If you are planning an online store, how much a Shopify store costs is the first real question — and the answer has several layers most quotes gloss over. Here is a transparent 2026 breakdown for European businesses: the monthly plans, the build cost, the transaction fees, and the extras that quietly add up.
Shopify’s monthly plans (2026)
Shopify bundles hosting, security and core features into a single monthly subscription:
- Basic: $39/month (about €36), or roughly 25% less billed annually — where most small businesses start.
- Grow: $105/month — for growing stores needing lower transaction fees and more staff accounts.
- Advanced: $399/month — for higher-volume stores wanting the lowest fees and advanced reporting.
The subscription is only part of the picture, though.
The build cost
Shopify’s plan gets you the platform; you still need the store built. A focused Shopify store build typically starts in the low thousands of euros, with custom-designed stores, migrations from another platform, or complex catalogues costing more. This is a one-off (or milestone) cost, separate from the monthly subscription.
What drives the build price: custom design vs a premium theme, the number of products and how they are organised, integrations (payments, shipping, ERP/CRM), and whether you need migration from an existing store.
The fee everyone forgets: transaction surcharges
Here is the one that surprises people. If you use a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify adds a surcharge on every transaction: around 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, and 0.6% on Advanced (2026 rates). That stacks on top of your normal card-processing fee.
The takeaway: use Shopify Payments where it is available to avoid the surcharge, or factor the extra percentage into your plan choice — it can change which plan is actually cheapest for your volume.
The extras that add up
A realistic Shopify budget also includes:
- Apps — email marketing, reviews, upsells, loyalty. Individually cheap, collectively significant. Audit exactly which you need on day one.
- A premium theme — a one-off cost if you go beyond the free themes.
- Ongoing maintenance — updates, speed and support via a care plan.
Putting it together
For a straightforward store, a realistic first-year budget is: the build (low thousands), plus ~€430+/year on the Basic plan, plus apps and a theme, plus optional maintenance. A custom or migrated store scales up from there.
How we price it
We give you a fixed-scope quote before starting, so you know the build cost, and we advise honestly on the plan and apps that fit your volume — no upselling you into Advanced when Basic will do.
Get a Shopify quote → — tell us about your store and we will send a fixed-price proposal within 48 hours.