Ecommerce Website Cost Calculator
Estimate what an online store costs to build, line by line, with your own hourly rate and running costs.
Your numbers
Your result · updates as you type
Estimated build cost
$5,450 – $12,950
About 68–168 h of work at $75 an hour, plus a $350 theme. These are typical market ranges, not a quote.
- Hours
- 68–168 h
- Midpoint estimate
- $9,200
- First year with running costs
- $7,250 – $14,750
The range is wide because scope decides the price: the same page count can take a day or a week depending on the design. For an exact figure, send your scope through the Hire me button and I'll quote a fixed price.
Breakdown
- Store setup (payments, shipping, taxes, emails) (6–12 h)
- $450 – $900
- Design and theme customization (25–50 h)
- $1,875 – $3,750
- Content pages (9–24 h)
- $675 – $1,800
- Product import (3–6 h)
- $206 – $469
- Apps and plugins (6–18 h)
- $450 – $1,350
- Integrations (8–24 h)
- $600 – $1,800
- SEO basics (titles, analytics, Search Console) (4–8 h)
- $300 – $600
- Project management, testing and launch (7–26 h)
- $547 – $1,920
- Theme license (one-time)
- $350
- Total (68–168 h at $75/h)
- $5,453 – $12,939
How the estimate is built
The calculator breaks a store build into the pieces a developer actually prices: setup, design, pages, products, apps, integrations, SEO and, if you're moving, migration and redirects. Each piece gets a low and a high number of hours, and your hourly rate turns hours into money.
| Line item | Low | High |
|---|---|---|
| Store setup (Shopify) | 6 h | 12 h |
| Ready-made theme / customized theme / custom design | 10 / 25 / 80 h | 20 / 50 / 160 h |
| Each content page | 1.5 h | 4 h |
| Product import from a clean file | 2 h + 0.5 h per 100 products | 4 h + 1.5 h per 100 products |
| Each app or plugin | 1 h | 3 h |
| Each integration (ERP, 3PL, accounting) | 4 h | 12 h |
| SEO basics | 4 h | 8 h |
Example: the calculator's starting values
- Platform and design
- Shopify, theme with custom sections
- Scope
- 6 pages, 150 products from a clean file, 6 apps, 2 integrations
- Hours
- 68 to 168 h
- Rate and theme
- $75 an hour, $350 theme
68 h × $75 + $350 ≈ $5,450 to 168 h × $75 + $350 ≈ $12,950.
Turning the estimate into a real quote
- 01
Write down your scope
List your pages, how many products you have and where that data lives, the apps you already know you need, and any systems the store must talk to. That list is what a developer quotes from.
- 02
Get your product data ready
A clean spreadsheet is the cheapest way in. Shopify imports products from Products → Import. WooCommerce imports from Products → All Products → Import. Messy or missing data is one of the biggest cost drivers.
- 03
Compare quotes like for like
Ask each developer for the same line items this calculator uses. A much lower quote usually leaves something out: often redirects, testing or integrations.
- 04
Budget for running costs
The build is a one-off. Plans, apps and payment fees continue every month. The Shopify store cost calculator works those out.
What moves the price most
- Custom design. A fully custom design takes several times longer than setting up a good theme. Start with a theme unless your brand needs more.
- Integrations. Connecting an ERP, a warehouse or accounting software is often the least predictable part of a project.
- Product data. Entering products by hand takes far longer than importing a clean file.
- Migration. Moving from an existing site adds data transfer and 301 redirects so you keep your search rankings. The Shopify migration cost calculator goes into more detail.
- Hourly rates vary widely. The default rate is only an example. Enter the rate you've been quoted.
Questions people ask
How much does an ecommerce website cost?
It depends mostly on design and integrations. A theme-based store with a small catalog is a much smaller project than a custom design with ERP integrations. Enter your scope above to see a range for your project.
Are these figures a quote?
No. They're typical market ranges for each line item, multiplied by the hourly rate you enter. A developer needs to see your scope to give an exact price.
Is Shopify or WooCommerce cheaper to build on?
Setup takes a little longer on WooCommerce because hosting, WordPress and plugins have to be configured, so the calculator adds a few hours. Running costs differ more; compare them with the Shopify vs WooCommerce cost calculator.
Should I buy a paid theme?
Paid Shopify themes cost $100 to $500 (USD) once, and free themes cost nothing. A paid theme often saves more in development time than it costs, if its features match what you need.
What ongoing costs should I plan for?
Your plan or hosting, apps or extensions, payment processing fees and occasional developer help. Enter them in Monthly running costs to see a first-year total.
Related tools
Want this builtinto your store?
I'm Emmanuel, a Shopify and WooCommerce developer. If this tool pointed at something you'd rather have fixed for you (a faster store, cleaner product data, a migration, a custom feature), send me a note.
Emmanuel Asika
Shopify & WooCommerce developer, Dublin
I build and fix online stores: new builds, migrations, speed, SEO and the custom bits apps can't do.
Last reviewed 30 September 2026.
Sources: Shopify Theme Store: Paid themes · WooCommerce: Product CSV Importer and Exporter · Shopify Help Center: Migrate to Shopify