How the break-even is worked out
Each plan's monthly fee cost is its subscription plus, for every card order, the percentage rate times the order value plus the fixed fee. The higher plan pays off when its card saving per order, multiplied by orders, covers the extra subscription:
break-even orders = (higher subscription − lower subscription) ÷ (AOV × (lower % − higher %) + (lower fixed − higher fixed))
It only exists when both parts are positive. If the higher plan's card rate isn't lower, it never pays for itself on fees; if its subscription is no higher, it's never dearer.
Worked examples (example rates, AOV £50, 100 orders)
- Basic £25 vs Grow £65, billed monthly: Grow costs £40.00 more but saves £0.15 per order (0.3% of £50), so £15.00 at 100 orders. Basic is £25.00 cheaper. Break-even is 266.67 orders, or £13,333.33 of card sales a month.
- Basic £19 vs Grow £49, billed annually: the gap shrinks to £30.00, so break-even falls to 200 orders (£10,000.00).
- Grow £65 vs Advanced £344, billed monthly: a £279.00 gap against a £0.10 per-order saving needs about 2,790 orders (£139,500.00) a month.
What this doesn't include
Staff accounts, reporting, shipping discounts, international pricing and other plan features; Amex, international and alternative payment rates; third-party transaction fees when you use an external gateway; apps, themes and VAT on fees. For full order profit including postage, ads and returns use the Shopify profit calculator.