How Much Does It Cost to Start an Online Store?

“How much does it cost to start an online store?” gets wildly different answers online, from “almost nothing” to “tens of thousands.” Both can be true. The cost depends far more on your product and sourcing model than on the website.

This guide breaks the budget into line items so you can build your own number. Where a vendor publishes prices, we quote them as listed at the time of writing. Where costs depend on your choices, such as inventory and ads, we show how to calculate them instead of guessing.

The short version: what drives your startup cost

3 choices decide most of your budget:

1. Sourcing model. Print on demand and dropshipping need almost no inventory money. Wholesale and private label need stock before your first sale.
2. Platform. A hosted store builder has a predictable monthly fee. A self-hosted store swaps that for hosting and extension costs. Marketplaces charge mainly per sale.
3. Marketing approach. Organic marketing costs time. Paid ads cost money from day 1.

Platform and website costs

Hosted store builders bundle hosting, security and checkout into a monthly plan. Shopify, for example, lists its Basic plan at $39 a month when billed monthly, or $29 a month billed yearly, in the US at the time of writing, with higher plans for teams and larger stores. You’ll also pay card processing on each sale. Our Shopify fees explained guide covers every layer.

Self-hosted stores such as WooCommerce have a free core plugin, but you pay for hosting, and WooCommerce lists its official paid extensions at roughly $29 to $299 a year each. You also handle updates and security yourself.

Marketplaces usually have little or no monthly fee but charge per sale. Etsy charges $0.20 per listing plus a transaction fee and payment processing on each order. Amazon lists its Individual plan at $0.99 per unit sold and its Professional plan at $39.99 a month, plus referral fees by category. Compare platforms in Shopify vs Etsy for new sellers and how to start selling on Amazon.

Key takeaway: The website is rarely the expensive part. For most new stores, inventory and marketing cost far more than the platform, so don’t overspend on themes and apps before you’ve made a sale.

Apps and tools

New stores often install too many apps too early. At launch, you typically need only:

• Email marketing: many tools have free tiers for small lists
• Reviews: free tiers are common
• Shipping: label printing is often built into the platform
• Analytics: your platform’s built-in reports plus a free analytics tool

Everything else, such as upsells, loyalty programs or page builders, can wait until you have steady sales. Set a monthly app budget and review your bill every month.

Inventory and samples

For stock-based stores, inventory is usually the largest single cost. Calculate it rather than guessing:

Inventory cost = units per product x cost per unit x number of products

For example, ordering 100 units of each of 3 products at $8 per unit is 100 x $8 x 3 = $2,400, before shipping to you. Factor in:

• Minimum order quantities (MOQs) set by suppliers
• Inbound freight and import duties if you source from overseas
• Samples from 2 or 3 suppliers before committing, which you pay for even if you don’t order
• Damaged or unsellable units

Print on demand and dropshipping avoid most inventory cost, but you should still order samples to check quality and delivery time. See how dropshipping works for the trade-offs.

Barcodes: if you’ll sell through major retailers or marketplaces that require them, buy official barcodes. GS1 US lists a single GS1 US GTIN at $30 with no annual fee, and company prefixes starting at $250 for 10 barcodes plus an annual renewal fee.

Packaging, shipping supplies and fulfillment

Budget for:

• Boxes and mailers in 3 or 4 standard sizes
• Protective fill, tape and labels
• Branded inserts (optional at launch)
• Shipping scale and label printer, which pay for themselves once you ship regularly
• Postage, either charged to customers or built into prices

USPS provides free Priority Mail boxes for Priority Mail shipments, and buying postage online usually gets lower rates than the counter. Our guide on how to print shipping labels at home covers the equipment and options.

If you use a third-party logistics provider (3PL), expect setup, storage, pick-and-pack and shipping fees. Pricing varies widely, so request quotes from 2 or 3 providers.

Legal, tax and admin costs

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Check your state’s business filing and revenue department websites for current fees.

Content and marketing

Photography and content

Good photos sell products. Options range from DIY with a smartphone, a simple light setup and a plain backdrop, to hiring a product photographer. DIY costs a small amount of equipment and your time. Professional photography is usually priced per image or per day.

You’ll also need product descriptions, an about page and policies. AI writing tools can speed up drafts; see generative AI for small business. Always check claims before publishing.

Marketing: the cost most people forget

A store without traffic makes no sales. Plan for marketing from the start.

Organic marketing (social posts, SEO, email, partnerships) costs mostly time, and results build slowly.

Paid advertising gets faster results but costs money while you learn. Use this formula to set a test budget:

Test budget = target cost per sale x number of sales needed to learn

If you can afford to pay up to $20 to acquire a customer and want 25 sales to judge a campaign, your test budget is $20 x 25 = $500. If you can’t get sales near your target cost, fix the product page, price or offer before spending more.

Also budget for samples sent to creators, giveaway products and discount codes, which all reduce revenue.

Where to start: build your own budget in 5 steps

1. List your fixed monthly costs: platform, apps, domain (spread monthly), email, accounting.
2. Add one-time setup costs: theme, samples, photography, barcodes, legal filings, equipment.
3. Calculate inventory using the formula above, plus freight and duties.
4. Set a marketing test budget using your target cost per sale.
5. Add a reserve equal to 2 to 3 months of fixed costs, plus a cushion for unexpected expenses such as reorders and returns.

Then compare your total with expected margins. If the math only works with optimistic sales, reduce inventory or start with a leaner sourcing model. Our step-by-step guide on how to start an online store puts this budget into a full launch plan, and how to find a product to sell online covers margin math.

The bottom line

Your online store startup cost depends mostly on what you sell and how you source it. The platform is predictable and often under $50 a month to start. Inventory, packaging and marketing are where the real money goes. Build your budget line by line, start lean, and spend more only when your sales data shows what’s working.

Sources

• Shopify Pricing — plan tiers, annual billing discount and third-party payment fees
• WooCommerce Pricing — free core platform and extension price range
• Amazon: How much does it cost to sell on Amazon? — Individual and Professional selling plan fees
• Etsy Fees and Payments Policy — listing fee and transaction fee base
• GS1 US: How to get a UPC barcode — single GTIN and company prefix pricing
• IRS: Get an employer identification number — EINs are free