specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Shopify Admin API
providerId: shopify-admin
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Commerce
  - Ecommerce
  - Admin
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
description: FOCUS-aligned FinOps for the Shopify Admin API. The Admin API is bundled with a Shopify
  commerce subscription; cost surfaces are the monthly plan fee, payment processing take rates, and
  third-party payment provider fees. API throughput is governed by GraphQL points budgets that scale
  with the commerce plan rather than priced per call.
sources:
  - https://www.shopify.com/pricing
  - https://shopify.dev/docs/api/usage/rate-limits
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Shopify Inc.
serviceCategory: Commerce
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Subscription + Take Rate
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Purchase
    - Usage
    - Tax
    - Adjustment
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Shopify Admin API
  ServiceCategory: Commerce
  ProviderName: Shopify
  PublisherName: Shopify Inc.
  InvoiceIssuerName: Shopify Inc.
  BillingCurrency: USD
meters:
  - name: commerce_subscription
    description: Monthly commerce plan fee (Basic, Grow, Advanced, Plus, Enterprise).
    unit: month
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - plan
      - billing_term
  - name: card_transactions
    description: Payment processing fees on cards processed via Shopify Payments.
    unit: transaction
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - plan
      - channel
      - card_brand
      - region
  - name: third_party_payment_fee
    description: Per-transaction surcharge applied when using a non-Shopify payment provider.
    unit: transaction
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - plan
      - provider
  - name: graphql_points_consumed
    description: GraphQL Admin API query points consumed against the per-second leak-bucket budget;
      not a billed line, but the primary throughput-cost meter for capacity planning.
    unit: point
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - shop
      - api
      - operation
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: Subscription and processing fees appear on the Shopify monthly invoice and Shopify
      Payments balance reports. API throughput is observable via GraphQL response extensions.cost
      (requestedQueryCost, actualQueryCost, throttleStatus).
  - name: Allocation
    description: Allocate by shop (myshopify domain), commerce plan, and channel (online vs POS); for
      multi-store Plus deployments, attribute by store.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Reduce GraphQL query cost by selecting only needed fields, batching mutations, and
      using bulk operations for large reads. Choose the commerce plan that matches transaction volume
      and required GraphQL points budget rather than over-provisioning Plus.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Commerce/finance owns the subscription and processing-fee line; engineering owns API
      cost via query design and leak-bucket headroom.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com