July 16, 2026 · 7 min read
A professional e-commerce store starts at €1,200 for a shop with a catalog, cart and online payments. The cost grows with the number of products, integrations (couriers, ERP, invoicing) and how custom the design is. On top of that come recurring costs that are often underestimated: hosting, payment fees and marketing.
What it costs to open an online store
| Solution | Upfront cost | Best for |
|---|
| Basic e-commerce (WooCommerce) | from €1,200 | Up to ~100 products, getting started |
| Custom e-commerce | from €3,000 | Large catalogs, integrations, B2B |
| Subscription platform (Shopify) | from €30/mo + setup | Zero technical maintenance |
The platform you pick heavily shapes your cost structure — we break it down in our WooCommerce vs Shopify guide.
The recurring costs everyone forgets
- Payment fees: Stripe and PayPal keep roughly 1.5-3% per transaction.
- Hosting and domain: from €29/month for a fast, secure store.
- Marketing: a store with no traffic makes no sales. Budget for SEO or paid ads.
- Maintenance: updates, backups and security, especially on WooCommerce.
Where the budget pays off
Your budget goes furthest on three fronts: well-crafted product pages (photos and copy that sell), a simple, fast checkout, and search visibility. A slow store loses sales, so get performance right from the start — see our Core Web Vitals guide. To understand the investment for your case, look at our e-commerce service and request a quote.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to build an e-commerce from scratch?
A professional e-commerce starts at €1,200 with WooCommerce. For large catalogs, ERP integrations or B2B features, a custom project starts at €3,000.
What are the monthly costs of an e-commerce?
Hosting from €29/month, payment fees of 1.5-3% per transaction, any platform subscription and a marketing budget. The domain costs around €10-15 per year.
WooCommerce or Shopify to start?
It depends. WooCommerce gives more control and no platform fee but needs maintenance; Shopify is simpler but has a subscription and fees. We compare them in our dedicated guide.
How long does it take to build an e-commerce?
A standard store takes 3-6 weeks, a custom project up to 2-3 months, depending on the number of products and the integrations required.