---
title: "Is Shopify Free? What You Actually Get for $0 (2026)"
description: "Shopify is not free, but the trial is and the introductory offer is close. What $0 gets you, what the $1/month offer covers, and the genuinely free alternatives."
url: https://easyappsecom.com/guides/is-shopify-free
date: 2026-09-06
---

# Is Shopify Free? What You Actually Get for $0 (2026)

EasyApps Ecommerce

Last updated: September 2026

TL;DR: No, Shopify is not free. The cheapest real store is Basic at $39/month. What is free is the 3-day trial, after which Shopify currently charges $1/month for three months — so the first 90 days cost about $3. There is no permanently free Shopify tier, and the "free forever" claims you will find online are describing either the trial, the $5 Starter plan, or a different platform entirely.

### Three Days Free, Then $1/Month

No card required to start. 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months — the closest thing to free Shopify offers. Plus earn 1% of your sales back in Shopify credits. [Start your free trial](https://shopify.pxf.io/Gbn46r)

*[Affiliate link](https://easyappsecom.com/affiliate-disclosure) — EasyApps may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Shopify's price is the same either way.*

**TL;DR:****No, Shopify is not free.** The cheapest real store is Basic at $39/month. What is free is the **3-day trial**, after which Shopify currently charges **$1/month for three months** — so the first 90 days cost about $3. There is no permanently free Shopify tier, and the "free forever" claims you will find online are describing either the trial, the $5 Starter plan, or a different platform entirely.

## The Short Answer

Shopify has no free tier. Every plan that gives you an actual online store is paid, starting at $39 per month for
 Basic. Anyone telling you otherwise is describing one of four things, and it is worth knowing which:

| What they mean | What it actually is | Real cost |
|---|---|---|
| "Shopify is free to try" | The 3-day trial | $0 for 3 days |
| "Shopify is $1" | The introductory offer after the trial | $1/mo for 3 months |
| "Shopify has a $5 plan" | Starter — checkout links, not a storefront | $5/mo |
| "Shopify apps are free" | True of many apps, including all ten of ours | $0 |

## What Is Genuinely Free

Plenty of what a store needs costs nothing, which is why the "$39 and nothing else" budget is realistic:

- **The trial.** Three days, no card required, full access to build and configure.
- **Themes.** Shopify's free themes are fast, responsive and maintained by Shopify itself. A paid theme buys a different look, not a better store.
- **SSL, hosting and bandwidth.** Unlimited, on every plan, included.
- **Unlimited products.** No plan caps how much you can list.
- **Abandoned cart recovery.** Included on every plan, including Basic.
- **A great many apps.** Including all ten of ours — email popups, sticky add to cart, free shipping bars, upsells, countdown timers, accessibility and translation — which are free to install.

What is never free is the subscription and the payment processing. Those two are the business model.

## The Trial and the $1 Offer

The trial is three days. That is short, and it is short deliberately — it is enough to see the admin, load
 products and pick a theme, not enough to build a finished store.

The part that matters more is what follows: Shopify currently charges **$1 per month for the first three
 months**. That turns the real question from "can I afford $39 to find out?" into "can I afford $3?" For anyone
 genuinely testing an idea, that is the offer to use, and it is why the trial length matters less than it looks.

**And it gets closer to free than that.** Shopify credits **1% of your sales** back
 against your subscription for the first six months — up to $5,000 on Basic, $7,500 on Grow and $10,000 on Advanced.
 A store doing $2,000 a month earns roughly $120 in credit over that period, which is more than the $3 the promotional
 pricing costs. For the first six months, a store that sells anything at all can genuinely run at close to zero net
 subscription cost. The credits require Shopify Payments and are credit against the plan rather than cash — the full
 terms are in [the free trial guide](https://easyappsecom.com/guides/shopify-free-trial-guide).

We cover the mechanics — what happens at the end, whether you need a card, what carries over — in
 [the Shopify free trial guide](https://easyappsecom.com/guides/shopify-free-trial-guide).

## The $5 Starter Plan Is Not a Store

Starter costs $5 a month and is regularly mistaken for a cheap version of Shopify. It is a different product.

Starter gives you product pages and checkout links you can paste into Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp or an email. It
 does not give you a full storefront with collections, navigation and search. If you sell through social media and DMs, it
 is genuinely useful and very cheap. If you want a website customers browse, it is not the plan you want.

## Platforms That Are Actually Free

If free is a hard requirement, these exist — with the trade-offs stated honestly:

| Option | Free? | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| Etsy | No monthly fee | 6.5% transaction + listing fees + you do not own the customer |
| Square Online | Free tier exists | Square branding, limited features, higher processing |
| WooCommerce | Plugin is free | You pay for hosting, and you own every technical problem |
| Big Cartel | Free up to 5 products | Five products |
| Social selling only | Yes | No storefront, no SEO, no owned audience |

The honest summary: free platforms move the cost from a subscription to either a transaction percentage or your own
 time. At low volume that is often the right trade. Etsy's roughly 9–11% all-in overtakes Shopify's $39 somewhere
 around $500–$700 a month in sales, which arrives faster than most people expect. See
 [Shopify vs Etsy](https://easyappsecom.com/guides/shopify-vs-etsy) for the arithmetic.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Is there a free Shopify plan?

No. Shopify has no permanently free tier. The cheapest plan that gives you a full online store is Basic at $39 per month, or $29 per month billed annually. The Starter plan at $5 per month provides checkout links rather than a storefront.

### How long is the Shopify free trial?

Three days, with no credit card required to start. After the trial, Shopify currently offers $1 per month for the first three months, so the first 90 days cost roughly $3 in total.

### Can I build my store during the free trial without paying?

Yes. The trial gives full access to the admin, so you can add products, configure a theme, set up shipping and connect a domain. You cannot sell to customers until you select a plan — checkout stays disabled until the store is on a paid plan.

### Are Shopify apps free?

Many are, including all ten EasyApps apps, which are free to install. Others charge $10 to $50 per month each. Apps are the most common reason a store's costs exceed its budget, so install only what you can justify.

### What happens to my store if I do not pay?

Shopify pauses the store. Your data and configuration are retained, and the storefront becomes unavailable to customers until you select a plan again. You do not lose your work by letting a trial lapse.

## Related Guides

- [How Much Does Shopify Cost in 2026?](https://easyappsecom.com/guides/how-much-does-shopify-cost-2026)
- [The Shopify Free Trial, Explained](https://easyappsecom.com/guides/shopify-free-trial-guide)
- [The Shopify Costs Nobody Warns You About](https://easyappsecom.com/guides/shopify-hidden-costs)
- [Shopify vs Etsy: Which Is Cheaper?](https://easyappsecom.com/guides/shopify-vs-etsy)
- [Best Free Shopify Apps in 2026](https://easyappsecom.com/guides/best-free-shopify-apps-2026)