Shopify Markets vs Managed Markets: The Complete Guide to Selling Internationally

Global ecommerce is projected to hit nearly 7 trillion dollars by the end of 2026. Fifty-nine percent of online shoppers already buy cross-border, and international orders average higher values than domestic ones. If you are only selling in one country, you are leaving significant revenue on the table.

Shopify offers two paths to international selling: Shopify Markets (free, included on all plans) and Managed Markets (formerly Markets Pro, a paid service powered by Global-e). They solve different problems for different stages of growth. Here is how to choose the right one and set it up properly.

Shopify Markets: The Free Foundation

Shopify Markets is built into every Shopify plan at no extra cost. It lets you create distinct market configurations for different countries or regions, each with their own settings.

What Markets Gives You

• Multi-currency pricing. Show prices in local currencies. Shopify handles the conversion automatically based on current exchange rates, or you can set fixed prices per market.
• Local payment methods. Offer payment options that customers in each region actually use — iDEAL in the Netherlands, Bancontact in Belgium, PIX in Brazil, and dozens more through Shopify Payments.
• Language translations. Serve your store in multiple languages. Shopify supports both manual translations and auto-translation with third-party apps.
• Regional pricing. Set different prices for different markets. Charge more in markets where customers expect premium pricing; offer competitive rates in price-sensitive markets.
• Market-specific domains. Use subfolders (neat.digital/en-us/), subdomains (us.neat.digital), or separate domains (neat.us) for each market. Subfolders are the easiest to set up and maintain.
• Duty and tax estimates. Display estimated duties and import taxes at checkout so customers are not surprised by additional charges on delivery.

What Markets Does Not Do

• It does not collect and remit duties on your behalf — the customer is the importer of record
• It does not guarantee landed cost accuracy — estimates can be wrong
• It does not handle regulatory compliance for you — restricted products, labelling requirements, and import regulations are your responsibility
• It does not provide local returns addresses or fulfilment

Markets is the right choice if you are testing international demand, selling digital products, or operating in a handful of markets where you understand the regulatory landscape.

Managed Markets: The Done-For-You Solution

Managed Markets (powered by Global-e) goes significantly further. Global-e acts as the merchant of record for international transactions, meaning they handle the cross-border complexity that Markets leaves to you.

What Managed Markets Adds

• Guaranteed landed costs. Customers see the exact total they will pay — product price, shipping, duties, and taxes — at checkout. No surprise fees on delivery. This alone dramatically reduces cart abandonment for international orders.
• Duty and tax collection and remittance. Global-e collects duties and taxes at checkout and remits them to the relevant authorities. You do not deal with customs paperwork.
• Regulatory compliance. Managed Markets handles restricted product rules, import regulations, and compliance requirements for 150+ countries. If a product cannot legally be shipped to a market, it is automatically hidden.
• Local payment methods in 150+ countries. Beyond what Shopify Payments supports natively, Managed Markets adds dozens of additional local payment options.
• Automatic currency conversion with guaranteed rates. No exchange rate surprises — the rate is locked at checkout.
• Returns management. International returns are handled through Global-e's network, with local return addresses in key markets.

The Cost

Managed Markets charges a fee on each international sale — typically around 6.5% of the order value plus a small per-transaction fee. This is significant, but consider what you are getting: someone else handling duties, taxes, compliance, and returns for every international order.

For the maths to work, your margins need to be healthy enough to absorb this fee. If you sell at 60%+ gross margin, the fee is easily justified by the higher conversion rate (guaranteed landed costs significantly reduce abandonment) and the operational time savings.

Markets vs Managed Markets: Decision Framework

Here is how to decide:

Use Shopify Markets (free) when:

• You are testing international demand and want minimal commitment
• You sell to a small number of markets (2-5 countries) that you know well
• Your products have no regulatory complexity (no restricted goods, no special certifications)
• Your customers are comfortable with potential additional duties on delivery
• Your international revenue is below £50,000 per year

Use Managed Markets when:

• You sell physical goods to many countries (10+)
• Cart abandonment on international orders is high due to unexpected duty charges
• You do not want to manage customs compliance across dozens of jurisdictions
• Your products have regulatory complexity (supplements, electronics, cosmetics)
• International revenue is significant enough that the per-transaction fee is worth the operational savings
• You want guaranteed landed costs to maximise international conversion

Note: Managed Markets is currently available to US-based merchants only. If you are based outside the US, Shopify Markets with a third-party duties and taxes solution (like Zonos or Avalara) is the alternative.

Setting Up Shopify Markets: Step by Step

1. Go to Settings → Markets in your Shopify admin
2. Create a new market — name it (e.g., "Europe") and add the countries you want to target
3. Configure currency — choose whether to use auto-conversion or set fixed prices
4. Set up languages — add translations for each market (manual or auto-translated)
5. Configure domain strategy — subfolders are recommended for most stores
6. Review duty and tax settings — enable duty estimates at checkout if selling physical goods
7. Adjust product availability — hide products that cannot be shipped to specific markets
8. Test the experience — preview your store as a visitor from each market

HS Codes: The Detail That Matters

Harmonized System codes classify your products for customs purposes. Getting them right determines whether duty estimates are accurate and whether products clear customs smoothly.

Every physical product you sell internationally should have an HS code assigned in Shopify. Go to Products → [Product] → Shipping and add the HS code. If you are unsure which code applies, your country's trade authority provides a lookup tool, or your freight forwarder can help.

Incorrect HS codes lead to wrong duty calculations, customs delays, and unhappy customers. This is not a detail to skip.

DDP vs DAP: Avoiding the Surprise Fee Problem

The single biggest reason international customers abandon orders or leave negative reviews: unexpected duties and taxes charged on delivery.

• DAP (Delivered at Place) — the customer is the importer of record. Duties and taxes are charged by the carrier on delivery. The customer did not expect this, gets frustrated, refuses the package, or leaves a bad review. This is the default for most Shopify stores using Markets.
• DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) — you collect duties and taxes at checkout. The customer pays the full price upfront and receives the package with no additional charges. This is what Managed Markets provides automatically.

If you are using Shopify Markets (not Managed Markets), strongly consider enabling duty collection at checkout even if the estimates are not perfectly accurate. A rough estimate that the customer agrees to upfront is far better than a surprise charge on delivery.

The Opportunity

International ecommerce is not optional for growing brands. The infrastructure exists, the tools are mature, and customers worldwide are actively buying cross-border. The question is not whether to sell internationally, but how to do it well.

At Neat Digital, we build Shopify stores with international selling in mind from day one — proper multi-market configuration, structured data for every locale, and clean architecture that scales across borders. If you are ready to expand internationally, let's talk.