How Much Does Shopify Cost in South Africa? (2026 Guide)

Introduction: the honest answer first

If you're Googling "how much does Shopify cost in South Africa", you've probably already seen the confusing part: Shopify's own pricing page shows US dollars, and it never mentions the 2% extra fee that South African merchants have to pay. So the price you think you're getting isn't the price you'll actually pay.

Here's the short version: Shopify plans in South Africa cost from ~R90/month (Starter) to ~R450/month (Basic), ~R1,170/month (Grow), ~R7,200/month (Advanced) and from ~R41,000/month (Plus). But that subscription is only part of the story. Because Shopify Payments is not available in South Africa, you also pay a third-party transaction fee on every sale — 2% on Basic — plus your local payment gateway's fees, apps, a domain and a theme.

This guide gives you the true all-in monthly cost in Rands, a full worked example of a store doing R100,000 in sales a month, the hidden fees nobody mentions, and an honest comparison with WooCommerce. By the end you'll know exactly what your store will cost before you spend a cent.

Quick answer: A Shopify store in South Africa costs from ~R90/month (Starter) to ~R450/month (Basic), ~R1,170/month (Grow), ~R7,200/month (Advanced) and from ~R41,000/month (Plus), billed in US dollars. Because Shopify Payments isn't available here, the real cost adds a 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow) or 0.6% (Advanced) third-party fee on every sale, plus local gateway fees. A typical Basic-plan store doing R100,000 in monthly sales costs roughly R5,500–R8,500/month all-in — about 6–8% of revenue.

Shopify is the most popular ecommerce platform in South Africa, with over 22,000 active local stores as of May 2026, growing roughly 28% year-on-year according to Shopify's own data. If you're planning a store in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban or anywhere else in the country, this guide is the closest thing to a fully loaded price list you'll find.

Need help scoping your budget or your store? CrazyClicks is a full-service digital agency in Cape Town — get in touch and we'll give you an honest build-and-run cost estimate before you commit to anything.

Why Shopify pricing confuses South African buyers

Three things trip up almost every South African entrepreneur researching Shopify:

1. Prices are shown in USD. The rand equivalent moves with the exchange rate, and your card gets charged in dollars (in 2026 terms, roughly R16.50–R18.00 per US dollar).
2. Shopify Payments is not available in South Africa. On the international pricing pages, Shopify Payments removes the third-party transaction fee. Here, every store pays it, which adds 2% to your effective cost on the Basic plan.
3. The "cost" and the "real cost" are different. Articles that quote only the subscription price miss the gateway fees, apps and domain — which often double or triple the true monthly bill.

This is why "it costs R450 a month" is technically true and practically misleading. A store actually paying R450 in subscription alone will typically end up writing a R5,000+ cheque to Shopify-adjacent costs once it's doing real volume.

Key fact: According to Shopify's verified pricing (July 2026), South African merchants are billed in USD, and the 3-day free trial is followed by $1/month for the first 3 months on eligible plans (Basic and Grow) where the offer is active.

Shopify plan prices in South Africa: USD vs ZAR

The table below is Shopify's official mid-2026 pricing converted to approximate Rands at R16.50–R18.00/USD. Use these figures as planning numbers, not quotes — the rand conversion changes weekly.

Plan	USD monthly	USD yearly (per month equivalent)	Approx ZAR/mo (monthly billing)	Approx ZAR/mo (yearly billing)
Starter	$5	$5	~R90	~R90
Basic	$25	$19	~R450	~R350
Grow (was "Shopify")	$65	$49	~R1,170	~R880
Advanced	$399	$299	~R7,200	~R5,400
Plus	from $2,300	from $2,300	from ~R41,000	from ~R41,000
POS Pro	$89 per location/mo	—	~R1,600	—

What each plan is for, in one line:

• Starter (~R90/month): sell from your social media profiles and WhatsApp — no full website.
• Basic (~R450/month): the entry plan for a real online store, with 2 staff accounts.
• Grow (~R1,170/month): more reports, 5 staff accounts, lower transaction fee (1%).
• Advanced (~R7,200/month): 15 staff accounts, advanced reporting, lowest standard fee (0.6%).
• Plus (from ~R41,000/month): enterprise stores with custom checkout and unlimited staff.
• POS Pro (~R1,600/month per location): add-on for physical retail.

The exchange-rate reality: you are billed in US dollars

This matters more than any other number in this article. Your Shopify subscription is billed in USD against your South African card. If the rand weakens from R17 to R19 while you're on a $65 plan, your monthly bill quietly rises from ~R1,105 to ~R1,235 — with no change to your store.

What you can control:

• ZAR storefront pricing is fully supported — your customers see and pay in Rands, so the exchange rate doesn't affect their prices.
• Annual billing locks in a ~25% discount in USD terms, which also cushions rand movements for a year.
• Build a small buffer into your cash flow for currency swings. A 5% rand move can shift your subscription by R25–R250 a month depending on your plan.

For the full plan-by-plan breakdown, staff accounts and feature lists, read our Shopify pricing South Africa (updated) pillar guide, and see Shopify plans explained if you're deciding between plans for the first time.

What the sticker price doesn't include

The subscription is the smallest number on your invoice. Here are the four costs every South African Shopify store actually pays.

1. The third-party transaction fee (the one everyone misses)

Shopify Payments is not available in South Africa. That single fact changes your cost structure completely. Shopify charges an extra fee whenever you use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments:

Plan	Shopify third-party fee
Basic	2.0%
Grow	1.0%
Advanced	0.6%
Plus	0.2%

In international markets, Shopify Payments is bundled in and removes this fee entirely. South African merchants can't access it, so every SA store pays it on every sale — from the first order. This is the single biggest hidden cost in this article, and it scales with your revenue.

2. Local payment gateway fees

South African gateways charge their own rates on top of Shopify's fee. Popular options in mid-2026 (rates exclude VAT unless noted):

Gateway	Card rate	Pay-by-Bank / EFT	Per transaction	Notes
PayFast (Payfast by Network)	3.2% + R2	2.0% + min R2 Instant EFT / Capitec Pay	R2	Widest local method coverage; native Shopify integration; no monthly fee. Card rate dropped from 3.5% to 3.2% on 1 June 2026.
Peach Payments	~2.95% local, ~3.50% international	Capitec Pay supported	R1.50	Real-time payouts (~90 sec) from early 2026; recurring billing; good for higher volume.
Yoco	2.95% local, 3.40% international	Not offered	None	Cheapest card-only option; Plus/Pro online plans R249/R499/mo with rates as low as 2.55%.
Paystack (SA)	2.9% + R1 local, 3.1% + R1 international	2.0% EFT	R1	Developer-friendly modern API; owned by Stripe.
Stitch	2.95% local	2.0% Capitec Pay	None on cards	Only "Built for Shopify"-badged SA gateway (2025); Express Checkout; BNPL from May 2026.
Ozow	2.85% cards (tiered down)	1.5% Pay-by-Bank / Capitec / Absa / Nedbank / PayShap	Per method	Best for high-AOV or B2B pushing customers to Pay-by-Bank.

Note that iKhokha does not integrate with Shopify (it's Wix/WooCommerce only), and PayGate (DPO) needs an existing merchant account and negotiated rates.

3. What the two fees add up to

Combined per-transaction cost on Shopify, gateway plus Shopify's third-party fee:

• Basic + PayFast card: ~5.2–5.5%
• Grow + Peach: ~3.95%
• Advanced + negotiated gateway: ~3.0% or lower
• Basic + Ozow Pay-by-Bank: ~3.5% (2% Shopify + 1.5% Ozow)

Key fact: On a Basic plan with PayFast, South African merchants lose roughly 5.2–5.5% of every card sale to combined fees before they pay for a single product, app or courier.

4. VAT loading

Shopify subscriptions and most gateway fees are loaded with 15% VAT. The good news: if you're VAT-registered, you can claim this back as input VAT. Note that SARS raised the compulsory VAT registration threshold from R1 million to R2.3 million turnover on 1 April 2026 — so many smaller stores now sit below the threshold. When in doubt, chat to your accountant or check SARS guidance on VAT.

Not sure which gateway or fee structure fits your store? CrazyClicks builds and configures Shopify stores for South African brands — see our Shopify development services or start a project for an honest cost scoping.

The all-in cost: a R100,000/month store

Here's the real-world worked example that answers the question most people are actually asking. This is a Basic-plan store doing R100,000 in monthly sales, with roughly 250 orders — typical for a growing South African fashion or homeware brand.

Cost item	Monthly amount (approx)
Shopify Basic subscription	~R450–R730
Shopify third-party fee (2% of R100,000)	~R2,000
PayFast card fees (3.2% + R2 on ~250 orders)	~R3,700
3–4 essential apps (reviews, email, analytics, backup)	~R700–R1,400
Custom domain (monthly equivalent)	~R15–R150
Total all-in	~R5,500–R8,500/month

That's before marketing, product costs and couriers. A store in this bracket should realistically budget around R10,000–R15,000/month for platform costs plus advertising once it's actively acquiring customers.

The 6–8% rule of thumb

There's a simpler way to estimate without a spreadsheet: budget 6–8% of monthly revenue as your total platform cost on a Basic plan. So:

• R50,000/month revenue → ~R3,000–R4,000/month platform cost
• R100,000/month revenue → ~R6,000–R8,000/month platform cost
• R250,000/month revenue → ~R15,000–R20,000/month platform cost

This rule breaks down if you're on a high-ticket item store (where a R10,000 product selling 10 times a month might cost under 4%) or a very low-margin store — but as a planning number for SMEs, it's remarkably reliable. Compare these numbers against the cost of a physical retail space in Cape Town or Johannesburg and the trade-off becomes obvious.

How to work out your total cost (step-by-step)

Follow these six steps to build your own all-in cost estimate before you sign up:

1. Pick your plan. Choose Starter, Basic, Grow, Advanced or Plus based on your expected orders, staff accounts and reporting needs.
2. Estimate monthly revenue. Use a realistic forecast for monthly sales — transaction fees scale with revenue, so this number drives everything else.
3. Add the third-party fee. Multiply revenue by 2.0% (Basic), 1.0% (Grow) or 0.6% (Advanced) for Shopify's third-party payment provider fee.
4. Add gateway fees. Add your local gateway's rate — e.g. PayFast at 3.2% + R2 per card transaction, or 1.5% for Ozow Pay-by-Bank.
5. Add apps and domain. Budget R700–R1,400 for 3–4 essential apps and R15–R150/month equivalent for a custom domain.
6. Total and benchmark. Add it all up and check it sits near 6–8% of revenue. If it's higher, cut apps, push Pay-by-Bank, or reconsider your plan.

Apps, domain and theme costs

Beyond subscriptions and fees, most stores add three things:

• Apps (R700–R1,400/month for 3–4 essentials). A reviews app, an email marketing app, an analytics tool and a backup app typically run R100–R500 each per month. SA-friendly favourites include Shopify Email, Judge.me, Omnisend or Klaviyo, and Postscript or WhatsApp integrations.
• Domain (R15–R150/month equivalent). A .co.za domain is cheap — typically R100–R250 a year from a local registrar — and Shopify's default .myshopify.com URL is free but looks unprofessional. You'll usually want a custom domain, and you can read our full domain buying guide before you commit.
• Theme (free to ~R3,000+ once). Shopify's free themes (Dawn, Craft, Sense) are genuinely good. Premium themes run $180–$450 (roughly R3,000–R7,600 once-off), which is a one-time cost unlike the subscriptions.

A common rookie mistake is installing 15 apps "just in case". Every app adds a monthly fee and slows your site. Audit your apps quarterly — most stores only genuinely need 3–5.

The free trial and $1/month offer

Shopify's current offer for South African merchants:

• 3-day free trial on all plans — build your store, add products, test the checkout.
• Then $1/month for the first 3 months on eligible plans (Basic and Grow) where the offer is active.

In rand terms, that's roughly R17/month for the first three months on Basic instead of R450. It's a genuine way to validate your idea cheaply, but remember: transaction fees, gateway fees and apps still apply during the offer period. And the moment the offer ends, you're on full price.

If you're not ready to build yet, a smart move is to use the trial to do the planning (products, shipping zones, payment gateway setup) and only start the discounted period when you're ready to launch seriously. Start your Shopify store today and use the trial window to price out every app you think you need.

Annual billing saves you roughly 25%

Paying yearly instead of monthly discounts Basic, Grow and Advanced by roughly 25%:

• Basic: ~R450/month → ~R350/month (save ~R100/month, ~R1,200/year)
• Grow: ~R1,170/month → ~R880/month (save ~R290/month, ~R3,480/year)
• Advanced: ~R7,200/month → ~R5,400/month (save ~R1,800/month, ~R21,600/year)

Annual billing is a no-brainer once you've confirmed the platform works for you and you can afford the upfront amount. The exception: during the $1/month promotional period, stay monthly — the promo applies to monthly billing, and switching to annual immediately forfeits the cheap months.

Shopify vs WooCommerce: an honest cost comparison for SA SMEs

If you're cost-sensitive, you've probably heard WooCommerce is "free". That's true for the core plugin — but the total cost picture is more nuanced. Here's the honest comparison for South African stores.

Cost factor	Shopify (Basic)	WooCommerce (WordPress)
Monthly subscription	~R450–R730	R0 (free core plugin)
Hosting	Included	~R100–R300/month shared; R500+ managed
Security & maintenance	Included	Your responsibility; plugins or agencies cost R500+/month
Transaction fee on top of gateway	2% (Basic)	R0
Payment gateways	Native apps (PayFast, Paystack, Yoco, Peach, Stitch, Ozow)	PayFast/Paystack/Yoco via plugins; some gateways charge extra plugin fees
Domain	~R15–R150/month equivalent	Same
Theme	Free to ~R7,600 once	Free to ~R3,000 once
Essential plugins/apps	~R700–R1,400/month	Often free-to-cheap, but performance/premium plugins add up
Build & maintenance effort	Low — run your store same day	High — hosting, updates, backups, security
First-year realistic total	~R8,000–R15,000	~R5,000–R12,000 + significant time

The honest verdict: WooCommerce can be cheaper in the first year and has no transaction fee on top of your gateway — attractive if you're technically comfortable and selling high-margin products. But the hidden cost of WooCommerce is time and responsibility: hosting, plugin updates, security patches and performance are all on you. For most non-technical South African founders, the extra ~R2,000–R4,000 a year Shopify costs buys dramatically less hassle and a faster launch.

If you're already deep in WordPress land, our Shopify vs WooCommerce: ultimate platform showdown covers the full comparison, and we also offer WooCommerce development and Shopify development if you'd rather hand the build to a team.

Ready to compare live prices side by side? Claim Shopify's current introductory offer and run your own numbers during the trial.

Shopify: pros and cons for South African sellers

Pros:

• All-inclusive: hosting, SSL security, checkout and the admin are managed for you
• Fastest launch of any serious ecommerce platform — a store can be live in a day
• Native integrations with every major South African gateway (PayFast, Paystack, Yoco, Peach, Stitch, Ozow)
• ZAR storefront pricing so your customers pay in Rands
• Scales from a side hustle (Starter ~R90) to enterprise (Plus) without migrating platforms
• 3-day trial and a $1/month introductory offer reduce launch risk

Cons:

• Billed in USD — your rand subscription moves with the exchange rate
• Shopify Payments isn't available in SA, so a 2%/1%/0.6% third-party fee applies to every sale
• Monthly subscription is higher than self-hosted alternatives like WooCommerce
• Apps add R700–R1,400/month that you can't avoid entirely
• Free themes are limited; premium themes and custom development add cost
• You own less of the underlying code — customisation happens within Shopify's rules

Beginner mistakes to avoid

1. Only budgeting the subscription. R450/month becomes R5,500+/month once fees and apps kick in. Plan the full stack from day one.
2. Ignoring the 2% third-party fee. Because Shopify Payments isn't available in SA, this fee applies to every order on Basic. It's your biggest recurring variable cost.
3. Forcing every customer onto cards. Card fees are ~5.2–5.5% combined on Basic. Push Pay-by-Bank (Ozow at 1.5%, or Paystack EFT at 2.0%) for larger orders and watch your blended cost fall to ~3.5%.
4. Installing too many apps. Every app adds a monthly fee and site slowdown. Start with 3–4 essentials and audit quarterly.
5. Paying monthly forever. Once you've validated the business, switch to annual billing and lock in ~25% savings.
6. Ignoring VAT. Fees come loaded with 15% VAT. If you're VAT-registered, claim the input VAT; if you're near the R2.3 million threshold, get SARS advice early.
7. Forgetting POPIA. If you collect customer email addresses or personal data, you need a privacy policy and lawful basis for processing. POPIA is enforced, not optional.
8. Not planning courier costs. Delivery pricing in the SA courier market (The Courier Guy, Aramex, Dawn Wing, BobGo, Pargo) can quietly eat 20–40% of order value if you set zones wrong.

Expert tips

1. Benchmark at 6–8% of revenue. If your total platform cost creeps above 8% of revenue, cut apps, renegotiate your gateway, or consider a plan change.
2. Use the upgrade trigger. The R80,000–R124,000/month revenue range is where upgrading Basic → Grow usually pays for itself through the 1% fee saving alone. Run the maths before you upgrade — it's a simple equation, not a gut call.
3. Push Pay-by-Bank for high tickets. On Basic, a R5,000 sale costs ~R275 in card fees but only ~R175 via Ozow Pay-by-Bank. That difference compounds fast.
4. Lock your domain outside Shopify. Register your .co.za with a local registrar and connect it, so you own the domain even if you leave Shopify. See our domain guide.
5. Negotiate once you're big. At scale, gateways like Peach, PayGate (DPO) and Ozow will negotiate rates. Combined with Advanced's 0.6% fee, you can get your blended rate under 3%.
6. Keep the rand in mind when pricing. Because your subscription is billed in USD, price your products with a small buffer so a weak rand doesn't squeeze your margin.
7. Budget for development properly. A professionally built store isn't "free" either — see how much a Shopify build actually costs and factor it into your launch budget.

The quick-start checklist

• Decide which plan fits your stage (Starter for social selling, Basic for a first store)
• Convert the USD price to ZAR at today's rate and add a 5% currency buffer
• Estimate monthly revenue and apply the 2% / 1% / 0.6% third-party fee
• Pick a gateway (PayFast, Paystack, Yoco, Peach, Stitch or Ozow) and add its fees
• List 3–4 essential apps and their monthly costs
• Register a .co.za domain separately and budget its annual fee
• Decide monthly vs annual billing (annual after the promo ends)
• Check your total sits near 6–8% of projected revenue
• Sort your POPIA privacy policy and lawful basis for customer data
• Confirm VAT treatment with your accountant (threshold is now R2.3 million)

South African case study

The scenario (illustrative): Karoo & Co, a Cape Town homeware brand selling at local markets, wanted to move online. They signed up for Shopify's Basic plan during the $1/month promotion, connected PayFast, and launched with 40 products.

Month 1–3 (promo period): Subscription cost ~R17/month. Their real costs were the PayFast fees (~3.2% + R2 per order), the 2% Shopify third-party fee, a R1,050/year .co.za domain (~R88/month equivalent) and three apps (reviews, email, backup) at ~R650/month. Doing R42,000 in month-three sales across 110 orders, their total platform bill was about R3,900 — roughly 9.3% of revenue, above the 6–8% benchmark.

The fix: They turned on Ozow Pay-by-Bank and added a banner nudging customers to EFT for orders over R500. Combined transaction cost on those orders dropped from ~5.4% to ~3.5%. They also swapped a R300/month analytics app for Shopify's built-in reports.

Month 6: At R95,000/month in sales, their platform cost had fallen to ~R6,200/month (6.5%) — inside the benchmark — even though the subscription had returned to full price after the promo. Decision point: with revenue passing R80,000, the 1% saving on Grow (~R950/month) exceeded the extra ~R720/month subscription, so they upgraded to Grow and cut their blended fees further.

Lesson: fee structure decisions matter more than the subscription price. The R3–R4 per-order difference between card and Pay-by-Bank, plus one plan upgrade, saved Karoo & Co over R1,500 a month at the same revenue.

People Also Ask

Q: How much does Shopify cost per month in South Africa?

Plans run from ~R90/month (Starter) to ~R450 (Basic), ~R1,170 (Grow), ~R7,200 (Advanced) and from ~R41,000 (Plus), billed in USD. Most first-time sellers start on Basic.

Q: What is the cheapest Shopify plan in South Africa?

The Starter plan at ~R90/month — it lets you sell from Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp without a full website. The cheapest full store plan is Basic at ~R450/month.

Q: Does Shopify charge transaction fees in South Africa?

Yes. Because Shopify Payments isn't available locally, Shopify charges 2.0% (Basic), 1.0% (Grow) or 0.6% (Advanced) on top of your payment gateway's own fees.

Q: How much does it cost to run a Shopify store with R100,000 in monthly sales?

Roughly R5,500–R8,500/month all-in on a Basic plan — subscription, 2% third-party fee, PayFast fees, apps and domain — before marketing and courier costs.

Q: Is Shopify free for the first 3 months in South Africa?

There's a 3-day free trial, then $1/month for the first 3 months on eligible Basic and Grow plans where the offer is active. It's a discount, not free — gateway and app costs still apply.

Q: Can I use PayFast with Shopify in South Africa?

Yes. PayFast has a native Shopify integration, no monthly fee, and wide local method coverage at 3.2% + R2 per card transaction. It's the most popular gateway for SA Shopify stores.

Q: Does Shopify cost more than WooCommerce in South Africa?

Shopify costs more per month (subscription + 2% fee) but includes hosting, security and maintenance. WooCommerce is cheaper in cash but costs time and effort. For non-technical founders Shopify usually wins on total cost of ownership.

Q: How much does Shopify cost per year in South Africa?

With annual billing's ~25% discount, Basic is about R350/month (R4,200/year), Grow ~R880/month (~R10,560/year) and Advanced ~R5,400/month (~R64,800/year). All are billed in USD.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much does Shopify cost per month in South Africa in 2026? A: Starter ~R90, Basic ~R450, Grow ~R1,170, Advanced ~R7,200, Plus from ~R41,000, plus POS Pro at ~R1,600 per location. All figures are approximate because you're billed in USD at R16.50–R18.00/USD.

Q: Is Shopify Payments available in South Africa? A: No. Shopify Payments is not available to South African merchants, so you must use a third-party gateway (PayFast, Paystack, Yoco, Peach, Stitch or Ozow) and you pay Shopify's third-party transaction fee on every sale.

Q: Why am I charged an extra 2% fee on top of my gateway fee? A: That's Shopify's third-party payment provider fee, charged because Shopify Payments isn't available in SA. It's 2.0% on Basic, 1.0% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus.

Q: How much is a Shopify domain name? A: A custom .co.za domain typically costs R100–R250 a year (R15–R150/month equivalent). The default yourstore.myshopify.com URL is free but unprofessional for a real business.

Q: Do Shopify plans include hosting? A: Yes. Hosting, security, SSL and the checkout infrastructure are included in every plan — one of the biggest reasons Shopify is cheaper overall than self-hosted options.

Q: Can I sell in Rands on Shopify? A: Yes. ZAR storefront pricing is fully supported, so your customers see and pay in Rands even though your Shopify subscription is billed in US dollars.

Q: How much does Shopify cost for a small business in South Africa? A: For a store doing under R50,000/month, plan on roughly R3,000–R4,000/month all-in. That covers subscription, transaction fees, gateway, apps and domain — roughly 6–8% of revenue.

Q: What is the cheapest way to use Shopify in South Africa? A: Use the Starter plan (~R90/month) if you sell via social media, or Basic (~R450/month) for a store, and push customers to Pay-by-Bank options like Ozow (1.5%) to keep combined fees near 3.5%.

Q: Does the VAT registration threshold apply to my Shopify store? A: SARS raised compulsory VAT registration to R2.3 million annual turnover on 1 April 2026. If you're below that and not voluntarily registered, you generally don't charge VAT — but verify your situation with an accountant.

Q: Can I switch from monthly to annual billing on Shopify? A: Yes, in your billing settings. Annual billing saves roughly 25% on Basic, Grow and Advanced. Just avoid switching during the $1/month promotional period, since that would forfeit the discounted months.

Q: How much does Shopify charge for international sales to South African customers? A: There's no extra Shopify charge for selling internationally, but international-capable gateways like Peach (~3.50%) and Paystack (~3.1%) charge higher card rates, and cross-border couriers add cost.

Q: Is Shopify more expensive than WooCommerce in South Africa? A: In cash terms usually yes on the subscription, but Shopify includes hosting and maintenance and has a faster launch. WooCommerce's free core hides hosting, security and maintenance costs. It depends on your technical ability and budget.

Summary

Shopify in South Africa costs from ~R90 to ~R7,200+ a month in subscription, billed in USD — but the real cost includes a 2%/1%/0.6% third-party fee (because Shopify Payments isn't available here), your local gateway's fees, apps, a domain and a theme. A Basic-plan store doing R100,000/month in sales typically runs R5,500–R8,500/month all-in, or roughly 6–8% of revenue. Annual billing saves ~25%, the $1/month offer is worth using for validation, and WooCommerce is cheaper in cash but costs more in time and responsibility.

Key Takeaways

• Subscription: ~R90 (Starter), ~R450 (Basic), ~R1,170 (Grow), ~R7,200 (Advanced), from ~R41,000 (Plus) — all billed in USD.
• Shopify Payments is unavailable in SA, so an extra 2.0%/1.0%/0.6% third-party fee applies to every sale.
• All-in cost for a R100,000/month store on Basic: ~R5,500–R8,500/month (6–8% of revenue).
• Annual billing cuts Basic/Grow/Advanced costs by roughly 25%; the $1/month offer only covers the first 3 months.
• Push Pay-by-Bank options to cut blended transaction costs from ~5.4% to ~3.5% on Basic.

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