MindLab Future AIShopee charges several fees at once: a transaction fee, a per-order fee, a category commission after your first 90 days, and newer program fees. A Shopify store charges a monthly plan fee plus whatever you pay to take payments. The marketplace brings you buyers; your own store only works if you bring them, which is what a Live or a Facebook page can do.
What Shopee charges
According to a 2026 breakdown by Prosperna, a Philippine seller can face:
- A 2.24% transaction fee on the buyer's purchase amount, VAT-inclusive.
- A ₱5 order processing fee per successful order, VAT-inclusive.
- A category commission that starts after your first 90 days. The rate depends on the product category.
- A Seller Growth Support Fee that applies from May 2026. The public terms do not show the rate, so check Seller Centre.
- Program fees, for example a 3.36% service fee per item sold through Shopee Live under Live XTRA, unless a different rate applies to you.
Rates change. Confirm them in your Shopee Seller Centre before you price anything.
What a Shopify store costs
- The plan. Shopify's Philippines pricing page lists Basic at about $19 USD a month on yearly billing and about $25 USD a month on monthly billing, with an intro offer of $1 a month for the first 3 months. Check shopify.com/ph/pricing for today's price.
- Taking payments. One 2026 guide reports that Shopify Payments is not available in the Philippines, so sellers use a third-party gateway such as PayMongo or take payments by manual methods like bank transfer and GCash. Gateways charge their own fees, which you should read on their site. A direct transfer to your own account does not go through a gateway.
- Everything else: a domain, a paid theme or apps if you want them.
A worked example
These numbers are illustrative. Replace them with yours.
Say you sell ₱100,000 a month across 250 orders.
- Shopee transaction fee: 2.24% of ₱100,000 = ₱2,240
- Order processing: ₱5 × 250 orders = ₱1,250
- Subtotal before commission and growth fee: ₱3,490
- If ₱50,000 of those sales go through Shopee Live under Live XTRA at 3.36%: ₱1,680 more, before the other fees
On your own store, the fixed cost is the Shopify plan. If customers pay by direct transfer, there is no gateway fee on those orders. If they pay through a gateway, add that gateway's fee.
The saving only counts if the same orders actually come to your store. That is the real question.
The trade-off
- Marketplace: built-in buyers, simple setup, but several fees, and your customer list stays with the platform.
- Own store: fixed monthly cost, your customer list and brand, but you bring the traffic.
If you already have a following, for example on Facebook Live, you have the traffic. Your store link in your pinned comment is how it reaches the store.
Using both
You do not have to choose. Many sellers keep a marketplace for discovery and send repeat buyers to their own store. A new store also protects you if a single platform changes its fees.
What to check before you decide
Your real fee rate
Open Seller Centre and add up every fee on your last 20 orders.
Where your buyers come from
How many orders came from your own page or Lives, and how many from marketplace search?
How buyers pay
If most pay by GCash or bank transfer anyway, a store with direct payments avoids gateway fees.
Your time
A store costs setup time. We build a first store for free for Philippine startups: see the offer.
FAQ
How much does Shopee charge sellers in the Philippines?
A 2026 breakdown lists a 2.24% transaction fee, a P5 order processing fee, a category commission after the first 90 days and a Seller Growth Support Fee from May 2026. Confirm current rates in Shopee Seller Centre.
Is Shopify cheaper than Shopee?
It depends on your sales and where buyers come from. Shopify charges a monthly plan fee, while Shopee charges per-order fees and commissions. A store is only cheaper if the orders actually come to it.
Can I use Shopify and Shopee together?
Yes. Many sellers keep a marketplace for discovery and send repeat buyers to their own store.
Does Shopify accept GCash in the Philippines?
You can show GCash or bank-transfer instructions as a manual payment method. A third-party gateway such as PayMongo can take payments automatically, with its own fees.
Want to see what a store of your own would cost you?
We build a first Shopify store for free for Philippine startups and live sellers. You only pay Shopify for your plan.
This guide is general information, not financial or legal advice. Fees, policies and menu names change; check Shopee Seller Centre, Meta and Shopify directly before you decide. MindLab Future AI is not affiliated with Shopify, Meta, Shopee, GCash or Maya.