Among the young and enthusiastic e-commerce entrepreneurs, building an online store with Shopify has become one of the options to kickstart an online business. The process isn’t very complicated because, using the user-friendly interface, the seamless scalability as well as extensive options for customization offered by Shopify, an online store can be built without technical know-how. One of the questions most frequently asked is, how much does it cost to build a Shopify website?
In this article, we will discuss all costs involved in building a Shopify store in the year 2025 and, by breaking it down, give a comprehensive understanding of the expenses you can expect.
Average Cost to Build an Ecommerce Website On Shopify
The cost to build a Shopify website in 2025 tends to vary significantly according to different factors. Whether you’re building your first online store as a small business owner or you’re an experienced business owner looking for customized features, costs can vary from very affordable prices to very hefty ones. The various options at your disposal will be examined in due course as follows, including their costs. Costs for a Shopify Store in 2025
- Costs Membership Fees to shopify
The first cost to consider while building a Shopify website is the subscription cost to the platform. There are distinct pricing plans offered by Shopify depending on what type of business one has and the budget. Here is the general overview of the pricing options:
- Shopify Starter: $5 per month
- Basic Shopify: $39 per month
- Shopify: $105 per month
- Advanced Shopify: $399 per month
- Shopify Plus: Starting at $2,300 per month
Features such as charges on transactions, payment modes, and availability of reporting tools vary from one plan to another. Higher payments just mean more functionalities and lesser transaction fees. For most start-ups, the Basic Shopify plan that costs $39 a month is as good as a starter default plan because it offers all the most basic eCommerce features like a website, blog, and social media selling.
- Shopify Themes and Templates
Once you have settled on the right plan, the other cost will be on an aspect of the design of your Shopify store. The platform provides many paid and unpaid themes that differ in their customizability.
- Free Themes: Included with your Shopify subscription, these themes feature basic, clean designs for your store. Although these themes are free and appropriate for most businesses, they are not very customizable.
- Premium Themes: These cost between $150 and $390, depending on how customizable the theme is and what features it has. Premium themes tend to be better overall in design flexibility, support, and user-friendly features.
- Custom Theme Development: If you are looking for a completely personalized design for your brand and vision, you can always opt for custom theme developments. This is the costliest option at $2,000 to $10,000+ depending on requirement and need for complexity.
Other Costs Associated with Building a Shopify Website
As online stores incur other costs apart from these, monthly subscription fees, and themes, here are some different expenses that are common to many:
- Domain Name
An online store has a unique domain that revolves around the brand it carries. There are free subdomains offered by Shopify: yourstore.shopify.com. However, most businesses prefer getting their custom domain for better branding and credibility. The domain registration costs approximately $10-$30 per year, depending, of course, on the registrar and the popularity of the domain name itself.
- Hiring Shopify Experts
For people who prefer to take a hands-off approach or are in need of advanced customization, hiring a Shopify expert could be a worthwhile investment. Shopify experts include designers, developers, and consultants who can assist you in such areas as:
- Theme customization
- Building custom features or apps
- Setting up complex integrations
- Website optimization for speed and performance
The cost of hiring a Shopify expert depends on the level of expertise and the complexity of your assignment. In the average, these rates can be expected,
- $35-$55 hourly for a basic Shopify developer
- $300-$2,000 for building a small store
- $2,500-$5,000 for a medium store
- $10,000-$35,000 for an enterprise store
The hiring of an expert is no small amount, but when well spent, it will save you time and enable you to have a website that is professionally built and optimized for success.
- Additional Functionality and Custom Apps
An additional element that can affect the development cost of the Shopify site will be if increase functionality is required. The Shopify platform is flexible; however, some off-the-shelf requirements may pose a need for third-party applications and/or custom development work. For example, email marketing, inventory management, or advanced shipping options may require their own app.
- Shopify Apps: The charges could either be free or monthly subscriptions that range from about $5 to $100 per month depending on the capabilities of the app.
- Custom App Development: If what you need is not available through the Shopify App Store, hiring a developer to build a custom app is necessary. Development of a custom app can cost $500-$20,000, depending on how complex the app is and which features are require.
How Much Does It Cost to Build a Shopify Website Yourself?
Building your own Shopify store in a DIY fashion can be cheap if you go easy on customizations, use a free theme, and generally build the store without much help; in short, you’ll be saving costs. Rough estimates are given below:
- Shopify Subscription: $39 per month (Basic Shopify plan)
- Theme: Free (or $150 for a premium theme)
- Domain Name: $10–$30 per year
- Custom Apps and Integrations: Free or low-cost options
Accordingly, initial costs to build a Shopify site were between $100 to $500, while you would be able to feature in all the tools of your choosing. This choice is best if you are a small business or an individual with a smaller budget.
What If You Want a Professional?
Of course, if you hire professionals to create your store for you in Shopify, you will spend about 10 times as much. Your projected total for setting up a Shopify website would be anywhere between $2000 and $ 10000 or more based on your requirements.
Here is a quick summary of what you might get:
- Basic Shopify Store Setup: $2,000 – $5,000
- Medium Store with Customized Features: $5,000 – $10,000
- Enterprise Store with Full Customization: $10,000 – $35,000
These costs would mostly include the design and the whole development, as well as customized features, including some support down the road to ensure that your store runs smoothly.
Ongoing Costs for Maintaining Your Shopify Store
Building a Shopify site is not a one-time cost. However, there are continuous costs that come up as you maintain and grow your store, including:
- Shopify subscription: Monthly charges for the plan you choose
- App Subscriptions: Continuous charges for any app you use
- Domain renewal: Annually
Website maintenance and updates: Depending on the range of support you require, maintenance costs will differ
Digital Marketing and Advertising
After the website is finally launch, you might want to consider the costs of digital marketing and advertising to drive traffic to your store. These could be social media ads, Google Ads, influencer marketing, and email campaign costs. The amount you spend on these activities will depend on your marketing strategy and budget, but expect to allocate at least a few hundred dollars per month to start seeing results.
Conclusion
So, how much does it cost to build a Shopify website in 2025? Well, it depends on exactly what you want and need for your eCommerce store. If you’re on a tight budget and want to do it yourself, setting up a basic Shopify store may cost you about $100 to $500, while higher-end features, custom designs, or professional help usually run from $2,000 to $35,000, depending on the project’s complexity.
Of course, the average cost to build a Shopify website varies from one person to the other, depending on the subscription plan, theme, specific custom features, and even hiring professionals for assistance. However, by critically analyzing requirements and budgets, you, too, can build a store on Shopify that fulfills your business goals without breaking the bank.
FAQs
- How much do Shopify templates cost?
Shopify templates are sold between $0 for free themes and $150 to $390 for premium themes.
- Are there free Shopify templates?
Shopify provides free templates having limited customization options.
- Can I build a Shopify website on my own?
Yes, Shopify is an easy-to-use platform for creating a site on your own, without any technical training.
- Can you build a Shopify site for free?
While you can create a Shopify store for free under the basic plan using a free theme, you will have to pay for a monthly subscription and domain registration.
- Can I pay someone to make my Shopify store?
Yes, you may engage Shopify experts or agencies to build and customize your store.
