Everything you need to launch is an afternoon of work — not a business plan. Here's exactly what the signup asks, which plan to pick, and how the $1/month deal covers your first three months.
The hardest part of starting a store isn’t the software — it’s the decisions people think they have to make first. You don’t need a registered business, a finished brand, product photography, or a credit card to open a Shopify account. You need an email address and a rough idea of what you’ll sell. Everything else is changeable later.
This page is the short version of the whole path: sign up free, pick a plan when you’re ready, and spend your first hour on the four things that actually make a store real. For the screen-by-screen walkthrough, see the step-by-step signup guide.
Before you sign up, have ready:
What you do not need: a credit card, a registered business, a domain name, product photos, or a finished brand. Every one of those can come later.
Start on Basic. It has everything a new store needs, and Shopify’s 2026 promotion makes it $1/month for your first 3 months. After the promo, Basic is $39/month, Grow is $105/month, and Advanced is $399/month — upgrading later takes two clicks and zero migration, so there’s no reason to overpay on day one.
On card processing, Basic is 2.9% + 30¢ online (Grow 2.7%, Advanced 2.5%). Turn on Shopify Payments unless you have a specific reason not to — a third-party gateway adds a 2% surcharge per order on Basic (1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced), and Shopify Payments is what unlocks Shop Pay’s accelerated checkout. Full breakdown in hidden Shopify costs and Shopify Payments vs Stripe vs PayPal.
Everything else — apps, email, extra products, branding — can wait until there’s a store worth optimizing.
No. As of 2026, Shopify's free trial requires only an email address (or a Google, Apple, or passkey login). You add billing details later, when you choose a paid plan to keep the store running after the trial.
Signing up and building your store is free during the trial. When you pick a plan, new stores typically get $1/month for the first 3 months on Basic, Grow, or Advanced. After that, Basic is $39/month.
The signup itself takes about two minutes. Budget roughly an hour for the four setups that make a store real: domain, Shopify Payments, one product, and a free theme.
Yes. Your store name isn't permanent, and you can upgrade or downgrade plans in two clicks with no migration. Start small and change things as the store grows.