What Percent Does Shopify Take From Sales?

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Understanding the Shopify Fee Structure
3. The Plan-by-Plan Breakdown
4. Transaction Fees vs. Payment Processing Fees
5. Hidden Costs and Margin Killers
6. The Tevello Advantage: Maximizing Your Margins
7. Case Study: From Physical Goods to Digital Powerhouse
8. How to Calculate Your "Break-Even" for Upgrading
9. Strategies to Lower Your Shopify "Cut"
10. The Future of E-commerce is Hybrid
11. Managing Real-World Business Expectations
12. Building for the Long Term
13. Conclusion
14. FAQ

Introduction

Did you know that the global e-learning market is projected to soar past $460 billion by 2026? While traditional e-commerce merchants often find themselves trapped in a cycle of rising inventory costs, shipping headaches, and razor-thin margins, a new breed of Shopify merchant is emerging. These creators are realizing that while Shopify provides a world-class engine for sales, the true mastery of the platform lies in understanding exactly where your money goes and how to keep more of it. Whether you are selling physical hand-crafted goods or high-ticket digital certifications, the question "what percent does shopify take from sales" is the most critical calculation you will make for your business’s long-term health.

The purpose of this guide is to pull back the curtain on Shopify’s fee structure, providing a granular breakdown of subscription costs, transaction fees, and payment processing rates. More importantly, we will explore how you can leverage digital products and memberships to offset these costs and maximize your profitability. At Tevello, our mission is to turn any Shopify store into a digital learning powerhouse, and that starts with helping you understand the financial ecosystem of your storefront. We believe that by the end of this article, you will not only know how much Shopify takes but also how to architect a store that generates higher margins and recurring revenue with precision.

Understanding the Shopify Fee Structure

Shopify’s pricing is not a single "tax" on your revenue; it is a multi-layered system designed to scale with your business. To understand what percent Shopify takes from your sales, you must distinguish between the subscription fee you pay every month and the variable fees that trigger every time a customer clicks "buy."

For many new merchants, the sticker price of the monthly plan is the primary focus. However, the real impact on your bottom line usually comes from the transaction-based costs. Shopify charges for the convenience of its secure checkout, its hosting infrastructure, and its vast array of integrated tools. While these fees are a standard part of doing business online, they can vary significantly based on your geographical location, the payment gateway you choose, and the specific Shopify plan you subscribe to.

Crucially, Shopify doesn’t just take a "cut" in the traditional sense of a commission. Instead, it charges for services provided. If you use Shopify’s internal payment processor, the fees are predictable and competitive with the rest of the industry. If you choose to step outside that ecosystem, additional costs are introduced to cover the platform's maintenance of those external integrations. This structure is designed to encourage merchants to stay within the "native" environment, which often results in a smoother experience for the customer and fewer technical hurdles for the store owner.

The Plan-by-Plan Breakdown

How much Shopify takes depends heavily on which plan you are currently using. Each tier is a trade-off: you pay more upfront in a monthly subscription to pay less on every individual sale.

The Basic Plan: Starting Small

The Basic plan is the entry point for most entrepreneurs. At approximately $39 per month (or less if billed annually), it provides all the essentials. However, because the monthly overhead is low, the per-transaction percentages are at their highest.

• Online Credit Card Rates: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
• Third-Party Transaction Fees: An additional 2% if you do not use Shopify Payments.

For a merchant selling a $50 product, Shopify and the credit card networks will take roughly $1.75 from that sale via the processing fee alone. If you aren't using Shopify’s native payments, that cost jumps by another $1.00.

The Shopify (Grow) Plan: Scaling Up

As your volume increases, the "Shopify" plan (often called the Grow plan) becomes the logical next step. At roughly $105 per month, it lowers the "tax" on your growth.

• Online Credit Card Rates: 2.6% + $0.30 per transaction.
• Third-Party Transaction Fees: An additional 1% if you do not use Shopify Payments.

The 0.3% difference in the credit card rate may seem small, but on $10,000 of monthly sales, that is a $30 saving. When combined with better reporting and more staff accounts, this plan is the sweet spot for many established brands.

The Advanced Plan: High-Volume Efficiency

For stores doing significant volume, the Advanced plan at $399 per month offers the most aggressive rate reductions.

• Online Credit Card Rates: 2.4% + $0.30 per transaction.
• Third-Party Transaction Fees: An additional 0.5% if you do not use Shopify Payments.

If your store is processing $50,000 or more per month, the savings on transaction fees can often exceed the cost of the monthly subscription itself. This is why we always recommend that merchants audit their sales data quarterly; staying on a lower plan for too long can actually be more expensive than upgrading.

Transaction Fees vs. Payment Processing Fees

One of the most common points of confusion is the difference between "transaction fees" and "payment processing fees." To accurately answer "what percent does shopify take from sales," you must understand that these are two different buckets.

Payment Processing Fees are what you pay to the financial institutions that move the money. Whether you use Shopify Payments, Stripe, or a traditional bank, they charge a fee to verify the credit card, check for fraud, and transfer the funds. Shopify Payments is powered by Stripe, but it is integrated so deeply into the platform that it removes the second bucket entirely.

Transaction Fees are what Shopify charges for using the platform's checkout when you don't use Shopify Payments. If you prefer to use a third-party gateway like PayPal (as your primary processor) or a local bank gateway, Shopify adds a fee (2%, 1%, or 0.5% depending on your plan). They do this because they are still providing the secure "pipes" for the transaction, but they aren't getting the processing revenue.

The easiest way to minimize what Shopify takes is to use Shopify Payments. By doing so, you effectively "waive" the transaction fee, leaving you only with the standard industry processing rates. This is a core part of the "Native Shopify Integration" philosophy we champion at Tevello. When things work together natively, the merchant wins.

Hidden Costs and Margin Killers

Beyond the base percentages, several "hidden" costs can eat into your profit margins if you aren't careful.

Currency Conversion Fees

If you are a merchant in the US selling to customers in the UK, Shopify charges a currency conversion fee (usually around 1.5% to 2% in many regions). This is on top of the standard transaction fees. For global brands, this can significantly shift the answer to "what percent does shopify take."

App Subscriptions

The Shopify App Store is a goldmine for functionality, but "app creep" is a real threat to profitability. Many apps charge a monthly fee, and some even charge their own percentage of sales. When evaluating your costs, you must factor in the total cost of your "tech stack." This is why we recommend all the key features for courses and communities be housed within a single, powerful tool rather than fragmented across ten different $10/month apps.

Chargebacks and Refunds

When a customer disputes a charge, Shopify (like all processors) typically charges a chargeback fee (often around $15). Furthermore, when you refund a customer, the credit card processing fees are generally not returned to you. This means that a high refund rate doesn't just lose you the sale; it actively costs you money in non-refundable fees.

The Tevello Advantage: Maximizing Your Margins

At Tevello, we recognize that paying fees is a part of growth, but we also believe merchants should have a way to scale without being penalized by "success fees." This is why we have built a platform that enables you to add high-margin digital products to your store with a radically different pricing philosophy.

We believe merchants should own their customer data and brand experience, and that ownership extends to the revenue they generate. While Shopify takes its standard processing fee for the transaction, Tevello does not add an extra "success fee" on top of your hard-earned course sales.

Simple, Transparent Pricing

Unlike many digital product platforms that take 5%, 10%, or even more of every sale, Tevello operates on a flat-rate model. We offer The Unlimited Plan for $29.99 per month. This plan is designed to be the final piece of your tech stack puzzle. By securing a fixed cost structure for digital products, you can focus on marketing and community building rather than worrying about your software bill increasing every time you land a new student.

Our Unlimited Plan includes:

• Unlimited courses and students.
• Unlimited video hosting and bandwidth.
• Community features like member directories and social feeds.
• Drip content and quizzes to enhance learning.
• A 14-day free trial to get everything set up.

0% Transaction Fees

We are committed to the idea of a "No Hidden Fees" advantage. When you sell a course through Tevello, we charge 0% transaction fees. You keep 100% of what you earn (after Shopify’s standard payment processing). This is a game-changer for merchants who are used to physical product margins where 30% or 40% of the sale price goes toward COGS (Cost of Goods Sold). With digital courses, your COGS is essentially zero after the initial creation, and with Tevello, your software cost remains flat regardless of whether you sell 10 courses or 10,000.

Case Study: From Physical Goods to Digital Powerhouse

Consider a merchant selling artisanal coffee beans on Shopify. After the cost of the beans, packaging, shipping, and Shopify’s 2.9% + $0.30 fee, their net margin might be 20%. To make $2,000 in profit, they need to move a massive amount of physical inventory.

Now, imagine that same merchant uses Tevello to create a "Mastering the Pour-Over" video course. They sell this course for $49. Because they are keeping customers at home on the brand website, the customer stays within the trusted Shopify checkout.

• Physical Sale: $25 Sale -> $5 Profit (after COGS and fees).
• Digital Sale: $49 Sale -> $47.28 Profit (after Shopify’s 2.9% + $0.30 fee, with 0% Tevello transaction fee).

By generating revenue from both physical and digital goods, this merchant can drastically increase their Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) without adding a single cent to their shipping budget. This isn't a "get rich quick" scheme; it’s a strategic diversification of revenue that makes the business more resilient to supply chain shocks.

How to Calculate Your "Break-Even" for Upgrading

Many merchants ask us when they should jump from the Basic plan to the Grow or Advanced plans. The math is relatively straightforward. You are essentially looking for the point where the monthly subscription increase is less than the savings you gain from the lower transaction percentages.

1. Basic to Grow: The price difference is roughly $66/month. The processing fee difference is 0.3%. $66 / 0.003 = $22,000. If you are processing more than $22,000 per month, the Grow plan is technically "cheaper" because of the fee savings.
2. Grow to Advanced: The price difference is roughly $294/month. The fee difference is 0.2%. $294 / 0.002 = $147,000. If you are doing high volume, this upgrade is a no-brainer.

However, these calculations only account for the processing fees. You must also consider the value of advanced reporting, lower third-party transaction penalties (if not using Shopify Payments), and shipping discounts. For many, the data provided in the higher plans is worth the cost even before the "break-even" point in fees.

Strategies to Lower Your Shopify "Cut"

If you feel like Shopify is taking too much from your sales, there are proactive steps you can take to optimize your setup.

1. Enable Shopify Payments

As discussed, this is the single fastest way to drop your fees by up to 2%. It simplifies your billing and gives your customers access to Shop Pay, which is proven to increase conversion rates.

2. Audit Your Recurring Apps

Monthly app fees are "silent killers." We often see stores with $200/month in app fees for features they rarely use. If unifying your stack is a priority, start by a simple, all-in-one price for unlimited courses. Consolidating your membership, course, and community features into one app like Tevello can save hundreds of dollars compared to using three separate platforms.

3. Encourage Lower-Cost Payment Methods

While you can't always control how a customer pays, some gateways are more expensive than others. By providing a seamless experience through Shopify Payments, you ensure you aren't paying the "third-party penalty."

4. Increase Your Average Order Value (AOV)

Because Shopify charges a flat $0.30 fee on every transaction, that fee represents a larger percentage of a $10 sale (3%) than a $100 sale (0.3%). By upselling digital products or bundling items, you dilute the impact of the flat-fee portion of Shopify's cut. We have seen merchants successfully use retention strategies that drive repeat digital purchases to keep their AOV high and their per-transaction cost impact low.

The Future of E-commerce is Hybrid

We believe the most successful Shopify stores of the next decade will be "hybrid" stores. They won't just sell a product; they will sell the expertise surrounding that product. When you combine physical inventory with digital learning, you create a moat around your brand that Amazon or generic competitors cannot easily cross.

By install Tevello from the Shopify App Store today, you are not just adding a feature; you are opening a new high-margin revenue stream. This approach allows you to build brand loyalty and recurring revenue stability. Instead of worrying about "what percent does shopify take from sales," you can focus on building a community of loyal fans who buy from you over and over again. We have seen this work across countless niches, from hobbyists to professional consultants. For example, look at how one brand sold $112K+ by bundling courses alongside their existing products—this is the power of a hybrid model.

Managing Real-World Business Expectations

It is important to remain realistic: building a digital powerhouse takes effort. While the tools like Tevello make the technical side easy, you still need to create valuable content and market it to your audience. We don't promise that you will make six figures in your first week. What we do promise is a robust, all-in-one ecosystem where physical products, digital courses, and community engagement live side-by-side.

Our platform is designed to amplify your existing efforts. If you already have traffic and a brand, adding a digital component is often the fastest way to increase your profit without increasing your workload. By seeing how the app natively integrates with Shopify, you can rest easy knowing that your customers will never be redirected to a confusing third-party site. They stay on your URL, under your brand, and within your control.

Building for the Long Term

When you look at the total cost of ownership for an e-commerce store, Shopify is remarkably efficient. Yes, they take a percentage, but in exchange, they provide a secure, scalable, and world-class selling environment. Your goal as a merchant is to work within that system to maximize your own "take-home" pay.

This means being smart about your plan choice, being diligent about your payment gateways, and being innovative with your product mix. Digital products are the ultimate "margin hack" because they allow you to benefit from Shopify’s infrastructure while keeping your COGS and transaction overhead to a minimum. Many of our most successful users are driving 50% of sales from repeat course purchasers, proving that once you build a digital asset, it continues to pay dividends for years.

The most important thing to remember is that you are in control of your data and your brand. By using a flat-rate plan that supports unlimited members, you ensure that as your community grows, your costs stay predictable. This predictability is the foundation of a stable, long-term business.

Conclusion

Understanding "what percent does shopify take from sales" is about more than just knowing the numbers; it is about knowing how to play the game of e-commerce profitably. Between the subscription tiers, the payment processing fees, and the potential for third-party transaction penalties, there is a lot to track. However, by staying within the Shopify Payments ecosystem and diversifying into high-margin digital products with Tevello, you can protect your margins and build a more sustainable business model.

We are proud to offer a solution that empowers merchants to own their journey. With our 0% transaction fee model and simple $29.99/month Unlimited Plan, we are here to help you scale without the stress of hidden costs. You can build your entire curriculum, set up your community, and host all your videos during your 14-day free trial before you ever pay a cent.

To build your community without leaving Shopify, start by reviewing the Shopify App Store listing merchants install from.

FAQ

1. Can I avoid the 2% Shopify transaction fee?

Yes, you can avoid this fee entirely by using Shopify Payments as your primary payment gateway. If Shopify Payments is available in your country, enabling it waives the additional transaction fee (2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced) that Shopify charges when you use third-party processors like PayPal or Stripe independently.

2. Does Shopify take a percentage of my Tevello course sales?

Shopify treats a Tevello course sale just like any other product sale on your store. This means you will pay your standard Shopify payment processing fee (e.g., 2.9% + $0.30 on the Basic plan). However, Tevello itself charges 0% transaction fees, meaning we do not take a "cut" of your digital sales. You keep everything after the standard Shopify/Credit Card processing.

3. Is it better to pay Shopify monthly or annually?

If you have the capital upfront, paying annually is almost always better. Shopify typically offers a 25% discount on their subscription plans when billed yearly. This reduction in fixed costs directly improves your monthly margins and reduces the overall "cut" Shopify takes from your business operations.

4. How do I know when to upgrade my Shopify plan to reduce fees?

The best time to upgrade is when your monthly sales volume reaches a point where the savings from a lower transaction fee percentage exceed the increase in the monthly subscription price. For example, moving from Basic to the "Shopify" (Grow) plan usually makes financial sense once you are consistently processing over $22,000 per month in sales.