How Much Do Shopify Payment Fees Cost in the UK for Each Transaction?
Selling on Shopify in the UK is exciting. You build a shop. A customer clicks Buy now. Money comes in. Lovely. But then comes the tiny bite: payment fees. These are the fees Shopify charges to process card payments, and they matter because they affect how much cash you actually keep from each order.
TLDR: In the UK, Shopify Payments usually costs from 2% + 25p per online transaction on the Basic plan, down to around 1.5% + 25p on the Advanced plan. In-person card payments are usually cheaper, starting from about 1.7% per transaction. If you use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify may add an extra transaction fee. Always check your Shopify admin, because fees can change by plan, card type, and country.
What are Shopify payment fees?
Shopify payment fees are the costs you pay when someone buys something from your store using a card or other payment method.
Think of them like a small toll booth. Your customer pays. The money travels through card networks, banks, and payment processors. Everyone takes a tiny slice for doing the job.
If you use Shopify Payments, Shopify handles the payment processing for you. This is the easiest option for many UK sellers. You do not need to set up a separate payment gateway like Stripe or Worldpay.
The fee is normally made of two parts:
- A percentage of the order total.
- A fixed fee, usually 25p for online card payments.
So if the fee is 2% + 25p, you pay 2% of the order value, plus 25p.
Simple. Slightly annoying. But simple.
Shopify Payments fees in the UK by plan
Your exact fee depends on your Shopify plan. Higher plans usually have lower payment rates. But they also cost more each month. So the cheapest plan is not always the cheapest overall.
Here are typical UK Shopify Payments card rates for online transactions:
| Shopify plan | Typical online card fee | Typical in-person card fee |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2% + 25p | 1.7% |
| Shopify / Grow | 1.7% + 25p | 1.6% |
| Advanced | 1.5% + 25p | 1.5% |
| Shopify Plus | Custom rates | Custom rates |
Important: These are common rates, but you should always check your own Shopify pricing page and admin area. Rates can change. Special card types, international cards, and currency conversion can also affect costs.
How to calculate the fee per transaction
Here is the magic formula:
Payment fee = order value × percentage fee + fixed fee
Let’s use the Basic plan as an example.
The online fee is 2% + 25p.
If a customer spends £10:
- 2% of £10 = 20p
- Add the fixed fee = 25p
- Total fee = 45p
- You receive = £9.55, before other costs
That 45p may look tiny. But if you sell lots of low-priced items, it can add up fast. Tiny fees are like pigeons. One is fine. A hundred is a problem.
Examples of Shopify payment fees in the UK
Let’s look at a few simple examples. These use online card payments and typical UK rates.
Example 1: £20 order
| Plan | Fee calculation | Total fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2% of £20 + 25p | 65p | £19.35 |
| Shopify / Grow | 1.7% of £20 + 25p | 59p | £19.41 |
| Advanced | 1.5% of £20 + 25p | 55p | £19.45 |
Example 2: £50 order
| Plan | Fee calculation | Total fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2% of £50 + 25p | £1.25 | £48.75 |
| Shopify / Grow | 1.7% of £50 + 25p | £1.10 | £48.90 |
| Advanced | 1.5% of £50 + 25p | £1.00 | £49.00 |
Example 3: £100 order
| Plan | Fee calculation | Total fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2% of £100 + 25p | £2.25 | £97.75 |
| Shopify / Grow | 1.7% of £100 + 25p | £1.95 | £98.05 |
| Advanced | 1.5% of £100 + 25p | £1.75 | £98.25 |
As order value rises, the percentage part becomes more important. The 25p fixed fee stays the same. So it hurts smaller orders more.
Online fees vs in-person fees
Shopify has different rates for online and in-person payments.
Online payments are payments made through your website. The customer types in card details, uses Apple Pay, Google Pay, or another online method.
In-person payments are taken face to face. For example, at a market, pop-up shop, or retail store. You normally use Shopify POS and a card reader.
In-person fees are often lower because the card is physically present. This can reduce risk. Less risk often means lower fees.
For example, on the Basic plan, an online payment may cost 2% + 25p. An in-person payment may cost around 1.7% with no fixed 25p fee.
That difference can matter if you do a lot of events. If you sell candles at a weekend market, your card reader might become your new best friend. Sorry, dog.
What about third-party payment providers?
You do not have to use Shopify Payments. You can use other providers. Examples include PayPal, Klarna, Worldpay, Opayo, and others.
But there is a catch.
If you use a third-party provider instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify may charge an extra transaction fee. This is separate from the fee charged by the payment provider.
Typical extra Shopify transaction fees in the UK are:
- Basic: 2%
- Shopify / Grow: 1%
- Advanced: 0.6%
So you could pay two sets of fees:
- The third-party processor fee.
- The extra Shopify transaction fee.
This can make third-party payments more expensive. But sometimes they are worth it. For example, customers may love PayPal or buy now, pay later options. If those options increase sales, the extra cost may still make sense.
Does PayPal cost extra on Shopify?
PayPal usually has its own fees. These are charged by PayPal, not Shopify Payments.
If Shopify Payments is active on your store, Shopify may not charge the extra transaction fee for PayPal in some cases. But PayPal will still take its own processing fee.
This is one of those small-print areas. It is not fun. It is not sparkly. But you should check it before choosing your payment setup.
Look inside your Shopify admin. Also check your PayPal business account fees. Then compare the real numbers.
Do international cards cost more?
Sometimes, yes.
If a UK customer uses a UK card and pays in pounds, that is usually the simplest case.
If a customer pays with an international card, or if currency conversion is involved, extra fees may apply. These can include:
- International card fees
- Currency conversion fees
- Exchange rate costs
For example, if your store is in the UK but sells to customers in the US or EU, your fee per transaction may be higher than the basic UK rate.
This does not mean you should avoid international sales. Not at all. The world is big. People like buying nice things. But you should include these fees in your pricing.
Do refunds return the payment fee?
Refunds are another important bit.
When you refund a customer, Shopify may not return the original payment processing fee. This depends on the provider and the rules at the time.
So if someone buys a £50 jumper and then sends it back, you may lose the payment fee. You may also lose shipping costs. And possibly a tiny piece of your soul.
This is why clear product photos, size guides, and honest descriptions are useful. Fewer surprises mean fewer refunds.
How Shopify fees affect your profit
Payment fees are not the same as profit.
Let’s say you sell a mug for £20 on the Basic plan. The payment fee is about 65p.
But you also have other costs:
- The mug itself.
- Packaging.
- Postage.
- Shopify monthly plan.
- Apps.
- Advertising.
- Returns.
- VAT, if you are VAT registered.
So do not only look at the payment fee. Look at your full margin.
A good habit is to build fees into your prices from day one. If your payment fee is around 2% to 3% after extras, price with that in mind.
Should you upgrade your Shopify plan to get lower fees?
Maybe. But do the maths first.
Higher Shopify plans cost more per month. They also reduce your card processing rate. If you sell enough, the lower transaction fees can save more than the extra plan cost.
Here is a simple way to think about it:
- If your sales are low, Basic may be best.
- If your sales are growing, Shopify / Grow may save money.
- If your sales are high, Advanced may be worth it.
Let’s say moving plans saves you 0.3% per order. On £10,000 of monthly online sales, that is £30 saved. If the higher plan costs much more than that, it may not be worth it yet.
But if you process £100,000 a month, small percentage changes become big. Suddenly, boring fee maths becomes very exciting. Well, accountant exciting.
How to reduce Shopify payment fees
You cannot make payment fees vanish. If you find a magic wand, please tell everyone. But you can manage them.
Try these simple tips:
- Use Shopify Payments if it works for your business. It can avoid extra third-party transaction fees.
- Choose the right plan for your sales volume.
- Increase average order value with bundles, free shipping thresholds, or upsells.
- Reduce refunds with better product details and customer support.
- Watch international fees if you sell overseas.
- Review app costs, because apps can quietly eat profit too.
The best trick is to know your numbers. Not in a scary spreadsheet cave way. Just enough to avoid surprises.
Quick fee cheat sheet
Here is the snack-size version:
- Basic online payment: about 2% + 25p per UK transaction.
- Shopify / Grow online payment: about 1.7% + 25p per UK transaction.
- Advanced online payment: about 1.5% + 25p per UK transaction.
- In-person payments: often around 1.5% to 1.7%.
- Third-party providers: may add extra Shopify transaction fees.
- International sales: may include extra charges.
Final answer: how much does each Shopify transaction cost in the UK?
For most UK stores using Shopify Payments, each online card transaction costs between 1.5% and 2% of the order value, plus 25p. The exact rate depends on your Shopify plan.
If you are on Basic, expect around 2% + 25p. If you are on Shopify / Grow, expect around 1.7% + 25p. If you are on Advanced, expect around 1.5% + 25p.
For in-person payments, the fee is usually lower, often around 1.5% to 1.7%.
The big lesson is this: payment fees are small per order, but huge over time. Treat them like ingredients in a recipe. Add them into your pricing. Watch them each month. Then your Shopify store can grow without fees nibbling away your profit like a cheeky little mouse.