By El Ghali Bennis · Published
Shopify Payment Gateway Charges: Fees by Plan (2026)
Shopify payment gateway charges by plan, third-party gateway fees, and PayPal vs Shopify Payments, with real math and ways to cut costs.
Shopify payment gateway charges have two layers: the card processing rate your gateway takes on every sale, and a separate third-party gateway fee Shopify adds if you don't use Shopify Payments. According to Shopify's pricing page, that extra fee ranges from 2% on Basic down to 0.6% on Advanced. Here's how the math works.
Most merchants only look at the monthly plan price. That's a mistake. Payment costs scale with every order, so on a store doing $20,000 a month, a one-point difference in fees is $200 you never see on an invoice. Below you'll find the rates, the traps, and a straight recommendation. Rates change, so confirm current numbers on Shopify's pricing page before you decide.
How Shopify Payment Gateway Charges Work
Every online sale triggers up to three costs: the gateway or processor's card fee, a possible Shopify surcharge, and any currency or international card fees. You pay the first on every platform. The second is the one most merchants don't expect.
Here's the breakdown:
- Card processing fee: a percentage plus a fixed amount per transaction (for example, 2.9% + 30¢ in the US). This goes to the processor, whether that's Shopify Payments (powered by Stripe), PayPal, or another provider.
- Third-party gateway fee: an extra percentage Shopify charges when a customer pays through any gateway other than Shopify Payments. You pay it on top of your processor's fee.
- Add-on fees: international cards, currency conversion, chargebacks, and sometimes a monthly gateway fee from the provider itself.
Shopify Payments is the only option that avoids the surcharge. That's by design: Shopify earns revenue from it, so it nudges you toward it. For a full picture of where else the bill creeps up, see our breakdown of Shopify hidden costs.
Shopify Payments Fees by Plan
Shopify Payments fees depend on your plan: higher plans get lower card rates. In the US, Shopify's pricing page lists online rates of 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic, 2.6% + 30¢ on Shopify, and 2.4% + 30¢ on Advanced.
The table below puts the plan price, card rate, and third-party gateway fee side by side. Prices are the monthly billing figures from Shopify's pricing page; annual billing is cheaper. Treat everything as US-based and verify before committing.
| Plan | Monthly price (monthly billing) | Shopify Payments online rate | Third-party gateway fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39 | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2% |
| Shopify | $105 | 2.6% + 30¢ | 1% |
| Advanced | $399 | 2.4% + 30¢ | 0.6% |
| Plus | Custom (from about $2,300) | Negotiated | Negotiated per contract (Shopify's listed rate is 0.2%) |
Two things stand out. First, the gap between Basic and Advanced card rates is only half a point, yet the plan costs $360 more per month. You'd need roughly $72,000 in monthly sales before the lower rate alone covers the upgrade ($360 ÷ 0.005). Second, the third-party fee drops much faster than the card rate does, which is why merchants on Advanced often use outside gateways.
In-person sales with Shopify POS
If you sell offline with Shopify POS and Shopify Payments, in-person card rates are lower than online rates on each plan. Shopify's pricing page lists them as 2.7% + 0¢ on Basic, 2.5% + 0¢ on Shopify, and 2.4% + 0¢ on Advanced in the US. With no fixed fee, in-person sales on small tickets are noticeably cheaper than online. A $15 online order on Basic costs $0.735 (4.9%), while the same $15 in person costs about $0.41 (2.7%). If you use an external card reader or terminal instead of Shopify Payments, the third-party fee logic applies to those sales too, so check how your hardware is configured.
Is Shopify Payments available everywhere?
No. Shopify Payments only works in a limited list of countries, and some product categories are restricted. If you sell in an unsupported country, or your business type is flagged, you're pushed to a third-party gateway and the surcharge applies. Check Shopify's supported-countries list before you build around it.
Payout holds and risk reviews
Shopify can hold payouts or pause an account during a risk review, which hurts cash flow for new stores. Reviews are most often triggered by:
- A sudden spike in sales volume on a new account
- High chargeback or refund rates
- Products or descriptions that look restricted or high risk
- Mismatched identity or bank details during onboarding
Funds can be held as a reserve until the review clears or until disputes settle. That's a real operating risk, not a billing line. Keep a cash buffer for your first few months, fulfil orders with tracking, and respond to disputes quickly. It's also why some merchants prefer a gateway they control directly, even after paying the surcharge.
Shopify Third Party Gateway Fee: What It Really Costs
The Shopify third party gateway fee is a percentage of each sale, charged on top of what your gateway already takes. On Basic it's 2%. So a $100 order paid via an outside gateway costs the gateway's fee plus $2.00 to Shopify.
Run it for a store doing $15,000 a month on Basic with an outside gateway charging 2.9% + 30¢ on 300 orders:
- Gateway card fees: $435 + $90 = $525
- Shopify's 2% surcharge: $300
- Total payment cost: $825, or 5.5% of revenue
Using Shopify Payments instead, the same orders cost $525, so the surcharge alone adds roughly 57% to your payment bill ($300 ÷ $525). That's the part nobody puts in the headline.
When the surcharge applies
The fee applies to every outside gateway, including Stripe used directly, Authorize.net, Square, and PayPal Commerce Platform. It also applies to manual payment methods such as bank transfer. Wallets like Shop Pay, Apple Pay, and Google Pay don't trigger it when they run through Shopify Payments. PayPal Express is a special case, covered next.
Shopify Payments vs PayPal: Which Costs Less?
Shopify Payments is usually cheaper than PayPal on Shopify. PayPal Express, offered as a checkout button, doesn't carry the Shopify surcharge but has its own rate. PayPal's business fee page lists 3.49% + 49¢ for standard US checkout at the time of writing. That's higher than any Shopify Payments tier.
Here's a quick comparison on a $60 order, using the US rates above:
| Method (Basic plan) | Fee on $60 order | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments | $2.04 | 3.4% |
| PayPal Express | $2.58 | 4.3% |
| Outside gateway (2.9% + 30¢ plus 2% surcharge) | $3.24 | 5.4% |
Small orders feel the fixed fee most. That's why stores with low average order values should look hard at the 30¢ and 49¢ components, not just the percentage.
Still, don't drop PayPal. Many shoppers trust it and conversion can improve when it's offered. The smart setup is Shopify Payments as the default and PayPal as an extra button, so only customers who choose it pay the higher rate.
Payment Plugin Comparison: Shopify vs WooCommerce Gateway Fees
WooCommerce has no platform surcharge on gateways, so you pay only the processor's rate. But you pay for hosting, plugins, and upkeep instead. Payment-wise it's simpler; total cost-wise it's often not.
A fair payment plugin comparison looks at what you pay beyond the card rate. Here's how the main setups stack up:
| Setup | Platform surcharge | Typical card rate (US) | Other costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify + Shopify Payments | None | 2.4%-2.9% + 30¢ | Plan fee |
| Shopify + outside gateway | 0.2%-2% | Gateway's rate | Plan fee, possible gateway monthly fee |
| WooCommerce + Stripe | None | 2.9% + 30¢ per Stripe's pricing page | Hosting, plugins, maintenance |
| WooCommerce + PayPal | None | 3.49% + 49¢ | Hosting, plugins, maintenance |
WooCommerce payment gateway fees are lower on paper because there's no surcharge. In practice, WooCommerce hosting typically runs $30-$100 a month, and developer retainers vary widely depending on scope, from a few hundred dollars to several thousand a month. Our Shopify vs WooCommerce cost comparison walks through the whole stack. Get quotes for your own situation rather than relying on averages.
Do gateway apps add more cost?
Sometimes. Certain local or buy-now-pay-later gateways need a paid app or a monthly gateway fee, which stacks on the Shopify surcharge. If you're already paying for several tools, see how to reduce Shopify app costs before adding another one.
Best Payment Gateway for Shopify, and How to Cut Charges
The best payment gateway for Shopify is Shopify Payments for most merchants, because it removes the surcharge and bundles Shop Pay and wallets. Use an outside gateway only when you're in an unsupported country, need a specific local method, or have negotiated rates that beat the surcharge.
Use this checklist to lower what you pay:
- Turn on Shopify Payments if you're eligible. It's the single biggest saving for anyone paying the 2% surcharge.
- Do the break-even math before upgrading plans. A $360 jump from Basic to Advanced rarely pays for itself on card rates alone.
- Negotiate with your processor. Interchange-plus pricing can beat flat rates at higher volume. There's no universal cutoff, so as a rule of thumb, start asking for quotes once you process tens of thousands of dollars a month, and compare the all-in rate (including Shopify's surcharge) against your current one.
- Offer PayPal as an option, not the default. You keep the conversion benefit without routing every order through the costlier rate.
- Watch your average order value. Bundles and free-shipping thresholds dilute the fixed 30¢ fee.
- Audit chargebacks. Disputes carry flat fees and can trigger reserves.
Be careful with one more thing: currency conversion and international card fees. Processors commonly add a percentage point or more on cross-border sales, so check each provider's fee schedule if a meaningful share of your customers sit abroad.
Common questions
Does Shopify charge a fee for PayPal? PayPal Express doesn't trigger Shopify's third-party fee, but PayPal's own rate applies. PayPal Commerce Platform set up as an outside gateway can trigger it.
Can you avoid the Shopify gateway fee entirely? Yes, by using Shopify Payments, or by being on Plus with negotiated terms.
Are Shopify fees tax deductible? Processing fees are generally a deductible business expense, but ask your accountant about your jurisdiction.
The Bottom Line on Shopify Payment Gateway Charges
Shopify payment gateway charges are manageable when you use Shopify Payments and punishing when you don't. The surcharge is the line to watch: 2% on Basic quietly adds more than most merchants pay for a handful of apps. Layer on the plan fee, and payments plus platform can eat 6-8% of revenue before you've paid for ads or inventory. For the full cost picture, read Shopify costs in 2026.
If you'd rather not think about gateway surcharges at all, Rovela is built differently. Stores run on Stripe checkout with a single flat subscription, no commission on sales, and 100+ features like abandoned cart, reviews, and loyalty included instead of billed as apps. Stripe's standard processing fees still apply, but there's no extra platform cut on top. You can compare plans on the Rovela pricing page or see how it stacks up in Rovela vs Shopify.
