Shopify: costs, fees and the road to headless.
Shopify is a shop system you rent. Products, checkout, payments and shipping run on their side. You pay from €27 a month plus a fee per sale.
A shop you don't have to run yourself.
Shopify is an e-commerce platform from Canada. Unlike WooCommerce, you need no server of your own, no checkout plugins and no security updates on a Saturday. Hosting, checkout and payments come from one provider.
Headless separates the shop window from the warehouse. Shopify manages products, stock, checkout and orders. You build the website freely, we use Next.js, and your team edits content in Sanity. The website pulls products and the cart through the Storefront API (opens in new tab). How the principle works is explained in Headless CMS.
What does Shopify cost?
Shopify charges in two parts: a fixed monthly plan and a fee per sale. Paying yearly saves you about a quarter. The prices below are for Germany.
Basic: €27 a month, €36 billed monthly. Card payments via Shopify Payments cost 2.1% plus €0.30.
Grow: €79 a month, €105 billed monthly. Card fee 1.8% plus €0.30.
Advanced: €289 a month, €384 billed monthly. Card fee 1.6% plus €0.30.
Plus: from €2,100 a month. Card fee 1.3% plus €0.30.
If you use another payment provider instead of Shopify Payments, you also pay a transaction fee from 2% (Basic) to 0.2% (Plus). As of November 2026, according to the Shopify pricing page for Germany (opens in new tab). From around €17,000 in monthly card revenue, Grow is cheaper than Basic even though the plan costs more. That's why we run the numbers with your figures before every move.
WordPress with WooCommerce or Shopify headless?
| WordPress + WooCommerce | Next.js + Sanity + Shopify |
|---|---|
| You maintain servers, updates and plugins | Shopify runs and updates the shop |
| Checkout and payments through several plugins | Checkout and payments from one provider |
| Many plugins slow the site down | Fast website, products come via API |
| Content and products in the same backend | Content in Sanity, products in Shopify |
| No monthly fee for the software | From €27 a month plus a fee per sale |
How do you know Shopify headless pays off?
Fits: You tell a lot about your products, with guides, stories and how-tos
Doesn't fit: You sell a handful of items and only need a checkout
Fits: Your WooCommerce site is slow and every update is a risk
Doesn't fit: A Shopify theme is enough for your design and content
Fits: Shop and website should be one presence, in German and English
Doesn't fit: Your budget covers the shop, not a website of its own
How the move from WooCommerce to Shopify works.
Take stock
Products, variants, customers, orders, URLs and plugins. Which of these does the new shop really need?
Set up Shopify
Import products and customers, set up payments, shipping and taxes.
Build the website
A Next.js frontend with content from Sanity, products and cart come live from Shopify.
Redirects
Every old URL points to the new one, so your Google rankings come along.
Switch over
Test orders first, then move the domain. The old shop stays online until then.
Shopify and GDPR: as of November 2026.
Not legal advice, but the current state with sources.
Data processing
The data processing agreement is part of the terms of service. For transfers out of the EU it names the 2021 EU Standard Contractual Clauses.
Shopify, Data Processing Addendum (opens in new tab)Data transfers
According to the agreement, Shopify also processes data outside the EU, for example in Canada and Singapore. For Canada there is an EU adequacy decision.
Shopify, Data Processing Addendum (opens in new tab)
What you want to know about Shopify.
Shopify costs from €27 a month on the Basic plan billed yearly, €36 billed monthly. On top come 2.1% plus €0.30 per card payment via Shopify Payments. Grow is €79, Advanced €289 and Plus at least €2,100 a month. Prices for Germany, as of November 2026.
Shopify then runs only in the background and manages products, stock, checkout and orders. You build the website yourself, for example with Next.js, and pull products and the cart through the Storefront API. Checkout stays with Shopify. You get a fast, freely designed site with a proven shop behind it.
Switching pays off when updates, plugins and servers cost you more time than selling. Shopify takes over operations, and in return you pay a monthly fee and a fee per sale. If your WooCommerce shop runs smoothly, we check the numbers first to see whether the move pays off for you.
Your shop needs to get off WooCommerce?
Tell us about your shop. We tell you whether Shopify headless fits, what it costs and what matters during the move.
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