How Much Does It Cost to Make an Ecommerce Website in 2025?

eCommerce solutions are something the average person, from Zoomers to Boomers, interacts with on a daily basis. For example, according to expert forecasts, global eCommerce retail sales will reach $6.42 trillion by the end of 2025, with a 6.86% increase from the previous year. And, as owners of such solutions regularly optimize UX and make each interaction with customers ever simpler and more seamless, these numbers will only grow in the coming years. However, before planning an eCommerce website development, it's important to answer the question: “How much is an eCommerce website?” Below, we'll share our thoughts on this matter.

How Much Does an eCommerce Website Cost?

When clients approach us with questions like, "How much does an eCommerce website cost?", we clarify which scenario they plan to follow:

• Build an MVP with the potential for further transformation into a full-fledged eCommerce solution (here, we typically connect the product to a single warehouse, implement basic online payment tools, and build a UX based on ready-made templates to launch the product as quickly as possible, reduce the eCommerce website development cost, and test hypotheses ASAP) – this usually costs around $5,000-$30,000;
• Create a full-fledged solution (in this case, we build a multi-store platform, implement a number of integrations and custom logic, and also introduce basic MLOps practices and analytics) – the cost of such a solution is usually limited to $30,000-$120,000;
• Develop an enterprise-level system (with customized SLAs, multi-regional deployment potential, PCI DSS, ERP integration (including custom integration), personalized discounts, product selections, etc., implemented, for example, with AI tools) – the price for such a project typically starts at $120,000.

We also always consider initial budget constraints, the time to first cash flow, and ongoing support costs to ensure the clients don't find themselves in a situation where the platform doesn't deliver the expected ROI.

Factors That Affect the Cost of an eCommerce Website

Now, to make sure these calculations don't seem arbitrary, let's look at what influences the eCommerce website cost, from least to most important.

1. Domain

The cost of a domain is initially low ($10-$5,000 per domain, depending on your marketing strategy), but it's important to understand that if you choose a premium domain, it can cost from hundreds to millions. Additionally, you need to budget for trademark registration, as well as a ccTLD or IDN, which may require additional verification and associated expenses.

2. Hosting

Hosting for an eCommerce solution isn't just renting virtual machine capacity – it optionally may include CDN, web application firewall, autoscaling, multi-AZ deployment, backup setup, monitoring, and more. For an MVP, a managed VPS with CDN is sufficient (in this case, this part of the eCommerce site cost can be about $20-200 per month). As for a full-fledged eCommerce solution, with cloud deployment, it will require a minimum of $1,000 per month and can reach $10,000 per month or more, with savings possible only if you build a cloud-native architecture from the start.

3. Complexity

This aspect includes the complexity of the product catalog itself, as well as the need to implement B2B functionality and custom promo engine logic. Ultimately, any complex module requires considering both developer hours, as well as testing, edge cases, and, of course, ongoing support (to be more precise, every new feature added to the MVP increases the cost of integration and testing by approximately 25-40%).

4. eCommerce Website Development Approach

Developing with a ready-made CMS engine is the optimal option when you need to get your product up and running ASAP with the lowest possible CAPEX. However, customization options in this scenario are limited, and vendor lock-in is a factor, too. Another option is developing with a headless CMS. While this allows for maximum scalability and performance, it will be more expensive due to the infrastructure and effort required by your technical team. Finally, you can consider custom development – it's the most expensive, but the only viable option if you’re going to implement a sophisticated business logic and a complex user interface.

5. Type of Development Team

This is simple:

• Either a fixed price (when you clearly understand what you want and can formulate a list of technical and non-technical requirements for the project at the outset; however, if the need for refinements arises during development, this will be quite expensive compared to the other two options);
• Or a dedicated team (if you want to closely collaborate with the development team throughout the project, and the project itself is complex and is going to be regularly upgraded in the future);
• Or time and materials (if you don't have a clear understanding of what the project should be, and it requires a large number of adjustments to the specifications during implementation).

6. Location of Development Team

If you have specific privacy requirements (for example, not sharing certain data with third parties), in-house hiring is the only option. If such requirements don't exist, there are two other options: a nearshore team (if you need close local integration with your in-house team) or an offshore team (ideal when you want to save money without sacrificing the final product quality by hiring specialists from a region with lower rates than yours).

7. eCommerce Website Design

The design can be template-based, with a small number of A/B tests (generally an excellent option for MVP development) – this way, you'll spend approximately $1,000 to $5,000. If you consider a custom design with preliminary comprehensive UX research, prototyping, and microinteractions, it will cost $10,000 or more, depending on the level of adaptability and accessibility.

8. Payment Processing

Ensuring compliance with all 12 PCI DSS requirements and the cost per transaction also impact the overall eCommerce website pricing. For example, connecting a PSP will take approximately $500-$5,000, while ensuring PCI compliance and auditing may require about $3,000-$20,000, depending on the level (either SAQ or external audit).

9. eCommerce Website Content

Catalog content creation, including product photos, descriptions, videos, and SEO, typically costs $2,000 or more; however, if you require professional photography and localization, you can easily add an additional $5,000 or more to these figures.

10. eCommerce Website Marketing

Marketing includes SEO, building a content strategy, working with paid channels, setting up a CRM, creating retention campaigns, and much more – that's why eCommerce solution budgets are rarely less than $1,500 per month.

11. Website Maintenance

Finally, a few words about maintenance – it includes updates, security patches, SLAs, monitoring, backups, and a feature backlog. At the basic level, this will require approximately 10-20% of the initial development cost per year. For enterprise solutions that require 24/7 support and SRE, the budget may reach 20-40%.

How Integrations and Add-Ons Affect eCommerce Website Costs

On average, any modern project uses 8-15 external systems, which naturally impact the eCommerce website development price. So, let's take a closer look.

1. Payment Gateway Integrations

The cost of integrating payment gateways is determined by the chosen business model (whether multi-currency support is required, as well as installment/split payments/marketplace payouts). This determines the cost, typically ranging from $2,000 to $20,000. However, it's worth noting that the main challenge for developers is ensuring PCI DSS compliance and transaction reconciliation, so this can also affect the budget as well (by up to 10-15%).

2. Shipping Integrations

The cost of integrating logistics tools is quite high (ranging from $1,000 to $15,000 and up) and varies by region. Moreover, sometimes the integration process involves not only properly connecting the relevant API but also configuring business logic, taking into account tariffs, returns, and other factors.

3. CRM and ERP Integrations

The complexity of integrations with CRM and ERP systems lies primarily in the potential legacy of the existing infrastructure, which lacks modern APIs. This is why technical specialists are often forced to work through intermediate ETL or MQ services. This, in turn, determines the cost, which can start at $5,000 and reach $60,000 or more.

4. Marketing and SEO Tools

For standard eCommerce tasks, each such integration costs approximately $1,000-$8,000 for setup and $200-$500 per month for maintenance. However, in some cases, where data engineers are involved in setup, this part of the eCommerce website price may be even higher.

5. Analytics and Reporting Tools

A simple integration with Google Analytics or Hotjar costs up to $1,000, while integrations with custom BI dashboards (like Power BI or Tableau), CRM, and/or payment gateways can cost from $5,000 to $30,000 or more each.

6. Specialized Add-Ons

This category includes solutions for personalization, AI recommendations, dynamic pricing, AR/VR storefronts, loyalty programs, and more – each of which, depending on its specific features, can cost between $3,000 and $100,000. It's also worth noting that AI integrations typically require additional investments in inference infrastructure and data quality control.

Different Types of eCommerce Websites and Their Costs

When it comes to a single-brand online store, its budget typically ranges from $5,000 to $50,000. Meanwhile, budgets for multi-vendor marketplaces can start at $50,000 and, in some cases, exceed $250,000. Finally, B2B platforms typically have budgets of $100,000 and above, as they require SLAs and SOC2/ISO27001 security compliance.

How to Estimate the Cost of Your E-commerce Website?

Generally speaking, a proper estimate always begins with requirements decomposition. Actually, this is why it's best to use the TCO-based estimation method, which involves assessing CAPEX (development, licensing, and content costs) and OPEX (infrastructure, support, and marketing costs). Then, you have to apply complexity factors (usually, they involve integration costs, UX specifics, and security requirements). This approach to estimation ensures the most accurate figures long before the development process starts.

Conclusion

As you might understand, the eCommerce website design cost consists of many factors, so calculating it yourself, especially when the requirements are complex, can be quite difficult. If you would like to assess the budget of your project and don't know who to delegate its implementation to, feel free to contact us.