Shopify website cost
Last updated . Figures are approximate and change with the market, so check current prices before you decide.
"How much does a Shopify website cost?" has no single answer because you are paying for several different things. The platform charges a monthly plan. Payment processors take a cut of each sale. A theme and apps add to the bill. And someone has to build the store, which can be you, a freelancer or an agency. This guide goes through each layer with published figures so you can build a realistic budget. Market ranges come from Shopify's own pricing page and from agency and blog guides, which have a commercial interest, so treat them as benchmarks.
The cost layers at a glance
| Layer | Typical cost | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify plan (Basic) | €24 a month paid yearly, €32 month to month | Shopify pricing |
| Shopify plan (Grow) | €69 a month paid yearly, €92 month to month | Shopify pricing |
| Card payments, Basic plan | 2.1% + €0.30 per online sale | Shopify pricing |
| Theme | $0 (free theme) to about $400 (premium, one time) | FS Code |
| Apps | $30 to $80 a month for 3 to 5 paid apps | FS Code |
| Domain | about $14 to $20 a year | FS Code |
| Build, DIY | $0 plus theme and your time | FS Code |
| Build, freelancer | $500 to $1,500 for basic setup, $1,500 to $3,000+ with custom design | FS Code |
| Build, agency | $3,000 to $15,000+ | FS Code |
Prices on Shopify's page are the ones shown for Spain and can differ by country and change over time. Check the current page before you budget. Shopify also advertises a 3-day free trial followed by a €1 a month introductory rate for the first three months on most plans.
Build quotes vary widely with scope, so compare them line by line, not by headline price.
Shopify plan fees
Shopify sells several plans. For a small store, the two that matter are Basic and Grow. Basic is enough when you are starting out. Grow lowers your card rate and your third-party gateway fee, so it pays for itself once your monthly sales are high enough that the saved percentage exceeds the extra plan cost. Work that out with your own sales figures before upgrading.
Advanced is €289 a month paid yearly and Plus starts from about €2,100 (Shopify pricing). Most small stores never need either.
Payment fees
Every sale carries a processing fee, and it is usually the cost that grows fastest as you do. On Shopify's EU pricing page, the online card rate is 2.1% + €0.30 on Basic, 1.8% + €0.30 on Grow and 1.6% + €0.30 on Advanced. If you use a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify adds its own fee on top: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced (Shopify pricing).
Rates differ by country. US-focused guides quote Shopify Payments at 2.9% + 30 cents on Basic, which shows why you should check the page for your own market. On a €50 order at 2.1% + €0.30, the fee is about €1.35. At 40 orders a month, that is roughly €54, which is more than the plan itself.
Themes
Shopify's default theme, Dawn, is free. Paid themes are a one-time purchase, with guides placing them at around $150 for the budget end, $280 to $380 mid-range and up to about $400 for premium (FS Code). For most small stores a free theme with a good logo, clean photos and clear product pages beats a premium theme with poor content. Spend on a paid theme only if it has a feature you cannot get otherwise.
Apps: the cost that creeps
Apps add features such as reviews, upsells, loyalty points, pop-ups and SMS. A few are worth having. Many are not. FS Code lists typical prices: a review app at about $15 a month, loyalty programs at $20 to $49 or more, abandoned-cart recovery at $10 to $20 or more, and notes that three to five paid apps cost $30 to $80 a month while a full marketing stack runs $80 to $150 or more (FS Code).
Add an app only for a specific problem, and cancel it if you cannot say what it earned you after three months. Every app also adds code that can slow your pages down.
Design and build: DIY, freelancer or agency
DIY. You pick a theme, upload products, set up payments and shipping, and write the pages. The cash cost is small. The real cost is time, and the usual weak spots are product photos, copy and checkout testing. If you have fewer than ten products and a clear idea of your brand, this can work.
Freelancer. Published guides put basic setup at $500 to $1,500 and custom design work at $1,500 to $3,000 or more (FS Code). Quality varies a lot. Ask for a recent Shopify store they built, check it on your phone and ask who owns the Shopify account when it is done.
Agency. Full brand and store builds are placed at $3,000 to $15,000 or more in the same guide. You get a team, a process and usually better design and testing. You also pay for project management.
Fixed-price studio. A defined package with set products, rounds of changes and a delivery date. Less flexible than an agency, more predictable than a freelancer.
What drives the price up or down
- Number of products and variants. Importing 30 products is quick. Importing 3,000 with sizes and colours is a project.
- Custom design. Editing a theme is cheap. Rebuilding sections is not.
- Migrating from another platform. Moving products, customers and old URLs adds work.
- Languages and markets. Each language needs its own copy, and multiple currencies and tax rules add setup.
- Integrations. Accounting, shipping labels, inventory systems or subscription billing.
- Content. Product photos, descriptions and policy pages.
Monthly cost of running a small store
Add up the plan (€24 to €32), three to five paid apps ($30 to $80 in total), the domain (about $14 to $20 a year) and the processing fee on each sale. If someone maintains the store for you, add a care plan.
How to choose
- Decide your product count and whether you need custom design.
- Work out your payment fees at your expected sales volume.
- List the apps you really need and add up their monthly cost.
- Get a written scope from each builder: pages, products, rounds of changes, what is not included.
- Ask who owns the Shopify account, the domain and the theme files.
- Ask what happens after launch and what that costs each month.
What OnePDA charges
All prices are in euros and exclude VAT where it applies. See pricing for the full list.
| Item | Price |
|---|---|
| Shopify store build (up to 30 products, about 4 weeks, 3 rounds of changes) | €3,200 |
| 20 extra products | €180 |
| Extra language | €450 per language |
| Care Store plan | €199 a month |
| Shopify plan | About €27 a month, paid by you directly to Shopify |
Payment processing fees and any paid apps are also paid directly by you. We do not push apps, because each one adds load time and cost. The store build sets up payments, shipping, taxes, SEO basics and two automatic emails. The details are on the Shopify website design page. If you only need a brochure site, see website design for small business instead.
FAQ
How much does it cost to build a Shopify store?
The platform fee starts at €24 a month on yearly billing. A build costs $0 if you do it yourself, roughly $500 to $3,000 or more with a freelancer, and $3,000 to $15,000 or more with an agency, per published guides. Our build is €3,200 for up to 30 products.
Is Shopify cheaper than building a website another way?
For selling products, usually yes, because payments, hosting, security and tax tools come with the plan. For a site with no store, a regular website is often cheaper because you do not pay a plan or processing fees.
What are the hidden costs of a Shopify store?
Apps, payment processing fees, a paid theme if you choose one, the domain, and later design changes. Photos and copy are also easy to leave out of a budget.
Can I build a Shopify store for free?
You can start a trial, and Shopify advertises a low introductory rate for the first three months. After that you pay the plan, and you still need a domain, products and photos. The free theme costs nothing.
Do I need a developer for Shopify?
Not for a simple store with a standard theme. You need help when you want custom design, migration from another platform, or integrations that apps cannot cover.
How long does it take to build a Shopify store?
A basic store can be ready in a few days if you do it yourself and have your products ready. Our build takes about four weeks.