Shopify in Sri Lanka
Last updated: 26 August 2026 · Reviewed: 26 August 2026 · By: Alston Antony
All LKR figures verified 2026-08-27 against vendor pages.
Shopify works well for a Sri Lankan store when the site is genuinely a store. Shopify Basic costs USD 29 per month, about LKR 9,280 at USD/LKR 320 (checked 27 August 2026), and adds card rates from 2.9 percent plus USD 0.30 per transaction. Shopify Payments is not available in Sri Lanka, so PayHere or WebXPay handles checkout through their official Shopify apps - which also triggers a 2 percent Shopify surcharge on Basic. The "Shopify is plug-and-play for Sri Lanka" pitch quietly leaves out that extra 2 percent and the FX markup on a card.
How Shopify works for a Sri Lankan store
Shopify hosts the store, the checkout and the admin on its own servers. A Sri Lankan owner signs up at shopify.com with an email and a card, picks a theme, adds products, and configures shipping zones. The .lk or .com domain connects by DNS from LK Domain Registry or the reseller. Payment routes to PayHere or WebXPay through an app on the Shopify App Store; the customer lands on the PayHere or WebXPay hosted page for card entry and returns to Shopify on success. LKR settles into the merchant's Sri Lankan bank account through the gateway, on the gateway's normal schedule (T+2 for PayHere, T+1 or T+2 for WebXPay depending on plan).
Shopify pricing tiers and what a Sri Lankan merchant actually pays
| Plan | USD per month | LKR equivalent | Card rate | Extra fee (non-Shopify Payments) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | USD 29 | about LKR 9,280 | 2.9% + USD 0.30 | 2.0% |
| Grow | USD 89 | about LKR 28,480 | 2.7% + USD 0.30 | 1.0% |
| Advanced | USD 359 | about LKR 114,880 | 2.5% + USD 0.30 | 0.5% |
| Plus | from USD 2,300 | from LKR 736,000 | 2.25% + USD 0.30 | 0.15% |
LKR equivalents at USD/LKR 320. Card rates and the extra fee stack on top of the underlying PayHere or WebXPay transaction fee, because Shopify Payments is not available in Sri Lanka.
Wiring PayHere or WebXPay into Shopify checkout
PayHere and WebXPay both ship official Shopify apps. Install the app from the Shopify App Store, paste the merchant ID and secret from the PayHere or WebXPay dashboard, enable in Shopify Payments settings, and test with a live LKR 100 order. The customer flow is: cart in Shopify, shipping and address in Shopify, then a redirect to PayHere or WebXPay for the card page, then back to Shopify for the order confirmation. Both gateways settle in LKR into a Sri Lankan current account. Detail: payment gateways in Sri Lanka.
Gateway limitations Sri Lankan merchants should know
Shopify Payments is the platform's own gateway and it is not on the Shopify Payments country list for Sri Lanka (checked 27 August 2026). Practically that means every Sri Lankan Basic-tier merchant pays the 2 percent Shopify surcharge on top of PayHere or WebXPay's own 2.69 to 3.30 percent, so blended cost of goods sold in payments alone is roughly 4.7 to 5.3 percent per transaction. Grow drops the surcharge to 1 percent and Advanced to 0.5 percent, which is when the Grow upgrade starts paying for itself: at about LKR 700,000 monthly turnover the surcharge saving covers the plan jump. PayPal on Shopify is receive-only for Sri Lankan accounts.
Connecting a .lk or .com.lk domain to Shopify
Shopify accepts any external domain, including every .lk namespace. The workflow: in the Shopify admin under Settings, Domains, choose Connect existing domain, enter the .lk address, then log in to LK Domain Registry or the reseller dashboard and set the A record to Shopify's IP (shown in the Shopify screen) and the www CNAME to shops.myshopify.com. DNS propagation takes 4 to 24 hours; once green, Shopify auto-issues an SSL certificate. LK Domain Registry keeps registrant control regardless of the store's platform.
Sources
- Shopify pricing — Basic USD 29, Grow USD 89, Advanced USD 359, Plus from USD 2,300 (checked 26 Aug 2026)
- Shopify Payments availability — Country list; Sri Lanka not listed as of check (checked 26 Aug 2026)
- PayHere Shopify app — Official PayHere integration for Shopify checkout (checked 26 Aug 2026)
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Can I run a Shopify store from Sri Lanka?
Yes. Shopify accepts a Sri Lankan sign-up, bills in USD to any Visa or Mastercard, and lets a Sri Lankan owner sell to Sri Lanka or worldwide. Shopify Payments is not available here, so checkout runs through PayHere or WebXPay via their official Shopify apps.
How much does Shopify actually cost in LKR?
Shopify Basic at USD 29 per month runs about LKR 9,280 at USD/LKR 320 (checked 27 August 2026). Add a 3 percent card FX markup and one paid app around USD 10, and the real monthly outlay lands near LKR 12,500 to 13,500. Year one clears LKR 155,000 to 165,000 with a domain and theme.
What is the extra 2 percent Shopify fee?
Shopify adds a 2 percent transaction fee on top of gateway fees when Shopify Payments is not used. Shopify Payments is not available in Sri Lanka, so every Sri Lankan Basic-tier merchant pays this 2 percent on every sale in addition to PayHere or WebXPay fees. Grow drops it to 1 percent and Advanced to 0.5 percent (checked 27 August 2026).
Can I connect a .lk domain to Shopify?
Yes. Shopify accepts any external domain by DNS. Point the .lk A record to Shopify's IP address and the CNAME on the www subdomain to shops.myshopify.com. LK Domain Registry keeps ownership; Shopify simply resolves the traffic.