Our verdict: 3.3 out of 5, and the plan is the product
Shopify POS earns 3.3 out of 5. You cannot buy it on its own: in-person selling comes with every Shopify plan, starting with Basic at $39 a month billed monthly [1][2]. That makes it an easy add-on for an online store, and a pricier choice for a shop that only sells at the counter.
Card payments run through Shopify Payments. Shopify signs you up and reviews your account for its whole life, while partner processors such as Stripe, PayPal or Adyen, depending on region, settle the money [7]. Shopify decides on reserves [4]. The things that decide it are whether you sell online too, whether chat-only support is enough, and how much risk your business type carries.
Pros
- No contract or exit fee; close the payments account any time [4].
- Card reader for $49, bought outright [3].
- One system for online and in-store stock and customers [2].
- Help pages that explain reserves, expiry and appeals in plain terms [5].
Cons
- Needs a Shopify plan from $39 a month just to start [1].
- Phone support only on Plus; other plans get chat [1].
- Shopify may hold up to the full amount of a sale in a reserve [4].
- Using another processor adds a 2% fee on Basic [1].
Shopify POS pricing and fees
In person, Shopify Payments costs 2.6% + 10¢ on Basic, 2.5% + 10¢ on Grow, 2.4% + 10¢ on Advanced and 2.3% + 10¢ on Plus, with keyed-in cards at 3.5% + 10¢ on the first three plans [1].
| Fee | Basic $39 ($29) | Grow $105 ($89) | Advanced $399 ($359) |
|---|---|---|---|
| In person, tap or chip | 2.6% + 10¢ | 2.5% + 10¢ | 2.4% + 10¢ |
| In person, keyed in | 3.5% + 10¢ | 3.5% + 10¢ | 3.5% + 10¢ |
| Online, standard card | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.7% + 30¢ | 2.5% + 30¢ |
| Online, premium card | 3.5% + 30¢ | 3.3% + 30¢ | 3.1% + 30¢ |
| Online, international card | +1% | +1% | +1% |
| PayPal wallet | From 3.49% + 49¢ | From 3.49% + 49¢ | From 3.49% + 49¢ |
| Using a third-party processor | 2% extra | 1% extra | 0.6% extra |
| POS Pro, per location | $89 a month [2] | $89 a month [2] | $89 a month [2] |
Beyond the rates: the Tap & Chip Card Reader is $49, the POS Terminal $349 and the Victa Mobile handheld $399 [3]. The card issuer takes a chargeback fee when a dispute is filed, and Shopify might refund it if you win, depending on your country [8]; we did not find the amount. ACH direct debit payments can take up to 4 business days to settle [6]. New stores can start with 3 free days, then $1 a month for 3 months [1].
| Setup | Card fees | Plan | Total a month | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic, billed monthly, $49 reader | $900.00 | $39 | $939.00 | 3.13% |
| Basic, billed yearly | $900.00 | $29 | $929.00 | 3.10% |
| Grow, billed monthly | $870.00 | $105 | $975.00 | 3.25% |
So the cheapest way to take cards in person on Shopify is the Basic plan plus a $49 reader paired with your own phone or tablet: $39 a month, or $29 billed yearly [1][3]. Grow's lower rate does not pay for itself at this size. Add POS Pro only if you need staff roles and store inventory tools, at $89 per location [2]. Online fees are covered on our Shopify Payments fees page.
Contract, cancellation and hardware
Shopify has no processing term. Its payments agreement lasts as long as you use the service, and you may end it at any time by closing your payments account in your admin [4]. Plans can be billed monthly, so there is no annual lock-in unless you choose yearly billing for the lower price [1].
- Hardware: readers and terminals are sold outright on Shopify's hardware store [3]. No lease company is involved.
- Switching processors: you can, but Shopify adds a third-party transaction fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced [1].
- Shopify's side: it may also end the agreement and close your payments account at any time, for any reason, with notice [4].
Holds, reserves and account terminations
Shopify's payments terms say it will set the terms of any reserve in its discretion, which may hold a set amount, up to the full amount of a sale, for a period of time, and that it may change those terms at any time based on your history or a processor's request [4]. It may suspend your payments account for reasons including significant credit or fraud risk [4].
The help center fills in how this works in practice. A reserve is either a fixed amount for a set time or a percentage of sales [5]. Shopify names the triggers: long billing cycles, high chargebacks or refunds, long delivery times such as presales and custom orders, and sudden sales spikes [5]. Each reserve has an expiry date, you can appeal by replying to the reserve email when it allows, and leftover funds are paid out when it ends [5].
Normal payouts: U.S. merchants have a 3 business day settlement time, and sales from Friday to Sunday go out together as one payout [6]. A separate account hold, often for missing business details, stops payouts until resolved, though the store keeps running [7].
In our 60-review sample, 7 reviews described held payouts, a payments suspension or a closed account [9]. That is 11.7 per 100 reviews, but the share among merchants alone is higher, since many reviewers were shoppers. Ways to lower the risk:
- Fill in every business and bank detail at sign-up, so an information hold does not stop your first payouts [7].
- Avoid long gaps between sale and delivery, or tell customers clear ship dates for presales [5].
- Refund quickly when asked, before a customer goes to the bank.
- If a reserve email arrives, reply inside its deadline with order and tracking proof [5].
Support and customer evidence
Shopify's pricing page lists 24/7 live chat on Basic and Grow, enhanced live chat on Advanced and priority 24/7 phone support on Plus [1]. If you need to talk to a person by phone on a smaller plan, Shopify's own pricing does not offer it.
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| TrustScore shown | 1.3 out of 5, from 5,226 reviews |
| Five-star share shown | 6% |
| Reviews in our sample | 60, all labeled unprompted |
| Invited share in sample | 0% |
| Organic average in sample | 1.2 stars (73 stars over 60 reviews) |
| Held payouts or suspended account | 7 of 60 |
| Could not reach a person | 22 of 60 |
Read these numbers with care. Shopify's profile collects reviews from shoppers who bought from a Shopify store and could not reach the seller, and in our sample they outnumbered merchants. The low score reflects that mix as much as the POS. Among merchant reviews, the main themes were payout holds, suspensions and slow answers from the review team.
Alternatives to Shopify POS
- Square (our processing service, BatchOut, earns money on Square sign-ups): a free plan for in-person-only shops that do not need a full online store.
- Stripe: developer-friendly payments for a custom site, with its own in-person readers.
- Clover: countertop systems with printer and cash drawer for a busy register.
- Helcim: interchange-plus pricing that can cost less for a higher-volume shop.
For in-store retail costs across providers, see retail card processing. BatchOut is our own processing service; for most Shopify stores the third-party fee makes leaving Shopify Payments hard to justify, and we say so.