From December 2023 to January 2024, Shopify commissioned research from an independent leading consulting firm to study Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) across major ecommerce platforms. Research inputs were collected from an executive survey, in-depth executive interviews, secondary research (e.g., market and industry reports, review boards), and global subject matter advisors (SMAs) with in-depth expertise in ecommerce.

The research captured data from a survey of 250 enterprises across major ecommerce platforms. Respondents were based in the U.S. and Canada, and represented businesses of different sizes, industries, and revenue ranges (surveyed businesses had revenues of $10M and greater). The expert interviews were conducted with enterprise leaders responsible for managing and making investment decisions related to ecommerce platforms. Global SMAs knowledgeable in ecommerce platforms and enterprise pricing were also consulted throughout the research.

Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is used by enterprises to assess all direct and indirect costs incurred with a given purchase or platform. Our TCO assessments holistically view the total cost that enterprises may incur from their initial purchase of an ecommerce platform to the recurring expenses needed to keep the platform operational. More specifically, for this calculator, our research design and analysis were informed by three TCO drivers:

• Platform Fees & E-commerce Stack Costs
• Operational & Support Costs, and
• Implementation & Setup Costs