Shopify’s plans start at US$19 a month on yearly billing, or US$25 a month billed monthly. For a Malaysian store, that is only part of the bill. Because Shopify Payments is not available for businesses in Malaysia, you connect a third-party payment gateway, and Shopify then adds its own transaction fee of 2%, 1% or 0.6% depending on your plan. That is on top of the gateway’s own charges.
Here is what a Malaysian store actually pays, with a worked example. Prices below were read from Shopify’s and Stripe’s Malaysian pricing pages in September 2026. Check the current figures before you decide, because they change.
Shopify plan prices
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Shopify fee on third-party payments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | US$19/month | US$25/month | 2% |
| Grow | US$49/month | US$65/month | 1% |
| Advanced | US$299/month | US$399/month | 0.6% |
| Plus | From US$2,300/month | — | 0.2% |
Source: Shopify pricing (Malaysia).
Shopify bills in US dollars, so the ringgit amount moves with the exchange rate and your bank may add a foreign currency charge.
Why Malaysian stores pay the extra fee
Shopify waives its transaction fee when you use Shopify Payments, its own payment system. Shopify Payments only works in supported countries, and Malaysia is not on the list. So Malaysian stores use gateways such as Stripe, or local providers that support FPX and e-wallets, and the third-party fee in the table above applies to every order paid through them.
Payment gateway charges
The gateway charges you separately for processing each payment. For example, Stripe’s Malaysian pricing lists:
- Domestic cards: 3% + RM1.00 per successful transaction
- International cards: an extra 1%
- Currency conversion: an extra 2% if needed
- FPX: 3% + RM1.00
Local gateways have their own rates, and some offer lower fees for FPX or DuitNow. Compare two or three before you launch.
A worked example
Say a store on the Basic plan sells RM20,000 a month from 200 orders of RM100 each, all paid by domestic card through Stripe.
| Cost | Calculation | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic (monthly billing) | US$25 | about US$25 |
| Stripe card fees | 3% of RM20,000 + RM1 × 200 orders | RM800 |
| Shopify third-party fee | 2% of RM20,000 | RM400 |
| Payment-related total | RM1,200 + US$25 |
In this example, payment fees cost far more than the plan itself. Moving to the Grow plan halves the Shopify fee to 1%, saving RM200 a month, which is roughly the US$40 difference in plan price at this sales level. Run the same sums with your own numbers.
Other costs to budget for
- Paid apps. Reviews, bundles, subscriptions and advanced filters are often paid apps with their own monthly fee.
- Premium theme. Free themes exist, but many stores buy a paid theme as a one-off cost.
- Domain name. Around the price of a normal domain each year.
- Marketplace orders. Shopify’s pricing page lists 50 synced marketplace orders per month free, then 1% (up to US$99 a month) above that.
- Design and setup. If you hire someone to build the store, that is a one-off cost.
When Shopify makes sense
Shopify suits businesses that want to launch quickly, do not want to manage hosting or security, and are happy with a monthly fee in exchange. The transaction fee matters less when monthly sales are still small, because a percentage of a small total is a small amount.
If your sales volume is high and margins are thin, the extra fee becomes a real cost. That is when it is worth comparing Shopify with WooCommerce, which has no platform transaction fee. We compare the two in Shopify vs WooCommerce for Malaysian businesses.
If you want help choosing a platform or setting up a store, see our e-commerce website design service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you use Shopify in Malaysia?
Yes. Malaysian businesses can open a Shopify store. Shopify Payments is not available in Malaysia, so you need a third-party payment gateway.
How much is Shopify per month in Malaysia?
The Basic plan is US$19 a month on yearly billing or US$25 billed monthly, based on Shopify’s pricing page in September 2026. Payment and app costs are extra.
Why does Shopify charge a transaction fee in Malaysia?
Shopify charges a fee on orders paid through third-party gateways: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced. It waives this only for Shopify Payments, which is not offered in Malaysia.
Does Shopify support FPX?
Through third-party gateways, yes. Providers such as Stripe list FPX among their payment methods, with their own fees.
Is Shopify cheaper than WooCommerce?
Not always. Shopify includes hosting and security in the plan, but adds a transaction fee in Malaysia. WooCommerce has no platform fee, but you pay for hosting and maintenance. The cheaper option depends on your sales volume.
