Costs and pricing
Part of Ecommerce platform costs: a whole-life budget that separates cash, accounting and economic cost
Ecommerce budget template: Shopify prices and PayPal fees for England
Fill an England store budget with published Shopify GBP prices and PayPal UK fees, worked payment subtotals, HMRC VAT checks and exit-cost rows.
Fix the worksheet basis
Start with a common trading period, sales forecast and payment mix for every platform under consideration. Separate subscriptions, processing, VAT, operating work and exit tasks. Keep a whole-life budget alongside the monthly worksheet, and enter only charges that apply to the chosen plan and payment route.
Shopify subscription and payment rows
Use the monthly subscription prices from Shopify's UK POS pricing page in GBP, retaining the stated term for Plus. These are the pay-monthly subscription prices, checked on 8 October 2026. Record your own page-check date and chosen billing period beside the figures.
Compare pricing models without mixing subscription charges, processor charges and third-party payment provider fees.
Budget line / Published figure to enter
- Shopify Basic subscription
- Monthly subscription price £25 GBP
- Shopify Grow subscription
- Monthly subscription price £65 GBP
- Shopify Advanced subscription
- Monthly subscription price £344 GBP
- Shopify Plus subscription
- Starting at £1,800 GBP per month on a 3-year term
- Shopify Basic online card rate
- Starting at 2% + 25p GBP online
- Shopify Grow online card rate
- Starting at 1.7% + 25p GBP online
- Shopify Advanced online card rate
- Starting at 1.5% + 25p GBP online
- Shopify Basic third-party payment provider rate
- 2%
- Shopify Grow third-party payment provider rate
- 1%
- Shopify Advanced third-party payment provider rate
- 0.6%
- Your subscription forecast
- Enter the chosen price, billing term and budgeted period
PayPal payment worksheet
Split payment volume by checkout method before filling the formulas. PayPal's standard domestic rates belong in separate rows, rather than a blended estimate. Use sales and payment counts for the relevant method only. Check payment gateways before attaching a processor estimate to a platform budget.
| Payment budget line | Published standard domestic fee | Monthly calculation |
|---|---|---|
| PayPal payments | 2.9% + £0.30 per transaction | Relevant sales x 2.9%, plus payment count x £0.30 |
| PayPal card processing | 1.2% + £0.30 per transaction | Relevant sales x 1.2%, plus payment count x £0.30 |
| PayPal Pay Later | 3.9% + £0.30 per transaction | Relevant sales x 3.9%, plus payment count x £0.30 |
Illustrative worked subtotals
For illustrative arithmetic, assume 30 monthly payments of £25 GBP each, making £750 GBP of sales. Apply each stated rate to that same sales amount and payment count. Treat the rows as separate costing scenarios. Confirm the applicable charges when comparing platform quotes.
| Illustrative scenario | Calculation | Monthly subtotal |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic subscription plus online card processing at the starting rate | £25 + (£750 x 2%) + (30 x 25p) | £47.50 GBP |
| Shopify Basic subscription plus third-party platform fee only | £25 + (£750 x 2%) | £40 GBP |
| Shopify Grow subscription plus third-party platform fee only | £65 + (£750 x 1%) | £72.50 GBP |
| PayPal standard domestic processing only | (£750 x 2.9%) + (30 x £0.30) | £30.75 |
| PayPal domestic card processing only | (£750 x 1.2%) + (30 x £0.30) | £18 |
| PayPal Pay Later domestic processing only | (£750 x 3.9%) + (30 x £0.30) | £38.25 |
The Basic online figure uses a starting rate, not a guaranteed quote. The third-party Shopify subtotals exclude processor charges. Keep PayPal estimates separate until the integration and applicable fees are confirmed. Do not treat processor-only totals as platform budgets, or add alternative payment scenarios together. Complete VAT and operating rows separately.
VAT rows for an England merchant
Under HMRC's VAT registration rules, registration is required if taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or is expected to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days. Keep these tests separate from the platform subscription total.
| VAT worksheet row | Figure or entry instruction |
|---|---|
| Historical registration test | Enter taxable turnover for the last 12 months; compare with £90,000 |
| Expected registration test | Enter expected taxable turnover for the next 30 days; compare with £90,000 |
| Standard VAT rate | 20% for most goods and services |
| VAT on subscription fees | Enter the invoice's VAT treatment and amount; check whether reverse charge applies |
| Reclaimable purchase VAT | VAT-registered businesses can reclaim VAT on purchases for business use; record the eligible amount separately |
Under VAT Notice 741A, the reverse charge applies if you belong in the UK and receive B2B general rule services from a supplier outside the UK, unless specific 'use and enjoyment' provisions apply. Check the subscription supplier and invoice treatment before entering tax.
If your UK business is not already UK VAT registered and receives B2B general rule services from overseas suppliers, the value of those supplies must be added to the value of your own taxable supplies when testing whether to register for UK VAT. Keep this threshold calculation separate from subscription cash payments and include it in your UK regulations review.
WooCommerce operating and exit rows
WooCommerce core is free. WooPayments has no setup fees or monthly fees for online payments, and its fees are deducted directly from payments. Keep those entries separate from quotes for the work and services you select. Use a migration services scope to budget exit tasks.
| Worksheet line | Published basis or merchant entry |
|---|---|
| WooCommerce core software | Free |
| WooPayments setup fees | None |
| WooPayments monthly fees for online payments | None |
| Payment processing forecast | Enter the applicable rate and fee breakdown for the selected payment method |
| Hosting and domain | Enter written quotes and their billing periods |
| Extensions and development | Enter selected quotes; separate recurring charges from project work |
| Refund reserve | WooPayments transaction fees are not refunded when you issue customer refunds; enter retained fees separately |
| WooCommerce content export | You can export all your content and take your site to any platform you choose |
| Migration work | Enter accepted quotes for export, import, verification and cutover |
| Continuing commitments | Check contracts and enter payments due after the intended switch |
| Exit subtotal | Add accepted exit-work estimates and relevant continuing commitments |
Treat permission to export as separate from the cost of moving. Assign an owner to each unfinished entry and obtain a written scope before accepting an estimate. Compare completed subscription, payment, VAT, operating and exit subtotals separately, then combine only the charges relevant to the chosen route.
