What does a Shopify store cost to build in 2026?

Having a Shopify store built in 2026 costs roughly €3,000 to €50,000+, depending on scale and customisation. Starters go live within €3,000-€5,000 with a nicely adapted theme; serious growth businesses often invest €12,000-€20,000; SMEs with real customisation sit between €15,000 and €30,000 in the first year. On top come the Shopify subscription (from ~€36/month), apps and maintenance (together easily €50-€500/month). Price is driven by the degree of customisation, design, integrations and migration.

Price ranges by type of Shopify store

Starter (adapted theme) — €3,000-€5,000. A premium theme in your branding, basic setup, a handful of products. Live in 2-4 weeks.
Growth store — €12,000-€20,000. Custom design accents, multiple collections, integrations (inventory, shipping, accounting), solid product content.
SME with customisation — €15,000-€30,000. Custom theme, B2B or subscription logic, configurators, migration of an existing store.
Large / headless — €30,000+. Fully custom or headless with a dedicated front end for maximum speed and flexibility.

What's included in the price?

Design & theme — adapting a template (cheaper) or a custom theme (pricier, scales better).
Product content — photos, copy, variants. An underestimated cost.
Integrations — inventory, shipping carriers, accounting, email, payment methods.
Migration — products, customers and especially SEO redirects from your old store.
Apps — extra functionality via the Shopify App Store, usually monthly fees.

Recurring costs (often forgotten)

Shopify subscription — from about €36/month (Basic) to several hundred for higher tiers.
Apps — €0-€300+/month depending on what you need.
Transaction fees — via Shopify Payments or an external provider.
Maintenance & optimisation — ongoing development, conversion improvement, support.

Shopify, WooCommerce or custom?

Shopify is ideal if you want to sell fast and reliably with little maintenance. Want content and store in one system with full control? WooCommerce is worth considering. Outgrowing the standard platform? A custom store pays off. We compare the platforms in Shopify vs WooCommerce vs Centra.

Frequently asked questions

Is Shopify more expensive than WooCommerce?

Shopify has fixed monthly costs but less maintenance; WooCommerce is 'free' but you pay for hosting, plugins and management. Over several years they often differ less than expected — the difference is time and control.

How long does it take to build?

A starter store goes live in 2-4 weeks. A custom or migration project runs toward 6-12 weeks, mostly depending on how fast product content and integrations are ready.

Can I migrate my existing store?

Yes. Products, customers and orders can be migrated. The key concern is SEO redirects, so your rankings and traffic are preserved.

Are these amounts including VAT?

No, the ranges exclude VAT — standard for B2B quotes. Add 21% or reclaim it as a business.

Ready to start?

Read our approach to building a Shopify store, or book a short intro call — we'll take a no-obligation look and give you an honest estimate of scope, cost and timeline.