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How much does a Shopify store cost in 2026?
Karina Paviotti
Founder, Design by Karina
11 min read
A Shopify store costs two things: a monthly plan you pay Shopify, from €21 a month, and a one-time price for the design and build. That second part is usually the biggest, and it depends mostly on your products, your languages and how ready your photos and texts are.
In short
You pay Shopify every month, and you pay for the design and build once.
The design and build is usually the biggest part of the budget, and quotes for it can be very different.
The number moves most with your products, your languages, a move from another platform and how ready your photos and texts are.
It's one of the first things founders ask me, and it makes total sense. Investment hits different when it's your own money, so of course you want to know what you're getting into before you start.
The tricky part is that "a Shopify store", or a Shopify webshop or website, can mean very different things. I've seen €15K websites that don't convert, and I've seen simple stores that work beautifully. So instead of giving you one number, let's go through where the money actually goes. At the end, you can work out your own.
What do you pay Shopify each month?
Every Shopify store pays a monthly plan, plus a fee on each payment, depending on how you take payments. The plan you need depends on your sales and your team, not on how your store looks, so most new brands start on Basic and move up when it makes sense.
Shopify plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Online card rate |
|---|---|---|---|
Basic | €21 / month | €28 / month | 1.9% + €0.25 |
Grow | €59 / month | €78 / month | 1.8% + €0.25 |
Advanced | €289 / month | €384 / month | 1.6% + €0.25 |
Shopify's Dutch pricing page, checked October 2026. Shopify changes its prices from time to time, so I always check this page with clients before we decide.
Some stores also use paid apps, for reviews, subscriptions or email, for example. We only add the ones your store really needs, because those monthly costs have a way of adding up quietly.
Good to know in the Netherlands
iDEAL works through Shopify Payments and costs a flat €0.29 per payment on Basic, Grow and Advanced, whatever the order value. Shopify also lets you try it for 3 days for free, and then €1 a month for the first 3 months on most plans.
Which Shopify plan should you choose?
The plans don't make your store look different. They change who can work in it, how many locations you can manage and a few advanced features. So I'd choose by what you need today, and move up when the store asks for it.
Basic
For most new brands. You get the full store, reports, markets and translations. Start here unless you already know you need more.
Grow
When other people work in the store with you. It includes 5 staff accounts and a slightly lower card rate.
Advanced
For bigger teams (15 staff accounts) and stores that need live shipping rates from carriers or a different storefront per region.
Plus
For high-volume brands that need a fully customizable checkout, many locations or unlimited B2B catalogs. Most founder-led brands don't need it.
The maths on card fees
Grow costs €38 a month more than Basic and saves you 0.1% on each card payment. That only pays for itself once you sell around €38,000 a month by card. So choose Grow for the team accounts, not for the fees.
Do you need to buy a Shopify theme?
Not necessarily. Shopify has free themes, and paid themes are a one-time purchase, most of them between about $150 and $400. A theme gives you the starting layout, but it doesn't know your customers, your products or what makes people choose you. That part is design work.
What does a Shopify store cost to run every month?
Once the store is live, the running costs are often lower than people expect. For a new brand they can look something like this:
Running cost | Example | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
Shopify plan | €21 / month | Basic, billed yearly |
Apps | €0 to €100 / month | Reviews, subscriptions, email. Only the ones you need. |
Domain | Per year | Depends on the extension, renewed every year |
Payment fees | Per order | 1.9% + €0.25 per card payment, €0.29 per iDEAL payment on Basic |
Growth Plan (optional) | from €590 / month | Monthly improvements, minimum three months |
What makes the price go up?
Honestly, it's usually not the design. A few things move the number more than anything else:
How many products and variants need to be set up
A second language or market
Moving from another platform, with a redirect for every old page so your old links keep working
Photos and texts that still need to be created
Custom features that need extra development
Zourani runs in Dutch, French and English. Every language adds pages, product texts and checks.
VYOLA makes custom-made body chains, so the store needed a made-to-measure ordering flow.
The photos and texts are the part that surprises people most. More than once, I've ended up creating images for a store because the product photos weren't there yet. That's real work too, and it's so much better to plan for it from the start than to discover it halfway through.
COST OF NOT
The cost of a store that doesn't work
Your customers will never tell you why they didn't buy. They close your store on the sofa at night and buy from someone else.
How do you keep the budget under control?
You don't need to have everything figured out before you reach out. But a few things really help: a proposal with every item listed, your photos and texts ready early, and a clear first version you can grow once the store is selling. Sometimes that's simply the smarter investment.
CHECKLIST
Doing it yourself, a Shopify freelancer or an agency?
All three can be the right choice. What changes is what's included, and who does the thinking.
Do it yourself | Template setup | Strategy-led store | |
|---|---|---|---|
What you pay | The plan, maybe a theme, and your own time | A lower project price | A higher project price |
What you get | A store you set up yourself | A theme set up with your logo and products | Research, design built around your customers, content help and migration |
Good for | Testing an idea with very little budget | A simple catalog that's already clear | Brands where the store has to earn trust and sell |
Watch out for | The time it takes, and the store looking like many others | Paying twice when the brand outgrows it | Make sure every item is listed in the proposal |
Who we are, and what we do as a Shopify agency
We're Design by Karina, a boutique Shopify agency in Rotterdam, working closely with founder-led fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands to turn what makes them special into thoughtful online shopping experiences.
A beautiful website is a good start. But your Shopify store also needs to communicate your value, guide customers through their choices and make buying feel effortless. That's where strategy, design and development come together.
Ecommerce strategy
Who is buying, what do they need to know, and what helps them choose your brand? We define the positioning, customer journey and store structure before design begins.
Shopify design
A store should feel unmistakably yours and make shopping intuitive. We design brand-led Shopify experiences, from the homepage to product pages, with mobile users in mind.
Shopify development & migration
We build stores that are intuitive to shop, easy to manage and ready to grow. Moving from WooCommerce or another platform? We help you make the transition with a clear plan for your store, content and customer experience.
Conversion & retention
We look at what customers need to see, understand and feel before choosing a product, from product messaging to trust-building elements and retention emails.
Growth after launch
We review available data, identify friction in the customer journey and make prioritized improvements over time.
Brand Sites
For coaches, studios and service brands that don't sell online but still need people to choose them.
Why founders choose us as their Shopify agency
Strategy before pixels. Before opening a design file, we want to understand who you're building for, what your customers need to know and what might be stopping them from buying.
A background in product design. Before starting Design by Karina, I worked in product design at Uber's Money Design team in Amsterdam, helping shape payment experiences for drivers.
Fewer projects, more care. We deliberately limit the number of projects we take on at a time, so I'm closely involved in every project and decisions don't get lost between teams.
We say it straight. We'll tell you honestly when something isn't worth the investment, even when the easier answer would be yes.
Launch is the starting line. After launch, we keep using real customer behavior to make the store better.
You can see how this looks in practice in our work for Zourani, VYOLA and Thereza Pedrosa Gallery, for brands worldwide.
What does it cost to build a Shopify store with us?
This is the one-time part, and it's where most of the difference between quotes comes from. A template with your logo on it and a store built around your customers are both "a Shopify store", but they're really not the same work. Before we design anything, we look at your competitors, how your customers move through the store and how the pages fit together, so every design decision has a reason behind it.
Package | From | Best for |
|---|---|---|
The Launch | €4,500 | Your first proper store, or a move from Etsy, Instagram or Wix |
The Atelier | €6,900 | An established brand that wants a store designed for it, not a template with a logo on it |
Bespoke | €9,500 | Larger stores with several languages or markets, subscriptions, B2B pricing or a big catalog |
The exact number depends on your products, languages and content, and you'll see every item in your proposal before we start.
TOOL 1
CHART
What you pay in your first year
The project is the biggest part, but it isn't the only one. Here's what the first twelve months can look like for three example stores.
Design and build Growth Plan Shopify plan Apps
Examples, not real clients. "From" prices, Shopify billed yearly, apps estimated at €40, €80 and €100 a month. Card fees depend on your sales and aren't included.
What happens after launch?
Your store is never really finished. It shouldn't stand still while your business grows.
The good news is that Shopify takes care of hosting, security and platform updates, so you don't need a maintenance contract just to keep the store running. What's worth paying for after launch is improving it.
That's what the Growth Plan is for. From €590 a month, we look at how real customers use your store, pick the change that matters most, make it, and report back every month. It runs for at least three months, because one month is rarely enough to see what's really working.
From the studio
What we see with clients
Most founders come to us asking for a pretty website. I always say yes, just not first.
A lot of them have already tried building it themselves, or worked with someone else before. The site looks fine, but it isn't good, and their customers end up confused about what to buy or why. Fixing that later costs more than getting it right once, which is why building twice is the one thing we'll always try to talk you out of.
Questions
How much does a Shopify store cost per month?
The Shopify plan starts at €21 a month on a yearly plan, plus payment fees and any apps you use. For a new brand, the running costs can easily stay under €100 a month. The design and build is a one-time cost on top.
Which Shopify plan is best for a new brand?
Basic, in most cases. It has the full store, reports, markets and translations. Move to Grow when you need more staff accounts, not because of the slightly lower card rate.
What are Shopify's transaction fees?
With Shopify Payments on Basic, a card payment costs 1.9% + €0.25 and an iDEAL payment €0.29. If you use another payment provider, Shopify adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced.
Do I need to buy a Shopify theme?
No. Shopify has free themes, and paid ones are a one-time purchase. A theme gives you the starting layout, and the design work is what makes it yours.
How much does Shopify Plus cost?
Shopify Plus starts at €2,100 a month. It's made for high-volume brands that need a fully customizable checkout or many locations, and most founder-led brands don't need it.
Is a Shopify website cheaper than a custom-built webshop?
Usually, yes. Shopify takes care of hosting, security and checkout for you, so your budget can go into the design and the parts that actually help you sell.
Why are some Shopify quotes so much cheaper?
Usually because they include less: a template, your logo, your products uploaded. That can be fine for some brands. Just make sure you compare what's actually included, not only the number.
What's the best Shopify agency in Rotterdam?
It depends on what your brand needs, so it's worth talking to more than one. If you're a founder-led fashion, beauty or lifestyle brand looking for a strategy-led Shopify store, we'd love to be on your list. Design by Karina is a boutique Shopify agency in Rotterdam, and every project starts with understanding your customers before anything is designed. You can see our work for Zourani, VYOLA and Thereza Pedrosa Gallery, or book a free intro call to see if we're the right fit.
How much does a Shopify agency cost in the Netherlands?
It varies a lot, because agencies include very different things. With us, a new Shopify store starts at €4,500 for The Launch, €6,900 for The Atelier and €9,500 for Bespoke, with every item listed in your proposal.
Do you charge by the hour?
No. You get one price for the whole project, with every item listed in the proposal, so you know what you're paying for.
Do I need to pay for Shopify maintenance?
Not for the platform itself. Shopify takes care of hosting, security and updates. What's worth investing in after launch is improving the store, which is what the Growth Plan is for.
Can you move my store from Etsy, Wix or WooCommerce?
Yes. We plan the move for your products, content and customers, and set up redirects so your old links keep working. The cost depends on how much there is to move, so we look at it together on the intro call.
Can I start with The Launch and grow later?
Yes, and for a lot of brands that's the best way to start. You launch a clear first version, see how customers use it, and add pages, languages or features once you're selling.
Your store, your numbers
Want a straight answer for your own store? Book a free call and we’ll walk through it together.
Sources
Shopify pricing, shopify.com/nl/prijzen (checked October 2026)
Shopify Help Center: transaction fees and payment providers; buying a domain
Shop Theme Detector, paid theme prices (August 2026)
Littledata, Shopify conversion rate benchmark (to confirm before publishing)
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.
