How much does an online store cost – one-time and monthly?

Having an online store built: setup costs

The one-time costs of an online store arise from the concept, the design, setting up the store system, and above all the work on the products: categories, variants, images, descriptions, and prices must be set up cleanly. On top of that come payment methods, shipping rules, tax settings, email templates for orders, and thorough testing of the entire order process – from the shopping cart through payment to the invoice and the shipping confirmation.

How labor-intensive this is depends heavily on the product range. Twenty products without variants are quickly maintained; thousands of items with sizes, colors, and tiered pricing need an automated import, often directly from the inventory management system. Custom features such as a product configurator, subscriptions, or customer accounts with their own prices also noticeably increase the setup effort.

• Store design and user flow for mobile shoppers
• Product data, categories, and variants
• Payment methods, shipping, and tax rates
• Legal texts, order summary, and confirmation emails
• Testing from shopping cart to invoice

How much does an online store cost per month?

Ongoing costs depend on the system: either a subscription fee – with hosted store platforms such as Shopify – or hosting and maintenance for self-operated systems such as WooCommerce or Shopware. Per order, payment provider fees come on top, plus, where applicable, costs for apps and extensions, a service for up-to-date legal texts, shipping software, and marketing so that the store gets visitors in the first place.

It is precisely the monthly online store costs that get underestimated during planning, because they grow with success: more orders mean more payment fees, and more visitors require more server performance. So don't just calculate the launch but also a realistic growth scenario – and check which costs are fixed and which rise with revenue.

Shopify, WooCommerce, or Shopware: comparing costs

Shopify is a hosted store: you pay a monthly subscription, and the provider takes care of hosting and security updates. WooCommerce is a free extension for WordPress, but it needs its own hosting, regular maintenance, and often paid plugins. Shopware is available as a free Community Edition and in paid editions with extended features, for example for B2B; it is run on your own server or in the cloud.

Which system is cheapest can only be answered through the total cost over several years: subscription and transaction fees on one side, hosting, maintenance, and licenses on the other. Add to that your processes, desired integrations, and the question of how much control over data and technology you want to keep. You can find a detailed system comparison in our magazine.

How much does a small online store cost – and a good one?

A small online store with a manageable product range, standard payment methods, and an adapted design can be implemented comparatively leanly. At Nano Concepts, such stores can start in the Starter package from €2,500 – provided product data and images are available and no integrations with other systems are needed. Extensions can be added step by step later as the store grows.

A good online store differs less by size than by quality: fast load times on smartphones, understandable product pages, a smooth checkout, legally compliant processes, and clean data for accounting and shipping. These points decide whether visitors actually buy – and therefore belong in the budget even if the store starts small.

Integrations, B2B, and product range: the big cost drivers

As soon as a store has to talk to other systems, the effort rises: inventory management or ERP for stock and prices, accounting for invoices, shipping carriers, marketplaces, or a PIM (product information management system) for product data. Each integration has to be planned, developed, tested, and maintained when the connected systems are updated – that belongs in every honest calculation. The cleaner the data in the source systems, the leaner this effort stays.

B2B stores come with their own requirements: customer-specific prices, tiered pricing, approval workflows, quick order by item number, and purchase on invoice. One example from our practice is a B2B wholesale portal with ERP integration and more than 5,000 items. Such projects typically fall under the Professional package from €8,000 or are quoted individually as Enterprise projects after we have mapped out your processes together.

Legal obligations in an online store as a cost factor

In Germany, an online store has to meet numerous obligations: legal notice (Impressum), privacy policy, general terms and conditions, and right-of-withdrawal notice, correct price information including shipping costs, and a clearly labeled order button such as “order with obligation to pay.” Since June 28, 2025, the German Accessibility Strengthening Act (BFSG) also imposes requirements on many stores aimed at consumers; micro-enterprises are exempt for services. Which obligations apply to your store specifically should be clarified before the project starts.

We handle the technical implementation of these obligations in the project. The legal texts themselves should come from a law firm or a specialized legal-text service that updates them when laws change – that is an ongoing cost item. This section does not replace legal advice, but it shows why a store quote without these points is incomplete and can lead to expensive rework later.

Comparing online store costs: how to read quotes correctly

Place quotes side by side and check whether they include the same services: How many products are set up, who imports the data, are payment methods and shipping configured, is training included? And what happens after launch – are maintenance, updates, and support covered? Only once these questions are answered do the prices of different providers become truly comparable.

• Total cost over several years, not just the starting price
• Fixed and revenue-dependent fees listed separately
• Data transfer and product maintenance clearly described
• Ownership of the domain, store account, and customer data
• Ability to switch systems or service providers later