In this Shopify Starter vs Basic comparison, I’m going to help you decide between the two cheapest versions of Shopify.
Quick verdict
If you’re trying to decide between Shopify Starter and Shopify Basic, making the right choice comes down to how serious you are about building a standalone online store.
Shopify Starter gives you an extremely cheap and simple way to start selling — on social media, via messaging apps, through in-person sales, or by embedding products on an existing website. At $5 per month, it’s competitively priced, and for very lightweight selling needs it does the job well.
However, if your goal is to build a proper, scalable ecommerce website, Shopify Basic is the far stronger option. It gives you a fully functional online store, product categories, blogging tools, better app compatibility, and far more room to grow — without the need to upgrade again as soon as your business gains momentum.
Below you’ll find a full breakdown of the advantages and disadvantages of using both versions of Shopify.
Reasons to use Shopify Starter over Basic
1. It’s much cheaper to use
The strongest argument for using Shopify Starter over the Shopify Basic plan involves cost. At just $5 per month, it’s roughly one eighth of the price of the Basic plan, which costs $39 per month.
But despite this, it still gives you a basic storefront (via its ‘Spotlight’ theme, pictured below) and a means to accept payments in person.
In fact, I’d argue that Shopify’s Starter plan represents one of the very cheapest ways to start selling products online, full stop.
📚 Related resources: Shopify free trial| Shopify pricing plans guide
2. It’s a better solution for merchants who don’t want a full website
Running a website properly is hard work — you need to think about branding, product uploads, content updates, blogging, SEO and a whole lot more besides. Setting up a store with Shopify’s Basic plan typically requires you to get involved with all these things.
But for merchants who don’t want to get bogged down in all this, and just want to sell on social media or in person, Shopify Starter is a better choice than the Basic plan.
First, it gives you a way to share product links easily on any social platform you like.
And, thanks to its bundled point-of-sale (POS) features, it lets you accept in-person payments too — you simply download the Shopify POS app to a smartphone or tablet and you can immediately start accepting payments in physical locations like shops, pop-up stores or market stalls.
3. It’s a better option for merchants who already have a website
If you’ve already got a website that you simply want to sell on, Shopify Starter is a better choice than the Basic plan. Its ‘Buy button’ feature lets you embed products onto an existing site with a minimum of fuss.
While the Basic Shopify plan also comes with this feature, the plan is more geared towards those aiming to build an entirely new store.
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Reasons to use the Basic plan over Shopify Starter
1. It lets you build a fully functional store
Although Shopify’s Starter plan technically lets you create a storefront (via its ‘Spotlight’ theme), this is extremely basic in nature, and there are barely any customization options available for it. All you get on it are product pages and a checkout.
The Basic plan lifts these restrictions and gives you a highly editable, highly customizable professional store. You can tweak just about any style setting you like and align your website design perfectly with your brand.
Significantly, the Basic plan unlocks access to the entire Shopify theme library.
2. You can avoid transaction fees on the Basic plan
When you use the Starter plan, Shopify applies a transaction fee of 5% to all your sales. This is a very high fee.
But with the Basic plan, so long as you’re using Shopify Payments — Shopify’s own payment processing service — you can avoid transaction fees entirely.
So, if you’re a high volume seller, this makes choosing the Shopify Basic plan a much better option than using the Starter plan.
3. It lets you categorize your products
Shopify’s Basic plan lets you categorize your products into collections. This makes it easier for shoppers to find what they’re looking for on your store, or discover products that they might not have previously considered buying.
Unfortunately the Shopify Starter plan storefront doesn’t let you do this — your store visitors will have to trawl through all your inventory to find what they’re looking for.
4. It’s better for blogging and content marketing
Blogging is usually a crucial tool for SEO and attracting visitors to your store. By creating topically relevant, interesting blog posts, you can get eyeballs on your website — and the opportunity to sell your products.
While Shopify’s Basic plan comes with a simple yet effective blogging feature, there are no blogging tools available at all on the Starter plan.
5. More apps work with Basic Shopify than the Starter plan
One of the best things about Shopify is the huge range of apps available for it. These let you extend the functionality of your store in all sorts of interesting ways and scale your selling operation up.
Although you can install some of these on a Shopify Starter store, many won’t work — so to get the most out of Shopify apps and integrations, you’re usually better off with the Basic plan.
6. Using the Basic plan future proofs your business
Starting on the Shopify Basic plan gives you room to grow without needing to rethink your setup as soon as your store gains traction.
The Basic plan does everything the Starter plan does, but crucially (and as I discussed above) it supports a fully featured online store from day one.
And this helps future proof your business: many early-stage businesses quickly outgrow Starter’s constraints. As soon as you want to…
- organize products into categories for easier browsing
- improve on-site navigation and user experience
- add more advanced themes or storefront customization
- prepare for SEO-driven traffic rather than just social selling
…you’ll need to upgrade.
By choosing the Basic plan early, you avoid the friction of migrating your setup later. Your store architecture, URLs, collections, and navigation can grow naturally with your business — instead of being rebuilt under pressure.
Don’t miss out — download our free Shopify Startup Kit
Our free Shopify Startup Kit is a must for anyone thinking of building an online store with Shopify. Containing a comprehensive e-book on starting a Shopify store, video tutorials, PDF cheatsheets and much more, it’s packed full of practical advice on how to get a Shopify business off the ground. It’s available for free to Style Factory readers — but for a limited time only.
Shopify Starter vs Basic — conclusion
To sum things up, Shopify’s Starter plan is the best option for merchants who don’t need a website and are content to sell via product links or in person. If you’re serious about creating a standalone store however, the Basic plan is the much better choice.
The best way to try Shopify out
The best way to try Shopify out is by using its special, extended three-month trial. This gives you enough time to find out if the platform is right for you, build a store and sell products.
Shopify Starter-vs-Basic: an at a glance comparison
| Feature | Shopify Starter | Shopify Basic |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription fee | $5 USD/mo | $39 USD/mo |
| Online store | Simplified online store with product pages, a contact page, and Shopify’s secure checkout. Limited customization. | Fully customizable online store with access to multiple themes. |
| Discount codes | Yes | Yes |
| Custom domain support | Yes, but custom domains can only be mapped to a storefront using the ‘Spotlight theme’ | Yes, and custom domains can be used with storefronts built using any Shopify theme |
| Product collections | Not available. | Available. Allows grouping products into collections for better organization and navigation. |
| Reports | Basic reporting only and no custom reporting permitted. | Access to all analytics including custom reports. |
| Blogging | Not available. | Built-in blogging engine. |
| Point of Sale (POS) | Includes basic POS features — these allow you to sell in person using the Shopify POS app. | Includes POS features, but also gives you the option to upgrade to POS Pro for advanced retail features. |
| Transaction fees | 5% | 0% if using Shopify Payments. |
| App store access | Partial | Full |
FAQs about Shopify Starter vs Basic
What’s the main difference between the Shopify Starter and Basic plans?
The biggest difference involves how you sell. The Shopify Starter plan is designed for selling via social media, messaging apps, and existing websites, while the Shopify Basic plan lets you build and run a fully featured online store — one that lets you customize your own storefront extensively and make full use of Shopify apps and integrations. If you need a standalone ecommerce website, Basic is by far the better option.
Can I create a full online store with the Shopify Starter plan?
No. The Shopify Starter plan does not include a traditional online store or storefront editor. Instead, it gives you buy buttons, shareable product links, and a simple checkout, which you can use on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, or an existing website. To create a complete online store, you’ll need the Basic plan.
Is Shopify Starter cheaper than Shopify Basic?
Yes. Shopify Starter is Shopify’s cheapest paid plan, making it attractive if you’re just testing product ideas or selling casually via social platforms. However, the Basic plan costs more because it includes significantly more features, including a full website and greater control over store design.
Which plan is better for beginners starting an ecommerce business?
It depends on your goals. If you want a simple, low-cost way to sell products without building a website, Shopify Starter can be a good entry point. But if you’re serious about growing an ecommerce business, building a brand, and attracting traffic via SEO or ads, the Basic plan is a much better long-term foundation.
Can I upgrade from Shopify Starter to Basic later?
Yes. You can upgrade from Shopify Starter to Shopify Basic at any time, and your products, orders, and customer data will carry over. This makes Starter a reasonable stepping stone if you want to validate a product idea first, then move onto a full store once sales pick up.
Related resources
Update details
This article was updated on January 17, 2026. The following key updates were made:
- A new ‘quick verdict’ section was added.
- Product screenshots were refreshed.
- A section about future proofing a Shopify business was added.
- Links to our Shopify Startup Kit were added.
- References to Shopify POS Lite were removed to reflect recent branding changes at Shopify.
- A new FAQs section was added.
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