Starting a Shopify store in Canada, meaning your own checkout for a product you can describe and deliver, can cost about $1–$50 in an introductory month if you already hold the product, about $50–$150 in a typical month once Basic is at its standard yearly or monthly price plus a few mailers, or about $250–$800 when inventory, a domain you bought, apps, and a real returns buffer are in the plan. Those Shopify figures use Shopify’s Canada pricing page for the plan and card rates, and typical Canadian retail ranges for supplies. They suit people who can answer a customer while sales are still uncertain, and they do not treat the $1 offer as the ongoing cost.
How to list one product and read the plan is the Shopify store side hustle guide. This page is the cash. One product is the catalogue.
How much does a Shopify store cost to start in Canada?
A Shopify store in Canada starts at about $1–$50 while an introductory offer on the pricing page is in force and you already have the product, about $50–$150 in a typical month at Basic’s standard yearly or monthly price plus a small shipping kit, and about $250–$800 when you add stock you paid for, a custom domain, one paid app you can name, and money you do not spend so a refund is possible. The ranges are not quotes. Grow and Advanced are outside a first store.
| How you start | First-month cash, about | What you can sell |
|---|---|---|
| Lean, during the intro offer | About $1–$50 plus the product you already have | Basic on the offer the pricing page describes, photos in daylight, a myshopify.com address, no paid apps. The offer ends. |
| Typical, after the offer | About $50–$150 | Basic at $37 CAD a month if you pay yearly, or $49 CAD a month if you pay monthly, a few mailers if you ship, and card fees only when an order exists. |
| Doing it properly | About $250–$800 before a large inventory bet | The standard plan, a domain you priced at checkout, packaging for more than one order, a sample you ordered to yourself if you do not make the item, FreshBooks if the order count needs it, a course only if you priced it, insurance if you store stock, and a returns buffer. |
Shopify’s Canada pricing page is the source. As published there, Basic is $49 CAD a month, or $37 CAD a month billed yearly. Grow is $132 CAD a month, or $99 CAD a month yearly. Advanced is $517 CAD a month, or $389 CAD a month yearly. The page describes a 3-day trial and then $1 a month for 3 months on many plans, after which standard pricing applies. There is no setup fee on the plans described there. Online standard card rates on Basic are 2.8% + 30¢ CAD. Third-party payment providers add a transaction fee, 2% on Basic on that page. Hosting, a free TLS certificate, and a myshopify.com address are included. A custom domain is optional. Confirm every figure. The $1 offer is not the ongoing cost.
Who should use a Shopify startup budget in Canada?
A Shopify startup budget in Canada fits people who already know the product, because they make it, already sell it locally, or can support a digital file they use themselves. The lean column fits one offer and the introductory months, with the standard price written beside them. A store is a poor fit if the product is “something trending,” if you cannot describe delivery times, or if the monthly plan would hurt before the first order.
Marketplace listings without your own subscription are reselling startup costs. One downloadable workflow can start as Notion template startup costs.
What are the one-time costs for a Shopify store in Canada?
One-time Shopify costs in Canada are photos, a sample, packaging for the first shipments, and a domain if you leave the free address. Inventory is a repeating purchase that feels like startup the first time.
| Item | Typical CAD | Timing | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product photos | $0 in daylight | Before launch | A phone photo of the real item. Not a borrowed lifestyle image. |
| Sample, if you do not make it | The real cost | Before you promise a date | Order one to yourself. Time the delivery. |
| Mailers and tape | $8–$25 to start | If you ship | A few packages. Retail range to verify locally. A pallet of boxes waits. |
| Custom domain | Confirm the registrar or Shopify’s domain checkout | Optional | The pricing page says you can connect a domain you own. The price is not frozen here. |
| Paid theme or app | The app’s own price | After the core editor fails | The core editor can list one product. Do not add paid apps in week one. |
| Shopify Academy | Included as free courses on the pricing page | Optional | The free lessons are the course. A paid guru is a separate checkout to confirm. |
| Returns buffer | Cash you do not spend | Before you advertise | A refund still costs the outgoing ship. |
| Insurance for stored stock | A quote | If goods sit in your home for sale | This is not insurance advice. |
| Import costs | Whatever the shipment actually incurs | If you import stock | Commercial imports follow the CBSA import guide. |
What are the monthly costs for a Shopify store in Canada?
Monthly Shopify costs in Canada are the plan after the intro, card fees on real orders, apps you kept, and the product cost of what you sold. Hosting is inside the plan. You do not buy a second host for the same store.
| Item | Published price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Basic, standard | $49 CAD a month, or $37 CAD a month yearly | Use yearly only if you will still want the store in month four. |
| Intro offer | 3-day trial, then $1 a month for 3 months, on the pricing page | Write the standard price next to it. |
| Basic online cards | 2.8% + 30¢ CAD | Amex and international rates on that page are 3.5% + 30¢ CAD. Confirm before you advertise a card you have not checked. |
| Third-party payments | 2% transaction fee on Basic, on top of that provider | Staying on Shopify Payments avoids that extra percentage, on the page’s description. |
| Grow and Advanced | $132 / $517 a month, or $99 / $389 yearly | Staff accounts and lower card rates. Not the first month. |
| POS Pro | $119 CAD a month per location on the pricing page | Only if you are selling in person with those tools. |
| FreshBooks Lite | $23 USD a month list price, about $33 CAD | The conversion uses the Bank of Canada rate of 1.4188 per US dollar on 29 September 2026 and is approximate. Shopify’s own reports may be enough at first. A $1 USD FreshBooks intro is not the list price. |
| Apps | Each app’s page | A stack of apps can pass the plan price. Add one when a task has failed twice. |
| Insurance | A quote | Repeating. |
The plan is the decision. Shopify TODO-AFFILIATE is the checkout this guide is about. Read the pricing page before the trial ends. Do not add paid apps in week one.
If you ship, a small pack of shipping supplies TODO-AFFILIATE covers the first orders. Buy more when the first ten shipments have a pattern.
Payouts and the subscription should not share a foggy balance with rent. KOHO TODO-AFFILIATE is one Canadian account that can hold store payouts until fees, refunds, and any tax set-aside are clear.
How do ongoing costs and break-even work for a Shopify store in Canada?
Ongoing Shopify costs in Canada are the plan at the standard price, the card fee on each order, the product and the mailer, refunds, and ads if you run them. Shopify break-even in the sketch is a method, not an average store profit. A new store can sell nothing.
The intro cliff. Month four at $1 is not month four at $49 or at the yearly equivalent. Sketch the standard price.
Card fees. They scale with the sale. They do not replace the plan.
Ads. They can exceed sales. They are not in the lean column.
Duties. Imported stock has a border cost. Put it in the product cost before you set the price.
Step 1: Write the standard plan price, not only the offer
$1 and $37 and $49 are three different months. Pick the one you will actually be on.
Step 2: Add the card fee for one realistic order
Use 2.8% + 30¢ on Basic unless your card type is the higher line on the page.
Step 3: Add the product cost and the mailer
A digital file has no mailer. A shipped good does. A refund keeps the outgoing postage.
Step 4: Hold a buffer you do not spend
One return should not empty the account that pays next month’s plan.
Step 5: Add an app only after the core editor fails
The pricing page includes hosting, themes, and a free Academy. That is the stack until a task breaks.
Illustrative example
A teaching sketch, not a quote, a forecast, or a survey of store profits.
Suppose the intro has ended and you use Basic at the yearly rate, $37 for the month. Suppose one order arrives at an assumed $40 product price. That $40 is an assumption, not a market price. Online standard card rates on Basic are 2.8% + 30¢ CAD, so 0.028 × $40 = $1.12, plus $0.30, which is $1.42. Suppose the item cost you $12 and the mailer is $2. Cash in = $40. Cash out = $37 + $1.42 + $12 + $2 = $52.42. This one order loses about $12.42 before your time.
Suppose instead you sell a digital file with no product cost and no mailer, and ten orders arrive at the same assumed $40. Card fees are 10 × $1.42 = $14.20. Remainder = $400 − $14.20 − $37 = $348.80 before hours, refunds, and tax set-aside. Ten physical orders at a $12 cost and a $2 mailer would subtract another 10 × $14 = $140, leaving $208.80 in this sketch before hours. These totals are assumptions. Confirm the live card rate. Do not copy $40. One order does not carry the plan.
Where can a Shopify startup budget in Canada stay smaller?
A Shopify startup budget in Canada stays smaller when you use the intro months to learn the editor, you stay on Basic, you use the free address, and you ship with a few mailers. Free Shopify Academy courses are listed on the pricing page. Photos are daylight. A marketplace test, priced in the reselling guide, can happen before you pay a standard month.
Skip Grow, skip POS Pro, and skip apps. Skip ads until an order has arrived without them. Use yearly billing only if month four is still a store you want. Otherwise monthly at $49 is the flexible number, and it is higher on purpose.
Do not buy inventory to “look open.” One unit you have held, or a digital file you can support, is the catalogue.
Where should Shopify spending not be cut in Canada?
Shopify spending in Canada should not skip the standard plan price in your sketch, the real product cost, or an honest delivery date. The Competition Bureau’s page on false or misleading representations is the reason a borrowed photo and a fantasy shipping time are not savings. This is not legal advice.
Do not import commercial goods and describe them as a personal parcel. The CBSA guide is the path. Do not spend the returns buffer. Do not put the plan on a card you also use for groceries and then wonder why the payout disappeared.
Insurance is a quote when stock sits in your home. This is not insurance advice. A password on the store is not optional. The person who can refund an order is a person you meant to trust.
Which tax rules apply to a Shopify budget in Canada?
Shopify store income in Canada is business income reported on Form T2125 when you are carrying on the activity for profit, and self-employed people pay the whole Canada Pension Plan contribution, both portions, on the net. The plan, card fees, mailers, and the cost of goods are generally current expenses. A computer or equipment that lasts for years is usually capital cost allowance on the business-use portion. GST/HST uses the $30,000 small-supplier test, not the taxi and ride-sharing rule. Digital products can also sit on the CRA digital-economy pages. Nova Scotia’s HST is 14% as of 1 April 2025 on the CRA charge and collect the GST/HST table.
This is not tax, legal, or insurance advice.
Shopify can calculate tax at checkout. That feature does not decide whether you must be registered. The small-supplier test is worldwide taxable supplies, yours and your associates’, of $30,000 or less in a quarter and over four consecutive quarters. Add other side hustles. A store is not ride-sharing.
If you are registered, GST/HST you paid on business purchases, including the plan if the receipt shows the tax, can often be recovered as an input tax credit to the extent of commercial use. If you are not registered, do not add GST/HST and do not claim the credit. Confirm the current rules with the CRA or a tax professional before you turn tax on in the admin.
Once registered, charge the rate for the province where the supply is made. Some provinces use HST. Others add PST on top of GST. Quebec charges GST and QST. Use the GST/HST calculator (and rates) and set collected tax aside. A payout is not spending money until fees, refunds, and that tax are separated.
Which budgets sit next to a Shopify store in Canada?
The first product and the first week are in how to start a Shopify store in Canada. Listings without a plan are reselling startup costs. One downloadable workflow is Notion template startup costs. Order admin you might later hire out is virtual assistant startup costs.
What are the common questions?
How much does it cost to start a Shopify store in Canada?
Shopify's Canada pricing page lists Basic at $49 CAD a month, or $37 CAD a month billed yearly, with a 3-day trial and then $1 a month for 3 months on the offer described there. A typical month after that offer, plus a few mailers, is often about $50 to $150 before inventory. A fuller start with stock, a domain, and a returns buffer is often about $250 to $800. The $1 price is not the ongoing cost. Confirm the live page.
Does Shopify include hosting in Canada?
Yes. Shopify's Canada pricing page says the plan includes secure commerce hosting, unlimited bandwidth, a free TLS certificate, and a myshopify.com address. A custom domain is optional and priced at the registrar or at Shopify's domain checkout. You do not need a second hosting bill for the same store.
What card fee should I put in a Canadian Shopify sketch?
On Basic, Shopify's pricing page lists online standard card rates at 2.8% plus 30 cents CAD. Amex and international cards are listed higher. A third-party payment provider adds a 2% transaction fee on Basic on that page. Confirm the live table before you advertise.
Is the Shopify subscription deductible in Canada?
Keep the invoice. The plan, card fees, mailers, and the cost of goods are generally current expenses on Form T2125. Lasting equipment is usually capital cost allowance on the business portion. This is not tax advice.
Do I charge GST/HST on Shopify sales in Canada from day one?
Charge GST/HST if you are registered. The small-supplier test is $30,000 of worldwide taxable supplies in a quarter or over four consecutive quarters, including other side hustles. A store is not the taxi first-dollar rule. If you register, input tax credits may apply to GST/HST on the plan and other business purchases. This is not tax advice.
Which sources support this guide?
The rules, rates, and platform requirements in this guide are checked against these primary sources. Retail price ranges are labelled as ranges to verify locally, and they are not quotes.
- When to register for and start charging the GST/HST — Canada Revenue Agency
- Charge and collect the GST/HST — Canada Revenue Agency
- GST/HST calculator (and rates) — Canada Revenue Agency
- Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities — Canada Revenue Agency
- Contributions to the Canada Pension Plan — Government of Canada
- Claiming capital cost allowance (CCA) — Canada Revenue Agency
- Input tax credits — Canada Revenue Agency
- GST/HST for taxi and ride-sharing drivers — Canada Revenue Agency
- GST/HST for digital-economy businesses: Overview — Canada Revenue Agency
- Shopify pricing — Shopify Canada
- Guide to importing commercial goods into Canada — Canada Border Services Agency
- FreshBooks pricing — FreshBooks
- Daily exchange rates — Bank of Canada
- False or misleading representations — Competition Bureau Canada