like any platform – it generates various costs. By using the Shopify cost calculator, you can plan your business in advance so that these costs don't surprise you and so you can consciously control them. This is an advantage that will allow you to build a profitable and long-term store.

I hope this overview has helped you understand the Shopify cost structure. I encourage you to experiment with the calculator yourself – change parameters (e.g., increase the number of orders, add or remove apps) and observe how it affects your TCO. This knowledge is a valuable guide in running a modern online store. Good luck!