Overview
Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform for au online sellers. Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, it serves Australian businesses.
The world's leading e-commerce platform for AU online sellers
AU Compliance Scores
BAS Lodgement0/5
STP Phase 20/5
Payday Super0/5
Modern Awards0/5
GST Handling4/5
Bank Feeds0/5
Modern Awards NoteNot applicable — e-commerce platform without workforce management features.
Pricing (AUD inc. GST)
All prices below are in Australian dollars (GST not included). Pricing verified as of 2026-03-18.
Starter
$7/mo
AUD exc GST
Lightweight plan for social selling and link-in-bio storefronts only. No full online store — sell via social media, messaging apps, and shareable links. Includes Shopify Payments at 5% + 30¢ per transaction.
- Products: unlimited
- Staff Accounts: 1
- Online Store: No
Most Popular
Basic
$56/mo
AUD exc GST
Full e-commerce store for solo entrepreneurs. Includes online store, blog, unlimited products, 2 staff accounts, and basic analytics. Online card rate: 1.75% + 30¢. In-person: 1.95%. Third-party gateway fee: 2%.
- Products: unlimited
- Staff Accounts: 2
- Online Store: Yes
- Sales Channels: unlimited
Grow
$149/mo
AUD exc GST
For small teams scaling up. Includes everything in Basic plus 5 staff accounts, professional reports, and better card rates. Online card rate: 1.6% + 30¢. In-person: 1.85%. Third-party gateway fee: 1%.
- Products: unlimited
- Staff Accounts: 5
- Online Store: Yes
- Sales Channels: unlimited
Advanced
$575/mo
AUD exc GST
For scaling businesses with global reach. Includes custom reports, 15 staff accounts, calculated duties and import taxes at checkout, and lowest card rates. Online card rate: 1.4% + 30¢. In-person: 1.75%. Third-party gateway fee: 0.6%.
- Products: unlimited
- Staff Accounts: 15
- Online Store: Yes
- Sales Channels: unlimited
- Custom Reports: Yes
- Duties And Taxes: Yes
Plus
$3700/mo
AUD exc GST
Enterprise-grade plan for complex, high-volume businesses. Billed yearly on 1- or 3-year terms. Includes B2B selling, customisable checkout via Checkout Extensibility, lowest transaction rates, and dedicated support. Pricing is approximate and varies by contract.
- Products: unlimited
- Staff Accounts: unlimited
- Online Store: Yes
- Sales Channels: unlimited
- Custom Reports: Yes
- B2b: Yes
- Dedicated Support: Yes
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Complete hosted platform — no server management, automatic SSL, PCI compliance, and 99.99% uptime SLA
- Largest e-commerce app ecosystem with 8,000+ integrations including Xero, MYOB, Australia Post, and Afterpay
- Competitive AU card processing rates from 1.4% + 30¢ via Shopify Payments — no separate gateway needed
- Native Australia Post MyPost Business integration for automated shipping labels and real-time rate calculation
- True omnichannel selling across online store, social media, marketplaces, and in-person POS from one dashboard
- Automatic GST calculation with tax-inclusive pricing display for Australian Consumer Law compliance
- 3-day free trial plus $1/month for 3 months promotional pricing for new merchants
- Scales from solo entrepreneur ($56/mo) to enterprise ($3,700/mo+) without platform migration
Cons
- Monthly plan costs plus per-transaction fees make it more expensive than self-hosted alternatives like WooCommerce
- Additional 0.6%–2% fee charged when using third-party payment gateways instead of Shopify Payments
- Data hosted in US/Canada — no Australian data sovereignty or option to select AU hosting location
- No AU-based support team — global 24/7 support may lack Australian-specific product expertise
- Does not handle BAS lodgement, payroll, or superannuation — requires Xero or MYOB integration for tax compliance
- Free trial limited to 3 days (compared to 14–30 days offered by competitors)
- Starter plan ($7/mo) is very limited — no full online store, only link-in-bio and social selling
Who Is Shopify Best For?
- Small Business
- Medium Business
- Online Retailer
- D2c Brand
Shopify may not be the best fit for:
- Sole Trader
- Budget Conscious
- Data Sovereignty Required
Shopify Alternatives
If Shopify doesn’t quite fit your needs, consider these alternatives for Australian businesses:
- WooCommerce — Free open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress. Free plan available.
- BigCommerce — Australian-founded SaaS e-commerce platform built for growth. From $39/mo inc. GST.
- Squarespace — Design-first website builder with integrated e-commerce. From $24/mo inc. GST.
- Neto (Maropost Commerce Cloud) — Australia's all-in-one B2B and multi-channel ecommerce platform. From $199/mo inc. GST.
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