Shopify Website Cost: What You Pay in 2026
By Ragnsan Finn Valla, Founder
· 9 min read
A Shopify website costs $39 to $399 a month on Shopify’s standard plans billed monthly, or from $2,300 a month on Shopify Plus. The build comes on top: only your time if you set it up yourself, a $2,500 median for listed packages on one expert marketplace, and from $10,000 for Shopify development at Skai.
Below are our own prices, Shopify’s current prices and the market numbers we could source. Every outside number has a link and the date we checked it. If we couldn’t source a number, it isn’t here.
The cost at a glance
| What you pay for | What it costs | When you pay it |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify plan | $39 to $399 a month, or Plus from $2,300 a month | Monthly or yearly |
| Theme | Free, or $100 to $500 | Once, per store |
| Domain | Typically from $9 a year | Yearly |
| Apps | $5 to $300 a month each, in published ranges | Mostly monthly |
| Build | Your time, a $2,500 market median, or from $10,000 at Skai | Once |
| Ongoing work | A $1,950 market median for monthly retainers | Monthly, if you use it |
| Payment fees | Depends on plan and sales: use the fee calculator | On every order |
The sections below give the source for each number.
What Skai charges
We agree the scope and price with you before work starts. Your Shopify subscription, apps and ongoing development are separate.
| Work | Our price | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify migrations | From $10,000 | A like-for-like move of one store: data, redirects, app replacements, testing and the cutover. A new design, integrations, B2B and multiple stores push it up. |
| General Shopify development | From $10,000 | We don’t take small theme adjustments. |
| Shopify Plus work | From $30,000 | Shopify’s Plus subscription is separate. |
| Headless builds | Headless builds typically run $30,000–$100,000. | Storefront complexity, content operations and integrations decide where a build lands. |
| Internal dashboards and AI agents | From a few thousand | Scoped with you before work starts. |
Want the number for your store?
What Shopify charges
These are Shopify’s US prices in USD (checked 1 Nov 2026: https://www.shopify.com/pricing). Shopify prices by country, so you may see other numbers. Our calculators hold the UK and Australia prices.
| Plan | Billed monthly | 12 months at that price |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39 a month | $468 |
| Grow | $105 a month | $1,260 |
| Advanced | $399 a month | $4,788 |
| Plus, 1-year term | $2,500 a month | $30,000 |
| Plus, 3-year term | $2,300 a month | $27,600 |
Yearly billing lowers the price. On 1 November 2026, Shopify’s page showed us $29 for Basic, $79 for Grow and $299 for Advanced, per month billed yearly. Shopify has also shown some visitors $89 for Grow and $359 for Advanced during a price test, so check the price in your own account before you budget.
Plus has a term and can have a variable fee. Shopify lists $2,500 a month on a 1-year term and $2,300 on a 3-year term, and says there might be a variable platform fee based on your revenue and business model (checked 1 Nov 2026: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/intro-to-shopify/pricing-plans/plans-features/shopify-plus-plan). If you choose a term, you can cancel when the commitment expires. Our Shopify vs Shopify Plus guide covers when the upgrade pays off.
Shopify’s other costs:
- Setup fees: none. Shopify says “There are no setup fees on any of our plans.”
- Themes: the Theme Store has free themes, and the paid ones on its first three pages ran from $100 to $500 (checked 1 Nov 2026: https://themes.shopify.com/themes). A paid theme is a one-time payment for one store. Third-party theme purchases are final sale, and each live expansion store needs its own license (checked 1 Nov 2026: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes/adding-themes).
- Domains: bought through Shopify, they typically start at $9 a year (checked 1 Nov 2026: https://www.shopify.com/domains).
- Apps: most app charges appear on your Shopify bill, and some third-party apps charge you directly (checked 1 Nov 2026: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/apps/app-types/shopify-app-store).
- Payment fees: these depend on your plan, your payment provider and your card mix. The Shopify fee calculator works them out for your sales.
- POS Pro: an add-on at $89 a month per location, if you also sell in person.
- Intro offer: Shopify currently offers 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months. The sums on this page leave it out.
What the market publishes
These are published figures from pages we fetched on 1 November 2026. They are listed prices and estimates, not quotes.
| Work | Published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Store build or redesign packages | Median $2,500, half between $1,150 and $5,000 | Expert marketplace, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Store build packages by seller | Median $1,600 from freelancers and $3,500 from agencies, where a quarter are $10,000 or more | Expert marketplace, October 2026 |
| Theme customization packages | Median $548 | Expert marketplace, October 2026 |
| Store migration packages | Median $2,250, half between $1,500 and $4,625 | Expert marketplace, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Custom development and app packages | Median $1,000, half between $390 and $2,499 | Expert marketplace, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Support and maintenance retainers | Median $1,950 a month, half between $500 and $2,575 | Expert marketplace, 19 Oct 2026 |
| Development and initial setup | $2,000 to $30,000 | One studio’s estimate |
| Integration work | $2,400 to $12,000 | One studio’s estimate |
| Custom builds in Australia | A$5,000 to A$15,000 or more | One agency’s estimate, 5 May 2026 |
| Migrations in Australia | A$2,000 to A$10,000 | One agency’s estimate, 5 May 2026 |
| Apps | $5 to $300 a month each | Website builder review, 19 Oct 2026 |
The marketplace says a wide spread within a group usually reflects scope, such as the number of templates, custom sections, data to migrate and design work. A package fits a defined job on an existing theme. Our prices start higher because we take on migrations and development projects, not small theme adjustments.
What moves the number
The plan price is fixed. These are what change the build and the bill after it:
- Design. Adjusting a theme and designing your own are different jobs. Theme customization packages have a $548 median on the marketplace above, while one studio says a fully custom theme from an agency usually starts from several thousand dollars.
- Integrations. Each ERP, warehouse or shipping system adds build and testing work. The same studio estimates $2,400 to $12,000 for integration work.
- B2B. Shopify lists up to 3 B2B catalogs on Basic, Grow and Advanced, and unlimited catalogs on Plus (checked 1 Nov 2026: https://www.shopify.com/pricing). Wholesale pricing rules and ordering flows add work on top. See Shopify B2B.
- Catalog and data migration. Large catalogs, complex variants and data cleaning push the price up. The migration service page lists what a move includes.
- Markets. More countries, languages and stores mean more to build and to run. The multiple stores guide compares Shopify Markets with expansion stores.
- Custom apps. Logic no public app covers has to be built, then kept working. A product configurator is a common example.
- Ongoing development. Launch isn’t the last bill. Budget for improvements and upkeep, whether that is your own time, a team or a retainer.
Which of our prices applies depends mostly on the first question you answer yes to:
Your project
Custom frontend instead of a theme?
yesHeadless $30,000–$100,000
Building on Shopify Plus?
yesPlus work from $30,000
Moving from another platform?
yesMigration from $10,000
Building or extending a store?
yesDevelopment from $10,000
Small theme adjustmentsA package, not us
A first-year budget
Here is the plan and the build for four kinds of store, using the prices above. Plans are 12 months billed monthly.
| Store | First-year floor | Plan for 12 months | Build |
|---|---|---|---|
| You set it up on Basic | $468 | $468 | Your time |
| Market-median package on Grow | $3,760 | $1,260 | $2,500 |
| Shopify development with Skai, on Advanced | From $14,788 | $4,788 | From $10,000 |
| Shopify Plus work with Skai, on a 1-year term | From $60,000 | $30,000 | From $30,000 |
The floor leaves these out, so add the ones that apply:
- Theme: $0 to $500 once, if the build doesn’t already cover it.
- Domain: typically from $9 a year.
- Apps: $60 to $3,600 a year for each app, from the published $5 to $300 a month.
- Payment fees: run your own sales through the fee calculator.
- Ongoing development: at the $1,950 market median, a retainer is $23,400 a year.
- Shopify’s variable Plus fee, if your offer has one.
Work out your own number
- Shopify fee calculator: what each plan costs at your sales, including payment fees, and where Plus costs less than Advanced. Its yearly comparison uses the higher test prices, $89 for Grow and $359 for Advanced, so if your account shows less, the plan itself costs you less than it says.
- Magento to Shopify cost calculator: three years of ownership on each platform, using a migration budget you enter. It doesn’t produce a quote; we scope one on a call.
Work behind these prices
Skai Digital is a Shopify Select Partner. These show the kind of work we do, not what each client paid.
- Fjordfiesta, a migration. A like-for-like move from Craft Commerce to headless Shopify and Sanity, keeping its design and content.
- Goldsource, a migration. Goldsource moved its store to Shopify.
- TileCloud, a replatform already on Shopify. TileCloud’s conversion rate increased 18% across the first 90 days after launch compared with the preceding 90 days.
- Verandah Brands, a shared platform. Verandah Brands runs five storefronts on one shared Shopify + Sanity platform: TileCloud, Yabby, Trade, Dawn and Verandah Store.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a Shopify website cost?
A Shopify website costs $39 to $399 a month on the standard plans billed monthly, or from $2,300 a month on Shopify Plus, plus the build. Setting it up yourself costs your time, listed packages on one expert marketplace have a $2,500 median, and Shopify development at Skai starts from $10,000.
How much does Shopify cost per month?
Basic is $39, Grow is $105 and Advanced is $399 a month billed monthly, and yearly billing is cheaper. Plus is $2,500 a month on a 1-year term or $2,300 on a 3-year term, and a variable platform fee can apply. These are US prices checked on 1 November 2026.
How much does it cost to hire someone to build a Shopify store?
On one expert marketplace, store build packages have a median of $1,600 from freelancers and $3,500 from agencies, and a quarter of the agency packages are $10,000 or more. At Skai, migrations and general Shopify development start from $10,000 and Shopify Plus work starts from $30,000.
Does Skai take small theme adjustments?
No. We don’t take small theme adjustments. If that is all you need, a listed package from a freelancer is likely the better fit.
How much does a headless Shopify build cost?
Headless builds typically run $30,000–$100,000. Your Shopify plan, apps and ongoing development are separate.
Does Shopify charge a setup fee?
No. Shopify says there are no setup fees on any of its plans. Third-party transaction fees may apply if you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments.
Is a paid Shopify theme a one-time cost?
Yes. A paid Theme Store theme is a one-time payment for one store, and Shopify treats third-party theme purchases as final sale. Each live expansion store needs its own license.
Talk to us
Tell us what you’re moving, building or connecting, and we’ll agree the scope and price with you before work starts.
