Selling through Shopify in the UK can feel simple on the surface: choose a plan, add products, take payments, ship orders. But when you look closely at what you actually pay per order, the answer depends on your plan, payment method, apps, shipping choices, currency, and whether you use Shopify Payments or a third-party gateway.

What counts as a Shopify selling fee?

When merchants talk about “Shopify fees,” they often mean several different charges grouped together. Some are charged monthly, others are deducted from each payment, and some only appear when you use certain features. To understand your profit margin, it helps to separate them into categories.

• Subscription fee: the monthly cost of your Shopify plan.
• Payment processing fee: the card or digital wallet fee charged on each transaction.
• Third-party transaction fee: an extra Shopify fee if you use an external payment provider instead of Shopify Payments.
• App fees: monthly or usage-based charges from apps installed on your store.
• Shipping costs: postage, fulfilment, packaging, insurance, and returns.
• Currency and cross-border costs: charges that may apply when selling internationally.

The important point is this: Shopify’s headline price is not the whole cost of selling. Your real cost per order is the combination of platform fees and operational costs.

The monthly Shopify plan fee

Your monthly plan is not deducted from each individual order, but it affects your overall cost per sale. For example, if your plan costs £25 per month and you make 100 orders, that is effectively 25p per order before you consider card fees. If you make only 10 orders, the same subscription becomes £2.50 per order.

Shopify’s UK plans commonly include options such as Basic, Shopify, and Advanced, with higher plans offering lower payment rates, more reporting features, and more staff accounts. Prices can change, and annual billing often reduces the monthly equivalent, so it is always worth checking your Shopify admin or pricing page before committing.

For a small store, the Basic plan can be enough. For a growing store, a higher plan may become cheaper overall if the lower card processing rate saves more than the extra monthly subscription.

Payment processing fees: the main per-order cost

The most common per-order fee is the payment processing charge. If a customer pays by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or another supported method through Shopify Payments, Shopify deducts a percentage of the order value plus a fixed fee.

In the UK, online card rates typically vary by plan. A simplified example might look like this:

• Basic: higher card rate, often around a percentage of the sale plus a small fixed fee.
• Shopify: lower card rate than Basic.
• Advanced: lower again, designed for higher-volume merchants.

For example, imagine you sell a product for £50 and your online card fee is 2% + 25p. The payment fee would be:

• 2% of £50 = £1.00
• Fixed fee = £0.25
• Total payment fee = £1.25

That means £48.75 is left before product cost, postage, packaging, returns, advertising, taxes, and any app charges. This small fee can seem harmless, but at volume it becomes significant. On 1,000 similar orders, that £1.25 fee becomes £1,250.

Shopify Payments versus third-party gateways

One of the biggest fee differences comes from whether you use Shopify Payments or a third-party gateway such as PayPal, Worldpay, Klarna, or another provider.

If you use Shopify Payments, Shopify usually does not charge an additional transaction fee on top of payment processing. You still pay the card processing fee, but you avoid Shopify’s extra percentage.

If you use a third-party provider, you may pay two layers of fees:

1. The payment provider’s own processing fee.
2. Shopify’s third-party transaction fee.

That third-party transaction fee often depends on your Shopify plan. Lower-tier plans typically have a higher extra fee, while higher-tier plans have a lower one. This is why two stores with the same sales and product prices can have very different net profit.

PayPal is a common example. Many UK customers expect PayPal as a checkout option, and it can improve conversion. However, if a sale goes through PayPal rather than Shopify Payments, you need to account for PayPal’s fees and any applicable Shopify transaction fee. The best choice is not always the cheapest one; sometimes the higher-cost option brings extra orders that make it worthwhile.

Example: what you pay on a £40 UK order

Let’s look at a simple order. A customer buys one item for £40, including delivery. You use Shopify Payments, and your card fee is assumed to be 2% + 25p.

• Order value: £40.00
• Percentage fee: £0.80
• Fixed fee: £0.25
• Total Shopify Payments fee: £1.05
• Amount before other costs: £38.95

Now add the other costs that affect profit:

• Product cost: £14.00
• Packaging: £0.70
• Postage: £3.50
• Estimated ad cost per sale: £6.00

Your rough remaining gross profit would be £14.75 before subscription allocation, app costs, tax, returns, and overheads. This shows why focusing only on the Shopify fee can be misleading. The payment fee matters, but it is only one part of the margin puzzle.

Do Shopify fees include VAT?

VAT can make Shopify costs feel more complicated for UK sellers. Whether VAT appears on a Shopify invoice depends on the type of charge, your business details, and how Shopify is billing the service. Payment processing fees, subscription charges, and app charges may be treated differently.

If you are VAT registered, you should add your VAT number to your Shopify account and keep proper records. Shopify invoices can usually be downloaded from your admin area. These records are useful for bookkeeping and for understanding the real cost of your store.

Important: VAT rules can change, and how they apply depends on your circumstances. If you are unsure, speak to an accountant who understands UK ecommerce.

Currency conversion and international orders

If you sell outside the UK, currency costs may appear. For example, a customer may pay in euros or US dollars while your default payout currency is pounds sterling. Depending on your setup, there may be currency conversion fees, international card fees, or different processing rates.

International sales can be profitable, but they often bring extra costs: customs paperwork, higher shipping prices, duties, tax settings, return complications, and customer service issues. When reviewing Shopify fees, separate domestic UK orders from international orders so you can see which are truly profitable.

App fees and feature costs

Many Shopify stores rely on apps for reviews, subscriptions, bundles, email marketing, loyalty points, upsells, stock syncing, or fulfilment. Some apps charge a flat monthly fee, while others charge based on usage, revenue, number of orders, or number of customers.

A £15 monthly app may seem cheap, but if your store only receives 30 orders per month, that app adds 50p per order. If you use five apps at similar prices, your per-order overhead quickly increases.

Review your apps regularly and ask:

• Does this app directly increase revenue or save time?
• Could Shopify’s built-in features replace it?
• Is the app charging based on order volume?
• Would a higher Shopify plan remove the need for the app?

Shipping fees are not Shopify fees, but they matter

Shipping is often the largest variable cost after product cost. Even if Shopify is not “charging” you for postage in the same way it charges payment fees, the money still comes out of each order.

You may pay for Royal Mail, courier labels, fulfilment centre charges, packaging materials, tracking, insurance, and return labels. If you advertise “free delivery,” that cost is simply built into your margin. If your average postage is £3.50 and your payment fee is £1.05, the total transaction-related cost on a £40 order is already £4.55 before product cost.

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How to reduce Shopify fees per order

You cannot avoid all selling costs, but you can reduce the amount each order absorbs. Start by calculating your average cost per order across a full month, not just one transaction.

• Use Shopify Payments where suitable: this can remove extra third-party transaction fees.
• Compare plans: if your order volume is high, a more expensive plan may save money through lower processing rates.
• Increase average order value: bundles, free shipping thresholds, and upsells can spread fixed fees over a larger basket.
• Audit apps: remove tools that do not improve revenue, retention, or efficiency.
• Negotiate fulfilment: better postage rates can save more than small differences in card fees.
• Monitor payment methods: understand how many customers use PayPal, Klarna, cards, or other options.

The simple formula for your true cost per order

To understand what you really pay, use this formula:

True cost per order = payment fee + transaction fee + shipping cost + packaging + app allocation + subscription allocation + advertising cost + returns allowance

This formula is more useful than asking only, “What does Shopify charge?” It shows whether your store is priced correctly and whether your marketing is profitable.

Final thoughts

Shopify UK selling fees are not mysterious once you break them into parts. The clearest per-order cost is the payment processing fee, usually a percentage plus a fixed amount. If you use a third-party payment gateway, you may also pay Shopify’s additional transaction fee. Beyond that, your monthly plan, apps, shipping, VAT, international costs, and returns all affect how much each order really costs.

The smartest approach is to review your fees every month and calculate them against actual orders. A store doing £2,000 per month has different needs from one doing £200,000 per month. Once you understand the numbers, you can price confidently, choose the right plan, and protect your margins as your Shopify store grows.