Shopify Payments looks like one fee but bills like two: a monthly plan subscription plus a per-transaction processing rate that drops as you climb plans. Miss the second layer and you'll misbudget by hundreds a month. And there's a third cost almost no fee guide prices — the reserve and payout-hold risk. This guide works all three with dated figures.
The current Canadian rate table (checked October 2026)
Shopify renamed its plans — old tables listing a "Shopify" plan at 2.7% + 30¢ are stale. The current plan names are Basic, Grow, Advanced, and Plus. Rates below come from a pricing page read in early October 2026; confirm against shopify.ca/pricing before budgeting, since Shopify adjusts these:
| Plan | Subscription (CAD/mo, billed yearly) | Online rate | In-person rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $37 | 2.8% + 30¢ | 2.6% |
| Grow | $99 | 2.6% + 30¢ | 2.5% |
| Advanced | $389 | 2.4% + 30¢ | 2.4% |
| Plus | Custom | 2.15% + 30¢ | 2.4% |
Chargebacks cost $15 CAD per dispute (refundable if you win), and currency conversion runs about 2% outside the US. Shopify POS Pro adds $89/month per location for advanced point-of-sale features.
Worked math: a $30,000/month online store
The setup: $30,000/month in online card sales, $75 average ticket (~400 transactions).
On Basic ($37/mo): $30,000 × 2.8% = $840, plus 400 × $0.30 = $120, plus $37. Total: ~$997/month (effective rate ~3.32%).
On Grow ($99/mo): $30,000 × 2.6% = $780, plus $120, plus $99. Total: ~$999/month (effective rate ~3.33%).
The crossover: at $30,000/month the two plans cost almost the same — Grow's 0.2% rate saving ($60) is cancelled by its $62 higher subscription. Grow only pulls ahead above roughly $31,000/month. Don't upgrade "for the lower rate" until your volume clears that line.
Shopify Payments vs the alternatives (online, Canada)
| Processor | Online rate (Canada) | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Payments (Grow) | 2.6% + 30¢ | $99 plan |
| Stripe | 2.9% + CA$0.30 | $0 |
| Square | 2.8% + 30¢ | $0 |
| Helcim (in-person, for contrast) | Interchange + 0.40% + 8¢ | $0 |
Shopify Payments wins on rate once you're on Grow — but Stripe and Square charge no subscription, so the honest comparison always includes the plan cost, as the math above shows.
The surcharge: using another gateway on Shopify
Use a third-party gateway (Moneris, a standalone Stripe account) instead of Shopify Payments and Shopify adds a surcharge on top of that gateway's own fees: 2.0% on Basic, 1.0% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced. The surcharge even applies to PayPal offered as an alternative payment method alongside Shopify Payments. The only way to avoid it entirely is to run Shopify Payments as your sole processor — which is why most Canadian Shopify sellers do, even when a standalone gateway quotes a better interchange-plus rate. Run the stack before assuming a cheaper gateway saves you: Moneris at ~1.8% plus a 2.0% Basic surcharge is 3.8% — worse than Shopify Payments' own 2.8%.
The third cost: reserves and holds
This is the fee that isn't a fee. Shopify's Canadian payments terms let it hold "a certain amount (including the full amount)" of your transaction funds in a reserve, change the reserve terms at its discretion at any time, and pay no interest on held money. Merchant reports put the practical shape of this risk at roughly 90–120 days of held funds after a risk review or account closure.
The reviews tell two stories at once. Aggregators are kind: G2 shows 4.4/5 across 4,600+ reviews, Capterra 4.5/5 across 6,400+, the App Store 4.7/5 — but the BBB sits at 1.1/5 and Trustpilot near 1.5 stars, where the complaints concentrate: slow support during payout problems, surprise holds, and accounts frozen for fraud or compliance reviews. A June 2026 Trustpilot reviewer described accepting a 30% reserve, then watching roughly €15,000 in reserved funds become untraceable on the dashboard — two months of tickets, no answers. The pattern in the complaints isn't the reserve itself; it's the opacity around amounts held and release timelines. A Shopify Community thread on a 120-day hold freezing about $25,000 reads the same way: the hold is policy, the silence is the grievance.
Decision framework: stay or leave
- Under ~$31,000/month online: Basic's total cost matches Grow — don't upgrade for the rate alone.
- Using a third-party gateway: add the surcharge to that gateway's quote before comparing; it usually kills the deal on Basic.
- Risk-profile check: risk reviews, verification checks, and returns/cancellation patterns are the documented hold triggers — keep a cash buffer and a backup processor if any apply to you.
- Read the reserves clause before you need it. Know that Shopify can hold up to the full amount and change terms at will — plan cash flow accordingly.
- Re-check the plan names. Any guide still quoting a "Shopify" plan at 2.7% is stale; price from the current Basic/Grow/Advanced/Plus table.
A note on steps: this is a fee explainer, not a setup procedure — the framework above is the actionable part, and there's no settings path to click through.
FAQ
What are Shopify Payments' current Canadian rates?
As of early October 2026: Basic 2.8% + 30¢ online / 2.6% in-person; Grow 2.6% + 30¢ / 2.5%; Advanced 2.4% + 30¢ / 2.4%; Plus 2.15% + 30¢ / 2.4%. Plan names changed — older tables showing a "Shopify" plan are outdated. Confirm on shopify.ca/pricing before budgeting.
Can Shopify hold my money?
Yes. The Canadian payments terms allow Shopify to hold up to the full amount of transaction funds in a reserve, change the terms at its discretion, and pay no interest. Merchant reports describe holds of roughly 90–120 days during risk reviews.
Is it cheaper to use my own gateway on Shopify?
Rarely on lower plans: Shopify adds a 2.0% (Basic), 1.0% (Grow), or 0.6% (Advanced) surcharge on top of the gateway's own fees. Stack both numbers before deciding.