How much does an online store cost?

An online store costs between €700 and €7,000 depending on platform, number of products, required integrations, and whether you need a custom graphic design or a ready-made template. A simple WooCommerce store with a few dozen products costs €950–€1,900; a large store with warehouse system integrations and a custom design — €3,500–€7,000. On top of that come ongoing costs that must be budgeted before launch.

Cost table — how much for which type of store?

WooCommerce vs. Shopify — which is actually cheaper?

Shopify appears simpler: a monthly subscription from $29 to $299, no need for your own hosting. But after a year that is $350–$3,600 just for the platform — without any custom build. On top of that, Shopify charges a transaction fee (0.5–2%) if you do not use their Shopify Payments system.

WooCommerce is free as a WordPress plugin — you pay for hosting, setup and optional premium extensions. For a store with a monthly turnover of €2,500–€25,000, WooCommerce is usually cheaper over 3–5 years. Shopify becomes more sensible at higher volumes, when the time cost of maintaining WordPress exceeds the Shopify subscription.

What goes into a store build cost — an hourly breakdown

Clients always want to know exactly what they are paying for. A typical WooCommerce store for €1,900 breaks down roughly like this: graphic design and UX (15–20 hours), development and configuration (20–30 hours), payment gateway integration (5–8 hours), shipping and tax configuration (3–5 hours), technical SEO and analytics setup (5–8 hours), training (2–3 hours). At a rate of €35–€60/hour that comes to €1,750–€4,400.

Cheaper builds are possible with ready-made templates and no custom requirements. More expensive when you need a custom design, non-standard features (product configurators, price calculators, warehouse integration), or hundreds of products to upload. Every custom requirement adds hours of work.

Fixed costs of a store — what to budget monthly

An online store is not a one-off expense. Monthly fixed costs include: hosting (€12–€70 depending on traffic), SSL certificate (often included in hosting or €25–€70/year), payment gateway fees (1–2% per transaction + a fixed monthly fee of €0–€25), an optional support plan (updates, backup, monitoring — €70–€350/month), and marketing costs.

The most common budgeting mistake in e-commerce is focusing solely on the build cost and ignoring operational costs. A store with no marketing budget after launch will not generate sales regardless of build quality. Budget at least €240–€470 per month for traffic (SEO or Ads) during the first 6 months.

Max Mazurkiewicz

Founder

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Payment gateways — what transaction fees do you actually pay?

The most popular payment gateways charge 1.4–2.9% per transaction + a fixed fee of €0.20–€0.40. At €12,000 monthly turnover that is €168–€348 per month on payment processing fees alone. Gateway choice and configuration have a real impact on margin.

Additional cost: integration with invoicing software — plugins cost €25–€95 per year. At higher volumes it is worth considering ERP or warehouse system integration, though this increases the build cost by €700–€2,400.

When does a ready-made template suffice — and when do you need a custom design?

A ready-made WooCommerce theme (Flatsome, Astra, Divi) costs €55–€185 as a one-off and is sufficient when: you are still testing the market, your products do not require complex UX, you have a limited launch budget and want to go live fast. A template can be launched in 2–3 weeks instead of 2–3 months.

A custom design is justified when: your product requires non-standard presentation (configurators, variants, 3D visualisations), you are competing in a sector where UX is a differentiator, you plan to scale to thousands of products, or you need a specific brand image that cannot be achieved with a ready-made template. A custom WooCommerce store is an investment that pays back through a higher conversion rate.

When does an online store pay for itself?

A store built for €1,900 with €120 in monthly costs and a 30% margin needs to generate around €6,700 in sales to break even on the build cost. At €1,200 in monthly turnover (quite realistic for a niche product with good SEO) the return comes after 5–6 months. At €5,000 per month — after 6 weeks.

The key question is not "can I afford a store?" but "does my product have online demand and am I ready to invest in promoting it?". A store without a marketing budget is an investment that will not deliver a return. With the right SEO strategy and a product with demand — the ROI from an online store is one of the best in digital marketing.