A Shopify website has two kinds of cost: the work to set the store up, and the fees that keep it running. As an indicative 2026 AUD planning guide, professional setup on an existing theme might sit around $3,000 to $8,000, a tailored store around $8,000 to $20,000, and a complex build above that. On top of the build, budget for Shopify’s monthly plan, any paid theme and apps, and payment charges on each sale.
Those bands are planning allowances, not quotes or a measured market average. The useful exercise is to lay every line of the cost stack side by side, because a cheap setup can lead to steep monthly bills, and the reverse is also true.
The one-off setup costs
Theme choice and design
Shopify offers free themes and paid themes in its Theme Store, and paid themes are generally a one-off purchase. A theme sets the starting layout, not the finished store. Someone still has to configure the home page, collection pages, product templates, navigation, cart and brand styling.
A store that suits a theme closely can launch with modest design work. A brand that needs custom product pages, bundles or unusual merchandising may need theme code changes, and that is where design and development time grows.
Products, collections and content
Product loading is easy to underquote. Twenty products with clean photos and finished descriptions is a different job to 800 products with variants, sizing information and missing images. Ask whether the price includes product entry, collection structure, product copy, image editing and policy pages, or assumes you will supply all of it.
If you are moving from another platform, ask how products, customers and order history will be migrated, and who checks the data afterwards. Migration tools help, but someone still has to fix fields that do not map across.
Apps and integrations
Shopify’s app ecosystem covers reviews, subscriptions, wholesale pricing, product filters, accounting connections and more. Many apps charge a monthly fee, so setup choices become running costs. Integration with stock systems, shipping tools or an ERP adds testing time because orders and inventory must stay in sync.
The running costs
Shopify subscription
You pay Shopify a recurring plan fee, and higher plans add features and change some fee levels. Shopify publishes current Australian pricing on its website and adjusts it from time to time, so check the live pricing page and whether you are paying monthly or annually before you build a forecast.
Payment and transaction charges
Every sale attracts a card processing charge, and the rate depends on your plan and payment provider. Using a third-party gateway instead of Shopify Payments can add a separate Shopify transaction fee. Ask for these charges to be modelled against your expected order volume rather than looked at in isolation.
App renewals, domain and email
List each paid app with its monthly cost and what breaks if you cancel it. Your domain renews separately, and business email usually sits with a separate provider. These smaller line items add up quickly over a year.
Ongoing support and changes
Shopify handles hosting and platform security, which removes a chunk of maintenance work compared with a self-hosted site. You still need someone to add new campaigns, change templates, review app conflicts and fix things when a theme update changes a layout. Decide whether that is your team, an hourly arrangement or a support retainer.
Indicative build bands
For planning in 2026, allow roughly $3,000 to $8,000 to set up a smaller catalogue on an existing theme with supplied content. A tailored brand store with custom templates, product content support and several integrations might need $8,000 to $20,000. Large catalogues, B2B pricing, complex migrations or custom functionality can go well past $20,000. These figures are indicative AUD allowances, not quoted prices, and a scoped proposal may land outside them.
How to compare Shopify quotes
Ask each provider to fill in the same table: setup fee, theme cost, product loading, migration, each paid app, the Shopify plan assumed, payment provider and monthly support. Then total year one and year two. The cheaper quote on day one can become dearer once app subscriptions and change requests are counted.
Also confirm you own the Shopify account, the domain and the theme files, and that staff access is set up under your business rather than the builder’s login. Our ecommerce website design service scopes these items before a build starts.
Shopify cost FAQs
Do I have to buy a paid theme?
No. Shopify’s free themes can work well for a simple catalogue. A paid theme may save customisation work if it already includes the features you need, so compare its price with the development time it removes.
Is hosting included in Shopify?
Yes, hosting is part of the Shopify subscription, so you do not buy a separate hosting plan. You still pay for your domain and any separate email service.
Can I start on a lower plan and upgrade later?
Yes. Many stores start on a smaller plan and move up as order volume grows. Check the current plan comparison so you know which features and fee levels change when you upgrade.
Who owns the store if I hire a developer?
You should. Make sure the store is created under your business account and the developer is added as a collaborator or staff user, not the other way around.
Plan the full cost before you build
Bring your product count, the systems the store must connect to and your expected monthly orders. We can map the Shopify build and running costs line by line through our ecommerce website design team, so you see year-one costs before you commit.
