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Identical published online rates — the real question is whether you sell on Shopify.
On the Basic Shopify plan these two publish the same online card rate. What separates them is platform: Shopify Payments only exists inside a Shopify store, and a Shopify store that uses anything else pays an extra transaction fee.
Published standard rates for domestic cards. Neither figure is a negotiated rate, and both providers may quote you something different.
On published rates these two cost exactly the same, so price is not the deciding factor — product, payouts and support are.
Cheaper of the two, by average transaction
Paydude is shown for reference, not as the answer to the question in the title. Excludes international, premium-card and dispute fees, which differ between all three.
| Stripe | Shopify Payments | |
|---|---|---|
| Card rate | 2.9% | 2.9% (Basic plan) |
| Fixed fee | 30¢ | 30¢ |
| Monthly fee | $0 | Shopify subscription |
| Pricing model | Flat rate | Flat rate, varies by Shopify plan |
On the card rate alone, neither. Both charge 2.9% + 30¢, so at any volume and ticket size the processing cost is the same. Shopify's higher plans bring the Shopify Payments rate down, but they cost more per month, so that is a plan decision rather than a processor one.
Where you sell. If your store runs on Shopify, Shopify Payments avoids the surcharge and is the natural default. If you are building your own checkout, a SaaS product or anything outside Shopify, Shopify Payments is not an option at all and the question becomes Stripe against other standalone processors.
The calculator above also shows Paydude, which publishes 2.6% + 25¢ improving with volume. It is there as a third data point rather than as the answer to a question about Stripe and Shopify Payments — for every provider side by side see the full processor fee table.
GOOD QUESTIONS
Not on published online rates. Stripe charges 2.9% + 30¢ and Shopify Payments charges 2.9% + 30¢ on the Basic Shopify plan, so the card cost is identical. Higher Shopify plans lower the Shopify Payments rate in exchange for a larger monthly subscription.
Shopify allows third-party gateways, but using one instead of Shopify Payments adds a Shopify transaction fee — 2% on the Basic plan — on top of the gateway's own rate. That makes an outside gateway more expensive for most Shopify stores.
It does not. With the same percentage and the same fixed fee, the two cost the same at every ticket size. The decision is about platform, not transaction size.
Both are publicly published standard rates for domestic online card payments as of September 2026, with Shopify Payments on the Basic plan. Neither is a negotiated or promotional rate.