How profit per order is worked out
A Shopify store has two kinds of costs. Per-order costs come with every sale: the product, packaging, shipping, card fees and ads. Monthly costs are your Shopify plan and apps. The calculator spreads the monthly costs over your orders so you see the true profit on each one.
Payment fees = Revenue × Card rate + Fixed fee (+ third-party fee, + conversion)
Profit per order = Revenue − Payment fees − Product cost − Shipping cost − (Plan + Apps) ÷ Orders − Ad cost per order
Shopify Payments rates (online, checked 22 October 2026)
| Plan | UK | Canada | Australia | Third-party gateway fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2% + 25p | 2.8% + 30¢ | 1.7% + 30¢ | 2% |
| Grow | 1.7% + 25p | 2.6% + 30¢ | 1.55% + 30¢ | 1% |
| Advanced | 1.5% + 25p | 2.4% + 30¢ | 1.35% + 30¢ | 0.6% |
| Plus | 1.3% + 25p | 2.15% + 30¢ | 1.15% + 30¢ | 0.2% |
International and American Express cards cost more. In the UK, for example, they cost 3.1% + 25p on Basic.
United States: Shopify’s US pricing page did not show card rates when we checked. The figures widely shown for it (2.9% + 30¢ Basic, 2.7% Grow, 2.5% Advanced, 2.25% Plus) come from search engine listings of that page. The calculator fills them in, flags them, and lets you edit them. Check Settings → Payments in your Shopify admin for your exact rate.
Currency conversion: if a customer pays in another currency through Shopify Payments, Shopify charges 1.5% for US stores and 2% in most other regions.
Worked example: a UK store on Basic
You sell a £40 product and charge £5 shipping. The product costs £12. Packaging and postage cost £6. Ads cost £8 per order on average. You sell 100 orders a month on the £25 Basic plan.
- Revenue: £45
- Card fee: 2% × £45 + £0.25 = £1.15
- Plan per order: £25 ÷ 100 = £0.25
- Costs: £12 + £6 + £8 = £26
- Profit per order: £45 − £1.15 − £0.25 − £26 = £17.60 (39% margin)
- Profit per month: £1,760
Break-even ROAS is £45 ÷ (£45 − £1.15 − £18 − £0.25) = 1.76. Your ads must bring in at least £1.76 of sales for every £1 spent, or the extra orders lose money.
Why the payment provider matters
If you use a third-party gateway instead of Shopify Payments, you pay that provider’s fee and Shopify’s third-party fee. On Basic that is an extra 2%. On a £45 order that is £0.90 on top of, say, 2.9% + 30p. That can cost you more than upgrading your plan. Shopify also charges a 1.25% premium on Shopify Payments transactions such as Shop Pay when a third-party gateway is your main provider.
When to upgrade your plan
Higher plans cost more each month but charge lower card rates. In the UK, Grow saves 0.3% per order compared with Basic. On £45 orders that is about 13.5p each, so 100 orders save £13.50 a month. Grow costs £40 more than Basic, which needs roughly 300 orders a month just to break even on card fees. Compare plans in the calculator with your own order volume.
Tips
- Include ads per order. Many stores look profitable until you add ad cost. Use the ROAS calculator to track it.
- Shipping charged is revenue, shipping paid is cost. Enter both so free-shipping offers are counted correctly.
- Use reverse mode to set a price that keeps your target profit after every fee.
- Check your margin and break-even volume with the profit margin calculator and break-even calculator.
- Compare channels. Selling on marketplaces instead? See the Amazon FBA calculator and Etsy fee calculator.