Is Shopify’s barcode generator free?
Yes. Shopify's barcode generator is free, and it works without a Shopify account or a shop. You enter an email address and…
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Is Shopify free?
No. Shopify has no free plan for an online store. You can try it for three days without a card. If you pick a plan after that, the first three months cost €1 a month. Then Basic costs €36 a month plus VAT, or €27 a month with yearly billing. The only plan for €0 is Agentic, which sells your products in AI chats and gives you no public store.
For my Shopify review, I built a whole shop for a made-up outdoor clothing brand during the trial. It couldn't take a single order, because Shopify only opens the checkout on a paid plan.
I built the shop in the trial on October 12, 2026. On November 3, 2026, after the trial had ended, I opened the store again and checked the prices.
What the three free days give you
You sign up with an email address and a password. Right after that, Shopify shows a payment page with fields for a card or a bank account. A small Skip button in the top right corner leads past it, so the trial needs no payment details. From then on, the admin shows how many trial days are left and offers to subscribe for €1.
In those three days you can set up the whole shop. I added seven products in several sizes and colours, and I set up shipping and VAT for Germany. Each step is in my Shopify review.
You can't sell in the trial. The shop sits behind a password page until you pick a plan. When I tried to buy in my own shop, the checkout said "This store isn't set up to receive orders yet." Even a test order with a test card didn't go through. Shopify's help page on test orders says: "You can test a payment gateway only after you've chosen a paid plan."
Shopify's help center mentions a longer trial in one case. If an AI chat like ChatGPT builds the store through its Shopify connector, the trial currently lasts four months. Those stores also stay behind a password until you pick a plan. I didn't test this.
What happens when the trial ends
My trial ended on October 15. Shopify paused the store, and since then the admin opens on a page that says "Get back to business for €1". The offer from the trial is still there, €1 a month until February 1, 2027. The page also asks for a card or a bank account. At the bottom it says "Your store information is saved for 2 years."
"View all plans" opens a list with the heading "Your trial has ended. Select a plan." Every plan except Plus shows €1 a month, with the normal price crossed out.
Visitors can't see the shop any more. The store's address only shows "This store is currently unavailable." Shopify's help center says that the products and settings are saved, and that the store stays paused until you choose a paid plan.
What you pay after the €1 months
From Germany, Shopify's pricing page showed the same prices as on October 12, in euros and without VAT.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | Card payments online |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | €36a month | €27a month, €324 a year | 2.1% + €0.30 |
| Grow | €105a month | €79a month, €948 a year | 1.8% + €0.30 |
| Advanced | €384a month | €289a month, €3,468 a year | 1.6% + €0.30 |
| Plus | from €2,100a month | from €2,100a month | 1.3% + €0.30 |
| Agentic | €0 | €0 | From 2.1% + €0.30, for sales in AI chats |
Inside my store, the plan list showed €32 a month for Basic with yearly billing, more than the €27 on the pricing page. Monthly billing was €36 in both places. If you want to pay for a year, check the yearly price in your admin before you pay.
Each sale also costs a fee. With Shopify Payments, Shopify's own payment service, an online card payment on Basic costs 2.1 percent plus 30 cents. If you use another payment provider like PayPal, Shopify adds 2 percent per sale on top of that provider's own fees. Paid apps and a domain of your own cost extra.
Free ways to use Shopify
Agentic costs nothing a month. It puts your products into AI chats like ChatGPT, and you pay a fee only when something sells. According to Shopify's help center, you can build an online store on the Agentic plan. But it stays behind a password, and customers can't buy in its checkout. To open the store, you need a paid plan.
Shopify also offers free development stores for developers who test apps and themes. For the review, I made one with the same login and placed the test order there, because the trial couldn't take one. A development store has the full admin and takes test orders with fake payments. It can't take real payments, and it always stays behind a password. Shopify also doesn't let you turn it into a normal store later.
Many themes and apps are free once you have a plan. The Theme Store had 24 free themes when I checked in October.
Is the trial enough?
Three days are enough to set up a small shop and to see if you like the admin. I built mine in a day. To take the first real order, you need a plan, and that means a card or a bank account. With the €1 offer, the first three months cost €3 plus VAT and the fees per sale. After that, plan for €36 a month, or less if you pay for a year.
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