Shopify Starter Plan: Is It Right For Your First Online Store?
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Shopify Starter Plan is an entry-level eCommerce plan designed to facilitate online product sales without complex tools or high pricing, even without your own website. We'll also discuss who should consider this plan, as it may not suit everyone.
What is Shopify Starter Plan?
The Shopify Starter Plan serves as the entry-level pricing tier offered by Shopify, designed primarily for content creators and influencers who possess an established audience on social media platforms.
Shopify Starter Plan offers essential features for creating an online store, and managing products, orders, and payments, along with basic marketing tools and analytics. It's an ideal choice for those looking to begin selling online with a tight budget.
Who is Shopify Starter plan suitable for?
Shopify Starter is ideal for:
- Individuals with existing websites who sell occasionally and in small quantities. They can link directly to checkout pages without setting up a full eCommerce store.
- Creators and influencers with an audience on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and more. They can monetize their bio links and allow customers to checkout directly from Linkpop.
- New businesses looking to test products and markets. They can use Shopify Starter to sell on social platforms, via direct messaging, and in-person sales.
What you get from the Shopify Starter plan:
| What You Get | What You DON’T Get |
|
Shopify Admin Panel – Manage products, orders, and payments. Product Listing Management – Add and edit products easily. Secure Shopify Checkout – Trusted by millions of buyers. Basic Analytics – Track sales and performance. Sell via Social Media & Messaging Apps – Share product links on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and more. Mobile-Friendly Selling – Manage sales and orders on the go. Low-Cost Entry – Only $5/month, ideal for beginners. |
❌ No standalone online store or website. ❌ No advanced customization or themes. ❌ Limited marketing & SEO tools. ❌ No built-in blogging or content management system. ❌ No support for third-party apps from the Shopify App Store. ❌ Limited scalability for growing businesses. ❌ No full Shopify POS integration (only Lite version). |
Shopify Starter Plan Pricing
Monthly subscription fee
The Shopify Starter Plan is priced at $5 USD per month with no hidden fees. Unlike other Shopify plans, there are no annual subscription discounts, meaning a yearly cost of $60 USD.
Shopify offers a 3-day free trial, allowing you to explore the plan's features before committing. After the trial, you can take advantage of a special offer of $1/month for the first month, making it a cost-effective way to start selling online.
Transaction Fees
With the Shopify Starter Plan, transaction fees vary based on your payment method:
- Shopify Payments: No additional transaction fee, but a credit card rate of 5% + $0.30 USD per transaction applies (higher than other Shopify plans).
- Third-party payment providers: A 5% additional transaction fee applies on top of the provider’s own fees.
=>> Refer to: Shopify Starter vs Basic: Which Plan is Right for Your Business?
If you plan to scale your business, transaction fees can add up. For example, if you process $1,000 in sales per month, Shopify will deduct $50 in transaction fees when using Shopify Payments, in addition to the $5 subscription fee.
For more details on Shopify’s pricing structure and cost breakdown, visit our guide:
👉 Shopify Pricing: Which Plans Are for You?
Shopify Starter Plan features
In addition to the features available on all plans (except for staff), Starter offers the following features:
| Features | Description |
| Sell Directly on Social Media | Create product pages instantly and share links across social media. Use Linkpop to build a “link in bio” page so customers can purchase products instantly from your posts. Integrate Shopify Inbox to chat with customers on WhatsApp and Messenger. |
| Spotlight theme | - With the Starter plan, you can customize your store using the Spotlight theme, adding a logo, brand introduction, and social media links via the theme editor. - However, other themes and customization options are not accessible on this plan. |
| Reports | - The Starter plan offers access to a range of reports such as analytics, finances, product, acquisition, inventory, behavior, marketing, order, sales, retail sales, profit, and customer reports, aiding in tracking business performance. |
| International Commerce | - The Starter plan supports international growth through Shopify Markets, a tool that assists with cross-border selling and management. |
| Buy Button | - Buy Button provides a convenient way for customers to purchase products directly from your website or blog. - Need to use a supported payment gateway to enable Buy Button functionality. - Additionally, you can generate cart permalinks to share with customers via email, direct messages, or social media posts. |
| Customer Support | - Shopify Support is accessible 24/7 via the Shopify Help Center chat assistant. Simply click the "I still need help" button and choose your store to connect with a support advisor. |
| Product Links Sharing | - Shopify Starter enables you to share product links directly to checkout pages on platforms like WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger, … |
Create a mini store with Linkpop
Linkpop is a notable feature of the Shopify Starter Plan. Since Social media platforms only allow 1 link in the bio, you cannot put all your Product Links there.
Instead, you can use Linkpop to create mobile-friendly link-in-bio pages. It consolidates social accounts, websites, and YouTube links, seamlessly connected with Shopify stores. It also offers shoppable links to boost sales.
- Linkpop for Shoppable Pages: Linkpop, a free Shopify tool, creates shoppable landing pages for social media. Share links to items, blogs, or forms and sell directly from these pages.
- Customization and Setup: Easily set up and customize Linkpop from your Shopify dashboard to match your brand.
- Enhanced Shopping: Customers can buy products directly from Linkpop, improving their shopping experience.
Limitations of the Shopify Starter Plan:
- Limited Customization: The Shopify Starter plan offers basic customization options compared to higher-tier plans, restricting your ability to create a unique brand experience.
- Transaction Fees: While Shopify Starter has competitive transaction fees, they can still eat into your profits, especially for high-volume sales.
- Restricted Reporting: Access to advanced analytics and reports is limited on the Starter plan, making it challenging to gather in-depth insights into your business performance.
- Lack of Advanced Features: Certain advanced features, such as abandoned cart recovery and gift cards, are not available on the Starter plan, potentially limiting your marketing and sales strategies.
- Store Management: Compared to higher-tier plans, Shopify Starter lacks many store management features, limiting customization capabilities and organization of products and categories.
- No Staff Accounts: Unlike higher-tier plans, the Starter plan doesn't include staff accounts, making it difficult to manage multiple users or delegate tasks effectively.
In summary, Shopify Starter is a cost-effective option for new entrepreneurs, especially those looking to venture into the world of e-commerce on a small scale. However, this plan has limited features compared to more premium plans and may incur high transaction fees when using the product's direct payment feature.
That's why for those with greater ambitions, it may be worth considering the Basic or higher-level plans to access powerful branding and comprehensive management tools.
Check out other Shopify plans:
