Shopify Payments saves 0.5–2% per transaction vs external gateways. At $50k/month revenue, that's $250–$1,000 back in your pocket every month just from switching payment processors.
At high volume, the Advanced plan pays for itself quickly. The difference between Basic (2%) and Advanced (0.5%) transaction fees covers the plan upgrade cost at around $40k/month GMV.
Third-party app fees are often bigger than Shopify fees — audit them regularly. $9 here, $29 there, $49 for that review app — it adds up to hundreds per month before you notice.
Annual billing saves ~25% vs monthly on all Shopify plans. If you're past the testing phase, there's no reason to stay on monthly billing.