Sales & Conversion
Personas
Ecommerce
Time to ROI
Short-term (< 3 months)
You know that moment when you're staring at Shopify's pricing page, wondering if Basic is enough or if you need Plus? I've been there. More importantly, I've guided a dozen e-commerce clients through this exact decision over the past few years.
The thing is, most people approach Shopify plan selection completely backwards. They focus on features and monthly costs instead of asking the fundamental question: What's your actual business situation right now?
After migrating everything from small handmade stores to 1000+ product catalogs, I can tell you that the "right" plan isn't about having the most features—it's about matching your current reality with your growth trajectory. And honestly? Most businesses are overthinking this decision.
Here's what you'll learn from my real migration experiences:
Why I stopped recommending Shopify Plus to 90% of my clients (even the ones who could afford it)
The hidden costs that matter more than monthly subscription fees
My simple framework for choosing plans based on actual business metrics, not marketing fluff
Real examples from client migrations that saved (or cost) thousands
When to upgrade vs. when to stick with Basic longer than you think
Let's dive into the strategy that's worked across different industries and business sizes.
Reality Check
What the Shopify marketing doesn't tell you
If you've spent any time researching Shopify plans, you've probably read the same advice everywhere. Every "expert" tells you to start with Basic, upgrade to Shopify when you hit $50k monthly revenue, and consider Plus when you're doing millions.
The standard wisdom goes like this:
Basic ($29/month): Perfect for new stores, limited features
Shopify ($79/month): Better for growing businesses, professional reports
Advanced ($299/month): Advanced features, third-party shipping rates
Plus ($2000+/month): Enterprise features, unlimited everything
Sounds logical, right? Pick based on revenue and feature needs. The problem is this approach completely ignores how businesses actually work.
Here's what this conventional wisdom misses: Your plan choice should be driven by operational complexity, not just revenue. I've seen $20k/month stores that needed Advanced features and $200k/month stores running perfectly fine on Basic.
The other issue? Most comparison guides focus on feature lists instead of real-world scenarios. They'll tell you about "unlimited products" without explaining that 99% of stores never hit Basic's 1000 product limit. They'll emphasize "professional reports" without mentioning that most small businesses never look at them.
The truth is, Shopify's marketing wants you to upgrade as soon as possible. But after handling multiple migrations, I've learned that upgrading too early is just as problematic as upgrading too late.
Consider me as your business complice.
7 years of freelance experience working with SaaS and Ecommerce brands.
My perspective on Shopify plan selection completely changed after working on a challenging migration project. The client came to me frustrated because they'd been bouncing between platforms—started on WooCommerce, tried Shopify Basic, upgraded to Shopify, then considered Plus—all within 18 months.
They were a B2C store with over 1000+ products, which immediately made me think they needed Advanced or Plus. The product catalog was huge, they had complex shipping requirements, and their monthly revenue was around $150k. By every standard recommendation, they should have been on Advanced at minimum.
But here's what I discovered when I dug into their actual operations: most of their revenue came from about 50 core products. The other 950+ products were either seasonal items or low-margin accessories that barely moved. Their "complex" shipping was actually just different rates for different product categories—nothing that couldn't be handled with Shopify's standard tools.
The real kicker? Their previous developer had them on Advanced ($299/month) plus a bunch of expensive apps that were duplicating Shopify's built-in features. They were paying over $500/month for functionality they weren't using.
When I suggested we could probably run their entire operation on Basic Shopify ($29/month) with maybe two essential apps, they looked at me like I was crazy. "But we're doing six figures a month," they said. "Shouldn't we be on the premium plan?"
This experience taught me that most businesses confuse sophistication with necessity. Just because you can afford the higher plans doesn't mean you need them.
Here's my playbook
What I ended up doing and the results.
After that eye-opening project, I developed a systematic approach for evaluating Shopify plans based on actual business operations rather than revenue or feature wish lists.
Step 1: The Reality Audit
Instead of starting with Shopify's feature comparison chart, I start by auditing what the business actually does:
How many products generate 80% of revenue?
What's the actual shipping complexity? (Most businesses think theirs is more complex than it is)
Do they need multi-location inventory? (Spoiler: usually no)
Are they actually using analytics, or just saying they need them?
Step 2: The App Dependency Check
This is where most plan recommendations go wrong. I map out which features they think they need through apps versus what's available in different Shopify plans. For example, Advanced Shopify includes third-party calculated shipping rates, which could replace a $30/month shipping app.
Step 3: The Growth Trajectory Assessment
Here's my contrarian take: I don't recommend upgrading "for growth." I recommend upgrading when current limitations are actively costing money or time. If you're running fine on Basic, stay on Basic until something breaks.
The framework I use:
Basic: Good for single-location stores under 500 active products, standard shipping zones
Shopify: When you need gift cards, professional reports, or abandoned cart recovery
Advanced: When app costs exceed the upgrade price, or you need calculated shipping rates
Plus: When you're hitting actual platform limitations, not just revenue milestones
Step 4: The Total Cost Analysis
This is the game-changer. I calculate the total monthly cost including apps, transaction fees, and hidden costs. Sometimes upgrading to a higher plan actually reduces total costs by eliminating app subscriptions.
For transaction fees specifically: Basic has 2.9% + 30¢, Shopify has 2.6% + 30¢, Advanced has 2.4% + 30¢. At $50k monthly revenue, the difference between Basic and Advanced in transaction fees alone is $250/month—almost covering the plan upgrade cost.
Cost Calculator
I built a simple spreadsheet that calculates total monthly costs including plan fees, app subscriptions, and transaction fee differences based on actual revenue.
Feature Reality
Most "advanced" features go unused. I track which features clients actually use 30 days after migration to avoid feature bloat.
Migration Strategy
Never upgrade and migrate simultaneously. Test the new plan features in a staging environment first to avoid surprises.
Timing Framework
Upgrade when limitations cost more than the upgrade price. Revenue milestones are vanity metrics for plan selection.
The results from this systematic approach have been consistently positive across different client types. The B2C store I mentioned? We moved them to Basic Shopify ($79/month) instead of Advanced, saving them $220/month while maintaining all their essential functionality.
More importantly, we eliminated three redundant apps they were paying for, bringing their total monthly platform costs down from $500+ to under $150. That's $4200+ saved annually with zero impact on their operations.
Across all my migration projects, about 70% of clients ended up on a lower plan than they initially thought they needed. The other 30% needed upgrades, but for specific operational reasons, not revenue thresholds.
The biggest surprise? Several high-revenue clients ($200k+ monthly) who stayed on Basic because their operations were simple and their margins were tight. Revenue doesn't automatically justify higher platform costs.
What I've learned and the mistakes I've made.
Sharing so you don't make them.
Here are the key lessons learned from multiple Shopify migrations:
Features you don't use cost more than features you're missing. It's better to start simple and upgrade when you hit actual limitations.
Transaction fee differences matter more than plan costs. At higher volumes, the fee savings can exceed the upgrade cost.
Most businesses overestimate their complexity. Complex-looking operations often have simple solutions.
App consolidation beats plan upgrades. Sometimes upgrading eliminates expensive app subscriptions.
Growth doesn't mean immediate upgrades. Scale your plan when limitations impact operations, not revenue milestones.
Platform costs should scale with margins, not just revenue. High-revenue, low-margin businesses need different approaches.
Migration timing matters. Never upgrade and migrate simultaneously—test everything first.
How you can adapt this to your Business
My playbook, condensed for your use case.
For your SaaS / Startup
For SaaS companies selling on Shopify:
Basic is often sufficient for simple subscription products
Focus on integration costs over plan features
Consider Shopify Plus only for complex B2B scenarios
For your Ecommerce store
For traditional e-commerce stores:
Calculate total cost including apps and transaction fees
Start with Basic unless you have specific feature requirements
Upgrade based on operational needs, not revenue targets