Anyone looking to have an online store built gets answers that point in every direction. One agency quotes a low amount on a standard e-commerce platform, another first wants to know how you process orders. Both can be right. The price of an online store does not sit in the shop you see, but in everything that happens behind an order: payment, stock, shipping, returns and your bookkeeping.
This guide gives no project amounts. An amount without a scope is a guess, and with an online store a guess hits hard, because every mistake in prices, VAT or stock costs money straight away. What you do get: the factors behind the price, the difference between a standard platform and a custom build, the recurring costs, the hidden items and a list of questions to compare quotes with.
Why do online store prices vary so much?
Two stores can look the same on the front and work completely differently behind the scenes. A shop with a clear catalogue, one shipping method and orders you pack by hand is something else than a shop that shares one stock with a physical store, gives business customers their own prices and puts every order into the books automatically.
So do not start with how the shop should look, but with what has to happen after an order. That is where most of the work sits, and where most of the differences between quotes come from.
What determines the price of an online store?
These are the factors that set the size of an online store project. The more of them sit at the heavy end, the bigger the project.
Standard e-commerce platform or custom store: what does it mean for the cost?
The biggest choice is whether you sell on a standard e-commerce platform or have a custom store built. Neither is always cheaper. The table shows where the costs sit on each route.
| Cost item | Standard e-commerce platform | Custom store |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Live quickly with an existing theme and standard features | More preparation in the intake, design around your catalogue |
| Monthly costs | Platform subscription, often with a fee per order or per user | Hosting and care with the party that builds the store |
| Extensions | Paid add-ons for anything non-standard, often monthly | Built for what you need, without separate subscriptions |
| Non-standard processes | You work around the limits of the platform | The store follows your process |
| Integrations | Depends on what is available for the platform | Built around the systems you already use |
| Managing it yourself | Much can be changed yourself within the platform’s limits | Manage products and content yourself, changes through your care partner |
A standard platform is a good choice if your catalogue is clear, you ship in a standard way and you need no special integrations. A custom build is worth considering if you retype orders, your stock does not add up or you keep working around the platform. Off-the-shelf or custom explains how to make that choice calmly.
Which choices make an online store more or less expensive?
You mainly steer the price through what goes into the first version. A store that sells well with a limited set of features is a better start than one that does everything but launches later.
- Cheaper: product data that is correct and complete, with your own photos ready to go.
- Cheaper: starting with the payment and shipping methods your customers use most, and adding the rest later.
- Cheaper: simple pricing rules. Every extra discount type or customer group has to be right everywhere, including on a return.
- More expensive: one stock for the online store, the shop and marketplaces, or an integration with a system that lacks a good connection.
- More expensive: subscriptions, business customers with their own prices or products the customer configures.
- More expensive, but often worth it: an accounting integration. It costs something to build, but it removes the retyping that otherwise returns with every order.
Which costs come back every month?
An online store has more ongoing costs than a regular website, because payments, shipping and integrations always have to keep working. These are the kinds of costs that return.
- Hosting and security: a store has to be fast and available, also when it is busy, and customer data has to be safe.
- Transaction fees: the payment provider charges per payment, depending on the payment method and your agreement with that provider.
- Shipping costs: labels and carriage, according to your contract with the carrier.
- Platform subscription and add-ons: on a standard e-commerce platform you pay for the platform and often several add-ons per month.
- Maintenance and updates: security updates, backups and checks that payments and integrations still work.
- Further development: improvements based on what customers do, such as a shorter checkout or better filters.
With us, hosting, maintenance and further development fall under a care plan. Those are the only amounts on our site: Essential from €55, Growth from €99 and Managed from €198 per month, and Enterprise for heavy platforms, with a monthly amount that follows from what the store needs. Transaction and shipping costs run through your own contracts with the payment provider and the carrier. What each plan includes is on the pricing page.
Which plan fits follows from what your store runs in integrations and traffic. The exact monthly amount is agreed up front.
Where are the hidden costs of an online store?
The items that appear afterwards are often the same for online stores. They are missing from the quote because nobody asked.
- Cleaning up product data: messy or incomplete product data affects search, filters and your visibility in Google. Cleaning it up takes time, yours or the agency’s.
- Product photography: good, consistent photos are not a luxury for an online store. If they are missing, they get added later anyway.
- Monthly add-ons: on a standard platform, separate add-ons for shipping, filters or reviews quietly add up.
- Manual work per order: without integrations you retype orders into your accounting or shipping system. You do not see it on an invoice, but you do in your hours.
- Returns: a returns flow that is not set up properly costs time per return and leaves stock that does not add up.
- Redirects when switching: without redirects, product pages that were already found disappear.
- Terms and privacy texts: terms and conditions, the right of withdrawal and a privacy statement have to be right before you go live.
How do you compare online store quotes?
Compare quotes on what happens after an order, not on how the store looks. Ask every agency the same questions.
With a low quote for a standard platform, also add up the add-ons, the platform subscription and the manual work per order. Only then are you really comparing.
How do you start a new online store with Vorlyo?
Vorlyo makes software per industry and also builds and hosts websites and online stores. We start with your intake, not with an amount. In it you tell us what you sell, how you work now and which systems you already use.
- 1. Catalogue: how many products, which variants and how the customer chooses.
- 2. After the order: payment, stock, shipping, returns and bookkeeping.
- 3. Switching over: what has to come over from your current store and which systems you already use.
- 4. Call: we reply within one working day and then discuss your new online store in a call, including what monthly hosting and maintenance involve.
Extra work only goes ahead with your approval. How we set up a store and what it includes is on the page about online store development.
Frequently asked questions about online store costs
How much does it cost to build an online store?
It depends on your catalogue, pricing rules, stock, shipping and integrations. We do not name an amount without a scope: we discuss the price after your intake and the call. Only the care plans have a starting price, and those are on the pricing page.
What are the monthly costs of an online store?
Hosting, maintenance, security and further development, plus transaction fees with your payment provider and shipping costs with your carrier. With us, hosting and care run through a care plan: Essential from €55, Growth from €99 and Managed from €198 per month, or Enterprise based on scope.
Is a standard e-commerce platform cheaper?
Often at the start. Over time, the platform subscription, paid add-ons and the manual work around the platform’s limits add up. If your sales fit the standard path, a platform is fine and we will say so.
Do you build on a standard e-commerce platform?
We build the store ourselves, around your catalogue and your process, so you are not tied to the limits and add-ons of a platform. If a standard platform suits your situation better, you will hear that in the intake.
What does an accounting integration cost?
It depends on what your accounting system allows. Ask every provider whether they check what access there is before naming an amount. With us, that comes up in the call after your intake.
Can you move my existing online store?
In the intake we discuss what has to come over from your current store. We redirect old product pages to their new address, so they stay findable. The cleaner the existing data, the less work the switch is.
Can I add and edit products myself?
Yes. You manage products, prices, stock and content yourself. Larger changes to the store run through your care plan.
How do I keep the costs of my online store down?
Make sure your product data is complete and your photos are ready, start with the payment and shipping methods used most and keep pricing rules simple. Expand once the store runs and you see what customers need.
Is search visibility included in the price?
The technical foundation belongs in the build: product data, categories and structured data set up so search engines understand your catalogue. Ongoing content work is not included.
Is a care plan required for an online store?
Yes. We build, host and maintain the online store ourselves, so one party is responsible for payments, integrations and availability. A plan runs for at least twelve months and can then be cancelled monthly.