On this page
- 01Ecommerce website cost, line by line
- 02What is in a 5,000 and a 15,000 euro store?
- 03What a payment costs, per provider
- 04Worked example: two stores over three years
- 05Legal costs that are easy to forget when selling in the EU
- 06Rented platform or your own store?
- 07Where store budgets go off the rails
- 08Preparing your quote in four steps
What does an ecommerce website cost? Building one costs 4,000 to 15,000 euros or more in Belgium; set that against quotes in your own market. After launch you pay a platform or hosting every month (Shopify Basic is 24 euros billed yearly on its EU pricing) plus apps, and a fee on every sale: about 2 percent plus 0.25 euros for a card on Shopify Basic. For a small store the plan is the largest fixed cost; once you reach hundreds of orders a month, payment fees outweigh everything else combined.
All amounts before VAT, for a store based in the EU. How we build stores: webshop development. Which payment methods each country expects, and what they cost a shop, is in payment methods in Europe.
Ecommerce website cost, line by line
| Item | When | What it costs | What it depends on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design and build | One-off | 4,000 to 15,000 euros or more (Belgian market) | Products and variants, languages, integrations, custom design |
| Product photos | One-off, with new products | A shoot day or your own photos | Number of products, still or in use |
| Catalogue import | One-off | Hours, or an import from a spreadsheet or old store | How clean your product list is |
| Platform or hosting | Monthly | Shopify 24, 69 or 289 euros; WooCommerce hosting from about 30 euros | Plan, volume, hosted or self-hosted |
| Apps and extensions | Monthly | Free to tens of euros per app | Reviews, invoices, translation, shipping |
| Payment fees | Per sale | Cards 1.8 to 2 percent plus 0.25 euros; local methods often a fixed fee | Provider, plan, payment method |
| Shipping and packaging | Per sale | Per parcel, per carrier | Weight, country, volume |
| Maintenance | Monthly or yearly | On WooCommerce or custom: updates, backups | Who does it |
Shopify is not the only route. Platforms compared: Shopify or WooCommerce, Shopify or Lightspeed and Shopify alternatives made in Europe. Every Shopify line on its own: how much does Shopify cost.
What is in a 5,000 and a 15,000 euro store?
Two quotes for "an online store" can describe very different stores:
- Around 5,000 eurosan existing theme on Shopify or WooCommerce, adapted to your brand, up to a few hundred products you supply, cards and one local payment method, flat-rate shipping, one language.
- Around 10,000 eurosyour own design, product filters, two languages, a link with your accounting software, your own product photos and copy on search terms for category pages.
- 15,000 euros or morea link with your stock or point of sale, customer-specific prices or B2B ordering, a product the customer configures, sales in several countries with VAT per country.
Ask which of these each quote includes. A checklist follows below.
Three cost streams and an example sale
One-offAt launch
- Design and build
- Product photos
- Importing your catalogue
- Links with accounting or stock
MonthlyAs long as the store runs
- Platform: Shopify Basic 24 euros, Grow 69, Advanced 289 billed yearly
- Apps and extensions
- Hosting, for your own store
Per saleOn every order
- Transaction fee
- Payment provider
- Shipping and packaging
An example sale of 60 euros
- Card payment via Shopify Payments, Basic2% + 0.25
- 1.45
- The same on Grow1.8% + 0.25
- 1.33
- The same on Advanced1.6% + 0.25
- 1.21
- Another payment provider on Basic, on top of what it charges2%
- 1.20
Shipping and packaging come on top.
A month with 200 such orders on Basic
Plan24 euros
Transaction fees290 euros
Amounts in euros for EU stores, before VAT. What your builder, photographer and carrier charge differs per store.
What a payment costs, per provider
Payment methods differ by country: Bancontact in Belgium, iDEAL in the Netherlands (now moving to Wero), cards almost everywhere, Klarna in the Nordics and Germany. Which ones you offer decides part of what a sale costs you. Prices in the eurozone:
| Payment method | Shopify Payments (Basic) | Shopify Payments (Grow) | Mollie |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU consumer card | 2% + 0.25 euros | 1.8% + 0.25 euros | 1.8% + 0.25 euros |
| Card, on an order of 60 euros | 1.45 euros | 1.33 euros | 1.33 euros |
| Bancontact (Belgium) | 0.39 euros | 0.39 euros | 0.39 euros |
| Another payment provider on Shopify | 2% extra on top of that provider | 1% extra | not applicable |
| Klarna | via Shopify | via Shopify | 2.99% + 0.45 euros |
On Shopify you pay extra if you use a provider other than Shopify Payments: 2 percent on Basic, 1 percent on Grow. On WooCommerce or a custom store you connect a provider such as Mollie or Stripe directly, with no platform surcharge. Currency conversion costs another 2 percent on Shopify Payments when you sell in a currency other than your payout currency.
Worked example: two stores over three years
A small store with 50 orders a month and a growing store with 500, both with an average order of 60 euros. We assume 60 percent of customers pay with a local fixed-fee method and 40 percent by card. Average payment cost per order: 0.81 euros on Shopify Basic, 0.77 euros on Shopify Grow or Mollie. The build is 5,000 euros for the small and 8,000 euros for the growing store; apps, plugins and upkeep are examples.
| Over three years | Shopify | WooCommerce with Mollie |
|---|---|---|
| Small store, 50 orders a month (Shopify Basic) | 8,409 euros | 9,858.64 euros |
| Of which payment fees | 1,465 euros | 1,379 euros |
| Growing store, 500 orders a month (Shopify Grow) | 27,872 euros | 27,667.64 euros |
| Of which payment fees | 13,788 euros | 13,788 euros |
The line-by-line build-up, with build, hosting, apps and upkeep, is in Shopify or WooCommerce.
Two lessons. For a small store, Shopify is cheaper once you outsource the WooCommerce upkeep. For a growing store, payment fees are half the bill and the gap between platforms is small; you gain more from a higher average order or a cheaper payment method than from switching platform. Work out your margin per order with the margin calculator.
Your own product photos belong in the budget
Legal costs that are easy to forget when selling in the EU
A store that sells to consumers in the EU has to meet rules that cost time and therefore money:
- AccessibilitySince 28 June 2025, stores selling to EU consumers must be accessible under the European Accessibility Act, with EN 301 549 (based on WCAG 2.1 AA) as the standard. Micro-enterprises providing services are exempt. In Belgium the Economic Inspectorate enforces, with fines up to 200,000 euros or 6 percent of annual turnover. More in European Accessibility Act.
- Withdrawal buttonSince 19 June 2026, consumers must be able to withdraw from an online contract through a clearly labelled function; see the EU withdrawal button.
- VAT across bordersIf you sell to consumers in other EU countries for more than 10,000 euros a year, you charge the VAT of their country and file through the One-Stop-Shop in one country.
- Small parcels from outside the EUSince 1 July 2026 a duty of 3 euros per item applies to consignments up to 150 euros; see EU 3 euro customs duty.
- Privacy and cookiesA privacy notice, and a cookie banner for anything non-essential; see do I need a cookie banner.
Rented platform or your own store?
| A platform such as Shopify | WooCommerce on your own hosting | A custom store | |
|---|---|---|---|
| At launch | Fill in a theme, import products, choose apps | Hosting, WordPress, WooCommerce, theme and plugins | Design, build and integrations for your process |
| Monthly | Plan plus apps, as long as the store runs | Hosting, plugins, upkeep | Hosting and upkeep, no platform plan |
| Per sale | Payment fee, plus a surcharge with another provider | Only your payment provider | Only your payment provider |
| As you grow | A pricier plan for a lower fee per order | Heavier hosting | More orders cost no platform money |
| Fits | Most stores that want to start fast | Those already on WordPress who want control | Stores with their own process: configure, quote, subscribe |
Where store budgets go off the rails
- Product photosBuyers buy what they see. Your supplier's photos are in every other store too.
- The catalogueMoving products with variants, sizes and colours from a spreadsheet or old store takes longer than you think.
- Apps that add upTen apps at 15 euros are 1,800 euros a year.
- IntegrationsA link with your accounting or stock system is often the most expensive part of the build.
- A store without visitorsThe build is the start. Without budget for search or ads, you sell little; see why is my online store not selling.
What belongs in a quote for an online store
- How many products and variants are included, and who enters them.
- Whether your current catalogue is migrated, and from which file.
- Which platform, plan and apps, with their monthly price.
- Which payment methods, through which provider, and what each payment costs.
- Which integrations: accounting, stock and shipping.
- Who makes the product photos.
- How the store becomes accessible and gets the withdrawal function.
- Who handles updates, backups and security after launch, and at what price.
- That the store, the domain and your customer data are in your name.
Preparing your quote in four steps
- Count your products and variants, and list how your customers want to pay, per country.
- Estimate your orders per month and your average order: that drives your payment fees.
- Work out the options over three years with the table above.
- Ask for quotes based on the checklist.
Questions about ecommerce website cost
How much does it cost to build an ecommerce website?
In Belgium 4,000 to 15,000 euros or more before VAT for the build. Products and variants, languages, integrations and a custom design decide where you land.
How much does an online store cost per month?
On Shopify 24 euros for Basic, 69 for Grow or 289 for Advanced billed yearly on its EU pricing, plus apps. On WooCommerce you pay hosting, from about 30 euros a month for managed WooCommerce hosting, plus plugins and upkeep. Per-sale fees come on top.
What does a payment cost in an online store?
An EU consumer card costs 2 percent plus 0.25 euros on Shopify Basic and 1.8 percent plus 0.25 euros on Grow or at Mollie. Local methods such as Bancontact often cost a fixed fee, 0.39 euros. On Shopify Basic you pay 2 percent extra with another provider.
Is a custom online store more expensive than Shopify?
Usually more at launch, not per sale. A custom store pays no platform plan and no platform surcharge, only your payment provider. It pays off mostly when your product or process does not fit a standard cart.
Does my online store have to be accessible?
Yes, if you sell to EU consumers and are not a micro-enterprise: the European Accessibility Act has applied since 28 June 2025. The standard is EN 301 549, based on WCAG 2.1 AA. Build it in from the start; fixing it later costs more.
How many orders do I need to break even?
Divide your fixed monthly costs by your margin per order after purchase price, shipping and payment fee. A store with 300 euros of fixed costs and 15 euros margin per order needs 20 orders a month.