Shopify Multilingual Store: Markets, Languages & Currencies

You don't just want to sell in Germany, but also to Austria, Switzerland or across the EU, perhaps in English? This article shows you how to make your store Shopify multilingual with Markets and set up multiple currencies, what that costs and what Markets doesn't do for you. It's part of our overview Shopify design & tech.

Do you even need this?

The honest answer for many beginners: not yet. For Austria, you need neither another language nor another currency. You only set up shipping. Markets only becomes worthwhile when you want to specifically target customers outside the German-speaking euro area.

It's better to start with one additional market you can really serve than with ten half-translated countries.

One store with Markets or several stores?

For almost all merchants, one store with Markets is the better choice. A second store is only worthwhile if the product range, brand or legal entity are truly completely separate.

According to the Shopify pricing page, localized selling with Markets is included on all plans. Basic, Grow and Advanced allow up to 20 languages, Plus up to 30.

Three language settings people mix up

Many questions arise because Shopify has three language settings that have nothing to do with each other:

1. The language of your admin: You set it in your profile under "Preferred language". According to Shopify, it has no effect on your store. If your admin is in German but the store is in English, this isn't the cause.
2. Your store's default language: The language visitors see first, and the language of theme texts such as "Add to cart". You set this under Settings > Languages.
3. Additional store languages: Further languages that visitors get via a language selector or their own URL.

Do you see English button texts or English dropdown menus in the theme editor even though everything else is German? Then first check whether German is really set as the store's default language.

Shopify multilingual setup: step by step

1. Add a language

Go to Settings > Languages and click "Add language". According to the Shopify Help Center, you select the language, assign domains to it and add the translations. Customers only see the language once you publish it via the "Publish" menu.

2. Translate with Translate & Adapt

When you add a language, Shopify automatically installs the free app Translate & Adapt. With it, you translate products, collections, pages, blog posts and policies. According to its App Store listing, automatic translation is free for up to two languages, and manual translations are unlimited. Whether all automatic features are available depends on your store's country.

Customer emails such as order and shipping confirmations can also be translated in Translate & Adapt. Still proofread automatic translations. Product names, size information and legal terms often go wrong with machine translation.

If Translate & Adapt isn't enough for you, for example because you want to translate more than two languages automatically, there are paid translation apps such as Weglot. Before installing, check whether the app really captures all texts, including those from other apps.

3. Create a market

You manage markets on the Markets page in the Shopify admin. A market groups countries or regions, for example "Switzerland" or "EU without DACH". Each market takes over your store's default settings until you change something. According to Shopify, you can customize currency, product availability, prices, theme content, domains, languages and taxes, among other things.

You can't find "Markets"? Older videos show the section under the settings. Shopify has since restructured the admin. Simply type "Markets" into the search bar at the top of the admin.

Enabling countries: market and shipping belong together

A country that isn't in any market isn't a sales country for you. Shopify points this out in the shipping settings when a shipping zone contains countries that aren't in any market. Conversely, a market is useless if there's no shipping rate for the country: then nobody can order there. So you need both, the country in an active market and a matching shipping zone. For Austria, for example, it's enough to add Austria to your home market or an EU market. For digital products without shipping, the shipping zone isn't needed, but the markets still determine where you sell.

4. Choose subfolders or a separate domain

Each market can get its own URL. Shopify names three options:

• Subfolders such as yourstore.de/en: according to Shopify, the best choice for most stores, because they benefit from the search engine strength of your main domain.
• Subdomain such as en.yourstore.de: treated by some search engines as a separate site.
• Country domain such as yourstore.ch: the strongest local signal, but a separate domain per country that you have to maintain.

For separate URLs per market, according to Shopify's guide, you need your own domain; the myshopify.com address isn't enough. You set this up in the respective market under "Languages and domains". How to connect a domain is explained in connecting your own domain to Shopify.

5. Show the language and country selector in the theme

Most Shopify themes have a language and country selector that you activate in the theme editor, usually in the header or footer. Without this selector, visitors still land on the right version via redirect or search engine, but can't switch themselves. Where to find the setting in the editor is shown in Customizing your Shopify theme.

6. Check the checkout and place a test order

Shopify has already pre-translated the checkout for many languages. You adjust your own checkout texts in the checkout settings or via Translate & Adapt. Then place a test order per market: right language, right currency, right shipping costs, right email.

Multiple currencies: what you need to know

You can only let customers pay in their local currency with Shopify Payments (or Adyen for larger stores). According to the Shopify Help Center, here's what happens without Shopify Payments: customers see prices in their currency, but at checkout the amount is converted back into your store currency and charged in it. Their bank may then charge additional conversion fees. Currency converter apps don't change this; they only display converted prices. How to activate Shopify Payments is explained in Setting up payment methods in Shopify.

• Exchange rate: Automatically at the current rate or set manually.
• Rounding: You can round prices per market so that CHF 41.37 becomes a clean price.
• Separate prices: For individual markets, you can also set fixed prices via catalogs instead of converted prices.
• Conversion fee: Shopify includes a fee in the conversion. The example in the Help Center mentions 1.5%. Check the rate that applies to you in your Shopify Payments settings before you start.

As a German merchant, your store currency stays euro, even if you only sell to the US. Shopify Payments in Germany requires a euro bank account, and your accounting also runs in euros. You control foreign prices via the respective market.

What Markets doesn't do for you

Markets is a technical tool. The business and legal questions remain yours:

• Shipping: You set up shipping zones, rates and delivery times per country separately. See Setting up shipping in Shopify.
• VAT: If you sell to consumers in other EU countries, the destination country's VAT applies once your total sales across all EU countries exceed €10,000 per year. You then report it, for example, through the OSS procedure. More in Setting up taxes in Shopify.
• Customs outside the EU: For Switzerland, the UK or the US, customs duties and import taxes apply. Clarify beforehand who pays them.
• Legal texts: If you address customers in another language, you also need your terms and conditions (AGB), withdrawal policy (Widerrufsbelehrung) and privacy policy in that language. Ask your legal texts provider about translations. Basics in Protecting your Shopify store from legal warnings.
• Customer service: If you sell in French, you'll get questions in French.
• Product feeds: For Google Shopping or Instagram, you need suitable feeds in the right language and currency depending on the country. See Google Shopping with Shopify.

Multilingual stores and SEO

Multilingual stores have SEO pitfalls. According to the Help Center on international SEO, Shopify takes care of two of them for you:

• Hreflang tags are set automatically based on your markets and languages. They tell Google which version is meant for which country and which language.
• Automatic redirection by location applies to customers, not to known search engine crawlers. That way, every language version gets indexed.

What you have to do yourself: translate page titles, meta descriptions and URL handles too, and do it the way people in the target country search. A literal translation of your German keyword rarely matches the search term. You'll find the basics in Shopify SEO.

FAQ

Will my German Shopify store be translated automatically for visitors abroad?

No. Without an additional language, all visitors see your store in the default language, i.e. in German. Some browsers offer their own translation, but you have no control over that. For a real second language, you add it under Settings and Languages, translate the content with Translate & Adapt or another app and publish the language.

Can visitors choose their country and then see the language and currency of their country?

Yes, that's exactly what Shopify Markets is for. You create markets with their own language and currency and show a country and language selector in the theme. Payment then happens in the local currency, provided you use Shopify Payments. Without Shopify Payments, customers see converted prices, but they're charged in your store currency.

Would you set up a new store for another country or work with Markets?

In most cases, Markets. You manage products, inventory, orders and apps in one place, pay for only one Shopify subscription and, with subfolders, benefit from the strength of your main domain. A separate store is only worthwhile if the product range, brand or company for that country are completely different, for example with a separate national subsidiary.

Can I sell only to the US from Germany?

Yes. You create a market for the US with English and US dollars and only add the countries you really want to ship to to your markets. Your store currency still stays euro, because Shopify Payments in Germany requires a euro account and your accounting runs in euros. Plan for shipping times, customs and English legal texts. Your obligations as a German merchant, such as your trade registration and taxes, remain in place.

Why is my theme editor in English even though the rest is German?

Check two settings. You set the language of your admin in your profile under "Preferred language". The texts in the store itself, such as button labels and dropdown menus, depend on the store's default language under Settings and Languages. If English is set there, the theme shows English texts. Export existing translations before changing the default language.

How do I translate the automatic emails to customers?

You translate Shopify's standard notifications, such as order and shipping confirmations, in Translate & Adapt. First edit the template in your default language, then the translation. For elaborate templates, it helps to copy the source code, translate it outside Shopify and leave the Liquid tags unchanged. You translate emails from other apps or workflows in the respective app.

Does Translate & Adapt work with the Dawn or Craft theme?

Yes. According to Shopify, all free Shopify themes support multiple languages. If you still don't see the language in the store, it's usually not yet published, not assigned to a domain, or the language selector isn't activated in the theme. Check these three points under Settings and Languages and in the theme editor in the header or footer.

As of: October 2026. Shopify changes Markets features regularly. Current details in the Shopify Help Center on Markets. This article is not legal or tax advice.