
If you’re a soon-to-be entrepreneur, then you’ve probably heard about Shopify. It’s one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms, and it’s effortless to get started. By using Shopify, you can create an original online store from scratch. For newbies, you’re probably wondering, “How much does the average Shopify store make?”
Realistically, a successful Shopify store can make between $1,000 to $1,500 per month. That’s assuming that you’re able to start a store that gets some regular business. According to 99 Firms, earning $72 per customer was the norm for Shopify merchants in 2020.
So if you’re eager to learn how you can make monthly figures such as those seen above, you’re in the right place.
Stay tuned to learn how you can increase your average monthly earnings on Shopify.
What Determines Success on Shopify?
First, it’s crucial to know that not all Shopify stores will succeed outright. Sure, the platform makes it effortless to create an online store, but that’s only one piece of the puzzle.
To start making profits, you’ll need to put a lot of effort towards:
- Selling products that have real value
- Taking professional photos of your products
- Building a trustworthy brand
- Marketing your products everywhere that you can
- Finding a niche and attracting an audience
These are all critical factors to the success of your Shopify store. So remember, simply opening a Shopify store isn’t enough. It’s a fantastic start, but you’ll need to do more than that to start making real money.
How Can You Make Money on Shopify?
You’ll need to decide what you’re going to sell on Shopify before designing your store. You can sell all sorts of products and services through the platform. Yet, to find success, it’s imperative to focus on a niche. What’s that?
A niche is a specialized area of the market geared towards specific products.
An example of a niche would be health and wellness.
Therefore, if you chose that niche, you would only sell products related to health and wellness. Selecting the right niche will be a significant deciding factor in your success. Here are a few tips for finding a niche that clicks with you:
- Focus on your hobbies. Do you have a strong passion for a hobby in your life? For example, do you love playing the guitar? If so, then you have a perfect niche to focus on for your store. You can sell guitars, picks, and accessories through Shopify. Since you’re already passionate about what you sell, you’ll already be knowledgeable about it.
- Look at what sells. What’s hot right now on Shopify? Are people flocking towards ebooks educating them on how to get rich? Are lots of fitness products currently all the rage? Following modern trends is a great way to identify a niche.
Which Business Models Work Best on Shopify?

There are two ways that you can make money through Shopify. You can either:
- Sell products from your inventory
- Start a dropshipping or print-on-demand business
Maintaining inventory is expensive, and it can deter some entrepreneurs from starting a business. If you don’t have a warehouse or way to ship products, you should consider dropshipping.
Dropshipping is where you use a third party to manage your inventory. They will fulfill customer orders and ship your products. All you have to do is set up your online store and market what you sell.
Dropshipping is a low-risk business model, which is why it’s so popular for new business owners.
The Shopify app Spocket is a must-have when starting your dropshipping business, if you’re interested in starting a dropshipping business check out Spocket at this link.
Print-on-demand is very similar to dropshipping, with one key difference. While you still use a third party for shipping, printing is also part of the picture. For print-on-demand, you sell original designs. From there, a third party keeps blank merchandise for you.
These include blank t-shirts, mugs, and more. They will print your original design on the merch and ship it out whenever you get an order. Hence, the name print-on-demand makes perfect sense. Printful is a great app for starting your print on demand business, you can try Printful out at this link here.
Top Sellers on Shopify
If you’re having a hard time finding a niche, then you can defer to the top-selling products on Shopify. That way, you can capitalize on tried and true trends that rarely change. Here are the products that consistently sell on the platform:
- T-shirts
- Books
- Shoes
- Bracelets
- Beauty accessories
- Smartphone cases
T-shirts remain the number one top-selling item on Shopify. So if you’re a savvy graphic designer with a print-on-demand business, you can hit it big. It will all come down to the quality and uniqueness of your designs.
How Much Do You Need to Spend to Sell on Shopify?
Lastly, you need to know how much money you can spend per month on your Shopify account. Luckily, there is a completely free 14-day trial that you can use.
You’ll be able to create a fully functional online store during that 14 days. You can even start selling products, all without having to enter payment information.
Once your trial is up, you’ll have a few payment plans available. They are:
- Shopify Lite at $9 per month (for existing web pages)
- Shopify Basic Plan at $29 per month
- Shopify Plan at $79 per month
- Shopify Advanced Plan at $299 per month
- Shopify Plus (for large enterprises) at $2,000 per month
If you already have an existing webpage or blog, Shopify Lite is fantastic. If you want to build an online store from scratch, the Basic Plan is the way to go.
For new stores, the Basic Plan will more than suffice. As you continue to scale up your store, you can consider upgrading. Here’s a basic rule of thumb to follow:
- The more you pay each month for Shopify, you’ll pay less for transaction fees
That’s why it’s wise for larger online stores to go with the more advanced plans. While you will pay more each month, you’ll save a ton due to the lower transaction fees.
Closing Thoughts
How much does the average Shopify store make? The number varies from $1,000 to $1,500 per month, depending on a few factors. It would be best if you spent a lot of time marketing your products and focusing on customer service. As long as you emphasize marketing, quality products, and affordable prices, the sky is the limit for how much you can make. To see our article on how much money you need to start dropshipping check this link here.
For more great content to help you develop your Shopify strategies, check out the rest of the merchant posts on the site. If you want to see a list of our top recommended Shopify apps visit this link here.