How Shopify fees work in Belgium
Selling on Shopify in Belgium means three separate costs eat into every order, and it is easy to under-count them. This calculator brings them together so you see real profit per unit, not just the headline margin on your product.
- Subscription: a fixed monthly plan fee, spread across the orders you actually take.
- Payment processing: a percentage of each sale plus a small fixed fee, charged by Shopify Payments or your gateway.
- Third-party transaction fee: an extra Shopify charge that only applies if you don’t use Shopify Payments.
On top of those sit your product cost, shipping and advertising; the calculator subtracts all of them to give net profit, margin, break-even price and the maximum you can spend on ads per order before you lose money.
Shopify plan pricing in Belgium (EUR)
Shopify prices Basic, Grow and Advanced identically in euros across the euro area, so Belgium matches Germany, France, the Netherlands and Ireland: annual billing brings the effective monthly cost down by roughly a quarter. Plus is quoted individually from €2,100/month.
Rates last verified 2026-08-05. Shopify occasionally adjusts pricing, so always confirm against the official Belgium pricing page before committing.
Belgian payment methods
Shopify Payments in Belgium supports the local methods Belgian shoppers expect. Each is selectable in the calculator’s advanced options:
- Standard card (Visa / Mastercard)
- American Express: Amex is priced on its own tier, rising from 3.2% on Basic to 2.9% on Advanced.
- International card: Belgium charges a single flat international rate of 3.2% + €0.25 on every plan, rather than matching Amex tier by tier.
- Bancontact: Belgium's dominant debit scheme, priced far below cards at a flat €0.39 per transaction with no percentage.
Belgian Shopify Payments rates run 2% + €0.25 on Basic for a standard card, 1.8% on Grow and 1.6% on Advanced. Amex has its own tier (3.2% down to 2.9%), while non-EU cards are charged a flat 3.2% + €0.25 regardless of plan. The standout is Bancontact, the debit scheme most Belgian shoppers use: a flat €0.39 per transaction with no percentage at all. A Belgium-facing store that routes most volume through Bancontact pays dramatically less in processing than the headline card rates suggest.
Third-party gateway fees
If you use an external payment provider instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify adds a transaction fee on top of whatever your gateway charges: 2% on Basic, falling to 0.2% on Plus. Switch the calculator’s payment method to “Third-party provider” to enter your gateway’s own rate and see the combined cost.
For most Belgian merchants, using Shopify Payments removes this fee entirely and is the cheaper route unless a specific gateway gives you a materially better processing rate.
BTW/TVA considerations
Belgian standard VAT is 21%, with reduced rates of 12% and 6% for specific categories. The small-business exemption currently applies up to €25,000 annual turnover; a rise to €30,000 was approved in April 2026 but still needs parliamentary sign-off, so €25,000 remains operative until confirmed. Storefront prices are normally VAT-inclusive, so divide the gross price by 1.21 for the net figure.
This tool works in net (BTW/TVA-exclusive) terms. If your listed prices include BTW/TVA at 21%, convert to net before entering them so your margin reflects money you actually keep.
How this calculator works
Every figure is traceable to a formula:
- Processing fee = Price × rate% + fixed fee
- Plan allocation = Monthly plan fee ÷ Monthly order volume
- Break-even price = (fixed costs + fixed fee) ÷ (1 − variable fee rate)
- Max ad spend = profit per order before advertising is deducted
BTW/TVA is excluded throughout. The price-sensitivity table re-runs the full model at ±10/20/30% of your price so you can see how margin moves before you discount or raise prices.
Frequently asked questions
Basic is €24/month billed annually or €32/month billed monthly. It carries the highest card rate (2% + €0.25) and the full 2% external provider fee, so it fits stores still building order volume. Grow (1.8%) and Advanced (1.6%) charge less per order.
Bancontact is a flat €0.39 per transaction with no percentage, far cheaper than any card. International non-EU cards cost a flat 3.2% + €0.25 on every plan. On a €100 order that is €0.39 against €3.45, which is why the domestic-versus-international mix matters more in Belgium than the plan choice.
Standard VAT is 21%. Small businesses under €25,000 turnover can skip charging VAT (rising to €30,000 once parliament confirms the change). Otherwise storefront prices are usually VAT-inclusive, so divide by 1.21 for your net revenue.
If you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments, Shopify still charges 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced or 0.2% on Plus on top of that provider's own fees. This goes away once you switch to Shopify Payments.
By roughly a quarter: Basic goes from €32 to €24/month, Grow from €92 to €69, and Advanced from €384 to €289. Factor in how much of your volume runs through Bancontact versus cards when comparing plans; for many Belgian stores the payment mix moves margin more than the plan does.
Sources
- Shopify Belgium pricing
- VATupdate, Belgian small-business VAT threshold change
