Shopify Plus Pricing Changes

Shopify sent out a newsletter this morning to all of their Plus merchants announcing a new pricing plan, and it's not looking good for my shops.

Unless you are earning $800,000 per month, the monthly cost of Plus will increase to a minimum $2,000. Beyond that $800,000, you will be charged .25% of your monthly sales, up to $40,000.

This will triple the amount we pay right off the bat. We also use our own payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments, so we'll also be paying .15% on each dollar we earn. This doesn't feel good.

Here is the email we received in full:

Congratulations on all that you accomplished in 2016. We are honoured to play a role in your success and are excited to watch your continued growth.

As we start a new year, I want to let you know about some pricing changes we’ll be making over the next several months. We’ve put a lot of thought into how best to strike the right balance with our pricing, so we can continue to offer you the highest quality platform, products, and support while also addressing the varied and sometimes complex needs of your business.

There is more context below but, at a high level, here’s what you can expect:

• New pricing model Starting February 1, 2017, Shopify Plus will begin transitioning to a variable rate pricing model that ties the monthly cost of the platform to merchants’ sales volume.
• The details: The Shopify Plus platform will now be charged at 0.25% of monthly eligible platform transactions or $2,000 monthly, whichever is higher, to a maximum of $40,000 per month.
• The philosophy: We believe that replacing the current ‘one-size-fits-all’ structure with one that recognizes the huge variation in size and complexity of our Shopify Plus merchants will allow us to scale effectively while continuing to provide an innovative, future-proof platform for our merchants.
• Payment transaction fee As of February 1, 2017, Shopify will be extending the payment transaction fee that exists on all Shopify plans to Shopify Plus. For merchants not using Shopify Payments, there will be a 0.15% transaction fee applied.
• The timing: There will be NO change to your Shopify Plus monthly charges for a period of six (6) months from today.

To fully understand the thought process behind the decision to make this change, I encourage you to see the attached letter written by Loren Padelford, our Vice President and General Manager at Shopify Plus.

I have outlined below how and when the pricing changes impact your business. In order to help you transition to the new pricing model, your pricing will be transitioned over a period of 2 years.

• Current monthly price: [redacted]
• Contract renewal date: [redacted]

Year 1 pricing change.

• New monthly platform fee: $1,000
• New transaction fee (If not using Shopify Payments): 0.15%
• When this change will come into effect for you: [redacted]
• When we will send the new contract for you to sign: [redacted]

Year 2 pricing change.

• New monthly platform fee: 0.25% of monthly eligible platform transactions or $2,000 monthly, whichever is higher, to a maximum of $40,000 per month.
• Transaction fee (If not using Shopify Payments): 0.15%
• When this change will come into effect for you: [redacted]

The email also had a 4-page PDF from the 'VP & GM of Shopify Plus', which you can view here: Loren Padelford Letter

June 2017 Edit: I've migrated off of Wordpress, and have decided not to import the comments from this article. It was mostly spam from BigCommerce salesmen.