Understanding Viewer-Minute Pricing for Live Shopping: How LiveShoply Plans Work

Live video costs money to deliver. Every person watching receives a continuous stream, and the more people watch for longer, the more bandwidth and processing it takes. LiveShoply prices its plans around viewer minutes because it is the measure that most closely matches how much video your store actually delivers.

This guide explains exactly what a viewer minute is, how many each plan includes, how to estimate your needs with worked examples, and how to choose a plan that fits.

Pricing questions are among the most common we receive from merchants evaluating live shopping, so this guide aims to be concrete. It uses simple arithmetic and realistic audience sizes rather than best-case scenarios, and it is upfront about what each plan includes. By the end, you should be able to estimate your own monthly usage in a couple of minutes and pick a plan with confidence, knowing when an upgrade would make sense. Throughout, keep in mind that features and minutes are separate considerations: a small store may need Starter for OBS streaming or email reminders even if its audience is modest, while a store with a large audience but simple needs may choose a plan mainly for its minutes. The worked examples below show how both factors play out in practice.

Why pricing is based on viewer minutes

Some live shopping tools charge per show, per host or as a percentage of sales. Viewer-minute pricing has a few advantages for merchants:

• It scales with use. Small stores starting out pay little or nothing; larger audiences move to bigger plans.
• No commission on sales. Orders go through your normal Shopify checkout, and LiveShoply does not take a cut of your revenue.
• It is predictable. Once you know your typical audience size and show length, you can estimate usage accurately.

What counts as a viewer minute

A viewer minute is one minute of video watched by one viewer. The formula is simple:

Viewer minutes = number of viewers x minutes each one watches

Viewer minutes are counted for video watched on your storefront, including:

• Live shows broadcast from the browser studio or OBS.
• Premieres playing at their scheduled time.
• Replays watched after a show.
• Shoppable videos played on product pages, playlists and other placements.

What matters is actual watch time, not the length of the show. If your show is 30 minutes long but a viewer watches for 8 minutes, that viewer uses 8 viewer minutes. Someone who lands on a page but does not play a video does not use viewer minutes.

Plans at a glance

• Free: 300 viewer minutes per month, 10 shoppable videos. Browser studio, chat and core features. A good way to test live shopping.
• Starter, $29 per month: 5,000 viewer minutes, 50 shoppable videos. Adds OBS/RTMP streaming with cloud recording, premieres, email reminders and branding removal.
• Growth, $79 per month: 20,000 viewer minutes, 200 shoppable videos. Adds multistreaming to Facebook and YouTube, split-screen and picture-in-picture layouts for co-hosted shows, AI captions and AI highlight clips.
• Pro, $199 per month: 60,000 viewer minutes, 1,000 shoppable videos. Everything in Growth plus priority support.

See the current, detailed comparison on the pricing page.

Worked examples

The best way to understand viewer minutes is to run the numbers for a few realistic scenarios. These examples use average watch time, because in practice viewers arrive and leave at different times.

Example 1: Trying it out. A new store runs one 20-minute show a month. 15 viewers watch for an average of 10 minutes each.

• 15 x 10 = 150 viewer minutes for the live show.
• Replays and a few product videos add roughly 100 more.
• Total: about 250 viewer minutes. This fits within the Free plan's 300.

Example 2: A weekly boutique show. A boutique runs a 30-minute show every week. Each show averages 60 viewers watching 12 minutes.

• 60 x 12 = 720 viewer minutes per show.
• 4 shows a month = 2,880 viewer minutes.
• Replays and shoppable videos on product pages add around 1,000.
• Total: about 3,900 viewer minutes. Starter, with 5,000, fits comfortably.

Example 3: A growing brand. A brand runs two 45-minute shows a week with an average of 150 viewers watching 15 minutes.

• 150 x 15 = 2,250 viewer minutes per show.
• 8 shows a month = 18,000 viewer minutes.
• Shoppable videos on product pages add another 1,500.
• Total: about 19,500 viewer minutes. This is right at the edge of Growth's 20,000, so the brand should watch usage closely or consider Pro if audiences keep growing.

Example 4: A large audience. A store runs a weekly one-hour show averaging 500 viewers watching 20 minutes, plus heavy use of shoppable videos.

• 500 x 20 = 10,000 viewer minutes per show.
• 4 shows a month = 40,000 viewer minutes.
• Videos and replays add about 8,000.
• Total: about 48,000 viewer minutes. Pro, with 60,000, is the right fit.

Notice that average watch time matters as much as viewer count. Most viewers do not watch an entire show, so estimating with the full show length will overstate your usage.

Shoppable video limits

Separate from viewer minutes, each plan has a limit on how many shoppable videos you can publish: 10 on Free, 50 on Starter, 200 on Growth and 1,000 on Pro. This is the number of videos in your library published as shoppable videos for placement on product pages, playlists and other theme blocks. Watching those videos still counts toward viewer minutes. Learn more in shoppable replays and the video library.

Tracking usage and the usage banner

You can see your current month's viewer-minute usage in the LiveShoply admin. As you approach your plan's limit, a usage banner appears in the admin to let you know, so you can decide whether to upgrade before a big show rather than being surprised.

Good habits for tracking usage:

• Check usage after each show to learn what a typical show costs in viewer minutes.
• Plan around big events. If you have a launch or holiday show coming, compare expected viewers with your remaining minutes.
• Use the Insights page to see viewers, watch time and orders attributed to each show, which helps you judge whether the minutes are paying off.

Choosing the right plan

A simple way to choose:

1. Estimate your monthly viewer minutes using the formula and examples above.
2. Add a buffer of 20 to 30 percent for growth and busier months.
3. Check the features you need. If you want OBS streaming, premieres or email reminders, you need at least Starter. Multistreaming, split-screen layouts and AI tools require Growth. Priority support comes with Pro.
4. Check your shoppable video count. If you plan to add videos to many product pages, make sure the plan's limit fits.
5. Start smaller if unsure. You can upgrade when your usage grows.

For many merchants, features rather than minutes drive the first upgrade: Starter is often chosen for RTMP and reminders long before 5,000 minutes are reached.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I go over my viewer minutes? As you approach your limit, the usage banner in the admin warns you so you can upgrade in time. Check the pricing page for the latest details on how limits are applied, and upgrade before a big event if you expect to exceed your allowance.

Do unused minutes roll over? Viewer minutes are a monthly allowance. Plan your usage month by month, and choose a plan that covers your busiest regular month with some headroom.

Does multistreaming to Facebook and YouTube use viewer minutes? Viewer minutes measure video watched on your storefront through LiveShoply. Multistreaming is about forwarding your OBS show to other platforms; viewers there watch on those platforms.

Is there a fee on sales? No. LiveShoply does not take a commission on orders. Customers check out through your standard Shopify checkout.

Can I change plans at any time? Yes, you can upgrade as your audience grows or downgrade if your needs change. Plans are billed through Shopify.

Do my own test shows count? Usage comes from viewing on your storefront, so if you or teammates watch a test show on the storefront, that viewing counts like any other. Keep tests short.

Ways to get more from your minutes

• Focus on conversion, not just views. Pinning products at the right moment and using live deals turns watch time into orders. See live chat, polls and live deals.
• Use short clips on product pages. A focused two-minute clip uses fewer minutes per viewer than a full replay and is more relevant. See AI captions and highlight clips.
• Measure return. Compare orders attributed to shows with your plan cost. Our guide on measuring live shopping ROI explains how.

If you have questions about which plan fits your store, the team is available through live chat on the in-app Help page. You can also review the full list of features by plan on the features page.