Quick answer: In 2026, an e-commerce website in India costs about ₹25,000–₹60,000 for a small template-based store, ₹60,000–₹3,00,000 for a custom-designed store with a few hundred products, ₹3,00,000–₹10,00,000 for a large custom build with ERP or inventory integrations, and ₹10,00,000+ for a multi-vendor marketplace. After launch, you also pay monthly platform, app and payment-gateway fees, and on Shopify those can cost more than the build.
This guide breaks the cost down by store size and platform. It works out when Shopify’s higher plans become cheaper, lists the features that move the price, and gives three first-year budgets. Digital Arka’s own e-commerce website packages are at the end for comparison.
E-commerce website cost by store size
| Store type | Products | Typical build cost | Typical timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-product / small D2C | 1–50 | ₹25,000–₹60,000 | 3–6 weeks |
| Growing D2C or retail store | 50–500 | ₹60,000–₹3,00,000 | 6–10 weeks |
| Large catalogue / B2B store | 500–10,000+ | ₹3,00,000–₹10,00,000 | 2–5 months |
| Multi-vendor marketplace | Many sellers | ₹10,00,000–₹35,00,000+ | 4–9 months |
Ranges exclude GST and are built from prices published by Indian agencies ranking for this search (November 2026). Treat them as planning ranges.
Cost by platform
| Platform | Typical build cost (agency) | Monthly running cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | ₹30,000–₹2,50,000 | Plan fee + apps + Shopify’s payment fee | D2C brands that want speed and a managed platform |
| WooCommerce | ₹40,000–₹2,50,000 | Hosting + plugin licences + gateway fees | Stores that want full ownership and no platform fee |
| Custom (Laravel, Node, Next.js, headless) | ₹3,00,000–₹25,00,000+ | Hosting + developer support | Complex logic, marketplaces, high-traffic brands |
| Adobe Commerce / Magento | ₹1,50,000–₹20,00,000+ | Hosting + specialist support | Large catalogues with complex B2B pricing |
Shopify fees in India, and when to upgrade
Shopify’s India plans (from Shopify’s India pricing page, November 2026, per month):
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | Fee on orders through a third-party gateway |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | ₹1,499 | ₹1,994 | 2% |
| Grow | ₹5,599 | ₹7,447 | 1% |
| Advanced | ₹22,680 | ₹30,164 | 0.6% |
Most Indian stores take payments through a third-party gateway such as Razorpay, PayU or Cashfree. So the Shopify fee applies on top of the gateway’s own charge. The plan that looks cheapest stops being cheapest once sales grow:
| Monthly online sales | Basic: plan + 2% | Grow: plan + 1% | Cheaper plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹1,00,000 | ₹3,499 | ₹6,599 | Basic |
| ₹3,00,000 | ₹7,499 | ₹8,599 | Basic |
| ₹5,00,000 | ₹11,499 | ₹10,599 | Grow |
| ₹10,00,000 | ₹21,499 | ₹15,599 | Grow |
Plan prices billed yearly. Gateway charges excluded because they’re the same on every plan.
Rule of thumb: above roughly ₹4.1 lakh a month in online sales, Grow costs less than Basic. Advanced only beats Grow at around ₹42.7 lakh a month. WooCommerce has no platform percentage at all, which is why higher-volume stores often compare it seriously.
Features that push the price up
- Product count and variants. Sizes, colours and bundles multiply the product data, images and testing.
- Payment options. Cards, UPI, netbanking, wallets and EMI through one gateway are standard. Adding cash on delivery (COD) rules, partial COD or a second gateway adds work.
- Shipping integrations. Connecting couriers or aggregators (such as Shiprocket or Delhivery) for live rates, tracking and pin-code serviceability checks.
- GST invoicing. Automatic GST-compliant invoices with HSN codes and correct CGST/SGST/IGST split by customer state.
- Inventory or ERP sync. Two-way sync with Tally, Zoho Inventory or a warehouse system is one of the biggest cost jumps.
- Search and filters. Fast filtering across thousands of products often needs a dedicated search app or service.
- WhatsApp and SMS updates. Order confirmations and abandoned-cart reminders through the WhatsApp Business API.
- B2B features. Login-based pricing, bulk ordering, quotation requests and credit terms.
- Multi-vendor logic. Seller onboarding, commissions, payouts and seller dashboards turn a store into a marketplace, and the cost rises steeply.
Running costs to budget for every month
| Cost | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | ₹0 (WooCommerce) to ₹22,680+ (Shopify Advanced, billed yearly) | See the Shopify table above |
| Payment gateway | Roughly 1.5%–3% per transaction | Depends on the gateway, payment method and your plan. Check current pricing with the gateway. |
| Shopify third-party fee | 2% / 1% / 0.6% of orders | Only on Shopify, on top of the gateway fee |
| Apps and plugins | ₹2,000–₹15,000 a month | Reviews, WhatsApp, subscriptions, upsells. They add up quickly. |
| Hosting (WooCommerce / custom) | ₹6,000–₹30,000+ a year | Busy stores need VPS or cloud hosting |
| Maintenance | 15–20% of the build cost a year | Updates, backups, security, fixes |
First-year cost: three sample stores
All figures exclude GST.
1. Home-based brand: 30 products on Shopify, ₹1 lakh monthly sales
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Store setup and design | ₹40,000–₹60,000 |
| Shopify Basic, billed yearly (₹1,499 × 12) | ₹17,988 |
| Shopify 2% fee (₹2,000 × 12) | ₹24,000 |
| Apps | ₹6,000–₹15,000 |
| First-year total | ₹87,988–₹1,16,988 |
2. D2C brand: 200 products on Shopify Grow, ₹6 lakh monthly sales
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Custom design and build | ₹1,20,000–₹2,50,000 |
| Shopify Grow, billed yearly (₹5,599 × 12) | ₹67,188 |
| Shopify 1% fee (₹6,000 × 12) | ₹72,000 |
| Apps | ₹30,000–₹60,000 |
| First-year total | ₹2,89,188–₹4,49,188 |
3. B2B distributor: 2,000 products on WooCommerce with Tally sync
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Custom build with B2B pricing and ERP/Tally integration | ₹3,00,000–₹6,00,000 |
| VPS hosting | ₹18,000–₹30,000 |
| Plugin licences | ₹15,000–₹40,000 |
| Maintenance (15% of build) | ₹45,000–₹90,000 |
| First-year total | ₹3,78,000–₹7,60,000 |
Notice that in example 1, Shopify’s own fees (₹41,988) come close to the build cost. Ask any agency for a first-year cost at your expected sales level, not just a build price.
Hidden costs in e-commerce projects
- Product data entry. Uploading titles, descriptions, prices, variants and images for hundreds of products is real work. Find out whether it’s in the quote or charged per product.
- Product photography. Clean, consistent product images often cost more than store owners expect.
- Content. Category descriptions, About and policy pages (shipping, returns, refunds, privacy) need writing.
- App and theme renewals. Many premium themes and apps renew yearly.
- Migration. Moving from another platform needs product, customer and order import plus 301 redirects to keep your Google rankings.
- GST. Agency invoices carry 18% GST if the agency is GST-registered, and Shopify charges GST on its fees too.
How to keep the cost under control
- Start with a proven theme and customise it. Move to a fully custom design once the store has proven demand.
- Launch with your best 20–50 products, then add the rest after launch.
- Pick apps carefully. Every monthly app is a permanent cost. Ask which features the theme already covers.
- Check the plan maths in the Shopify table above against your realistic sales forecast.
- Own your accounts. The domain, Shopify or hosting account, payment gateway and Google accounts should all be in your business’s name.
Digital Arka’s e-commerce website pricing
Digital Arka builds stores on Shopify, WooCommerce or custom code at a fixed price against a written scope. You keep full ownership of the source code.
| Package | Price | What’s included | Post-launch support |
|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | ₹60,000 | E-commerce store with up to 50 products, payment gateway integration, Core Web Vitals guarantee (90+ score), CMS training | 60 days |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Unlimited products, custom web applications, React/Next.js or headless builds, API integrations | 90 days plus a maintenance plan |
E-commerce builds typically take 6–10 weeks. All prices exclude 18% GST.
Get a fixed-price e-commerce website quote →
For general website pricing (business sites, landing pages, corporate sites), see our guide to website development cost in India.
Frequently asked questions
What is the minimum cost to build an e-commerce website in India? A small store on Shopify or WooCommerce with a ready-made theme can be built for around ₹25,000–₹40,000. Below that, you’re usually doing much of the setup yourself.
Is Shopify or WooCommerce cheaper in India? Shopify usually costs less to launch. WooCommerce often costs less to run at higher sales volumes, because there’s no platform percentage on orders. Use your expected monthly sales to compare.
Do I need a GST number to sell online on my own website? Requirements depend on your turnover and what you sell. Check with your CA before launch, because your invoices and checkout setup depend on it.
How long does it take to build an online store? Usually 6–10 weeks for a custom-designed store, and 3–6 weeks for a small store on a theme. Product data and photos are the most common cause of delays.
Should I sell on Amazon or Flipkart instead of building a website? Marketplaces bring ready traffic but charge commissions and fees on every order, and you don’t own the customer relationship. Many brands use both: marketplaces for reach, their own store for margin and repeat customers.
Planning an online store? Share your product count, platform preference and expected sales, and Digital Arka will send a fixed-price quote with a first-year cost estimate. Request your quote.