Pricing guide
E-commerce store pricing: the launch cost and the invoices that follow
The launch price is only the deposit — an online store keeps billing you month after month.
The most expensive mistake when budgeting an online store is comparing implementation quotes and ignoring the invoices that begin after launch. Orientation figures for 2026: on Shopify you pay a €30–300/month subscription plus €500–3,000 for setup and design; a WooCommerce or PrestaShop implementation costs €1,500–8,000; a custom store, built around your own processes, starts at €10,000. On top of every option sits operation: the payment processor retains around 1–2% of each transaction, courier integrations need configuring and ongoing upkeep, invoicing must satisfy e-invoicing rules (in Romania, the mandatory e-Factura system), and monthly maintenance is not optional on a site that takes money. Actual market prices depend on catalogue size, integrations and volume, but the practical rule holds everywhere: budget the entire first year, not just the launch.
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Key takeaways
Shopify: €30–300/month + €500–3,000 setup
Fast start, hosting and security included. The subscription runs for the life of the store, and deep customisation is limited by the platform.
WooCommerce / PrestaShop: €1,500–8,000
Open-source on your own hosting: full control and no mandatory subscription — but updates, security and plugin compatibility become your responsibility.
Custom store: from €10,000
Justified when your flows do not fit a standard platform: per-customer pricing, product configurators, tight links to the ERP and warehouse.
Operations: 1–2% per transaction + integrations
Payment processing, courier contracts, compliant invoicing, monthly upkeep — recurring costs that at higher volumes outgrow the initial build.
The running costs quotes rarely mention
The payment processor (Stripe or a local equivalent) keeps roughly 1–2% plus a fixed fee out of every order — money that appears in no implementation quote. Courier integration (automatic waybills, delivery statuses, cash on delivery) is built once but breaks often, because courier APIs keep changing. And for stores invoicing in Romania, automated invoicing connected to the e-Factura system is mandatory for both B2B and B2C relationships, so invoicing software and its connector belong in the budget from day one.
A concrete case: an accessories store with 300 products on WooCommerce — €4,000 implementation, adapted theme, courier and invoicing integration included. Year one then adds, indicatively: VPS hosting €350, maintenance at €150/month, and payment fees of another €600 on €40,000 of sales. Real first-year total: about €6,750 — nearly 70% above the quoted price. That is not a trap; it is the normal cost structure of e-commerce. You just need to know it before you sign.
Frequently asked questions
Which option fits a catalogue under 100 products on a small budget?
Shopify or WooCommerce on a good template: you enter the market with €1,000–3,000 and learn within six months whether the products sell. A custom store at zero volume is money locked into features nobody uses yet.
At what sales volume does the Shopify subscription become a problem?
Do the maths on cumulative fees: the subscription plus Shopify transaction charges can exceed €4,000–5,000/year once sales pass roughly €150,000. At that point, migrating to WooCommerce or a custom build starts to pay for itself within 1–2 years.
Is e-invoicing integration normally included in the price?
Rarely in base quotes — verify it explicitly. In practice you need invoicing software connected to the store, and the connector costs an indicative €200–800 at implementation, or comes bundled with the invoicing software subscription.
How does store maintenance compare with a normal website?
It is noticeably higher: an indicative €150–500/month versus €50–150 for a brochure site. The reason is risk — a store that is down loses orders by the hour, and security patches on a platform that processes payments cannot wait.
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Let’s talk about your project
Message us on WhatsApp or send an email — you talk directly to a developer.
office@northdan.com · +40 752 070 247