E-commerce Cost Breakdown
Cost to Build an E-commerce Website
Most stores should not be custom-built. Here is where the line falls.
Shopify handles the majority of e-commerce well. Custom becomes worth it at a specific point, and it is later than most agencies will tell you.
Quick Answer
Updated August 22, 2026
How much does it cost to build an e-commerce website?
A Shopify or platform-based store costs $6,000–$18,000 (₹5–15 lakh) including theme customisation and integrations, while a fully custom e-commerce build costs $30,000–$60,000 (₹25–50 lakh). For most businesses under roughly $2 million in annual online revenue, a platform is the better commercial decision — custom pays for itself only when platform fees, transaction limits, or a genuinely unusual catalogue or checkout model make it cheaper over two to three years.
Platform build
$6,000 – $18,000
Custom build
$30,000 – $60,000
Custom breakeven
Usually above $2M annual revenue
Best for
- Brands with an unusual catalogue, pricing, or checkout model
- Businesses whose platform fees now exceed a build cost
- Stores needing deep ERP or logistics integration
Not best for
- Standard product catalogues that Shopify handles well today
- Early-stage brands still finding product-market fit
- Teams without anyone to own the platform after launch
Price Bands
What an e-commerce website costs, by scope
Bands rather than a single figure, because a single figure without the assumptions behind it is a sales number rather than an estimate.
| Tier | Scope | INR | USD | Timeline | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform storeThe large majority of online stores, at any realistic revenue | Shopify theme customisation, payments, shipping, basic integrations | ₹5,00,000 – ₹15,00,000 | $6,000 – $18,000 | 6 – 10 weeks | 1 – 2 engineers |
| Headless commerceBrands where storefront performance and SEO are competitive advantages | Next.js storefront on a commerce backend, custom UX, CMS integration | ₹15,00,000 – ₹30,00,000 | $18,000 – $36,000 | 10 – 16 weeks | 2 – 3 engineers |
| Custom commerceB2B commerce and catalogues no platform models correctly | Bespoke catalogue, pricing engine, checkout, ERP and logistics integration | ₹30,00,000 – ₹50,00,000 | $36,000 – $60,000 | 16 – 20 weeks | 3 engineers |
Figures are indicative ranges for delivery by an Indian agency at senior rates, current as of August 2026. INR and USD are shown at an approximate 83:1 rate and are not a quotation.
Cost Breakdown
Where the budget actually goes
| Phase | Share | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Design and storefront | 30 – 35% | Product discovery, listing, and the checkout path that decides your conversion. |
| Catalogue and pricing | 20 – 25% | Variants, inventory, and any pricing rule a platform cannot express. |
| Payments and checkout | 15 – 20% | Gateways, tax, shipping calculation, and abandoned-cart recovery. |
| Integrations | 15 – 20% | ERP, logistics, accounting, and marketing tooling. |
| QA and launch | 10% | Checkout testing across payment methods, devices, and edge cases. |
Cost Drivers
What changes the price, and by how much
If two quotes for an e-commerce website differ wildly, the cause is almost always one of these being assumed in or out.
Custom pricing rules
B2B tiers, contract pricing, and volume breaks that no platform models natively.
ERP or inventory integration
Cost depends entirely on how modern the ERP’s API is, and it usually is not.
Multi-currency and multi-region
Tax, shipping rules, and content localisation per market.
Subscription commerce
Recurring orders, pauses, swaps, and failed-payment recovery.
Mobile app
Worth it for repeat-purchase categories, rarely for considered one-off purchases.
Scope Of A Quote
What is in our price, and what is not
Included
- Discovery, scope definition, and a written delivery plan
- UI design or implementation of your existing design system
- Engineering, code review, and automated tests
- Deployment, environment setup, and CI/CD
- Documentation and a handover your next engineer can actually use
- Post-launch stabilisation for the first two weeks
Not included
- Third-party service subscriptions billed directly to you
- Cloud hosting and infrastructure costs after launch
- Paid marketing, content production, and app store fees
- Ongoing maintenance beyond the stabilisation window
- Hardware, devices, and physical logistics
- Platform subscription fees and paid app costs
After Launch
What it costs to keep running
The line most quotes leave out, and the one that decides whether the product is still alive in two years.
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Platform subscription | $40 – $2,300 / month | Shopify Basic through Plus. Zero on a custom build, which is the trade-off. |
| Payment processing | 2 – 3% per transaction | Unavoidable either way, and negotiable at volume. |
| Hosting and maintenance | $100 – $1,200 / month | Custom builds carry hosting and maintenance a platform would have absorbed. |
How We Quote
From a brief to a number you can plan against
Step 1
You send a written scope
A feature list, an existing product, or a problem statement. Anything we can read and ask questions about.
Step 2
We ask the questions that move the number
Roles, integrations, compliance, and volume. These change a quote far more than the interface does.
Step 3
You get a banded estimate, not a single figure
A range with the assumptions written next to it, so you can see which assumption to challenge.
Step 4
We recommend the lightest shape that works
Fixed-scope, phased, or a dedicated pod. We say when a smaller engagement would serve you better.
Prefer to work it out yourself first? The project cost estimator gives you a band in a couple of minutes, and the MVP scope planner helps you work out what to cut before you ask anyone for a quote.
Quick Brief
Start the conversation here
Send the scope or the problem. We will come back with a banded estimate and the assumptions behind it.
Your Name
Work Email
What do you need help with?
Proof
Comparable products we have shipped
FAQ
Pricing questions we get asked most
How much does an e-commerce website cost?
$6,000–$18,000 for a Shopify or platform build with real customisation, and $30,000–$60,000 for a fully custom store. Most businesses are better served by the platform route than they expect.
Should we use Shopify or build custom?
Shopify unless you have a specific reason not to. Custom is justified when platform fees at your volume exceed the build cost within two to three years, when your catalogue or pricing genuinely cannot be modelled, or when deep ERP integration is central to the business.
What is headless commerce and is it worth it?
A custom storefront — usually Next.js — on top of a commerce backend. Worth it when storefront performance and SEO are a competitive advantage and you have the team to maintain it. Not worth it for a standard catalogue that a good theme serves well.
How long does an e-commerce build take?
Six to ten weeks on a platform, sixteen to twenty for a custom build. Product data preparation is the most commonly underestimated part, and it is usually on your side rather than ours.
What does it cost to run an online store?
On a platform, $40–$2,300 a month in subscription plus 2–3% payment processing and paid apps. On a custom build, no subscription but $100–$1,200 a month in hosting and maintenance you now own.
Related Cost Guides
Other budgets worth checking before you commit
Ready to staff it instead?
Next steps
Where buyers usually go from here
The service pages behind this work, plus the tools that turn a budget into a scope.