Shopify Payments rates are set per country. A the UK merchant on Basic pays 2% + 25p, not the 2.9% + 30¢ figure quoted on Shopify's global pricing page.
Further reading:
SHOPIFY UK RATES - SHOPIFY USA RATES
5 Key Facts
Shopify Payments UK Basic rate is 2% + 25p per online transaction (consumer cards).
- The US rate on Basic is 2.9% + 30¢: UK merchants pay materially less than the global page suggests.
- Grow cuts the rate to 2.7% + 30c; Advanced to 2.5% + 30c; Plus to 2.25% + 30c.
- Amex and international cards run 3.5% + 30c on every plan.
- Using a third-party processor adds a 2% fee to every sale unless you are on Plus.
- A third-party processor adds a 2% Shopify fee to every sale unless you are on Plus.
If you run a Shopify store in the US, the card rates on Shopify's global pricing page are not your rates. Shopify sets Shopify Payments pricing per country, and the difference between regions is bigger than most merchants expect: a UK merchant on Basic pays 2% + 25p while a US merchant on the same plan pays 2.9% + 30¢.
This piece covers what the US merchants pay on each plan, the surcharges that push the rate up, and how to tell whether staying on Shopify Payments or moving to a third-party processor is cheaper at your volume.
Geographic note: All figures below are from the Shopify US pricing page, checked 1 September 2026. Shopify sets rates per country, so a merchant in Canada or elsewhere may see slightly different figures in their admin.
What Shopify Payments charges in the US in 2026
Shopify prices card processing per plan tier. Higher plans carry lower rates, and the gap between plans is larger than most merchants realise.
Premium covers commercial, corporate, business-tier cards, and all domestic Amex. On Basic the premium jump is 0.6 percentage points (2.9% to 3.5%), the largest of any region.
On a $50 US consumer card sale on Basic: 2.9% of $50 is $1.45, plus 30¢ fixed = $1.75, which is 3.5% effective. On Plus the same sale costs $1.125 plus 30¢ = $1.43, or 2.85% effective.
Plan upgrade math: at $50k/month on Basic you pay 2.9% + 30¢. Moving to Advanced cuts it to 2.5% + 30¢. On $50k of domestic card volume that is roughly $200/month saved against a $220/month plan uplift: close to break-even on the plan fee alone, before the international-mix effect.
The 2% third-party surcharge
The card rate is only half the story. If you use a processor other than Shopify Payments, Shopify adds a 2% fee on every transaction. On a 100-unit sale routed through a third-party gateway, you pay the gateway's fee plus 2% to Shopify.
Stores on Plus that use Shopify Payments as their sole provider have the surcharge waived. For high-volume merchants weighing Plus against a cheaper processor, this waiver is often the deciding line in the math.
Surcharges that push the rate up
Premium and international cards. Shopify UK lists Amex at 3.1% + 25p. International cards also run 3.1% + 25p — a 1.1 percentage point jump from the standard rate on Basic.
Local payment methods. Each method has its own rate in the UK:
Disputes. Shopify charges a dispute fee per chargeback regardless of outcome; in the UK this has historically sat at $15 per dispute on Shopify Payments.
Is Shopify Payments the right choice in the US?
Shopify Payments is competitive when:
- You process under $500k per month
- Most of your volume is domestic consumer cards
- You rely on Shopify's checkout, Shop Pay, and its conversion lift
- You would rather not run two dashboards and two payout schedules
A third-party processor is worth quoting when:
- You process over $500k per month and the blended gap exceeds 1 percentage point
- International cards are a big share of your mix (a further +1% jump matters)
- You are already on or near Plus, where the surcharge waiver changes the comparison
- Your volume qualifies for Stripe or Adyen custom pricing with earlier discount tiers than Shopify offers
Shopify Payments US starts at 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic. Stripe direct publishes the same 2.9% + 30¢ headline but discounting kicks in earlier. Adyen at interchange-plus is typically 1.5 to 1.8% blended above $100k/month.
What the free audit looks like
The comparison is a fixed piece of work: pull three months of statements, work out your effective blended rate including the surcharge and premium-card mix, and model what an interchange-plus provider would charge at your volume.
Tonkr runs this audit for free. No charge for the initial read. You get a one-page summary showing what you pay today, what you should be paying at your volume and card mix, and where the gap is. If you want us to run the switch or the negotiation, that part is on a success basis. We only get paid if we save you money.
Related reading
- Shopify Payments in the USA: this article
- Shopify Payments in the US: SHOPIFY UK RATES
- Shopify Payments in Europe: SHOPIFY USA RATES
