How to make money on Shopify: A guide

Shopify offers all you need to set up and run an ecommerce business. You can buy a domain name, build a site, process payments, run marketing campaigns, and more. There are a huge range of options to build and develop your business with Shopify, and different pricing plans to offer value as your business matures.

This guide gives an overview of how Shopify works, including getting set up, and the fees you'll need to think about.

Jump straight to:

• What is Shopify, how does it work and what you can sell
• How to start selling with Shopify
• Shopify seller fees
• How you receive money from Shopify, and what are the fees
• An alternative way to receive money from abroad

What is Shopify?

Based in Canada, Shopify offers ecommerce software to help clients all over the world build their own online stores¹.

The idea was born when the founders tried to set up their own snowboard sales site, but found the ecommerce software solutions available didn’t give them the functionality they needed. They built their own sales site, and now other (small) business owners can access the Shopify technology to get an online store set up quickly. Once you have a Shopify store, you can access lots of extra help such as marketing information and integrated apps to reach more customers².

How does Shopify work?

Shopify lets customers build smart and functional webstores, to promote and sell their own goods, or work with dropshippers to have items independently sent to their buyers.

You’ll set up your business website using the tools available on Shopify, including generating a logo and buying a domain name. You can then list your inventory, take payments, market and manage your store using the Shopify systems. Users can either buy a full end to end service from Shopify, or choose and pay for individual elements of the support they offer².

What can you sell on Shopify?

You can use Shopify to build a store to sell products you make or which come from suppliers you're already working with. Or, if you're not sure what to sell, you can choose to set up your store as a dropship operation using one of the many dropshipping apps available on the Shopify App Store.

Apps like DSers — Shopify's recommended dropshipping solution — allow you to select items to sell in your Shopify store and take control of the warehousing and delivery of the products, for a fee. This leaves you free to focus on marketing your website and connecting with your customers³.

How to start selling on Shopify: Step-by-step

Shopify makes it easy to get started with ecommerce⁴. Here’s what you need to do.

• Pick a business name and generate a logo using the shopify tools⁵
• Get a custom web address and start to build your website and online store. You can get free photos to help, and use either a free or paid Shopify theme as a framework⁶
• Add your product listings, either featuring your own items or those you’ve sourced via Oberlo for dropshipping
• Market your website using Shopify’s tools - you can automate email marketing and create social media ads for example⁷
• Manage your business through the Shopify dashboard, which hold all the information you need to see how things are going²

Shopify offers a broad range of products and services, and this walkthrough highlights only a few of them. For example, you can also get Shopify tools to help you take payment if you choose to sell in person at markets and fairs, add a Shopify buy button to an existing website⁸, and get lots of business advice and insights from the online learning tools².

Browse the Shopify website to learn more about the options available.

What are the Shopify selling fees in Canada?

There are some fees you'll want to know about before you set up your Shopify business. Note that Shopify bills Canadian merchants in US dollars (USD). The monthly fees shown below reflect the annual (yearly) billing rate; month-to-month prices are higher (Basic US$39/mo, Grow US$105/mo, Advanced US$399/mo)⁹.

Wise Business Could Help Your Company Save on Global Payments

How do you receive your money from Shopify?

Shopify encourages users to use Shopify Payments to process payments, as they say it's the most simple way to accept online payments. If you choose to do this, payments will be made from your Shopify merchant account to your linked bank account within about 3 business days¹⁰. The money will take a few days from payout to arriving in your normal account, the exact amount of time it can take depends on your bank.

You can also choose to use other payment providers to process payments through your Shopify store¹⁰. In this case, the process for receiving money, and the timelines involved, may vary. If you choose to use PayPal for example, your money may be transferred into your PayPal account first, before you can withdraw it to your normal bank account. Check the options for different payment processing services before you decide which will suit you best.

What are the fees?

If you use Shopify Payments to process payments on your website, you'll pay a fee, which is set out in the table above. The costs vary depending on whether the payment is made using a local or foreign card, or in person⁹.

If you don't use Shopify Payments, you can choose a different third party payment provider. In this case the third party may have their own charges, and Shopify will also deduct a charge which varies according to the Shopify plan you choose⁹.

What’s Shopify’s exchange rate, in case your customers pay in a foreign currency?

If you use Shopify Payments to process payments, you can set your Shopify store to receive payments in foreign currencies instead of Canadian dollars¹¹.

It might make sense to take payments in British pounds if most of your customers are based in the UK, for example. In this case, your customer will pay in pounds, and Shopify Payments will convert the payment into Canadian dollars before it is released to your linked bank account¹².

If you choose to do this, you'll be able to see the currency conversion fee and exchange rate within your Shopify admin pages. Shopify converts the received money to your pay-out currency with the mid-market rate and charges a currency conversion fee¹³.

Shopify Payments does offer the option of payouts in US dollars if your store is located in Canada, so if you sell to the American market, you may be able to charge customers in US dollars, and then receive payments to a US dollar denominated account. You can then look for the best deal on currency conversion yourself, rather than taking the Shopify rate automatically¹⁴.

Save Time and Money On Overseas Payments With Wise Business

Wise Business can help you save big time on international payments. Wise is not a bank, but a Money Services Business (MSB) provider and a smart alternative to banks. The Wise Business account is designed with international business in mind, and makes it easy to send, hold, and manage business funds in 40+ currencies.

Use Wise Business >>

Some key features of Wise Business include:

• Mid-market rate: Get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees on international transfers
• Global Account: Send money to 140+ countries and hold multiple currencies, all in one place. You can also get major currency account details for a one-off fee to receive overseas payments like a local
• Business Debit Card: Invite your employees to order a debit card for free, and pre-set their spending limit. Add them to your Business account with controlled access and track their spending in one place.
• Global Account: Send money to 140+ countries and hold multiple currencies, all in one place. You can also get major currency account details for a one-off fee to receive overseas payments like a local
• Auto-conversions: Don't like the current currency exchange rate? Set your desired rate, and Wise sends the transfer the moment the rate is met
• Free invoicing tool: Generate and send professional invoices
• No minimum balance requirements or monthly fees: Canada based businesses can open an account for free. Learn more about fees here

Sources:

1. About Shopify
2. Shopify features
3. Dropshipping apps on Shopify
4. How to get started
5. Shopify Logo Maker
6. Themes for your online store
7. Email marketing for your store
8. Sell everywhere
9. Shopify pricing
10. Getting paid
11. Sell in multiple currencies
12. Currency conversions
13. Payment processing and conversion fees
14. Selling and getting paid in different currencies
    *Sources last checked on June 19, 2026