Last updated: January 2025

Shopify UK's Basic, Shopify, and Advanced plans have different transaction fees that compound significantly at scale. Here's how to choose the right plan for your revenue and order value — and how Pay by Bank via Fena reduces payment costs further on any plan.

Your Shopify plan choice is a margin decision, not just a subscription decision

Most merchants pick a Shopify plan based on the monthly fee and move on. That's understandable — the monthly cost is the most visible number. But the more consequential variable is the transaction fee rate, which applies to every single order and scales directly with your revenue.

The difference between Shopify's Basic and Advanced plans is not just £319 a month in subscription cost. It's also a 0.5 percentage point difference in card processing rates — which, at meaningful transaction volumes, can dwarf the subscription difference. Choosing the wrong plan doesn't just cost a fixed monthly amount; it quietly costs a percentage of every sale.

This guide breaks down the three main Shopify UK plans, shows you how to think about the right choice for your revenue and order profile, and explains how Pay by Bank via Fena reduces payment costs further — on any plan.

Quick summary

• Shopify UK offers three main plans: Basic (£25/month), Shopify (£65/month), and Advanced (£344/month), with different card processing rates at each tier

• The right plan depends on your monthly revenue and average order value — the fee saving from a higher plan needs to exceed the additional subscription cost to make the upgrade worthwhile

• Using a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments adds a surcharge on top of your card processing fees — the rate varies by plan

• Pay by Bank via Fena bypasses card network fees entirely, reducing effective per-transaction costs regardless of which Shopify plan you're on

• Adding Pay by Bank as a checkout option alongside cards doesn't require changing plans — it operates as a separate payment method that removes the card fee layer for customers who use it

The three Shopify UK plans: what the fees actually look like

Shopify UK's three main plans each carry a different combination of monthly subscription cost and payment processing rate. Understanding both is essential to making the right decision.

Basic — £25 per month.

Card processing through Shopify Payments runs at 2.0% plus 25p per transaction. If you use a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify adds a 2.0% surcharge on top of whatever your gateway charges. This is the right starting point for stores with lower revenue, where the subscription cost of higher plans would outweigh the fee saving.

Shopify — £65 per month.

Card processing through Shopify Payments drops to 1.7% plus 25p. The third-party gateway surcharge reduces to 1.0%. The additional £40 a month over Basic is worth paying once your transaction volume reaches the point where the fee saving per order exceeds that monthly difference.

Advanced — £344 per month.

Card processing through Shopify Payments falls further to 1.5% plus 25p. The third-party gateway surcharge drops to 0.6%. At this tier, the fee differential only justifies the subscription cost at substantial monthly volumes with meaningful average order values.

The 25p fixed fee per transaction is present at every tier and worth keeping in mind for stores with low average order values — at £10 average order value, the fixed fee alone represents 2.5% before the percentage component is added.

How to choose the right plan for your store

The decision comes down to two variables: your monthly revenue and your average order value. The goal is simple — find the tier at which the fee saving pays for the additional subscription cost.

For stores under £5,000 monthly revenue

, Basic is almost always the right choice. The fee saving from upgrading to the Shopify plan is modest at this volume, and the £40 monthly cost difference takes a meaningful bite out of the saving. Keep costs low at this stage.

For stores generating between £5,000 and £25,000 monthly

, the Shopify plan becomes worth evaluating. The 0.3 percentage point saving over Basic (from 2.0% to 1.7% on Shopify Payments) applies to every transaction. On £12,000 of monthly revenue, that's a £36 saving in card fees — just covering the £40 plan upgrade at the lower end, and providing clear net benefit at higher volumes within this range.

For stores above £25,000 monthly with higher average order values

, Advanced warrants serious modelling. A 0.2 percentage point saving over the mid-tier plan (from 1.7% to 1.5%) sounds small. On £40,000 of monthly revenue, it's £80 a month in processing cost reduction — well below the plan cost difference of £279 at that specific volume, but the calculation changes at higher revenues. Advanced pays for itself once you're processing enough volume that the fee saving on every order materially outweighs the subscription premium.

The practical approach is to run your own numbers: take your actual monthly revenue, apply each plan's processing rate, subtract the subscription cost difference, and see where the crossover point is. This takes ten minutes and gives you a more reliable answer than any general guidance.

The third-party gateway surcharge: why it matters

If you choose not to use Shopify Payments — because your product category isn't supported, because you prefer a different processor, or because you're using Pay by Bank as your primary method — Shopify applies an additional surcharge on every transaction.

On Basic this surcharge is 2.0%, on the Shopify plan it's 1.0%, and on Advanced it's 0.6%. This is separate from and on top of whatever fees your chosen gateway charges.

For merchants on Basic who need a third-party gateway, the combined cost of gateway fees plus the 2.0% surcharge can be substantial. Upgrading to the Shopify plan halves the surcharge, which in many cases makes the upgrade worthwhile purely on the basis of third-party gateway cost reduction — independent of any Shopify Payments fee saving.

Pay by Bank via Fena is a third-party payment method, which means the gateway surcharge technically applies in the same way. However, because Pay by Bank bypasses card network fees entirely — no interchange, no scheme fees, no card processing rate — the total effective cost of a Pay by Bank transaction is still substantially lower than a card transaction through Shopify Payments, even with the surcharge applied.

How Pay by Bank reduces payment costs on any Shopify plan

Pay by Bank via Fena operates outside the card network layer entirely. When a customer pays via Pay by Bank, there are no card credentials, no interchange fees, no Visa or Mastercard scheme fees, and no card-based processing rate. The payment goes directly from the customer's bank account to yours via UK open banking infrastructure.

For Shopify merchants, this means the card processing rate printed on your plan — whether 2.0%, 1.7%, or 1.5% — simply doesn't apply to Pay by Bank transactions. The cost of accepting those payments is structurally lower.

The additional benefit is chargeback elimination. Chargebacks don't exist in the Pay by Bank model because there is no card network dispute mechanism. For merchants in categories with elevated dispute rates, or for high-value transactions where individual chargebacks carry significant cost, this is a meaningful saving that doesn't appear in any plan comparison table but shows up consistently in monthly reconciliation.

Pay by Bank via Fena also settles same-day or instantly, compared to Shopify's card payment settlement cycle. For merchants managing cash flow against supplier payments or payroll, the timing improvement is operationally useful independent of the fee saving.

The right approach: plan choice and payment mix together

Choosing a Shopify plan and choosing payment methods aren't separate decisions — they interact. The most cost-efficient setup for most UK merchants is a combination of the right plan for their card volume, with Pay by Bank available as a checkout option to capture the lower-cost transactions.

In practice this means: use Shopify Payments for the card volume that makes your current plan the right tier, and add Pay by Bank via Fena for customers who prefer bank-authenticated payment or for transaction types — high-value orders, trust-sensitive purchases, B2B transactions — where Pay by Bank's advantages are most relevant.

The customers who use Pay by Bank generate lower processing costs, no chargeback exposure, and faster settlement. The customers who prefer cards continue to use them. The merchant benefits from both without having to choose between them.

Before you decide: a practical checklist

Know your actual monthly revenue

— not projected, actual. Run your numbers against each plan's processing rate to find the real crossover point for your store.

Know your average order value

— the fixed 25p per transaction component matters more at lower order values. High AOV stores benefit more from percentage-rate reductions; low AOV stores need to factor in the fixed component.

Check whether your product category is supported by Shopify Payments

— if it isn't, the third-party gateway surcharge applies, and the Shopify or Advanced plan may be worth upgrading to purely on the basis of surcharge reduction.

Model Pay by Bank separately

— it operates as a complementary method that reduces costs on the transactions routed through it. The question isn't whether to replace cards with Pay by Bank; it's what proportion of your volume might naturally migrate to it and what the fee saving on that volume looks like.

Frequently asked questions

What are the main differences between Shopify Basic, Shopify, and Advanced plans in the UK?

The plans differ in monthly subscription cost and transaction fee rates. Basic is £25 per month with card processing at 2.0% plus 25p. The mid-tier Shopify plan is £65 per month at 1.7% plus 25p. Advanced is £344 per month at 1.5% plus 25p. Each tier also carries a different surcharge rate for third-party payment gateways: 2.0%, 1.0%, and 0.6% respectively.

How do I know which Shopify plan is right for my UK store?

Calculate the fee saving from upgrading and compare it to the additional subscription cost. For stores under £5,000 monthly revenue, Basic is usually right. The Shopify plan pays for itself once monthly revenue and order value are high enough that the 0.3% processing rate reduction covers the £40 plan premium. Advanced requires substantial volume — the £279 monthly premium over the Shopify plan only makes financial sense at high revenue with meaningful average order values.

Can I reduce Shopify transaction fees without upgrading my plan?

Yes. Adding Pay by Bank via Fena to your checkout bypasses card network fees entirely for customers who use it. Because Pay by Bank operates on open banking infrastructure rather than card networks, the card processing rate doesn't apply to those transactions — the effective cost per transaction is lower regardless of which Shopify plan you're on.

Does using Pay by Bank instead of Shopify Payments avoid the transaction fee?

Pay by Bank is a third-party payment method, which means Shopify's third-party gateway surcharge applies. However, because Pay by Bank eliminates card network fees — interchange, scheme fees, and the card processing rate — the total effective cost of a Pay by Bank transaction is still typically lower than a card transaction through Shopify Payments, even with the surcharge included.

Is Pay by Bank available on all three Shopify plans?

Yes. Pay by Bank via Fena integrates with Shopify as a checkout payment option and is available regardless of which plan you're on. It adds bank-authenticated payment as an additional method rather than replacing card payments, so customers can choose at checkout.

How quickly does Shopify Payments settle funds compared to Pay by Bank?

Shopify Payments typically settles within three to five business days depending on your plan and location. Pay by Bank via Fena settles same-day or instantly. For merchants managing cash flow against outgoing payments, this difference is practically significant.