Topic
Ecommerce
Selling online from Canada: choosing a platform, real costs including card fees, payments and payouts, shipping, and GST/HST, PST, and QST.
7 articles
How to choose
Shopify is our pick for most small Canadian stores: Basic costs CAD $49/month (CAD $37 billed yearly), and Shopify Payments charges 2.8% + 30¢ per online card payment. WooCommerce is free to download and suits you if you already run WordPress, while Squarespace suits a small, design-led catalogue.
Card fees, not the plan, are usually the biggest cost. In our estimate for a store with CAD $40,000 in first-year online sales, Shopify Basic came to about CAD $1,960 and a lean WooCommerce setup to about CAD $1,870. Once your taxable sales pass $30,000, you must register for GST/HST. Our Shopify fees guide covers US stores in USD first, then Canadian stores in CAD.
Start here
- How to start an online store in Canada
Registration, platform, payments, shipping, and sales tax, step by step.
- Shopify vs WooCommerce
First-year costs compared for a Canadian store.
- Shopify fees
Every plan, card, and add-on fee in USD and CAD.
- Shopify Payments in Canada
Who qualifies, what Shopify asks for, card rates, and payout timing.
- Shopify review
CAD pricing, payouts, Canada Post, and French storefronts.
Disclosure: We may earn a commission if you buy through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Our top picks
Prices checked September 2026
- 1Visit site: Shopify (opens NorthVetted redirect)
Most small Canadian stores
Shopify
4.5/5From CAD $49/mo ($37/mo yearly)
- 2
WordPress sites and custom builds
WooCommerce
4.0/5Free plugin, plus hosting and fees
- 3
Small, design-led catalogues
Squarespace
3.5/5From CA$30/mo ($21/mo yearly)
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