eCommerce Development Pricing — 2026 Agency Rates
What an eCommerce Site
Actually Costs
To Build and to Run
Every eCommerce cost guide shows the build cost. None of them show what it costs to run the site for 12 months after launch — platform fees, apps, transaction fees, maintenance. We build on Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento. Here is the full picture.
If your product catalogue is simple and you want to manage the store yourself, you can launch a Shopify store on the Basic plan ($39/month) with a free theme without hiring a developer. Come to an agency when you need custom design, complex product configuration, or integrations your plan cannot handle alone.
$2,500+
eCommerce builds from
$30/hr
Transparent rate
Shopify
Verified Partner
512
Verified 5.0 reviews
Development Costs
What Each Platform Costs to Build
These are real CV Infotech prices based on projects quoted and delivered in 2025-2026. Every project starts with a written scope document before any payment.
Shopify — $2,500 to $12,000
Shopify is the fastest and most cost-effective platform for most standard eCommerce builds. As a Shopify Verified Partner (Partner ID: 2454630), we have direct platform access and no markup on Shopify fees.
At $2,500 to $5,000: Premium theme (Dawn, Debut, Impact) customised to your brand. 50-200 products with collections and filters. Stripe or PayPal gateway. Shipping zones and rates. Mobile-responsive checkout. Google Analytics setup.
At $5,000 to $12,000: Fully custom Shopify theme built to your brand specifications. 200+ products with metafields and complex filtering. Multiple payment gateways. Advanced discount rules. Customer account portal. Integration with email marketing (Klaviyo, Mailchimp) and review apps (Judge.me, Yotpo).
Shopify Plus builds (for enterprise): $12,000 to $30,000, requiring Shopify Plus subscription.
Right for: DTC brands, retail businesses, subscription boxes, standard product catalogues.
Not right for: Complex B2B pricing, products with highly configurable options, or catalogues exceeding 100,000 variants.
See our Shopify development service.
WooCommerce — $2,500 to $15,000
WooCommerce is the right choice when you already have a WordPress site, when you want to own your data without a platform subscription, or when your product catalogue needs WordPress's flexible content management.
At $2,500 to $6,000: Standard WooCommerce installation, product catalogue, payment gateway, shipping configuration, and mobile checkout. Theme-based design.
At $6,000 to $15,000: Custom WooCommerce theme, subscription billing (WooCommerce Subscriptions), wholesale pricing tiers with B2B login, multi-currency, custom product configurators, or integrations with external CRM and ERP systems.
Ongoing: the WooCommerce plugin is free. Premium extensions cost $100-$300/year each. Hosting runs $25 to $100/month for managed WordPress hosting.
Right for: WordPress users, businesses wanting platform ownership, content-heavy stores.
See our WooCommerce development service.
Magento 2 (Adobe Commerce) — $10,000 to $25,000
Magento is the choice when your requirements genuinely outgrow Shopify and WooCommerce. Complex B2B with custom pricing by customer segment, multi-store management across different brands, very large catalogues with complex attribute structures, or deeply custom checkout workflows that neither Shopify nor WooCommerce can replicate.
At $10,000 to $15,000: Custom Magento 2 theme, standard B2B features, extended catalogue.
At $15,000 to $25,000: Multi-store, complex pricing rules, ERP integration, custom checkout.
Important: Magento requires dedicated hosting ($100-$500/month) and ongoing developer maintenance. Magento 1.x is end of life since June 2020. Any Magento 1 site is a security risk.
Right for: Complex B2B, multi-store enterprise, very large or complex catalogues.
See our Magento development service.
Custom eCommerce — $15,000 to $50,000
Custom eCommerce is built without a platform when your buying journey, product configuration, or business model cannot be replicated on Shopify, WooCommerce, or Magento. Examples: marketplace platforms connecting buyers and sellers, auction or rental platforms, subscription boxes with complex selection logic, B2B portals with quote workflows, or headless eCommerce with a custom React/Next.js frontend over a commerce API.
At $15,000 to $25,000: Single-buyer-type marketplace or custom B2B portal.
At $25,000 to $50,000: Multi-vendor marketplace, complex custom workflows, mobile app included.
Right for: Business models that platforms cannot serve. Not for standard retail.
The Full Picture
What an eCommerce Site Costs to Run — Not Just to Build
Most eCommerce cost guides end at the build price. The monthly cost of running an eCommerce site is often higher than the annualised build cost. Here is the full picture — platform, apps, hosting, and maintenance — for each option.
Shopify Monthly Running Costs
| Platform subscription (Advanced plan) | $399/month |
| Shopify apps — typical setup (review app, loyalty app, email popups, upsell, size guide, live chat) | $150-$400/month |
| Transaction fees (if not using Shopify Payments) | 0.5% of revenue |
| eCommerce maintenance (CV Infotech) | $120-$200/month |
| Domain | $15-$20/year |
| Total typical monthly cost (Advanced + 6 apps + maintenance) | $670-$1,000/month |
Shopify Plus equivalent: $2,300+/month platform + apps + maintenance = $2,600-$3,200/month.
WooCommerce Monthly Running Costs
| Managed WordPress hosting (WP Engine, Kinsta) | $30-$100/month |
| WooCommerce extensions (subscriptions, bookings, memberships — 2-4 extensions) | $40-$100/month |
| Security plugin (Wordfence Pro) | $10-$15/month |
| eCommerce maintenance (CV Infotech) | $120-$200/month |
| Total typical monthly cost | $200-$415/month |
Lower subscription cost than Shopify. Higher maintenance dependency — WooCommerce needs regular updates.
Magento Monthly Running Costs
| Dedicated hosting (SiteGround Cloud, Nexcess, or AWS) | $150-$500/month |
| Developer maintenance (security patches, updates, extension compatibility) | $300-$800/month |
| Magento extensions (B2B, search, search optimisation) | $50-$200/month |
| Total typical monthly cost | $500-$1,500/month |
Highest ongoing cost. Only justified when Magento's capabilities are genuinely required.
Over 3 years, a mid-size Shopify store on the Advanced plan with 6 paid apps costs approximately $28,000 to $36,000 in platform and app fees before any development work. A WooCommerce equivalent costs $7,000 to $15,000 in hosting, extensions, and maintenance. The development cost difference between the two is minimal. The 3-year running cost difference is significant. For a non-technical founder who values low management overhead, Shopify's running cost is often worth it. For a technical team comfortable managing WordPress, WooCommerce's lower subscription cost is meaningful over time.
Side by Side
eCommerce Platform Cost Comparison
| Factor | Shopify | WooCommerce | Magento 2 | Custom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Build cost (CV Infotech) | $2,500-$12,000 | $2,500-$15,000 | $10,000-$25,000 | $15,000-$50,000 |
| Platform licence | $39-$399/mo | Free | Free | None |
| Hosting | Included | $25-100/mo | $150-500/mo | $50-300/mo |
| Developer dependency | Low (daily ops) | Medium | High | High |
| B2B capability | Good (Plus) | Good | Excellent | Fully custom |
| Max catalogue size | ~100K variants | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Transaction fees | 0.5-2% (waived with Shopify Payments) | None | None | None |
| Build timeline | 4-10 weeks | 4-14 weeks | 10-20 weeks | 16-40 weeks |
| Right for | Standard DTC, SMB | WordPress users, ownership-first | Complex B2B, enterprise | Custom business models |
Cost Drivers
What Makes an eCommerce Project More or Less Expensive
What increases cost
Custom theme from scratch: Adds 30-50% vs starting from a premium theme.
Complex product attributes: Configurable products with many options add database and UI complexity.
Third-party integrations: Each ERP, CRM, or logistics integration adds $1,500-$4,000.
Multiple payment gateways: Each additional gateway needs setup, testing, and error handling.
Multi-currency and tax: Adds complexity to both the storefront and the checkout flow.
Subscription billing: Requires WooCommerce Subscriptions or Shopify's native subscription system — adds $2,000-$5,000.
What reduces cost
Premium theme as starting point: The fastest path to a professional result.
Supply your product data: CSV export from your current system, ready to import.
Phase the build: Launch with core features. Add integrations in phase two.
Existing brand system: Logo, colours, fonts ready — no brand discovery required.
One payment gateway to start: Add more in phase two when you know your customer geography.
Our Process
From Brief to Fixed Price in 48 Hours
Brief
Platform preference (or no preference — we recommend), product catalogue size, payment gateways, integrations needed, design direction. A rough brief works. We ask the clarifying questions.
Discovery call (30 minutes, free)
We map the full feature set, flag complexity risks, and give a platform recommendation if you have not decided. We ask about your existing systems — what the store needs to connect to.
Scope and fixed quote (48 hours)
Written scope: every deliverable, every excluded item, the tech stack, timeline, and payment schedule (30/40/30). You see the full cost before agreeing to anything.
Build and deliver
Staging environment for review. Products loaded and tested before launch. Payment gateway tested with real transactions before go-live. 30-day post-launch support.
Questions Answered
eCommerce Website Cost — FAQ
Akash Singh
Co-Founder and CTO, CV Infotech — Shopify Verified Partner
Akash has led eCommerce development at CV Infotech since 2012, across Shopify, WooCommerce, and Magento. Shopify Verified Partner ID: 2454630. Clutch 5.0 / 35 reviews. Freelancer 5.0 / 512 reviews.
Know Your eCommerce Budget Before You Commit to Any Platform
The discovery call is free. The scope document is free. $30/hour. Shopify Verified Partner. 512 verified reviews. We tell you which platform fits your business before you pay for anything.