A Shopify agency usually charges in two ways: one price for the project, which covers the design and build of your store, and, if you want it, a monthly fee for the work after launch. So there's no single answer to what a Shopify agency costs, because agencies put very different things inside that price. Before you look at the number, I'd look at what it covers: strategy, design, the Shopify build, training and the improvements later on.
In short
A Shopify agency usually charges one price for the project, plus a monthly fee if you want someone working on the store after launch.
Shopify's own plans and payment fees are separate, so they don't sit inside the agency's price.
A number only tells you something once you know what's in it, so compare quotes item by item.
This article is only about the agency part. If you'd like the whole picture, with Shopify's own plans, apps and payment fees, we wrote that out in How much does a Shopify store cost in 2026?
We're Design by Karina, a strategy-first boutique Shopify agency in Rotterdam for premium fashion and beauty brands. We design and build Shopify stores for brands across the Netherlands and Belgium, and we turn what makes your brand different into a reason to choose you. So you know where we stand, and I'll come to our own prices further down.
Project fee versus monthly fee
These are two different things, and it helps to keep them apart when you're comparing quotes.
Project (The Launch / The Atelier / Bespoke) | Monthly (Growth Plan) | |
|---|---|---|
When you pay | Once, for each build or redesign | Every month, while the plan runs |
What you pay for | Strategy, design, the Shopify build and launch support | Ongoing improvements to your live store |
Best for | Opening your store or redesigning it | Keeping the store improving after launch |
Ends when | The store is live and your 30 days of support are over | When you stop the plan |
Comparing a one-off project with a monthly plan as if they were the same thing doesn't work, because they do different jobs. The project gets your store open. The monthly work keeps making it better, because the most useful information about a store only arrives once real customers start using it.
You'll also come across agencies and freelancers who work by the hour, and that makes quotes harder to compare. We went through those rates in How do you choose the right Shopify agency in the Netherlands? With us, you get one price for the whole project, agreed before we start and never billed by the hour, so you know exactly what you're paying for.
What moves a project above the starting price
A starting price assumes a fairly simple store, so what you end up paying depends on how much there is to do. Honestly, the design is usually not what moves the number. More languages, a bigger catalog, custom features, extra brand pages or a move from another platform do that much more. A second language, for example, is more than translated words, because the navigation, emails, policies and checkout all follow. I go through all of this in What makes the price go up?, so I won't repeat it here.
The things that make a fashion or beauty store work, like size charts, fit notes, ingredients and routines, are part of our normal work, because that's what people want to see before they buy. If your store needs something unusual, like a connection to another system or a custom app, our own specialists build it inside your project, and we name it in your proposal, so you see it before we start.
A migration is its own piece of work. It comes on top of the package, and we price it after we've looked at your store, because moving forty products and moving four hundred are very different jobs. If you're coming from another platform, read What does a migration to Shopify cost?
How to brief an agency so the price stays honest
You don't need to have everything figured out before you talk to an agency. But a price is only as good as what the agency knows about your store, so a few things help a lot:
What you sell and who buys it, in one paragraph.
How many products you have, which languages you need and which apps you can't do without.
Whether you're opening a new store or redesigning the one you have.
Whether your data and redirects need to move from another platform.
Whether you'd like someone to keep working on the store after launch.
Then bring our list of questions to ask a webshop agency to the call, so you're comparing the same things with every agency you talk to.
Good to know in the Netherlands
Agencies usually quote business clients excluding BTW, so check that first when you put two numbers side by side, because the general rate of 21% makes a visible difference. If you're registered for BTW, you can normally deduct it on your business costs. If you use the KOR (the kleineondernemersregeling), you can't, so the amount including BTW is what the project costs you. I'd also ask whether iDEAL | Wero and Bancontact are part of the setup, because Shopify has its own conditions for them, like euros as a currency and the Netherlands as an active market.
What The Launch covers
The Launch is your first proper Shopify store. It's for new brands, or brands moving over from Etsy, Instagram or Wix, who want to open with a store that already looks and sounds like them. We start with a strategy session and a written brief, you approve the sitemap before design begins, and then we put your brand inside our store system, with the typography, colors, spacing and sections adapted to you. Your homepage, product, collection, About and Contact pages are all in there, together with payments, shipping and the essential store settings, and you get handover training and 30 days of support.
The Launch starts at €4,500. You can see every detail on our packages.
What The Atelier covers
The Atelier is a store designed for your brand, not a template with your logo on it. It's for established brands with a product people love and a store that doesn't show it yet. Everything in The Launch is included, and on top of that we do customer research and look at your closest competitors, we make a custom design that you approve before we build, and we add extra brand pages. We also write your copy from scratch and set up your welcome and abandoned cart emails, and your first month of the Growth Plan is included.
The Atelier starts at €6,900. And if your store needs more than a package holds, like several languages, subscriptions, B2B pricing or a catalog in the hundreds, that's what Bespoke is for. We plan it with you, phase by phase. All the prices in this article exclude BTW.
What a Growth Plan is for
Your store is never finished. Once it's live, you start to see what customers do with it: where a product page could be clearer, what feels awkward on a phone, whether the collection filters help, which details make people trust you, and what you want ready for the next season.
A Growth Plan is the monthly rhythm for that work. Every month we look at how real visitors use the store, ship the change that matters most and send you a one-page report on what it did. A/B testing is part of it, depending on the plan. It starts from €590 a month. It's open to stores we didn't build too: if your store was built elsewhere, we start with a Shopify Store Audit, so we both know what we're working with. You can read more about it on our Growth Plan page.
Questions
How much does a Shopify agency cost in the Netherlands?
It varies a lot, because agencies include very different things, and some work by the project while others work by the hour. That's why it's worth comparing quotes item by item, whoever they come from. With us, a new Shopify store starts at €4,500 with The Launch and €6,900 with The Atelier, excluding BTW, and your proposal lists what's in it.
What's the difference between The Launch and The Atelier?
The Launch puts your brand inside our store system, so you can open with a clear, considered store. The Atelier goes further, because we research your customers and competitors, design the store around your brand and write the copy for you. If you're not sure which one fits, that's what the intro call is for.
Does the project price include Shopify's subscription?
No. Your Shopify plan and payment fees are billed by Shopify, and our price covers the strategy, design and build. Shopify's plans start at €21 a month billed yearly, or €28 monthly. You can see the rest of what Shopify charges in How much does a Shopify store cost in 2026?
Can I buy strategy without the build?
Not on its own, because a strategy you paid for and then handed to somebody else to build is a document, not a store. That's why strategy sits at the start of every project, and the store is built from it. If you already have a store and would like an outside view before you decide anything, that's what our Shopify Store Audit is for.
Where do I see package detail?
On our packages & pricing page. After the call you get a proposal with everything listed item by item, so you know what to expect before we begin.
Are agency prices with or without BTW?
Usually without, because agencies mostly work for other businesses. Ours exclude BTW too. If a quote doesn't say which one it is, ask, because 21% on a whole project is a real amount.
Is it better to pay an agency per project or by the hour?
For a new store I'd go for one price for the project, because you know what you're spending before anything starts, and a task that takes longer than planned isn't your problem. Hourly can make sense for a short job on a store you already have, as long as you agree on a limit first. That's why we never bill a project by the hour.
Is a Shopify agency more expensive than a freelancer?
Often, yes, because you're paying for strategy, design and the build together, and a freelancer usually covers one part of that. A freelancer can still be the right choice if you already know what you want and only need someone to build it. So I'd compare who decides, who writes the words and who checks the store after launch. We go through this in How do you choose the right Shopify agency in the Netherlands?
Do I keep paying an agency after launch?
Only if you want to. The project is finished when your store is live and your 30 days of support are over. After that you keep paying Shopify and your apps directly, and monthly work with an agency is a choice. With us that's the Growth Plan, from €590 a month, excluding BTW.
Can you build a custom Shopify app?
Yes. When your store needs something no existing app can do, our own specialists build it inside your project, so you don't have to go looking for a second company. You'll see it named and priced in your proposal before we start.
Can I get a Growth Plan if another agency built my store?
Yes. The Growth Plan is open to stores built elsewhere, and we start with a Shopify Store Audit, because we need to see how your store works before we can tell you what to change first.
Do you do A/B testing?
Yes. A/B testing is part of the Growth Plan, depending on the plan. On the call we'll look at your store and tell you what makes sense for it.
What is the best Shopify agency in Rotterdam?
That depends on what you need, and I'm not neutral here, because we're a Shopify agency in Rotterdam ourselves. Put us on your list and compare us like any other agency. On a cost question, I'd look at what each proposal includes, who leads your project and what happens after launch, because that tells you more than the city does.
Your store, your numbers
Want a straight answer for your own store? Book a free call and we’ll walk through it together.
Sources
Checked on 5 November 2026. Prices and rules change, so check them again before you decide.
Karina Paviotti
Founder, Design by Karina
Karina Paviotti is the founder of Design by Karina, a boutique Shopify agency in Rotterdam. Before starting the studio, she worked in product design at Uber, shaping payment experiences for drivers. Today she leads every project, from strategy to launch, for founder-led fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands.
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