Ecommerce platform pricing for a US small business is a monthly platform subscription ($0 to $2K+) plus payment gateway fees on every order (2.9% + $0.30 US for Stripe / Square / Shopify Payments; 2.89% + $0.49 for Braintree).
At $30K monthly GMV with 600 orders at a $50 average order value (AOV), a Shopify Basic ($39/month) subscription runs about $39/month in platform fees plus $1,860/month in payment gateway fees — about $1,899/month total.
At $100K GMV with 2,000 orders, the same plan runs $39/month + $6,180/month = $6,219/month total.
The platform fee is small relative to the gateway fee; the gateway choice matters more than the platform subscription tier.
Run a quick stress-test: an SMB running $30K monthly GMV through Shopify Basic ($39/month) on Shopify Payments (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction).
The platform fee is $39/month.
The gateway fee is 600 x ($0.30 + 2.9% x $50) = 600 x $1.75 = $1,050/month.
Total: $1,089/month. Compare to the same $30K GMV through WooCommerce (free plugin + hosting $50/month) on Stripe (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction).
The platform cost is $50/month.
The gateway fee is $1,050/month.
Total: $1,100/month. The two platforms converge on total cost; the operational difference matters.
Ecommerce platform pricing is monthly subscription ($0-$2K) plus payment gateway fees (2.9% + $0.30 per US transaction). At $30K monthly GMV, the total cost runs $1,000-$1,200/month across platforms. Pick the platform by operational fit, not by subscription tier pricing.
Key facts: Shopify Basic is $39/month with no per-transaction fee on Shopify Payments (charges Shopify’s 2.9% + $0.30 payment fee) or 2% on external gateways.
Shopify is $105/month on Shopify; 0.5% on external gateways.
Shopify Advanced is $399/month for reporting.
WooCommerce is free plugin + $15-$100/month hosting.
BigCommerce Standard is $39/month with no platform per-transaction fee on any gateway.
Squarespace Commerce is $36/month annual / $40/month monthly.
Wix Business is $36/month (annual price).
Ecwid Free tier is $0 with limitations; Venture is $39/month.
All platforms pass through their payment gateway’s fee structure (Shopify Payments, Stripe, Square, PayPal, Braintree).
At $30K monthly GMV with 600 orders at $50 AOV: Shopify Basic at $39/month + Shopify Payments 2.9% + $0.30 = $1,089/month total.
WooCommerce at $50/month hosting + Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 = $1,100/month total.
BigCommerce Standard at $39/month + Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 = $1,089/month total.
Squarespace Commerce at $40/month + Stripe 2.9% + $0.30 = $1,090/month total.
The total cost converges; the operational difference is the deciding factor.
The cost structure explained
Every ecommerce platform structures fees around a monthly subscription plus per-transaction payment gateway fees on top.
Monthly subscription. The platform’s monthly fee covers the storefront, the cart, the checkout, the admin dashboard, the product catalog, and the integrations. Shopify Basic at $39/month is the entry tier; Shopify at $105/month adds professional reports; Shopify Advanced at $399/month adds custom reporting and lower per-transaction fees.
Payment gateway fee. The gateway processes the card transaction. Shopify Payments uses Stripe under the hood at 2.9% + $0.30 per US transaction (Shopify Basic), dropping to 2.7% + $0.30 on Shopify and 2.5% + $0.30 on Shopify Advanced. WooCommerce / BigCommerce / Squarespace / Wix / Ecwid use the SMB’s chosen gateway (Stripe, Square, PayPal, Braintree, Authorize.Net) at the gateway’s standard rate.
Platform per-transaction fee on external gateways. Shopify charges an additional 2% on Shopify Basic, 0.5% on Shopify, 0% on Shopify Advanced when orders route through a non-Shopify Payments gateway. BigCommerce, Squarespace, Wix, Ecwid, WooCommerce do NOT charge this fee; the SMB’s gateway choice is unencumbered.
Add-on modules. Email automation (Klaviyo, Mailchimp) is $45-$700/month; reviews (Yotpo, Judge.me) is $0-$500/month; inventory (Stocky, Cin7) is $0-$250/month; tax automation (TaxJar, Avalara) is $19-$500/month; subscriptions (Recharge, Bold, native) is $99-$499/month; SEO (Yoast, Rank Math) is free-$99 on WooCommerce, often free on Shopify via plugins; SMS marketing (Postscript, Attentive) is $0-$1,000/month on per-message. The bundle pricing on Shopify at higher tiers unlocks some modules.
The per-plan breakdown at published rates, October 2026
The numbers below come from each platform’s published pricing page as of October 2026.
| Platform / Plan | Platform fee | Per-transaction fee on platform gateway | Per-transaction fee on external gateway | Year 1 at $30K GMV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic | $39/month | 0% (Shopify Payments) | 2% additional | $13,068 (platform + gateway) |
| Shopify | $105/month | 0% (Shopify Payments) | 0.5% additional | $14,040 (platform + gateway) |
| Shopify Advanced | $399/month | 0% (Shopify Payments; rates drop to 2.5% + $0.30) | 0% (no additional) | $11,724 (lower gateway rate offsets) |
| WooCommerce + hosting | $15-$100/month (hosting) | N/A (no platform gateway) | Stripe standard 2.9% + $0.30 | $12,780-$13,860 (hosting + gateway) |
| BigCommerce Standard | $39/month | N/A (no platform gateway) | Stripe standard 2.9% + $0.30 (no platform fee) | $13,068 (platform + gateway) |
| Squarespace Commerce | $40/month (or $36 annual) | N/A | Stripe standard 2.9% + $0.30 | $13,080 (platform + gateway) |
| Wix Business | $36/month (annual) | 0% (Wix Payments) | $0.30 + processing fees (Wix charges differently) | $12,600 (platform + Wix Payments) |
| Ecwid Free | $0 | N/A | Stripe standard (no Ecwid charge) | $12,600 (gateway only) |
| Ecwid Venture | $39/month | N/A | Stripe standard | $13,068 (platform + gateway) |
For the practical comparison on features vs price at each GMV tier, the Shopify vs BigCommerce vs WooCommerce page covers the tradeoffs. For the audience-specific scenarios (B2C DTC brand vs B2B wholesale), the ecommerce platform for small business and ecommerce platform for B2B wholesale pages cover the right picks.
What your effective bill looks like at each GMV tier
Three realistic profiles for a US SMB ecommerce operator.
1. $5K GMV / 100 orders at $50 AOV. Shopify Basic = $39/month + 100 x $1.75 = $214/month total = $2,568/year. WooCommerce = $30/month hosting + 100 x $1.75 = $205/month = $2,460/year. Squarespace = $40/month + 100 x $1.75 = $215/month = $2,580/year. BigCommerce Standard = $39 + $175 = $214/month = $2,568/year. The total cost converges; choose by operational fit.
2. $30K GMV / 600 orders at $50 AOV. Shopify Basic = $39 + $1,050 = $1,089/month = $13,068/year. Shopify on Shopify Payments = $105 + $1,050 = $1,155/month. Shopify Advanced = $399 + lower gateway fee = ~$11,724/year (better gateway rate offsets higher subscription). WooCommerce = $50 hosting + $1,050 = $1,100/month = $13,200/year.
3. $100K GMV / 2,000 orders at $50 AOV. Shopify Basic = $39 + $3,500 = $3,539/month = $42,468/year.
WooCommerce = $100 hosting + $3,500 = $3,600/month = $43,200/year.
Shopify Advanced = $399 + lower gateway rate = ~$3,200/month = $38,400/year (best gateway rate at high volume).
BigCommerce Pro = $399 + $3,500 = $3,899/month = $46,788/year.
The Advanced tier’s lower gateway rate starts to dominate at high volumes.
The add-on modules at each GMV tier
Three modules that often come separately and change the cost math.
Email automation (Klaviyo, Mailchimp). Klaviyo is the canonical Shopify email tool; Mailchimp is the alternative. Klaviyo’s free tier covers 250 contacts; paid starts at $45/month for 1K contacts. Mailchimp’s free tier covers 500 contacts; paid starts at $13/month for 500 contacts. For an SMB at $30K monthly GMV, Klaviyo’s email automation saves $5-$10K/month in retention (per Klaviyo’s published benchmarks).
Reviews and ratings (Yotpo, Judge.me). Yotpo’s free tier includes basic reviews; paid starts at $19/month. Judge.me’s free tier on Shopify App Store is feature-rich; paid is $15/month on Shopify Advanced. Both have stamp-style widgets, automated review requests, and review-driven upsell widgets.
Tax automation (TaxJar, Avalara). TaxJar Starter is $19/month for basic state filing. Avalara AvaTax is more comprehensive ($200-$1K/month). For a SMB selling in 20+ states, the tax automation saves $500-$1,000/month in accounting time.
The honest traps that change the cost equation
Three common surprises at pricing-page evaluation.
Trap 1: Shopify’s platform per-transaction fee on external gateways. Shopify charges 2% on Shopify Basic, 0.5% on Shopify, 0% on Shopify Advanced when orders route through a non-Shopify Payments gateway. This is the dominant cost surprise for SMBs that prefer PayPal or Stripe direct instead of Shopify Payments. The math: at $30K GMV, switching to Stripe direct on Shopify Basic adds $600/month to the bill.
Trap 2: WooCommerce’s hosting + plugin costs. WooCommerce is “free” as a WordPress plugin, but the WordPress hosting (Kinsta, WP Engine, SiteGround), the security plugin (Wordfence, Sucuri), the backup plugin (UpdraftPlus), and the performance plugin (WP Rocket) add up. Total hosting + plugin stack is $30-$150/month for a serious SMB. The “free” WooCommerce is misleading.
Trap 3: subscription box’s additional platform overlay cost. For a SMB running a subscription box on Shopify, Recharge costs $99-$499/month + 0.5% of transaction. Bold Subscriptions is similar. The combined Shopify + Recharge + Klaviyo + email costs total $400-$800/month at $30K GMV. Verify the stack before committing.
Pick the right ecommerce platform for your GMV and operational shape
Pick Shopify Basic or Shopify if you’re a B2C DTC brand with $5K-$100K monthly GMV, want the deepest app ecosystem, and prefer Shopify Payments as the gateway (the 2% external-fee is real if you don’t).
Pick WooCommerce + hosting if you already run WordPress and have technical staff. The cost is comparable; the operational difference is the WordPress paradigm.
Pick BigCommerce if you’re a B2B or wholesale operator with 1,000+ SKUs and need customer-specific pricing tiers.
Pick Squarespace Commerce if you’re a design-led physical-goods store with strong visual merchandising requirements.
Pick Wix Business if you want a no-code builder for the store + marketing site together.
Pick Ecwid Free or Venture if you’re on the tightest budget and your catalog is under 100 SKUs.
For the structural distinction between an ecommerce platform and a marketplace, the ecommerce platform vs marketplace page covers the distinction.
For the practical 3-way vendor comparison on tier and features, the Shopify vs BigCommerce vs WooCommerce page runs the comparison.
For the broader vendor coverage (Wix, Squarespace, Ecwid) and the right pick for your business shape, the best ecommerce platform for small business comparison covers the math.
For the payment-processor cost math that drives the gateway fees, the payment processor fee comparison covers the per-transaction math at each processor tier.
Last updated: October 2026
