# How much does an online store cost? What the price depends on.

> What makes an online store cost more or less: how you start, the catalogue, payments, shipping and what you connect. And what should not be billed extra.

xPlain Solutions · https://xplain.pe/en/guides/how-much-does-an-online-store-cost · 2026-11-12

An online store can be a catalogue with a WhatsApp button or a full operation with payments, shipping and inventory connected. Both are "a store", which is why a price given without asking questions means nothing. What can be explained is **what makes it cost more or less**, so you know what you are paying for.

## How you want to start

This is what moves the price most, and almost nobody asks it first. There are three ways to launch:

- **A catalogue with ordering over WhatsApp.** No online payment. The fastest and the least expensive.
- **A full store**, with cart and online payment.
- **Mixed**: online payment for some products and WhatsApp for others.

Starting with the first and growing towards the second is a valid decision, as long as the store is built knowing it is going to grow.

## The catalogue

How many products you have matters less than **what they are like**. A simple product is one page. One with variants by size, colour or format multiplies the combinations, and each carries its own stock. Digital products, services or subscriptions follow different rules from physical goods.

## Payments

Every payment gateway is an integration that has to be built and tested. Accepting one is not the same as combining several with bank transfer, cash on delivery and payment in store.

## Shipping

A flat rate is simple. Rates by zone or by weight, a carrier integration, in-store pickup and shipment tracking add work, and they are almost always worth it: this is where most sales are lost at the end of the purchase.

## Inventory and what you already use

Having every sale deduct stock and warn you before you run out is part of the store. Connecting it to your ERP, your e-invoicing or your carrier is what stops the same order being typed twice, but each connection is separate work.

## What you want to do to sell more

Coupons, volume or date-based discounts, wishlists, reviews, a points programme. None of them is mandatory on day one. Pick the two or three you will really use and leave the rest for later.

## What should not cost extra

Your team being able to change a price, add a product or create a coupon without calling a developer. If every small change is billed, the cheap store ends up being the expensive one.

## How you get to a number

With a diagnosis before a price: 30 minutes, free of charge, in which we work out which version it makes sense to start with. That produces a quote with scope, timeline and a fixed investment, paid by milestones.

You can see [what an online store includes](/en/services/ecommerce-development) or [request your quote](/en/quote?tipo=ecommerce). And if what you want is for other people to sell on your platform, what you need is a marketplace: [here is the difference](/en/guides/online-store-vs-marketplace).

## Frequently asked questions

### What does the price of an online store depend on?

On how you want to start (a catalogue with WhatsApp, a full store or mixed), on what your products are like, on how many payment and shipping methods you need, and on whether it connects to your inventory, your ERP or your invoicing.

### Can I start simple and grow later?

Yes. A store can start as a catalogue with ordering over WhatsApp and add online payment later, as long as it is built knowing it will grow.

### Will I have to pay every time I change a price or a product?

You should not. Catalogue, prices, coupons and content are edited from the admin panel, without a developer.