Shopify Grow vs Advanced Plan Break-Even Calculator
Dropping your card rate from 2.7% to 2.5% on Shopify Advanced ($299/mo annual) pays for itself above $110,000/month in sales.
By eliminating third-party gateway penalties and optimizing your plan tier.
Grow + External Gateway + Surcharge
2.7% + $0.30 + Shopify 3rd-party penalty
2.9% + $0.30
$29/mo plan + processing
2.7% + $0.30
$79/mo plan + processing
2.5% + $0.30
$299/mo plan + processing
How Grow + External Gateway vs. Shopify Fees Work in 2026
1. The Third-Party Gateway Penalty: When you process payments through an external provider like Grow + External Gateway (2.7% + $0.30 per order), Shopify charges an additional transaction surcharge of 2.0% on Basic, 1.0% on Grow, and 0.6% on Advanced. Activating Shopify Payments waives that surcharge immediately.
2. Plan Upgrade Break-Even Points: Higher Shopify plans reduce your credit card rate from 2.9% (Basic) to 2.7% (Grow) and 2.5% (Advanced). On annual billing, upgrading from Basic to Grow pays for itself once your store passes $25,000/month in sales, and upgrading from Grow to Advanced pays for itself above $110,000/month.