How Much Does a Shopify Website Cost?
A Transparent Guide for 2026
How Much Does a Shopify Website Cost?
Most agencies answer this question with "it depends" and leave you none the wiser.
Here's an honest breakdown of what a Shopify website actually costs, platform fees, agency fees and everything in between.
Part 1 — The Shopify platform cost
This is what you pay Shopify directly, every month, regardless of who builds your store.
Basic — €21/month Best for businesses just starting out. Covers up to two staff accounts, basic reporting and standard checkout features.
Shopify — €59/month The most popular plan for growing brands. Adds professional reporting, up to five staff accounts and lower transaction fees.
Advanced — €289/month For high-volume stores that need advanced reporting, custom pricing rules and the lowest transaction fees.
Shopify Plus — from €2,000/month The enterprise tier. Built for brands with complex international operations, B2B needs or very high order volumes. Most independent brands don't need it.
For most small to medium businesses launching their first store or scaling an existing one, the standard Shopify plan at £65/month is the right starting point.
Part 2 — The agency or design cost
This is what you pay someone to design and build your store. It's separate from the platform fee and varies considerably based on what you actually need.
Template setup — €800 to €1,500 Someone installs a pre-built Shopify theme, adds your products and connects your payment methods. Quick and affordable, but the result looks like every other store using that theme. Limited conversion optimisation, no custom design.
Theme customisation — €2,500 to €6,000 A designer modifies an existing Shopify theme — adjusting colours, fonts, layout and adding some custom sections. Better than a plain template, but still constrained by the theme's structure. Good for brands that need to move fast and have a limited budget.
Custom design and development — €6,000 to €15,000+ A fully bespoke Shopify store built from scratch. Custom design, custom Liquid development, conversion-optimised product pages, full SEO setup, payment integrations and post-launch support. This is what serious ecommerce brands invest in when they want a store that genuinely performs.
Shopify Plus builds — €15,000+ Enterprise-level projects with complex integrations, headless architecture, international storefronts and bespoke app development. Relevant for high-growth brands with significant revenue.
What affects the price
Within each tier, a few factors move the cost up or down significantly.
Number of pages — A five-page launch store costs less than a twenty-page store with dedicated collection pages, a lookbook, a size guide and a blog.
Integrations — Connecting Klaviyo, Recharge, Yotpo, a loyalty programme or an ERP system adds time and therefore cost.
Photography and content — Agencies charge more when they're waiting on content. Having your product photos, copy and brand assets ready before the project starts keeps things moving and costs down.
Migration — Moving from WooCommerce, Magento or a custom platform adds complexity. Migrating products, customers, orders and SEO redirects correctly takes time but is worth doing properly.
Ongoing support — Some agencies charge a monthly retainer for maintenance, updates and CRO. Others include a fixed post-launch support period. Make sure you know which you're getting.
The total cost in practice
To give you a realistic picture:
A small independent fashion brand launching their first Shopify store with custom design, Klaviyo integration and UK payment setup would typically invest €2,500 to €6,000 in agency fees plus £65/month in platform fees.
A growing D2C brand redesigning an existing store with new product page architecture, full SEO setup and migration from WooCommerce would typically invest €6,000 to €15,000 in agency fees.
A scaling brand going international with Shopify Markets, multi-currency and multiple custom integrations would typically invest €15,000+.
What to watch out for
Unusually low quotes — A €1,000 custom Shopify store either uses a template with your logo dropped in, cuts corners on SEO and mobile, or both. You'll pay to fix it later.
Vague scope — If an agency gives you a price without a clear list of what's included, get clarity before you sign anything. Scope creep is where project costs balloon.
No mention of SEO — A Shopify store that isn't SEO-configured at launch is invisible to Google from day one. Make sure SEO setup is explicitly included in any proposal you receive.
Disappearing after launch — Find out what post-launch support is included. The first few weeks after going live are when issues surface. You want someone available when they do.
The bottom line
Shopify itself is affordable — the platform cost is predictable and reasonable at every tier. The agency cost is where the range is widest, and where the quality difference between a €2,000 job and a €10,000 job is most visible in your conversion rate six months later.
The right investment depends on your stage, your product and your growth ambitions. If you're not sure what your project actually needs, a free discovery call is the most efficient way to find out.
