The honest answer is «it depends», but it depends on concrete things you can measure before spending a single euro. Here we show you where the money goes and what ranges to expect.
«How much does an online store cost?» is one of the first questions we get, and the honest answer starts with «it depends». What really matters is knowing what it depends on, because these are concrete things you can decide before signing anything. Let's go through them one by one, with real numbers.
Two stores that look the same from the outside can cost 3.000 € or 30.000 €. The difference isn't in the logo or the colours, it's in six decisions you almost never see on screen:
Anyone who gives you a fixed price without asking about this is guessing your future. Let's go through each item so the number comes from your case and not from a brochure price list.
It's the first fork in the road and the one that shapes everything else. With Shopify you pay a monthly fee and in return you forget about hosting, security and updates, because they're included. The Basic plan costs 32 € a month paying month to month, or 24 € a month if you pay for the full year, and it adds a fee of 2,1 % + 0,30 € on every card sale if you use its gateway. You gain convenience and peace of mind; you give up some flexibility and you're tied to that fee.
WooCommerce, on WordPress, works the other way around: the software is free, but hosting, paid plugins, the certificate and maintenance are on you. It gives you full control and charges no per-sale fee, though in return there are more moving parts to watch. At binoma we're a Shopify Partner and we work with both, so we'll tell you frankly which one suits you based on what you sell, not on what's more convenient for us to build. You can see how we approach each online store before choosing a path.
is what e-commerce turned over in Spain in 2024, up 13,1 % on the previous year. If you sell products, there's more online market every year. Source: CNMC
is what Shopify's Basic plan costs paying month to month (24 € a month on annual billing), with hosting and security included. Source: Shopify
is what Shopify's gateway takes on each card sale on that plan. In a store that sells a lot, this line decides the margin. Source: Shopify
Setting up the shop window for ten products is nothing like loading two thousand product lines with sizes, colours and variants. Each product page needs text, well-shot photos, categories and, sometimes, stock for each variant. That work is charged by volume, and it's one of the items that shoots up the most without anyone flagging it upfront. If you have a large catalogue, it's worth discussing from day one.
Then there's design. A template configured with judgement lets you open quickly and cheaply, and for many businesses it's more than enough to start. A custom design costs more because it's built for your brand and to make people buy, not to look like a thousand other stores. The same logic applies here as the one we explain in how much a website for a small business costs: the template gets you going fast, and the custom design shows later in how many people end up paying.
Getting paid has a toll, and it's worth spelling out from the start because it's paid on every sale, forever. If you use Shopify Payments on the Basic plan, the fee is 2,1 % + 0,30 € per card transaction. If you collect through Redsys via your bank, the percentage depends on what you negotiate with them and usually moves between 0,5 % and 1,5 %; Bizum is around 0,6 %. It seems small, but across thousands of orders a year it's a cost line that decides margins. We compare all the options and their fine print in Stripe, Bizum, Redsys or PayPal.
The store is only half the work. The other half starts when the order comes in: calculating shipping rates, connecting with the courier, printing labels, keeping stock in check and handling returns. Part of that is automated when the store is built, and that setup is paid for once. The rest is time, yours or that of whoever handles the orders, month after month. It doesn't show up in the website budget, but it comes out of your pocket all the same, and whoever ignores it at the start gets the fright later.
A store isn't finished the day it opens. It has to be updated, backed up, kept secure, its plugins renewed and whatever breaks fixed. On Shopify a good part of that is inside the fee. On WooCommerce you take it on yourself or you delegate it, and that's where well-run monthly maintenance avoids expensive frights. Count on this item from day one: a neglected store ages fast and ends up costing more to fix than to look after.
With all of the above on the table, these are the orders of magnitude to work with. Take them as indicative, because your final number comes from your specific case:
You can see what each plan includes and, if you're still unsure whether to sell with a store or capture leads with a website, we break it down in a regular website or an online store.
The rule we always repeat: don't pay today for what you're not going to squeeze yet. Start with what your business really needs, with a well-built foundation so you can grow without redoing everything. If you tell us what you sell and how many product lines you handle, we'll give you a realistic number for your case, with no surprises later.
Tell us what you sell and how many product lines you handle, and we'll give you a realistic number for your case, with no surprises later.
Tell us about your case ↗Tell us what you want to achieve and we'll tell you where to start, no obligation.