Shopify Pricing in New Zealand NZ 2024

Get the comprehensive breakdown of Shopify pricing in New Zealand NZ 2023 to launch or elevate your online business.

Key Takeaways

• Shopify Pricing NZ Plans: Various Shopify plans cater to different business sizes, from starter entrepreneurs to large enterprises, each with unique pricing and features.
• Additional Costs: Beyond monthly subscriptions, merchants should consider costs associated with themes, apps, POS hardware, domain & email hosting, and potential transaction fees.
• Optimizing Expenses: Merchants can reduce their Shopify costs by leveraging Shopify Payments, selecting longer billing cycles, or switching between plans as needed.  

How Much Does Shopify Pricing NZ Cost?

With a range of options tailored to fit varying business sizes and needs, Shopify has structured its pricing plans. Let’s delve into the details of each:

Shopify Starter

Shopify Starter is ideal for Entrepreneurs looking to make their mark in social selling, especially at events and through instant messaging platforms.

• Price: $5 /month 
• Transaction fees: 5% when using Shopify Payments 

Key Features

• Quick Store Setup: Ideal for showcasing products across social media, this plan lets you set up a simple store in minutes. With Starter, you’re just a few clicks away from launching – requiring only a product image and an enticing description.
• Selling Tailored for Social: Seamlessly share products on platforms like Instagram, email, and WhatsApp, ensuring customers enjoy swift and secure transactions with Shopify’s reliable checkout system.
• Access to Shopify Apps: With access to a suite of Shopify apps, store owners can significantly enhance their online shop’s functionality. These apps cater to various needs, from marketing and sales to store design and inventory management.

Shopify Basic

Designed for ambitious individuals and growing small businesses, the Basic Plan provides all the tools to establish your online presence, handle shipping, and manage transactions. 

• Price: $39 USD per month, $29 USD per month when billed annually
• Credit Card Rates: 2.7% + $0.30 NZD (In-person Transactions: 2% + $0.00 NZD) 
• Third-party transactions fee: 2%

Key features 

• Basic Reporting: Gain access to essential reports that help you manage and analyze your store’s performance. This invaluable data will empower you to make well-informed decisions to boost your sales and grow your business.
• Inventory Management: With the capacity to support up to 1,000 inventory locations, you can effectively manage a wide range of products. This feature ensures you can keep close tabs on stock levels and streamline inventory management processes.
• Staff Accessibility: Extend access to your Shopify store to up to 2 staff members. This facilitates a more streamlined approach to store management and daily operations, enabling your team to work cohesively and efficiently.

Shopify

To meet the requirements of small businesses in striving for an enhanced online retail experience, the Shopify Plan empowers merchants with advanced tools, including improved reporting capabilities and broader staff access.

• Price: $105 per month, available at a reduced rate of $79 per month when billed annually
• Credit Card Rates: 2.5% + $0.30 NZD (In-person Transactions: 1.85% + $0.00 NZD)
• Third-party transactions fee: 1%

Key features

• All features of the Shopify basic plan 
• Standard Reporting: Dive deeper into your store’s metrics with access to comprehensive reports. Analyze and track your store’s performance, gaining insights that guide your business strategies and decisions.
• Inventory Management: Much like the Basic plan, efficiently manage your diverse product line with support for up to 1,000 inventory locations.
• Expanded Team Access: Streamline store operations by providing access to up to 5 staff members, ensuring tasks are distributed efficiently among your team.

Shopify Advanced

For the specific needs of medium to large enterprises, the Advanced Plan provides a premium Shopify experience, including advanced reporting tools and flexibly customized shipping prices, duties, and taxes for different regions and countries such as Shopify Pricing in Australia or Canada. 

• Price: $399 per month, $299 per month when billed annually 
• Credit Card Rates: 2.4% + $0.30 NZD (In-person Transactions: 1.7% + $0.00 NZD)
• Third-party transactions: 0.5%

Key features

• All features of the Basic and Shopify plans 
• Tailored Report Builder: Delve into the intricacies of your business data with the customized report builder, shaping analytics to meet your specific requirements and extracting actionable insights.
• Expanded Team Access: Optimize your operations by granting access to up to 15 team members, enhancing collaboration, and ensuring tasks are evenly distributed.
• Duties and Import Taxes: Provide complete clarity to your customers by estimating and collecting duties and import taxes right at the checkout. This offers transparency on the total costs and significantly reduces risks associated with returns and parcel refusals.

Shopify Plus

Tailored specifically for high-volume businesses, Shopify Plus offers enterprise-level robustness and flexibility.

• Price: starting at $2,000 USD per month
• Third-party transactions: 0.15 – 0.3%

Key features

• Targeted Audience Engagement: Connect with potential customers by directing your products to those actively seeking them, leveraging data-targeted audiences across prominent social marketplaces such as India, the UK, the USA, and Canada.
• Exceptional Checkout Experience: Ensure every sale ends with Shop Pay – renowned as the highest-converting online checkout option.
• Improved Customer Loyalty: Cultivate long-lasting relationships with your shoppers through integrated loyalty programs and a personalized engagement approach from your website’s homepage to their email inboxes.
• Integrated Multi-Channel Sales: Embrace the essence of omnichannel commerce. From Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) and retail to B2B and social media, manage sales across all channels and markets using a single, dynamic platform. Centralize your data and gain deep insights into customer behaviors and preferences, thus empowering every aspect of your business.

Additional Shopify costs

While Shopify’s subscription plans provide an extensive range of features, it’s crucial to be aware of additional costs that may arise as you set up and optimize your store. 

Themes

Shopify prides itself on offering a diverse selection of free and premium themes to enhance the look of your online store. Currently, they present 12 free themes and 152 premium themes. The cost for these premium themes can range anywhere from $150 to $380, depending on the design complexity and features provided.

Apps

The world of Shopify apps is vast and varied. These tools, tailored to enhance the functionality of your store, can come in different pricing models:

• Free Apps: Offering basic features, these apps serve as an ideal starting point for newcomers looking to augment their store without extra expenses.
• Subscription-based Apps: Generally boasting more advanced features, these apps come with a monthly fee. Prices can fluctuate significantly, ranging from just a few monthly dollars to over $100.
• Premium Apps: Catered towards larger businesses, these high-end apps offer a comprehensive set of features at costing several hundred dollars monthly.
• Custom Apps: If your business has unique requirements, you might consider developing a custom app. The starting cost for such endeavors typically hovers around $20,000.

Point-of-Sale Hardware

Shopify also caters to in-person sales with their Point-of-Sale (POS) plans:

• Starter Plan: Ideal for casual sellers, this plan is priced at $5/month.

It includes 1 POS Lite location, one admin account, 1 POS login, and a simple online store. The credit card rates are 5% in person and 5% + NZD 0.30 online.

• Retail Plan: Designed for retail businesses, it comes at $89/month. 

Benefits include 1 POS Pro location, two admin accounts, unlimited POS logins, and a simple online store. The credit card rates are 2% in person and 2.7% + NZD 0.30 online.

Domain & email hosting

For those keen on personalizing their store URL, Shopify offers the option to purchase a domain directly. Alternatively, you can redirect an existing domain to your Shopify store. Every new store is also assigned a free myshopify.com domain. 

On the email front, note that email hosting is separate from website hosting. Typically, costs for email hosting range from $1 to $15 per month, depending on the provider and any bundled services.

Transaction Fees

There are zero transaction fees if you opt for Shopify Payments. However, should you choose a third-party payment gateway, you’ll encounter fees: 

• Basic Shopify plan: 2%
• Shopify plan: 1%
• Advanced Shopify plan: 0.5%
• Shopify plus: 0.15 – 0.3% 

Which Shopify Plan Is For You in New Zealand?

To begin, it’s crucial to grasp New Zealand’s unique business environment. The country boasts a thriving small business sector, with Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) playing a significant role in the business landscape. 

Furthermore, New Zealand and Indian consumers have shown an increasing inclination towards online shopping, particularly in recent years.

For individuals just dipping their toes in the e-commerce waters or small businesses with limited products, the Starter or Basic plan can be ideal. They offer an affordable entry point and cover essential features to start and operate an online store. If your business mainly caters to local communities or has a niche audience, these plans can serve you well without stretching your budget.

Especially, for growing businesses that are gaining traction and have a steady flow of online orders, the standard Shopify plan might be the most apt. The reduced transaction fees and professional reports can be invaluable for SMEs. Also, with New Zealand’s strong SME backbone, this plan aligns well with businesses ready to scale up but not yet at the enterprise level.

When choosing a Shopify pricing NZ plan, consider local factors:

• Currency: Ensure that the plan supports NZD currency seamlessly.
• Payment Gateways: With Shopify Payments now available in New Zealand, you can bypass additional transaction fees by opting for Shopify’s in-house payment processor. However, always ensure your business isn’t on the prohibited list for Shopify Payments in NZ.
• Local Preferences: New Zealand consumers appreciate local brands, so factor in features that enhance local trust, such as reviews and region-specific marketing tools.

Shopify Pricing NZ In 2023: 5 Tips to Reduce your Shopify Costs 

As the e-commerce landscape in New Zealand continues to evolve, entrepreneurs are constantly on the lookout for ways to optimize expenses. If you’re a Shopify merchant, here are five strategic tips to help you maximize your budget and potentially reduce your overall Shopify costs.

Using Shopify Payment 

By leveraging Shopify’s native payment gateway, Shopify Payment, you can benefit from zero transaction fees. This can result in significant savings, mainly if your store processes a high volume of transactions. Additionally, using Shopify Payment ensures a seamless checkout experience for your customers, potentially leading to higher conversion rates.

Select Longer billing Cycles

Even though monthly billing may appear easier, choosing a yearly plan can save you money. When you pay for a year in advance, you get a better deal each month. As a result, you can use these savings to further expand your business.

Buy Your Domain Elsewhere

While Shopify offers domain registration, you can sometimes find competitive deals on domain registrars like Namecheap, GoDaddy, or others. 

Once you purchase your domain from these platforms, you can easily redirect it to your Shopify store, ensuring you maintain a professional web presence without the extra costs.

Third-party Gateway And Processor

For merchants where Shopify Payments isn’t an option due to geographic restrictions or specific business requirements, third-party payment gateways and processors serve as viable alternatives, such as 2 Advanced Credit/Debit Card – UseePay, 2Checkout Convert Plus (by Verifone), Adyen, Afterpay (New), BitPay, Braintree, and FasterPay.

These external providers can offer a wide range of features and benefits tailored to unique business needs. However, it’s crucial to know that Shopify imposes additional fees when opting for third-party payment solutions. So before making a decision, ensure you’ve accounted for these extra charges and weighed them against the benefits provided by the third-party gateway to guarantee the best financial choice for your store.

Upgrade/downgrade For Your Plans 

Regularly review your store’s requirements and performance. If you’re not using certain features your current plan provides, consider downgrading to save on monthly fees.

Conversely, if your business is growing, upgrading might offer features that can streamline operations and enhance sales, justifying the higher cost.

What Requirements for Shopify Payments in New Zealand 

To use Shopify Payments in NZ, you need to follow some requirements. 

Prohibited Businesses

Before using Shopify Payments in New Zealand, ensure your business type is allowed. Shopify has a list of businesses that can’t use this service. Check the Shopify Payments Terms of Service (TOS) to ensure your business meets their guidelines.

Bank Account Requirements

Before linking to Shopify Payments, confirm your bank account in New Zealand meets these criteria:

• It’s a full checking account in NZD.
• It can handle BECS transfers.

Accounts designed solely for wire transfers aren’t compatible. Also, savings, flex-currency accounts, or services mimicking bank accounts aren’t supported. While virtual bank accounts are allowed, they may face more payout challenges.

Check with your bank to verify it can handle the specified transfer type for your region. 

Personal Information Requirements 

Shopify requires merchants’ specific personal and business-related information from merchants to comply with international regulations to prevent financial crimes, money laundering, and terrorist financing. This information typically includes details about

• The person setting up the Shopify Payments account.
• The business associated with the Shopify Payments account.
• The people who have final ownership or control over the business, such as the business owner or a top executive, have the authority to sign for the company legally.
• Individuals who have control over the business, such as the owner or a senior executive with signing authority.

For a faster verification process with Shopify, provide clear, valid, and current documents without errors. Ensure your documents’ details align with the information you give to Shopify. In New Zealand, they accept a range of identity papers, address proofs, and business-related documents.

Shopify Pricing in NZ: FAQs

Final Thoughts 

In New Zealand, choosing the right Shopify plan is key for entrepreneurs. Options like the Starter and Plus Plan cater to all business sizes. As the e-commerce sector in New Zealand flourishes, it’s imperative for businesses to align their strategies with platforms that can support their vision.