What It Costs to Have a Shopify Website in India
When starting an online store, the first step is choosing the right platform to power your business. Shopify is one of the most popular e-commerce platforms worldwide, known for its ease of use, extensive features, and scalability. But before diving in, it’s essential to understand the costs associated with running a Shopify store in India.
In this blog, we’ll break down the key expenses, including monthly subscription costs, transaction fees, basic plugin costs, payment gateway charges, and more. Whether you’re starting small or scaling up, this guide will help you calculate the ongoing costs of maintaining a Shopify website in INR.
Monthly Subscription Plans
Shopify offers three primary subscription plans, each catering to different levels of business needs. Here’s a breakdown of the pricing in INR:
Shopify Basic: ₹2,000/month
This plan is suitable for small businesses or startups. It offers all the essential e-commerce features like product listings, an online store, a blog, and sales channels like Facebook and Instagram.
Shopify (Standard): ₹6,000/month
Ideal for growing businesses, this plan includes everything in the Basic plan, plus advanced reports and tools like gift cards, professional reports, and better shipping discounts.
Shopify Advanced: ₹23,000/month
For larger businesses, this plan offers everything in the previous plans, with additional benefits like advanced reporting, third-party calculated shipping rates, and more.
Tip: The plan you choose depends on your store’s size, transaction volume, and the features you need.
Sales Transaction Fees
In addition to the monthly subscription, Shopify charges a transaction fee for every sale made on the platform. This varies depending on your subscription plan. For stores in India, here’s the breakdown:
Basic Plan: 2% + 18% GST on each transaction
Shopify Plan: 1.6% + 18% GST on each transaction
Advanced Plan: 1.5% + 18% GST on each transaction
Let’s take an example. If your store makes ₹50,000 in monthly sales on the Basic Plan, the cost breakdown would look like this:
- 2% transaction fee = ₹1,000
- GST on transaction fee = ₹180
- Total transaction cost = ₹1,180
Cost of Basic Shopify Plugins
Shopify offers a range of plugins to enhance your store’s functionality. While many are free, some essential plugins come with a monthly fee. Below are some commonly used plugins and their costs:
SEO Plugin: ₹500 – ₹1,000/month
Improve your search engine rankings and get found by more customers.
Shipping Plugin: ₹500/month
Simplifies the shipping process by integrating local couriers like Blue Dart, FedEx,Shiprocket and more.
Inventory Management Plugin: ₹1,000 – ₹2,000/month
Helps you keep track of your stock levels and manage your inventory more effectively.
While there are free versions of some plugins, paid versions typically offer more advanced features, which can be crucial as your store scales up.
Payment Gateway Costs
Choosing the right payment gateway is crucial to ensuring smooth transactions for your customers. In India, some of the most popular payment gateways include PayU, Razorpay, and Instamojo. Each of these gateways charges a fee for processing payments:
- Razorpay: 2% per transaction
- PayU: 2% – 3% per transaction
- Instamojo: 2% per transaction
Let’s consider a scenario where you make ₹50,000 in sales and use Razorpay. Your transaction cost would be:
- Razorpay fee (2%) = ₹1,000
- GST on transaction = ₹180
- Total payment gateway cost = ₹1,180
Shopify App Store Costs
Shopify has an app store full of tools and plugins to enhance your store’s performance. Some of these apps come with additional monthly fees. For example:
Abandoned Cart Recovery Plugin: ₹500 – ₹1,500/month
Helps recover lost sales by sending automatic emails to customers who left items in their carts.
Email Marketing Tools: ₹1,000 – ₹2,000/month
Automate your email campaigns to stay connected with your customers and boost sales.
It’s important to evaluate the necessity of each app based on your store’s size and sales volume.
Cost Calculator Based on Sales
To help you understand the overall cost of running a Shopify store, here’s a simple formula to calculate your monthly expenses based on your sales.
Cost Calculator Formula:
Total Monthly Cost = Monthly Subscription + (Sales * Transaction Fee %) + (Payment Gateway Fee %) + Plugin Costs
Let’s apply this to an example where your store makes ₹50,000 in sales on the
Shopify Basic Plan:
- Monthly Subscription: ₹2,000
- Transaction Fee (2%): ₹1,000
- GST on Transaction: ₹180
- Payment Gateway Fee (2%): ₹1,000
- GST on Payment Gateway: ₹180
- Plugins: ₹2,000 (assuming you have an SEO and inventory management plugin)
Total Monthly Cost = ₹2,000 + ₹1,180 + ₹1,180 + ₹2,000 = ₹6,360
This is just a rough estimate. You can use the formula to adjust based on your actual sales, plugins, and gateway choices.
Other Considerations
Domain Name Cost: If you’re not using Shopify’s free subdomain (yourstorename.myshopify.com), you’ll need to buy a domain. Domains typically cost between ₹1,000 and ₹2,000/year.
Currency Conversion Fees: If you’re selling internationally, there may be additional fees for currency conversion.
Conclusion
Running a Shopify store in India comes with a mix of fixed and variable costs, depending on the plan, plugins, and payment gateways you choose. While these costs might seem overwhelming, the platform’s flexibility and ease of use make it a worthwhile investment for businesses looking to scale online.
By using the cost calculator, you can estimate your monthly expenses and make an informed decision about which plan and features best suit your business needs.
Ready to get started? Try Shopify’s 14-day free trial and use our cost calculator to determine what plan fits your business the best.
