The price gap hits you instantly: Shopify starts at EUR 1/month and jumps to EUR 79/month, EUR 289/month, and even EUR 2100/month, while Stripe’s headline fees sit in the low‑cent range, like EUR 0.25 for domestic cards and EUR 0.1 for cards and wallets.
What the numbers actually cover
| Vendor | Plan / Fee | Price | What’s included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | Unnamed tier | EUR 1/month | – |
| Unnamed tier | EUR 27/month | – | |
| Unnamed tier | EUR 0.3 | Sell online, in person, and in AI chats; Built‑in AI assistant; Millions of tokens | |
| Unnamed tier | EUR 79/month | – | |
| Unnamed tier | EUR 289/month | Advanced | |
| Unnamed tier | EUR 2100/month | – | |
| Unnamed tier | EUR 36/month | – | |
| Unnamed tier | EUR 4500 | – | |
| Unnamed tier | EUR 0.25 | – | |
| Unnamed tier | EUR 0.35 | – | |
| Unnamed tier | $99/month | – | |
| Stripe | Standard (UK cards) | EUR 0.25/month | – |
| Domestic cards | EUR 0.25 | – | |
| Disputes | EUR 20 | Respond to card payment disputes | |
| Instant payouts | EUR 0.5 | Of Instant Payouts volume | |
| Shared Payment Tokens | EUR 0.15 | – | |
| Custom domain | $10/month | Use your own domain while hosting your payments page | |
| Post‑payment invoices | $2 | Automatically generate an invoice after a one‑off purchase | |
| Cards and wallets | EUR 0.1 | Accept credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets for in‑person payments | |
| Card readers | EUR 59 | BBPOS WisePad 3; Excl. VAT; Stripe Reader S710 | |
| Mobile | EUR 9/month | – | |
| Account owners | EUR 1.25 | Verify bank account ownership | |
| Card creation | EUR 3.5 | Create and issue cards instantly |
Shopify’s sheet reads like a menu of bundled tiers – the EUR 0.3 entry promises AI‑driven chat sales, while the EUR 4500 line sits at the top with no description. A quirky “Word on the street” entry of $1.1 also appears, but the page is region‑priced in EUR. Stripe, by contrast, itemises each capability, so you only pay for what you actually use.
How the pricing feels in practice
Stripe’s model can look cheap at first glance, but every transaction adds up. Each domestic card swipe costs EUR 0.25, each wallet payment EUR 0.1, disputes are EUR 20 each, and instant payouts tack on EUR 0.5 of the payout volume. Shopify’s higher‑tier fees bundle many of these costs into a single monthly charge, which can simplify budgeting for high‑volume merchants. A boutique shop might start with EUR 1/month, but scaling quickly forces upgrades to EUR 79/month or EUR 289/month for the “Advanced” bundle. Enterprises that already have payment infrastructure and only need a processor will likely gravitate toward Stripe’s modular fees, especially if dispute and instant‑payout usage stay low.
In short, pick Shopify if you want an all‑in‑one platform with predictable monthly spend and built‑in AI tools; choose Stripe if you’re comfortable managing per‑transaction costs and prefer paying only for the exact features you need. Pricing verified on 2026-09-19.