What does Shopify really cost a store each month?
A $20,000/month store pays $753.99 a month on Shopify with Shopify Payments, on the Basic plan, with card processing, fees and tools counted. On Waise Growth the same store pays $759, $5.01 more. The full breakdown at three sales levels follows, with a source and date for every figure.
US list prices in dollars, the same for every platform.
| Part | Starter ($2,000) | Growing ($20,000) | Established ($100,000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan | Basic | Basic | Grow |
| Plan cost | $39 | $39 | $105 |
| Card processing | $70 | $700 | $3,300 |
| Platform fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Photo reviews | $0 Judge.me Free | $0 Judge.me Free | $0 Judge.me Free |
| Quantity discounts | $14.99 Kaching Bundles Starter | $14.99 Kaching Bundles Starter | $29.99 Kaching Bundles Scale |
| Abandoned-cart email | $0 Shopify (built in) | $0 Shopify (built in) | $0 Shopify (built in) |
| Email automations | $0 Shopify Messaging | $0 Shopify Messaging | $0 Shopify Messaging |
| Total a month | $123.99 | $753.99 | $3,434.99 |
| Waise | $99 Basic | $759 Growth | $3,629 Pro |
| Difference vs Waise | +$24.99 | −$5.01 | −$194.01 |
A plus means this platform costs more than Waise; a minus means it costs less.
| Part | Starter ($2,000) | Growing ($20,000) | Established ($100,000) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plan | Basic | Grow | Advanced |
| Plan cost | $39 | $105 | $399 |
| Card processing | $70 | $700 | $3,500 |
| Platform fee | $40 | $200 | $600 |
| Photo reviews | $0 Judge.me Free | $0 Judge.me Free | $0 Judge.me Free |
| Quantity discounts | $14.99 Kaching Bundles Starter | $14.99 Kaching Bundles Starter | $29.99 Kaching Bundles Scale |
| Abandoned-cart email | $0 Shopify (built in) | $0 Shopify (built in) | $0 Shopify (built in) |
| Email automations | $0 Shopify Messaging | $0 Shopify Messaging | $0 Shopify Messaging |
| Total a month | $163.99 | $1,019.99 | $4,528.99 |
| Waise | $99 Basic | $759 Growth | $3,629 Pro |
| Difference vs Waise | +$64.99 | +$260.99 | +$899.99 |
A plus means this platform costs more than Waise; a minus means it costs less.
How Shopify charges
- Plans, billed monthly: Basic $39, Grow $105, Advanced $399. Plus starts at $2,300 and is left out, since none of the three stores needs it.
- Transaction fee: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced, on every sale through a processor other than Shopify Payments. With Shopify Payments it is 0.
- Shopify Payments, US online card: Basic 2.9% + 30¢, Grow 2.7% + 30¢, Advanced 2.5% + 30¢. With an outside processor we count Stripe’s standard 2.9% + 30¢.
- For each store we pick the cheapest plan at its sales, so the plan differs between the two cases: with an outside processor it pays to move up and cut the fee.
- Email: 10,000 free a month, then $1 per 1,000. Abandoned-checkout emails are always free.
The prices we used
| Tool | For | Price | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Judge.me Free | Photo reviews | $0 | Source | 2026-11-08 |
| Judge.me Awesome | Not needed for this feature set | $15 a month | Source | 2026-11-08 |
| Kaching Bundles Starter | Quantity discounts, up to $1,000 additional revenue | $14.99 a month | Source | 2026-11-08 |
| Kaching Bundles Scale | Quantity discounts, up to $5,000 additional revenue | $29.99 a month | Source | 2026-11-08 |
| Kaching Bundles Pro | Quantity discounts, up to $10,000 additional revenue | $59.99 a month | Source | 2026-11-08 |
| Shopify Messaging | Email beyond 10,000 a month | $1 per 1,000 | Source | 2026-11-08 |
Where Shopify beats Waise
- Growing ($20,000): Shopify with Shopify Payments comes to $753.99, which is $5.01 less than Waise Growth.
- Established ($100,000): Shopify with Shopify Payments comes to $3,434.99, which is $194.01 less than Waise Pro.
- Lower card rates on higher plans: Grow and Advanced cut the rate, while on Waise you keep your own processor’s rate.
- A huge app store, Shop Pay and point of sale.
Who this suits, and who it doesn’t
A good fit
- You don’t use Shopify Payments, or sell where it isn’t offered: the fee is saved.
- You want the apps built in, at one flat price.
Pick something else
- You’re on Shopify Payments and sell a lot: its card rate wins.
- You need point of sale or a specific app from its store.
Questions
Does Shopify charge a transaction fee with Shopify Payments?
No. The transaction fee applies only to sales through another processor. With Shopify Payments you pay the card rate alone.
Is Waise cheaper than Shopify?
It depends on size and processor. Against Shopify Payments, at $2,000 a month Waise costs $24.99 less, and at $100,000 a month $194.01 more. At high sales the card rate decides it.
Why not count the $52 of apps from your homepage?
This index counts only four features, with tools that have a list price. The $52 is a third-party estimate of typical spend across 6 to 11 apps, so it is higher.
The online store that runs itself, with brakes
- AI that acts, with brakes. Pulse changes orders, prices, discounts and content from one conversation. A sensitive change first shows a before-and-after card and waits for your approval, and almost any change can be undone.
- Your money is protected on the server, not by a promise. Anything touching money needs a confirmation tied to the exact values you saw, and the margin guard blocks a price below your minimum, even when an outside AI asks for it.
- Profit, not just sales. An order counts only once your payment provider confirms the money, and profit is worked out after fees, shipping, cost of goods and refunds.
- Open to your own AI. Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini connect to your store over MCP and pass through exactly the same brakes.
- Five ways to build, one system behind them. A ready theme, designing by chat with Pulse, your own code, outside builders like Lovable or Webflow, or your own AI. Checkout, orders, customers and money stay in one place.
- 0% of your sales. One flat monthly plan. When your store grows, our cut doesn’t, because there isn’t one.
- Built by someone who sold. Or Avrahami, a practical electronics and computer engineer, ran an online store on Shopify and built what that store needed. That became Waise.
Sources
Every competitor figure on this page was checked on its official page, on the date beside the source.
- www.shopify.com/pricing Shopify pricing: plans and transaction fees Checked 2026-11-08
- www.shopify.com/blog/credit-card-processing-fees Shopify Payments US card rates, as Shopify publishes them Checked 2026-11-08
- apps.shopify.com/judgeme Judge.me in the Shopify App Store Checked 2026-11-08
- apps.shopify.com/bundle-deals Kaching Bundles in the Shopify App Store Checked 2026-11-08
- help.shopify.com/en/manual/promoting-marketing/create-marketing/shopify-messaging/email/pricing Shopify Messaging email pricing Checked 2026-11-08
- stripe.com/pricing Stripe standard US card rate Checked 2026-11-08
Updated · Method
Written and checked by Or Avrahami, Founder of Waise ·
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