Ecommerce Website Cost: Full Guide for 2026

There are two realistic ways to build an online store: Either do it yourself using an ecommerce platform, or hire a web development agency to build it for you.

The path you choose directly affects how much you’ll spend upfront and what you’ll pay every month. Essential ecommerce costs, from domain to hosting to platform fees, typically span from about $29 per month on the low end up to $10,000 as your store grows and adds features. 

In this guide, we break down exactly how much it costs to build an ecommerce website.

Total costs of an ecommerce website

A basic ecommerce website can start at around $29 per month using a hosted platform.

Pricing can differ depending on factors like additional customization, premium design, and platform fees.

Here’s the breakdown of costs for creating an ecommerce website. Costs vary depending on plans and providers:

• Domain registration: $10 to $30 annually for a store domain.
• Web hosting*: $5 to $250 monthly for website hosting.
• SSL certificate*: $0 (SSL certificates are included with most modern ecommerce platforms and hosting providers).
• Ecommerce platform*:
• Hosted platforms: $5 to $300 monthly, depending on features.
• Open-source platforms: Free to download with additional costs for features.
• Website design and development*:
• Prebuilt themes: $0 to $200.
• Custom-built website development: $2,000 to $20,000 or more depending on complexity and functionality.
• Payment processing fees: 1% to 3%, plus a flat fee of 0¢ to 50¢.
• Additional costs:
• Digital marketing and advertising: Varies depending on the budget and strategy.
• Website maintenance and support: Varies based on the degree of support required.

*Cost included with a Shopify subscription

Actual costs vary less by business size and more by how many apps, integrations, and services a store adds as it grows.

6 common ecommerce website costs

Each cost category affects your total differently depending on your business model and growth stage. Here’s what to expect from each.

1. Hosting

Every website needs web hosting to store its files. You’ll also need a domain name, the digital address for your store.

Website hosting costs vary, with some ecommerce platforms like Shopify including hosting with all plans. Hosting prices start as low as $2.49 per month and climb up to $1,000 or higher. Costs depend on how much traffic your store receives, as well as extra services such as automated backups.

There are two types of web hosting commonly used by ecommerce brands: hosting via a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform and self-hosting.

SaaS ecommerce platform hosting

On a SaaS ecommerce platform like Shopify, hosting is bundled into your subscription, so you don’t need to source or manage it separately. 

Secure hosting comes with every Shopify plan, which also includes:

• Unlimited bandwidth, so you don’t have to worry about paying more if you get more traffic
• Level 1 PCI compliance, which keeps customer data secure
• Blazing fast servers and instant updates, so you never miss out on the latest features
• An SSL certificate to prevent fraud and build customer trust
• A reliable content management system (CMS) to handle site content
• Unlimited email forwarding for Shopify-managed domains

Because hosting is included, your upfront and ongoing costs are more predictable. Plus, you’re not troubleshooting servers, uptime, or security as your store grows.

Domain pricing varies based on the extension you choose (.com, .store, .shop) and the registrar, and is typically billed annually as a separate cost.

Self-hosted ecommerce website

Other ecommerce website builders require users to manage an account with a hosting provider. Some of the costs you’re likely to incur when self-hosting your website include:

• Ecommerce hosting. Typically costs about $2 to $10 per month for shared hosting up to $10 to $200 or more for cloud or VPS plans as your traffic and performance needs grow.
• Domain name. Typically $10 to $30 per year, depending on the extension and registrar.
• SSL certificate. $0 in most cases, as SSL is commonly included for free through hosting providers or services like Let’s Encrypt.

As your ecommerce store grows, you may need to upgrade your hosting plan to manage additional traffic. For high-volume websites, self-hosting can cost upward of $1,000 per month.

2. Payment processing

Every ecommerce store needs a secure checkout to process payments from credit cards, debit cards, and digital wallets. A payment processor handles these transactions so customers can complete purchases smoothly and securely.

Payment processing costs depend on the gateway you use. Shopify Payments credit card rates range from roughly 2.4% to 3.5% per transaction, depending on your plan tier, payment method, and region. Rates decrease on higher-tier plans and vary internationally.

Every Shopify plan includes Shopify Payments, which lets merchants accept major payment methods such as credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Shop Pay accelerated checkout without setting up a separate payment provider.

Note: If you choose to use third-party payment gateways instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify applies additional transaction fees on top of the gateway’s own processing charges. 

3. Ecommerce website design costs

Research shows it takes as little as 50 milliseconds (0.05 seconds) for users to form a first impression of a website. That snap judgment influences trust; and in ecommerce, trust plays a major role in whether shoppers feel comfortable buying.

Ecommerce platforms like Shopify make it easier to launch a professional-looking store without starting from scratch. Shopify uses themes—prebuilt website designs you can apply instantly—to help merchants get up and running quickly and affordably.

These templates come set with everything you need to start your store:

• Homepage
• Product pages
• Shopping cart
• Checkout page
• FAQ
• About pages

Shopify Themes include built-in tools that let you customize layout, colors, typography, and styling without touching code. You get both free and paid themes, with premium options designed for specific industries like apparel, beauty, and high-visual catalogs such as 3D products.

4. Custom development

From full design overhauls to customized back ends, sometimes you may need help to get your store looking the way you want.

Custom ecommerce website development costs are related to designing, deploying, and maintaining your store for specific business needs. Store owners can work with developers to create custom storefronts or tweak Shopify themes.

“The ability to customize with Shopify really allows us to push it to the limit and create a custom checkout experience customers can trust and be confident in keeping their personal and payment information safe. It really makes customers feel like the site is going to take care of them,” says John Hart, ecommerce manager at Peepers.

Prices vary significantly based on scope, from minor theme tweaks to complete custom builds. Factors affecting cost include design complexity, number of custom features, third-party integrations, and ongoing maintenance requirements.

When to DIY vs. hire professionals

Most merchants start by customizing their store themselves using Shopify’s built-in theme editor and free apps—and for good reason. Shopify’s native tools handle layout, colors, fonts, and basic functionality without requiring code, making DIY a fast and cost-effective way to launch.

Verve Coffee chose to use Shopify to build their own site, after exploring a custom-built option.

“We had spent a lot of money with some developers in San Francisco to build that for us and we didn’t like any of it,” says Colby Barr, CEO and cofounder, in an interview with Shopify Masters.

A member of Verve’s marketing team introduced the staff to Shopify, and they opted to build their own site instead.

“We just scrapped the tens of thousands of money that we really didn’t have to spend and scrapped it and then just built it ourselves with Shopify," says Colby.

That said, professional help becomes worth considering when you need:

• Custom functionality that isn’t available through existing apps
• Complex integrations with inventory, ERP, or fulfillment systems
• Brand-specific design that goes beyond what themes can realistically support
• Migration from another platform, especially with large or complex product catalogs
  
  

A DIY approach can take you surprisingly far. But once the time and effort of building it yourself outweighs the cost of hiring help, or when your requirements exceed what standard tools allow, bringing in professionals starts to make financial sense.

5. Add-ons and extensions

As your business grows, you’ll almost certainly add features to support marketing, operations, and customer experience.

Strong ecommerce platforms make this easy by letting you extend functionality with apps or plug-ins. Some integrations are free, while others are paid subscriptions that add to your monthly costs.

The Shopify App Store offers more than 8,000 apps, including many free options. Whether you want to run email marketing campaigns, sell on social media, automate workflows, connect a CRM, or improve your site’s SEO, there’s likely an app designed for that use case:

• Email marketing apps can help recover abandoned carts and drive repeat purchases.
• SEO apps may improve search visibility for product pages.
• Inventory management becomes essential as SKU count grows.
• Customer reviews can build social proof that influences buying decisions.

Paid Shopify apps typically charge on a monthly subscription basis, with pricing varying based on features, usage, or order volume.

For more specialized needs, Shopify also supports custom apps (previously called private apps). These are built specifically for your store and hosted externally, with secure access granted through Shopify’s API and permission scopes.

6. Business costs

While it’s possible to start an ecommerce website with minimal upfront costs, most businesses will still incur expenses as they move from idea to launch.

The cost of running an ecommerce business depends heavily on your business model and operational needs. These costs differ significantly from selling exclusively on marketplaces like Amazon, where fees, fulfillment, and branding are handled very differently.

Inventory-less models such as dropshipping and print on demand allow sellers to operate without purchasing stock upfront, which can significantly reduce initial investment.

Other business models come with different requirements. Craft sellers may need to budget for raw materials and labor, while traditional retailers often need to plan for inventory storage, fulfillment, and logistics.

On Shopify, merchants can experiment with different ecommerce business models using built-in inventory tools and app integrations that support sourcing, fulfillment, and operational efficiency.

Hidden and ongoing costs

Beyond platform subscription fees, most merchants should plan for additional ongoing costs that often show up after launch.

• App subscriptions. Many stores rely on apps for email marketing, reviews, SEO, automation, and analytics. While Shopify offers free apps, paid apps are common as stores grow and functionality needs expand.
• Transaction fees. Payment processing fees apply to every order. Shopify Payments charges a percentage-based fee per transaction, with rates varying by plan, payment method, and region.
• Theme updates and customization. While Shopify themes include ongoing improvements, premium themes or customizations may require developer support when updating or extending functionality beyond built-in settings.
• Marketing spend.: Costs for advertising, email campaigns, promotions, and customer acquisition typically scale as your business grows.
• Fulfillment and shipping. Physical product sellers need to account for shipping labels, packaging materials, carrier rates, and fulfillment services; these costs vary based on order volume, destination, and shipping method.
• Returns processing. Handling returns adds operational cost through shipping, restocking, and customer support, especially for categories like apparel and footwear.

Building an ecommerce website on Shopify

Shopify offers multiple plan tiers designed to support different business stages; as you move up the plans, you get access to more advanced features and lower transaction fees.

• Starter: $5 per month; social and light selling tools.
• Basic: $39 per month; full ecommerce store with core features.
• Grow: $105 per month; more staff accounts and reports.
• Advanced: $399 per month; advanced reporting and automation.
• Shopify Plus: $2,300 per month; enterprise-grade solution with dedicated support and customization options.

Where costs start to diverge is around the platform, not inside it:

This is included with every Shopify plan:

• Secure hosting and SSL
• Online store themes and no-code customization tools
• Checkout, payments, and order management
• Basic inventory and fulfillment features
• Free themes to get started
• Mobile-optimized checkout

These are the common add-ons as stores grow:

• Paid apps for email marketing, reviews, SEO, subscriptions, or automation
• Premium themes or custom design work
• Custom domain registration
• Third-party payment gateway fees (if not using Shopify Payments)
• Advanced integrations (CRM, ERP, fulfillment systems)

If you want to speed up launch even further, Shopify offers an AI-powered website builder that helps generate store layouts and content automatically, giving you a structured starting point instead of a blank canvas.