What Shopify really costs a Malaysian business

“How much does Shopify cost?” has a short answer and a useful one. The short answer is the plan price on Shopify's website. The useful answer is the total cost of running the store for three years, which is what this guide sets out.

Prices below were checked on 18 October 2026. Shopify and app developers change prices, so confirm current figures on the linked pages before budgeting.

1. The Shopify plan

Shopify's Malaysian pricing page lists plans in US dollars. With yearly billing:

Plan	Price per month (yearly billing)	Third-party payment provider fee
Basic	US$19	2%
Grow	US$49	1%
Advanced	US$299	0.6%

Shopify Plus, for larger businesses, is priced separately. Monthly billing costs more than yearly billing.

The third-party payment provider fee applies when you use a payment gateway other than Shopify Payments. At volume this fee can exceed the plan price, so it is often the line that decides which plan you need.

2. Payment processing

Separately from Shopify's fee, your payment provider charges its own rate per transaction. Get the rate card from the providers you are considering and model it against your expected sales and payment mix (cards, FPX, e-wallets).

3. In-store selling

If you run outlets, add:

• Shopify POS. POS Lite comes with Shopify plans; POS Pro is a per-location subscription with more staff and inventory tools. Shopify lists current pricing on its POS page.
• Hardware. Tablets, card terminals, receipt printers, barcode scanners and cash drawers, confirmed against your payment provider.
• Mall reporting. If your outlets pay GTO rental, daily sales must reach the mall. Our GTO app is listed from USD 15/month on the Shopify App Store.

4. E-invoicing

Malaysian merchants issuing e-invoices through LHDN's MyInvois system need a way to do it from Shopify. Our e-invoice app is USD 24/month (or USD 240/year) on the Shopify App Store, with a 7-day free trial.

5. Theme

A theme from the Shopify Theme Store is a one-time licence. Free themes exist and are a reasonable start for smaller catalogues. A custom design costs more up front and less in workarounds later.

6. Apps

Apps are where budgets drift. Reviews, loyalty, subscriptions, search, translation and shipping tools are typically monthly subscriptions, some priced by order volume. Keep a register of every installed app, its monthly cost and what it does, and review it every quarter.

7. Building the store

Our published store setup packages range from RM 850 (Starter) to RM 30,000 (Business), depending on catalogue size, shipping setup and the number of apps configured. Custom design, custom app development and integrations are quoted separately. See Shopify development for what each package includes.

8. Running the store

After launch, someone has to change banners, fix sections and answer “why is this not working”. Our support is RM 350 per hour, or prepaid credit hours (30, 50 or 100 hours) valid for a year. See support and maintenance.

9. Integrations

If an ERP, accounting package or warehouse needs to exchange data with Shopify, budget for building the integration and for maintaining it as Shopify releases new API versions each quarter.

A three-year budgeting checklist

Cost line	One-time	Recurring
Shopify plan		Monthly or yearly
Third-party payment provider fee		Percentage of sales
Payment processing		Percentage or fixed per transaction
POS Pro (per outlet)		Monthly per location
POS hardware	Per outlet	Replacement over time
Theme	Licence or design build
Apps		Monthly, sometimes volume-based
Mall GTO app		Monthly
E-invoice app		Monthly or yearly
Store build	Setup package or custom project
Support		Hourly or credit hours
Integrations	Build	Maintenance

Where businesses underspend

The two lines we most often see under-budgeted are support and integrations. A store that launches without anyone responsible for it decays, and a manual process that “we'll automate later” tends to stay manual until it causes an expensive mistake.

If you want a costed plan for your situation, talk to us. We will tell you which lines apply and which you can leave out.