What a Shopify store really costs in Pakistan

When people ask what a Shopify store costs, they usually mean the monthly plan. That is the smallest surprise on the bill. A store in Pakistan also pays for a domain, sometimes a theme, a few apps, payment fees and the courier, and it loses money on every cash-on-delivery parcel that comes back. Here is each cost, what it is for, and whether you need it on day one.

Two kinds of cost

• Fixed costs you pay whether you sell or not: the Shopify plan, the domain, paid apps
• Per-order costs that grow with sales: payment fees, courier charges, packaging and returns

New stores usually worry about the first kind and are caught out by the second. Work out your per-order costs before you set a price.

1. The Shopify plan

Shopify charges a monthly subscription, billed in US dollars, and there is usually a low-priced trial period for new stores. Because the bill is in dollars, the rupee amount moves with the exchange rate, and your bank may add its own charge for an international card payment.

• Start on the lowest plan. It has everything a new store needs
• Paying yearly is cheaper per month than paying monthly, but only do that once the store is selling
• Check the current plan prices on Shopify's own pricing page rather than trusting an old blog post, including this one

2. Domain

Your store gets a free myshopify.com address, but customers trust a store with its own name. A .com or .pk domain is a small yearly cost, and you can buy it from any registrar and connect it to Shopify. Buy it in your own name and keep the login yourself.

3. Theme

• Shopify's free themes are good enough to launch with
• Paid themes from the Shopify Theme Store are a one-time purchase, not a subscription
• Avoid pirated or 'nulled' themes — they are a security risk and break on updates

4. Apps

This is where monthly costs quietly pile up. Many apps have a free tier, then charge monthly in dollars once you pass a limit. Add an app only when you can name the problem it solves.

• Useful early: an order confirmation or COD verification flow, and product reviews
• Useful once you have traffic: abandoned cart recovery and email marketing
• Often unnecessary: countdown timers, pop-up spin wheels and five different 'conversion boosters'

5. Payment and transaction fees

Most orders in Pakistan are cash on delivery, so the courier collects the money and pays it to you after deducting its charges. For prepaid orders you need a payment gateway.

• Shopify's own payment system is not available to businesses based in Pakistan, so local stores use a third-party gateway for cards and wallets
• A third-party gateway charges its own fee on each payment
• Shopify also charges its own transaction fee on orders paid through a third-party gateway, and the rate depends on your plan
• For selling abroad, Stripe or Payoneer are the usual routes, and Stripe needs a company in a supported country

6. Courier and COD returns

• Each parcel has a delivery charge, and the courier may charge a fee for collecting cash
• A returned COD parcel costs you delivery both ways and earns nothing
• Confirming every order on WhatsApp before dispatch reduces returns
• Packaging is a real cost per order — include it

For most Pakistani stores this section, not the Shopify plan, is the largest running cost. Build an assumed return rate into your prices from the first day.

7. Setup: yourself or a developer

You can set up a basic Shopify store yourself with a free theme. It costs time rather than money, and it is the best way to understand your own store. Paying someone makes sense when you want the branding, checkout flow, courier connection and tracking done properly from the start.

For reference, our own Shopify Starter setup is Rs 30,000: theme setup and branding, up to 30 products loaded, a COD checkout with an order confirmation flow, one courier integration, Meta Pixel and GA4, and one month of support. Larger stores with card payments, apps and custom theme work cost more.

What to skip at the start

• A paid theme — launch on a free one
• A yearly plan — stay monthly until orders are steady
• Paid apps you cannot justify with a specific problem
• A large first inventory — test demand with a few products

What you should not skip: your own domain, clear product photos and descriptions, an order confirmation step, and a small advertising budget to test with. A store without traffic costs money every month and sells nothing.

When WooCommerce is cheaper

WooCommerce runs on WordPress and has no monthly platform fee. You pay for hosting and a domain, and you look after updates and backups yourself. It suits local cash-on-delivery selling where every rupee of fixed cost matters. Shopify costs more each month but is simpler to run and stronger for selling abroad. Neither is better in general — it depends on where you sell and how much you want to manage.