You typed "Shopify free trial" or "is Shopify free" because you want three things: how long it is free, what you can do in that time, and what you pay after. The answers, with the figures Shopify displays the day I write this.
The Shopify free trial: 3 days, no card, then $1 a month for 3 months
The Shopify free trial lasts 3 days and requires no credit card. At the end, you pick a paid plan, and the launch offer sets the first 3 months at $1 a month. After that, the plan's normal price applies. (Shopify US pricing page, October 3, 2026: "Try 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months.")
What it means over time:
| Period | What you pay | What you can do |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1 to 3 | $0 | Build the store: products, collections, theme, pages, settings. Store in private mode, checkout inactive |
| Months 1 to 3 | $1 a month | Everything, including selling, once you have picked a plan and set up a payment provider |
| From month 4 | The chosen plan's price (Basic: $39 a month, $29 billed yearly) | Everything |
Three details that matter, from the Shopify Help Center:
- You do not sell during the 3 days. The store starts in private mode with an inactive checkout until you pick a plan. To accept an order, you need a plan (the $1 a month counts) and a payment provider set up.
- Apps installed during the trial are charged on your first invoice after the trial. A $20 a month app installed on day 1 shows up on the month 1 invoice.
- No extension. "It's not possible to extend the duration of your free trial period." If the trial ends before you choose a plan, "your store is automatically paused". Products, settings and theme are kept, you resume by choosing a plan.
- One exception: stores created by an AI tool. The Help Center states that a store "created with an AI tool, such as the Stripe Projects CLI, or with a vibe code partner" starts with a free trial of "currently 4 months".
Shopify plans after the $1 offer: the prices displayed
Checked on October 3, 2026, in US dollars, before tax, as displayed to a US visitor. Yearly billing is about 25% cheaper than monthly. From Europe you see a grid in euros with the same structure and lower amounts.
| Plan | Monthly | Yearly (per month) | Online card rate (Shopify Payments) | Fee with a third-party gateway |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39 | $29 | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2% |
| Grow | $105 | $79 | 2.7% + 30¢ | 1% |
| Advanced | $399 | $299 | 2.5% + 30¢ | 0.6% |
| Plus | From $2,300 | 2.25% + 30¢ | 0.2% |
For a store that is starting, Basic is enough. It includes hosting, SSL, checkout, sales channels and native features (email, markets, translation, Shopify's AI tools). Grow becomes useful with a small team and finer reporting, Advanced for international selling at volume.
What it really costs the first year
Over 12 months, a Basic store billed monthly costs $354 in subscription: 3 × $1 then 9 × $39. Billed yearly, the subscription alone is $348 paid upfront, plus the $3 of the offer. Add the domain, payment fees and the apps you choose.
| Item | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Trial | $0 | 3 days |
| Launch offer | $3 | 3 months at $1 |
| Basic subscription, months 4 to 12 | $351 | 9 × $39 monthly |
| Domain name | $10 to $20 a year | The myshopify.com subdomain is free but not presentable |
| Payment fees | 2.9% + 30¢ per order | On $10,000 of sales and 200 orders: $350 |
| Theme | $0 | Shopify's free themes (Dawn, Sense, Craft) are enough to start |
| Apps | $0 to $100 a month | The item that runs away fastest; install only what you have a precise need for |
| Platform total, first year | About $720 excluding apps | On $10,000 of sales |
This table does not include marketing. That is the item that decides whether the store lives, and it has no listed price: ads, content, social, time.
How not to waste the 3 days
Three days is short to build a store, and most people start the trial before anything is ready. The rule: prepare everything before clicking "start free trial", and spend the 3 days importing, not thinking.
What to have at hand on day 1:
- Your products: names, prices, variants, photos, descriptions. In a spreadsheet, ready to import.
- Your brand: name, logo, colours, tone. The theme takes an hour to set if that is decided.
- Your pages: about, shipping, returns, terms, privacy. Shopify provides templates, you fill them in.
- Your payment provider: Shopify Payments asks for documents (identity, business, bank account). Start the request on day 1.
- Your shipping: zones, rates, delivery times.
With that, the 3 days are for assembling. Without it, you reach day 3 with an empty home page and pay to finish.
Build the store before the trial, then publish
The store below is a demo generated by Scale Ova from a few lines of description: a tea brand, its positioning, its range. Theme, pages, collections, product pages and copy included. You can visit it page by page.
It is the simplest way to reach day 1 of the trial with the store already built. Generation is free and has no time limit: you describe your project, look at the result, ask the AI for changes ("make the home page deep green", "add a gift sets collection", "rework the product page for a sporty audience"), click an element to adjust it. When the store looks right, you start the Shopify trial, publish, and your 3 days go to payments and shipping. The Scale Ova subscription is only needed to publish.
The "free" alternatives, and what they really cost
WooCommerce and PrestaShop are free to download, not to run. Count hosting, domain, theme, extensions and maintenance time. Wix has a paid e-commerce plan from the start.
- WooCommerce: free software, WordPress hosting from a few dollars a month, paid extensions for what Shopify includes (subscriptions, reviews, advanced checkout), and you handle updates and security. Details in Shopify vs WooCommerce.
- PrestaShop: same logic, with an ecosystem of often paid modules.
- Wix: no free selling; the e-commerce plan is paid from the first month.
The right question is not "free or paid", it is what you get for the price. Shopify bundles hosting, payments, SSL, checkout and channels in one subscription. The others sell them separately, or leave them to you. For the overview, the online store builder comparison.
Going further
If your question behind the price is "is Shopify worth it", read the full Shopify review. For the step by step once the budget is set, the guide to building your Shopify store. And to reach the trial with the store already ready, describe your project to Scale Ova and see what comes out.
FAQ
Is Shopify free?
How long is the Shopify free trial?
Can you sell during the Shopify free trial?
Do you need a credit card for the Shopify trial?
How much does Shopify cost per month after the trial?
What are Shopify's transaction fees?
What happens at the end of the trial if I do not pay?
Can you prepare the store before starting the trial?
Sources
- Shopify, pricing, trial, $1/month offer, Basic, Grow, Advanced, Plus plans and card rates, US version checked October 3, 2026
- Shopify, free trial page, "Try Shopify free for 3 days, no credit card required", checked 11 September 2026
- Shopify Help Center, free trial, private mode, apps, end of trial, extension, AI-created stores, checked October 3, 2026
