The eCommerce landscape in 2025 is more competitive than ever, with platforms striving to offer the best blend of affordability, scalability, and features. For UK-based businesses, the choice of an eCommerce platform is pivotal, especially as competition increases and customer expectations evolve. When it comes to picking the right platform, pricing often becomes a deciding factor.

In this article, we’ll explain each Shopify pricing plan in detail, breaking down costs and a comparison with other larger eCommerce platforms like BigCommerce, VisualSoft, and Magento.

Shopify Pricing Overview

Core Shopify Plans

Shopify offers three primary pricing tiers, with each plan has its own feature set that suits certain business types. It’s a highly scalable platform, so you can start with a basic plan and easily upgrade as your business grows.

1. Basic Shopify (£25/month): Perfect for startups and solo entrepreneurs, offering essential tools like a website, blog, and two staff accounts.
2. Shopify (£65/month): Ideal for small business teams with additional features like professional reports and five staff accounts.
3. Advanced Shopify (£344/month): Designed to upgrade as your business scales, providing Custom reports and analytics, 15 staff accounts, and 10x checkout capacity.

Additional Costs

• Transaction Fees: Shopify charges up to 2% third-party transaction fees if not using Shopify Payments.
• Apps and Plugins: While the Shopify App Store provides flexibility, these can add to ongoing costs.

Shopify Plus (Enterprise-Level)

For more complex businesses, Shopify Plus offers bespoke pricing (starting at around £2,000/month). This plan provides:

• Unlimited scalability for large enterprises.
• Advanced automation through Shopify Flow.
• Customisation options via APIs and headless commerce capabilities.

Check out Shopify UK’s pricing plans to Compare and get full list of features.

VisualSoft Pricing Overview

VisualSoft is a UK-based eCommerce platform known for its custom solutions that helps retailers create online shopfronts and provides expertise in performance-driven digital marketing. With a lower total cost of ownership than other eCommerce providers, they include a comprehensive email builder and access to multiple marketplace including Amazon and eBay at no extra cost. Here's an overview of the pricing plan:

1. Build Plan (£300/month): Everything you need to sell effectively and efficiently online.
2. Grow Plan (£500/month): Marketing tools and marketplace integrations for expanding reach.
3. Scale Plan (£900/month): Provide advanced analytics and international market access.
4. Custom Plan: A bespoke package built specifically for your business’ precise needs. Here the pricing is based on functionality requirements.

Additional Costs

Visualsoft includes additional costs for payment processing based on credit card rates:

• Build Plan: From 2% + 25p per transaction.
• Grow Plan: From 1.6% + 25p per transaction.
• Scale Plan: From 1.4% + 25p per transaction.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: UK-specific expertise, tailored solutions, and strong customer support.
• Cons: Higher setup and ongoing costs, less predictable pricing than Shopify.

BigCommerce Pricing Overview

BigCommerce is one of the best eCommerce platforms for businesses, recommended by experts. Its pricing tiers include:

• Standard (£24/month): For individuals and small brands supporting annual sales up to £41k.
• Plus (£64/month): For ambitious small businesses earning up to £148k.
• Pro (£240/month): For fast-growing businesses with annual revenue up to £314k.
• Enterprise (Custom): For established businesses earning over £800k annually.

BigCommerce also offers 0% added payment fees across all plans and 24/7 live phone and chat support.

Cons:

• A steeper learning curve compared to Shopify.
• Slightly higher pricing at similar levels of functionality.

Why Compare to Shopify?

Shopify’s intuitive interface and vast app ecosystem make it a preferred choice for businesses prioritising simplicity and scalability.

Magento Pricing Overview

Magento is an eCommerce platform built on open source technology that caters to large enterprises and developers seeking extensive customisation.

Magento Open Source

While free, Magento Open Source requires substantial investment in hosting, development, and security.

Magento Commerce

Starting at £15,000 annually, Magento Commerce is a premium option offering:

• Cloud hosting.
• Advanced B2B tools.
• Personalised customer experiences.

Additional Costs:

• Ongoing development and maintenance.
• Hiring Magento-certified developers.

Pros and Cons

• Pros: Scalability, endless customisation, and strong enterprise support.
• Cons: High costs, a steep learning curve, and reliance on technical expertise.

Pricing Comparison: Shopify vs VisualSoft vs BigCommerce vs Magento

Key Factors to Consider Beyond Price

When evaluating eCommerce platforms, consider these factors in addition to pricing:

• Ease of Use: Shopify renowned for its user-friendly interface, while Magento requires technical expertise.
• Support: Shopify and VisualSoft provide excellent support, whereas Magento often relies on third-party developers.
• Scalability: Shopify Plus and Magento are ideal for growing enterprises, but Shopify’s fixed pricing appeals to smaller businesses.
• UK-Specific Features: Shopify supports UK payment gateways and shipping options, making it a versatile choice.

Conclusion

When considering Shopify competitors, it’s important to consider your current and future business needs. While BigCommerce offers robust features and competitive pricing, Shopify often emerges as the preferred choice for businesses seeking scalability, extensive app integrations, and a more intuitive user experience thus making it an ideal platform for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re a small brand launching in the UK or an established company looking to scale globally, understanding the Shopify price UK and its associated costs is critical to choosing the right plan.

Ready to scale your business with Shopify? At WIRO, we specialise in helping UK businesses unlock the full potential of Shopify.

Contact WIRO today and let us help you build a tailored Shopify store that grows with your business.