How much does a Shopify store cost in NZ? Plans, fees, build

Shopify is the platform most NZ product businesses end up on, because it handles hosting, security, checkout and payments in one place. But "how much does Shopify cost" has more than one answer. Below is every cost you'll meet in year one, what changes it, and a worked example. Our builds collection has the store packages if you want to skip ahead.

What are the costs of running a Shopify store?

Split them into what you pay Shopify, what you pay per sale, and what you pay to get the store built.

Cost	Who bills it	How often
Shopify plan	Shopify	Monthly or yearly
Card and payment fees	Shopify Payments or your gateway	On every sale
Apps	Each app developer, through Shopify	Usually monthly
Domain	Your domain registrar or Shopify	Yearly
Theme and build	Your developer (or you)	One-off
Ongoing updates	You, or a monthly plan	Ongoing

How much is a Shopify plan in NZ?

Shopify's Basic plan is about NZ$65 a month, or $59 a month if you pay yearly. It's billed by Shopify, not by us. Basic covers what most small NZ stores need to start: unlimited products, a full checkout, discount codes and gift cards.

Higher plans add more staff accounts, better reporting and lower card rates. They're worth it once your sales are high enough that the lower rates outweigh the higher monthly fee. Shopify changes its plans and prices from time to time, so check Shopify's own pricing page for the current figures before you budget.

What are Shopify's payment fees in NZ?

Every online card payment carries a fee: a percentage of the sale plus a small fixed amount. With Shopify Payments, that's the only processing fee. If you use a different gateway instead, Shopify adds its own transaction fee on top of what the gateway charges, so for most NZ stores Shopify Payments works out simpler.

Buy-now-pay-later options such as Afterpay charge the merchant their own fee per order. They can lift order values, but factor the fee into your margins. Card rates vary by plan and card type, so check the current numbers in Shopify's pricing and in your payment settings.

How does GST work on Shopify in NZ?

Shopify handles GST for you once it's set up properly. The settings that matter:

• Prices include tax. NZ shoppers expect GST-inclusive prices. Turn this on so the price on the shelf is the price at checkout.
• Your GST number. Add it so it shows on invoices and order confirmations if you're registered.
• Shipping and GST. Decide whether shipping charges carry GST, and set it once.
• Overseas orders. If you ship internationally, set up markets so overseas customers aren't charged NZ GST.

Shopify's reports then give you the sales and tax figures your accountant needs, and Shopify can connect to Xero.

Which apps does an NZ Shopify store need?

Fewer than you'd think. Every app adds a monthly cost and can slow the store down. Most NZ stores do well with:

• Email marketing. For abandoned-cart reminders and newsletters. Pricing usually grows with your list size.
• Reviews. Product reviews are strong trust signals on a product page.
• Shipping labels. A courier app for NZ Post, NZ Couriers or Aramex saves typing addresses by hand.
• Accounting. A Xero connection so sales flow into your books.

Many of these have a free tier to start. Add the paid plans as you grow, and remove any app you've stopped using, because uninstalling is the only way to stop the bill.

How much does it cost to build a Shopify store in NZ?

You can set one up yourself with a free or paid theme. It's doable, but it takes time, and the details that make a store sell (product pages, shipping zones including rural, GST, speed, SEO) are easy to get wrong.

Here's what we charge for a Shopify store build, in NZD:

Package	What's included	Price	Timeline
Starter	Custom theme styled to your brand, up to 25 products	$3,950	3–5 weeks
Full store	Up to 250 products, plus migration from your old platform with redirects	$6,950	3–5 weeks
Online shop add-on	A shop added to a site from our build your website option, up to 25 products	$490	With the site

Both store builds can be paid over 3, 6, 9 or 12 months with no extra fees. If you have a lot of product photos to tidy, clean product images (up to 25) are $149.

Theme or custom design?

A stock theme is quick and cheap, but your store will look like thousands of others. A custom theme is designed around your products and brand, so it looks like you. If you're competing on brand rather than price, custom is usually worth it.

What does a Shopify store cost in year one? A worked example

Say you're launching a 50-product store and want it built properly. Because 50 products is over the Starter limit, this example uses the Full store build.

Item	Year-one cost
Full store build	$6,950 (or spread over up to 12 months)
Shopify Basic, paid yearly ($59 × 12)	$708
Apps (example: email and reviews on paid tiers)	Depends on the apps and your list size
Domain	Yearly registration fee
Card fees	A percentage of every sale

The fixed part, build plus plan, comes to $7,658. Card fees scale with sales, so they only grow when revenue does. If you only have 25 products or fewer, the Starter build brings the fixed part down to $4,658.

What does a Shopify store cost after launch?

Stores need regular care: new products and banners, seasonal sales, app and theme updates, and a check of the numbers each month. You can do that yourself, pay by the job, or go on a monthly plan. Our monthly plans start at $149 a month with $0 upfront and no lock-in, and changes are requested through the client portal.

We built and look after the Shopify haircare store for UKIYO, a salon brand in Wānaka, so the advice here comes from a live store, not just a build. If you're a salon selling retail, see salon websites. If you need custom tools that Shopify apps don't cover, see software.

How do I get a price for my store?

Use price your project for a quick estimate, or browse the store packages in our builds collection.