Quick Overview: What's Behind "Free Monthly Fee"
Whether an online store carries a fixed monthly cost is a big factor in deciding whether to launch one at all. BASE is known for letting you start on its "Standard" plan with no setup fee and no monthly fee — but it's natural to wonder "is it really completely free?" or "where does the catch come in?" This guide uses BASE's own pricing page and related official information to walk through why the Standard plan is free, which optional costs can come up while you're building your store, and the official benchmark for when to consider switching to the "Growth" plan as revenue grows.
Why the Standard Plan Has No Monthly Fee
According to BASE's official pricing page, the Standard plan has no setup fee and no monthly fee. So where does BASE make money? The answer is: when something actually sells. On the Standard plan, every completed order is charged a processing fee (3.6% + ¥40) and a service usage fee (3%) — combined, that's roughly 6.6% + ¥40 per order, and that's the real cost against your revenue.
In other words, simply opening a shop or registering products costs nothing at all. Costs only kick in once something sells, which means you avoid the risk of paying a fixed fee month after month before you even know whether your shop will work. For anyone trying online selling for the first time, or starting small as a side business, being able to start with essentially no financial risk is the Standard plan's biggest advantage.
Optional Costs That Can Come Up While You Build
"No monthly fee" doesn't mean there's no way to spend money as you build your store — several optional costs can come up:
- Getting a custom domain: Using BASE's standard URL (the one you set when opening your shop) costs nothing. If you want a custom domain, you'd use the Custom Domain App — but the domain itself has to be purchased from an external domain registrar, not from BASE, and that typically runs a few hundred to a few thousand yen per year.
- A paid theme (design): The free official themes are enough for plenty of shops, but if you want a more elaborate design, you can choose a paid theme instead.
- A handful of paid Apps: Most BASE Apps are free, but a few have a cost — "Hide BASE Logo," for example, runs ¥500/month.
- Extra fees for certain payment methods: Payments via PayPay, Amazon Pay, or PayPal carry a 1% system fee on top of the standard processing fee.
All of these are optional costs that only apply if you actually use them. A practical approach for budgeting the build phase is to get your shop fully set up within the free tier first, then add paid options one at a time as you need them.
Considering the "Growth" Plan as Revenue Grows
As sales grow, the Standard plan's fee rate (6.6% + ¥40 per order) starts to add up as a real cost. That's where the "Growth" plan comes in — it charges a monthly fee in exchange for a lower fee rate. Growth costs ¥198,960 (tax included) for a 12-month lump-sum payment (¥16,580/month), or ¥19,980/month if billed monthly, with a 2.9% processing fee and no service usage fee.
BASE's own guidance states that switching to Growth makes sense "once monthly sales exceed roughly ¥500,000," since the fees become cheaper than on the Standard plan at that point. For shops with monthly sales of ¥3,000,000 or more, BASE says you can run at some of the lowest effective rates in the industry.
Running a rough check on that benchmark: comparing the Standard plan's fees (6.6% + ¥40 per order) against the Growth plan's fees (2.9%) plus its monthly cost (¥16,580-¥19,980), the total cost on Growth starts coming out lower somewhere around the ¥400,000-¥500,000 monthly sales mark. The actual break-even point shifts depending on your average order value and order count, so it's worth running the numbers for your own shop.
One more thing worth knowing: Growth plan pricing was revised on January 16, 2024, and the current rates (¥16,580-¥19,980/month) are substantially higher than what they were before the change (roughly ¥4,980-¥5,980/month). If you come across older information quoting the pre-2024 prices, make sure you're working from the current figures instead.
FAQ
Q. How long does the Standard plan stay free?
A. The monthly fee stays at ¥0 indefinitely. The only costs are the processing fee and service usage fee when something sells, transfer fees when you request a payout, and any optional paid features you choose to add.
Q. Is there a precise point at which I should switch to the Growth plan?
A. BASE's own guidance points to "monthly sales exceeding roughly ¥500,000" as a benchmark. That said, it's based on an average calculation, and your actual break-even point shifts with your order count and average order value. It's worth running the numbers for both plans against your own monthly sales and order volume to compare.
Q. Is building my store really free if I skip a custom domain?
A. If you build your shop entirely with the free official theme and free Apps, the build phase costs nothing. That said, using certain payment methods like PayPay, Amazon Pay, or PayPal, or installing a paid App, each comes with its own separate cost.
Summary and Key Takeaway
It's true that BASE's Standard plan has no monthly fee — but that doesn't mean costs never apply, it means costs only apply once something sells. You can build your store with essentially no financial risk, but it's worth knowing that optional costs exist for things like a custom domain or certain Apps, should you choose to use them. And once sales pick up, don't miss the moment to consider switching to the Growth plan, using BASE's own ¥500,000 monthly-sales benchmark as a reference point for optimizing your fee burden.
That said, working out a build-phase budget and tracking the right plan as sales grow takes more thought than it looks like. Leap offers an AI E-Commerce Agent that supports building and running an e-commerce site entirely through conversation with AI. If you want to keep costs down while getting your store built, take a look at what Leap offers.
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