創辦人筆記 Founder note
Shopify 對香港 SME 嘅真實成本：點解 US$29 變咗 HK$1,200+ The real cost of Shopify for an HK SME: how US$29 becomes HK$1,200+
當有商戶問我「Shopify 同 Kongmerce 邊個平？」我嘅答案永遠係：「視乎你算唔算埋你睇唔到嘅成本。」
呢篇唔係 Shopify-bashing。Shopify 係好嘅產品。但佢嘅 pricing 係為美國市場設計，當你係香港中小品牌，每個月嘅實際支出，會比 sticker price 高 4-6 倍。我幫你拆條數。
個 sticker price
Shopify Basic：US$29/月 ≈ HK$230/月。聽落好平。
但呢個 plan 嘅 implicit assumption 係：
- 你嘅店面係單一語言（英文）
- 你用 Shopify Payments（即係信用卡）
- 你用 USD 收錢
- 你用佢預設 theme，唔需要 customize
- 你唔需要本地支付方式
對美國小店嚟講呢啲 assumption 全部成立。對香港小店，全部唔成立。
真實香港 SME 一個月嘅 Shopify 帳單
我用一個典型例子：一間做 lifestyle 產品嘅香港小店，月銷售 HK$80,000，主要客戶喺香港（用 FPS / 銀行轉帳習慣），同少量海外華人客戶（睇繁中）。
| 項目 | 月費 (HK$) | 點解 |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic | 230 | Sticker price |
| Shopify Translate & Adapt | 60 | 你需要繁中 + 英文，免費版只支援 1 種額外語言加部份內容；要全店翻譯要付費 |
| Theme（一次性） | 200/月攤分 | Premium theme US$300，攤分兩年 |
| FPS / 本地支付 plugin | 150-300 | Shopify 本身唔原生支援 FPS QR + receipt upload，要用 third-party app（如 PayMe、HKTV mall integration 唔包） |
| Currency conversion (Shopify Markets) | 1.5% × HK$80,000 = 1,200 | 如果你想客戶睇 HKD 但你結算 USD |
| Transaction fee（用 Shopify Payments） | 2.4% × HK$80,000 = 1,920 | Basic plan 嘅信用卡手續費 |
| Email marketing（Shopify Email 超出免費額度） | 80 | 免費 10,000 emails/月，超出 US$1/1000 emails |
| Apps：abandoned cart, reviews, popup 之類 | 200-500 | 一個正常網店嘅基本 stack |
| 總計 | ~HK$4,040-4,690 |
呢個係月做 HK$80,000 嘅 case。
如果你完全唔用信用卡（純 FPS / 銀行轉帳），可以慳到嗰 HK$1,920 transaction fee — 變成大約 HK$2,100/月。但呢個係手動 reconcile 嘅 trade-off：你要自己對數、自己 mark order paid、自己回客戶。
點解我做 Kongmerce
我做咗 15 年大型電商，跑過年收入 1 億港元同 80 億港元級別嘅 P&L。我見過大集團一年燒 HK$400 萬喺 enterprise SaaS 度，因為佢哋有 80 億港元收入要管。佢哋值得燒。
但我見過太多香港中小品牌，被 sales 講到要用同一套 stack，俾每月 HK$4,000-10,000 嘅 SaaS 成本，做緊一年 HK$1M 嘅生意。呢個 ratio 係錯嘅。一間月做 HK$80,000 嘅店，唔應該每個月燒 5% 收入喺工具度。
Kongmerce 嘅定位好簡單：
- FPS / 銀行轉帳 / 自取 / 貨到付款 — 零 PSP 手續費（per A.17）
- 雙語店面（繁中 + 英文）— 內置，唔使 plugin
- AI 文案及翻譯 — 內置，唔使另外訂閱
- Founding merchant pricing：HK$0-199/月（design partner）或 HK$199-499/月（正常 plan）
對一間月做 HK$80,000 嘅店，你嘅 SaaS 成本可以由 HK$4,000+ 跌到 HK$200-500。慳出嚟嘅錢可以投返落 marketing、攝影、產品開發 — 即係真正幫你長期增長嘅嘢。
我唔係叫所有人轉
如果你已經喺 Shopify 上面做緊 HK$500K+/月，stack 全部 set 好，你嘅瓶頸唔係工具成本。你應該繼續用，focus 落 customer acquisition。
但如果你係：
- 啱啱開店、未上線
- 月做 HK$10,000-200,000
- 主要客戶喺香港、用 FPS
- 想 own 自己嘅客戶 list、唔再 100% depend on IG / 平台
咁 Kongmerce 嘅 maths 啱你。
想自己睇下個示範店舖點 work？Demo store ↗。或者直接 WhatsApp 我，我親自同你計條數。
When merchants ask me “is Shopify or Kongmerce cheaper?”, my answer is always: “depends whether you’re counting the costs you can’t see on the pricing page.”
This isn’t a Shopify hit piece. Shopify is a great product. But its pricing was designed for a US merchant. When you’re an HK SME, your real monthly bill ends up 4-6× the sticker price. Let me walk you through the math.
The sticker price
Shopify Basic: US$29/month ≈ HK$230/month. Sounds cheap.
But that price assumes:
- Your storefront is single-language (English)
- You use Shopify Payments (i.e., credit cards)
- You collect in USD
- You use a default theme without customization
- You don’t need local payment methods
For a US small shop, every one of these holds. For an HK SME, none of them do.
A real HK SME’s actual monthly Shopify bill
Take a typical example: an HK lifestyle brand doing HK$80,000/month, primarily local customers (who pay via FPS / bank transfer), with some overseas Chinese customers (who read Traditional Chinese).
| Line item | Monthly (HK$) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic | 230 | Sticker price |
| Shopify Translate & Adapt | 60 | You need TC + EN; the free tier covers one extra language and only partial content; full-store translation requires the paid app |
| Theme (one-time, amortized) | 200/mo | A US$300 premium theme amortized over 2 years |
| FPS / local payment plugin | 150-300 | Shopify doesn’t natively support FPS QR + receipt upload — you need a third-party app (PayMe, HKTV mall integration not included) |
| Currency conversion (Shopify Markets) | 1.5% × HK$80,000 = 1,200 | If you want customers to see HKD but settle in USD |
| Transaction fee (using Shopify Payments) | 2.4% × HK$80,000 = 1,920 | Basic plan’s card processing fee |
| Email marketing (over the free Shopify Email tier) | 80 | Free for 10K emails/mo; US$1 per 1K beyond |
| Apps: abandoned cart, reviews, popups | 200-500 | The basic stack any normal store runs |
| Total | ~HK$4,040-4,690 |
That’s for a shop doing HK$80,000/month.
If you skip credit cards entirely (FPS / bank transfer only), you save the HK$1,920 transaction fee — bringing it down to ~HK$2,100/month. But that’s a manual-reconciliation trade-off: you reconcile bank statements, mark orders paid, and follow up with customers yourself.
Why I’m building Kongmerce
I spent 15 years inside large e-commerce, running HK$100M+ and HK$8B+ P&Ls. I’ve watched enterprise groups spend HK$4M/year on SaaS — they had HK$8B of revenue to manage, so the spend was justified.
But I’ve watched too many HK SMEs get pitched the same stack and end up paying HK$4,000-10,000/month in tooling against HK$1M of annual revenue. That ratio is wrong. A shop doing HK$80,000/month should not be burning 5% of revenue on software.
Kongmerce’s positioning is simple:
- FPS / bank transfer / self-pickup / COD — zero PSP fees (per A.17)
- Bilingual storefront (TC + EN) built in, no plugin needed
- AI copy & translation built in, no separate subscription
- Founding merchant pricing: HK$0-199/month (design partner) or HK$199-499/month (standard)
For a shop doing HK$80,000/month, your SaaS cost drops from HK$4,000+ to HK$200-500. That saving goes back into marketing, photography, product — the things that actually drive long-term growth.
I’m not telling everyone to switch
If you’re already on Shopify doing HK$500K+/month with a working stack, your bottleneck isn’t tooling cost. Stay where you are and focus on customer acquisition.
But if you are:
- Just starting, not yet launched
- Doing HK$10,000-200,000/month
- Selling primarily to HK customers who pay via FPS
- Wanting to own your customer list and stop depending 100% on IG / marketplaces
Then the Kongmerce math works for you.
Want to see how the demo store actually works? View the demo ↗. Or WhatsApp me directly and I’ll walk through your specific numbers with you.