What running an online store costs: platform, apps, payments
The lines on a store's monthly bill, what drives each, which ones creep, and how to keep the total honest.
The short answer
A store’s monthly cost has five lines. The platform plan, the most visible and often the smallest. Payment processing fees, usually the largest and scaling with revenue. Apps, the line that creeps because they are added for needs and campaigns and rarely removed. Theme or storefront development and maintenance, whether a theme kept current or a custom storefront run as software. And the services around the store: email platform, shipping tools, domain, analytics. There are no amounts here on purpose, because plans and fees change; the structure does not. Choose the plan from features and fee rates at your volume, review apps quarterly, and compare options on totals rather than headline prices.
The five lines
| Line | What drives it | How it behaves | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform plan | Features needed; processing rates offered | Fixed monthly; steps up with plans | Whether a higher plan lowers total cost through fees at your volume |
| Payment processing | Revenue; payment method mix; markets; plan | Percentage plus per-transaction; the largest line | Rates per method and market; third-party gateway surcharges |
| Apps | Number of apps; usage tiers; per-order charges | Creeps upward | Quarterly audit: purpose, use, native alternatives |
| Theme or storefront | Theme licence and edits; or custom storefront hosting and maintenance | Fixed or contract | Value against speed, design and app savings |
| Surrounding services | Email platform by contacts; shipping tools; domain; analytics; reviews | Grows with contacts and orders | Tiers and overlaps with apps |
Keeping the total honest
- Calculate plan plus processing at your revenue for each plan once a year; move when the arithmetic says so.
- Check payment method mix: local methods often carry lower fees than cards in their markets.
- Audit apps quarterly: what each does, whether it is used, whether the platform now does it natively, what it costs per month and per order.
- Review surrounding services for overlap: two email tools, a review app and a review service, analytics duplicated.
- Track the effective rate monthly.
- Compare a storefront investment on five-year totals, including the apps it removes and the speed it adds.
Where custom storefronts change the picture
A custom storefront adds hosting, usually very small on a static host, and a maintenance contract, and it removes theme licences, theme edits and typically several app subscriptions whose jobs it does natively and faster. For a store that treats its site as an asset, the five-year totals converge at the point where the app subscriptions and the speed work on a theme match the one-off build, and a faster store is what the same money buys on the other side. For a small store with a good theme and few apps, the theme wins. The comparison is totals over years, not lines this month.
What this means for you
Understand the five lines, choose the plan by arithmetic at your volume, watch the payment method mix, audit the apps every quarter, and track the effective rate. Weigh any storefront investment on five-year totals including the apps it replaces. A store’s cost structure improves when someone looks at it deliberately and creeps when nobody does.
Frequently asked questions
Which plan should we be on?
The one where the features you need are included and the processing rates at your volume make the total lowest. Higher plans carry lower payment fees, so at a certain revenue the more expensive plan is cheaper overall. Calculate plan fee plus processing fees at your monthly revenue for each plan; the answer is arithmetic, and it changes as you grow.
Why does our app bill keep rising?
Because apps are added for specific needs and campaigns and rarely removed, and many charge by usage or tier so the bill grows with the store. A quarterly review of every app against what it does, whether it is still used and what the platform now does natively removes the ones that no longer earn their fee. There are usually several.
Is a custom storefront more expensive to run than a theme?
It has hosting and maintenance lines that a theme does not, and it usually removes several app subscriptions and their weight. For a store whose speed, design and content justify owning the front end, the total is comparable or lower over a few years; for a small store with a good theme and few apps, the theme is cheaper. Compare five-year totals, not monthly lines.
Sources
- Shopify: Pricing (prices shown per country) (accessed 2026-09-12)