Short answer: a Shopify store has two kinds of cost. The first is running costs: Shopify’s own plans start at $29 a month for Basic, with Grow at $79 and Advanced at $299 (US prices, billed yearly). You also pay for any paid theme or apps. The second is the one-off cost of designing and building the store. With Shreeji Software, development starts at $799 for a Starter store, $1,499 for a Growth store and $2,999+ for a Scale store. Most businesses budget for both a build and a monthly platform fee. The build cost depends mainly on design, number of products, integrations and migration.
This guide explains each part of the price, why quotes for “a Shopify store” can differ so much, and how to scope your project so estimates are comparable.
Shopify store cost in 2026 at a glance
- Shopify subscription: Basic $29/month, Grow $79/month, Advanced $299/month (US pricing, paid yearly). Shopify Plus starts at $2,300/month on a three-year term. Prices and billing currency vary by country.
- Theme: free themes cost $0. Premium themes from the Shopify Theme Store are a one-off purchase, generally up to about $500.
- Apps: many apps are free or have free plans. Paid apps are usually monthly subscriptions, so they add to running costs.
- Design and development: a one-off project cost. At Shreeji, packages start at $799 (Starter), $1,499 (Growth) and $2,999+ (Scale).
- Ongoing work: maintenance, SEO, conversion rate optimization (CRO) and new features are optional, and priced by scope or time.
Shopify figures come from Shopify’s own cost guide (September 2026) and Shopify Help Center. Always check the Shopify pricing page for your country before you commit.
What you actually pay for: a cost breakdown
“How much does Shopify cost?” covers several separate costs. Some go to Shopify, some go to theme and app developers, and some go to whoever designs and builds the store. This table shows what each one covers and how it is usually billed.
| Cost item | What it covers | How it is billed | What changes the price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform | Shopify subscription: hosting, checkout, admin, security | Monthly or yearly, paid to Shopify | Plan level, billing term, country |
| Theme | The base storefront design | Free, or a one-off purchase (generally up to about $500) | Free vs premium theme; custom theme instead |
| Development | Store setup, theme customization, custom sections, functionality, launch | One-off project fee | Pages, products, custom features, integrations |
| UI/UX design | Page layouts, mobile design, product and checkout journeys, often in Figma | Included in a package or quoted separately | Theme-based vs fully custom design, number of templates |
| Apps | Reviews, subscriptions, filters, email, shipping, loyalty and more | Mostly monthly subscriptions; some free | Number of apps and their plan tiers |
| Migration | Moving products, customers, orders, content and URLs from another platform | One-off, quoted by scope | Data volume, source platform, redirects, custom data |
| SEO | On-page SEO at launch; ongoing content and technical SEO after | Included at launch or a separate ongoing service | Catalogue size, markets, content needs |
| CRO | Improving product pages, navigation and cart to lift conversion | Project-based or ongoing | Depth of research, testing, design changes |
| Maintenance | Updates, fixes, app changes, small edits after launch | Retainer, hourly or per request | How often the store changes, response times |
Payment processing is another running cost. Fees are charged per transaction and depend on your plan, payment provider and country, so check the current rates for your market on Shopify’s pricing page.
12 factors that decide what your store costs
Two stores can look similar and still have very different build costs. These are the factors that most often explain the difference between quotes.
- Design approach. Customizing a premium theme costs less than designing every template from scratch in Figma and building a custom theme.
- Number of pages and templates. Each unique template (homepage, collection, product, landing pages, about, FAQ) adds design and build time.
- Catalogue size and complexity. Ten simple products differ from hundreds of products with variants, bundles, metafields or product filters.
- Custom sections and functionality. Product configurators, custom bundles, gated content or bespoke calculators need custom development.
- App and system integrations. Connecting an ERP, CRM, inventory system, 3PL or marketing tools adds setup, testing and sometimes custom code.
- Content readiness. Copy, photography and product data that are ready to use save time. Writing, editing or bulk-uploading content adds to the scope.
- Migration. Moving from WooCommerce, Magento, Wix or another Shopify store involves data mapping, cleanup and redirects.
- Markets, languages and currencies. Selling in several countries adds translation, currency, tax and shipping setup.
- SEO requirements. Basic on-page SEO differs from full technical SEO, structured data and redirect planning for an established store.
- Performance and accessibility. Heavy media, many apps and custom scripts need optimization work to keep pages fast and usable.
- Conversion and analytics setup. Tracking events, analytics and conversion-focused UX add planning and testing time.
- Timeline and support. Tight deadlines and post-launch support needs both affect how a project is staffed and priced.
These factors explain why prices vary between providers. A quote is only comparable to another when both cover the same pages, products, features, integrations and content.
Costs by type of Shopify project
Most Shopify projects fall into one of four types. The scope, not the label, sets the price, but these types help you find a starting point.
Basic store (theme setup)
A free or premium theme set up with your branding, a small number of pages and products, payments, shipping and launch. It suits new brands that want to start selling quickly and test the market. This matches our Starter package.
Professional store (customized design)
A custom-designed store, often built from Figma designs, with custom sections, more pages and products, app integrations, speed work and on-page SEO. It suits growing brands that have outgrown a template look. This matches our Growth package.
Custom store (custom theme and functionality)
A custom Shopify theme with advanced storefront features, larger catalogues, advanced integrations, conversion-focused UX and technical SEO. Migration may be part of the project. It suits established brands. This matches our Scale package.
Shopify Plus and enterprise
High-volume brands on Shopify Plus often need several stores or markets, B2B features, checkout customization, automation and deeper system integrations. The platform fee alone starts at $2,300 a month on a three-year term. Development is always quoted after a scope review, because requirements differ widely between businesses.
Shreeji Software’s Shopify development pricing
Our Shopify development packages are one-off development prices in USD. They do not include your Shopify subscription, paid themes or paid app subscriptions, which you pay directly.
| Package | Price | Best for | Main inclusions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | Starting at $799 | New brands that want a professional store live quickly | Store setup, premium theme setup, homepage customization, up to 5 pages, up to 10 products, payment and shipping setup, responsive optimization, basic on-page SEO, app integration, launch |
| Growth | $1,499 | Growing brands that need a custom-designed store | Custom store design, Figma-to-Shopify build, up to 10 pages, up to 30 products, custom sections, app integrations, speed optimization, basic conversion optimization, on-page SEO, launch |
| Scale | $2,999+ | Established brands with advanced storefront needs | Custom theme development, advanced storefront customization, up to 20 pages, up to 75 products, advanced app integrations, custom functionality, performance optimization, conversion-focused UX, technical and on-page SEO, migration support where required |
Final pricing depends on scope, functionality, content, integrations and timeline.
If your store needs more than a package covers, such as a larger catalogue, a complex migration or custom integrations, we quote it after a scope review. For wider store strategy, see our eCommerce solutions, and for design-led projects our UI/UX design service.
Illustration: a first-year budget
As an example only, a new brand on Shopify Basic (US pricing, paid yearly) with a Starter build would budget $29 × 12 = $348 for the platform plus $799 for development, or about $1,147 in the first year. That figure excludes paid apps, a premium theme, payment fees, taxes and your domain, and your own costs will differ with your plan, country and scope.
Freelancer, agency or dedicated developer?
Who builds your store affects the price, the process and how support works after launch. None of these options is right for everyone. Here is how they typically compare.
| Freelancer | Agency | Dedicated developer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical fit | Smaller, well-defined tasks or builds | End-to-end projects needing design, development and SEO | Ongoing work and a steady stream of changes |
| Pricing model | Hourly or fixed per task | Fixed project price or packages | Monthly, part-time or full-time |
| Strengths | Flexible, direct communication | Several skills in one team; project management | Continuity and deep knowledge of your store |
| Things to check | Availability, backup cover, range of skills | Who does the work, communication process | Onboarding time, how tasks are prioritized |
Shreeji works both ways: as a project team with packages, or by giving you a dedicated Shopify developer for ongoing work. Agencies that need extra delivery capacity can use our white-label development service.
What does a Shopify migration cost?
Migration cost depends on what is moving and how clean the data is, not only on the source platform. We quote each migration after reviewing the current store. These are the typical considerations for each source platform:
- WooCommerce to Shopify: product and variant data, customer and order history, WordPress blog posts and pages, plugin features that need a Shopify app or custom build, and URL redirects.
- Magento to Shopify: often larger catalogues and more custom attributes, complex pricing, B2B needs and extensions that need replacing or rebuilding.
- Wix to Shopify: usually smaller catalogues, but page content and design are often rebuilt, and URLs change and need redirects.
- Shopify to Shopify: a redesign or a new theme on an existing store, merging stores, or a new store for another market. Here the work is mostly design, theme and data changes, not a full platform move.
Across all migrations, the main scope factors are:
- the number of products, variants and images
- whether customer accounts and order history must move
- blog and page content
- 301 redirects to protect search rankings
- apps or custom features to replace
- integrations
- testing before launch.
Our Scale package includes migration support where required. Larger migrations are quoted separately.
Ongoing costs after launch
A store is never really finished. After launch, plan for:
- Shopify subscription: your monthly or yearly plan.
- App subscriptions: review these regularly and remove apps you no longer use.
- Payment processing fees: charged per transaction.
- Domain renewal: yearly, paid to your registrar or through Shopify.
- Maintenance and changes: new pages, seasonal campaigns, theme updates and fixes.
- Growth work: SEO, content and conversion improvements. See our SEO and digital marketing service.
Shopify stores we have built
Examples from our portfolio show how scope differs between stores:
- Mycelab: French online store for organic mushroom-based products, with a shop, blog and education section.
- Furifuri: online store for a French food brand, with product ranges, recipes and a blog.
- Marine Layer: clothing store with seasonal campaigns, product pages and a mobile shopping experience.
- Sakya Farms: online store for A2 desi ghee, honey and spice powders, designed for desktop and mobile.
You can see these projects and more in our portfolio.
Pricing for international clients
Shreeji Software works remotely with store owners and agencies in many countries, including the USA, the UK, Australia and the UAE. Our development prices are in USD for every client, and we do not have local offices in those countries. Communication is by email, calls and project tools, with meeting times agreed to overlap your working hours.
Shopify’s own subscription is separate. Plan prices and billing currency depend on where your business is based, so the figures in this guide are US prices.
How to get an accurate Shopify quote
To get comparable quotes, share the same brief with each provider:
- your current platform, if any
- approximate number of products and pages
- must-have features and apps
- integrations
- markets you sell in
- whether design is needed
- who provides the content
- your target launch date.
With that list, you can compare scope as well as price. If you’d like us to review it, send us your project details and we will reply by email with a recommended package or a custom quote.
