A Shopify store costs ₹40,000–1.5 lakh setup on a premium theme, ₹1.5–5 lakh for custom theme development, and ₹5–20 lakh+ for Shopify Plus and headless builds. Platform fees add ₹1,994–22,500/month depending on the plan, plus apps and transaction fees. Customisation is where the real decision lives — and where budgets surprise people.
The cost tiers
- Template store (premium theme, configured): ₹40,000–1.5 lakh ($500–2,000). Theme customised to brand, products loaded, payments and shipping set. Right for first stores under ~500 products.
- Custom theme development: ₹1.5–5 lakh ($2,000–8,000). Hand-built theme with conversion-focused sections — the tier where design starts paying for itself.
- Custom functionality (apps plus development): ₹3–8 lakh ($5,000–12,000). Subscription boxes, configurators, B2B pricing, ERP integrations.
- Shopify Plus: $2,300+/month platform plus ₹8–25 lakh builds. Multi-store, high volume, launchpad automation.
- Headless (Hydrogen or Next.js): ₹10–20 lakh+ ($15,000–40,000). Custom frontend on Shopify's commerce engine — the custom website cost tier of Shopify.
The recurring stack
- Platform: Basic ₹1,994/month → Shopify ₹7,447 → Advanced ₹30,000 → Plus $2,300+ (annual billing saves ~25%)
- Apps: the quiet cost — ₹2,000–25,000/month in subscriptions; stores accumulate 15–40 apps, and the stack compounds
- Transaction fees: 2% (Basic) to 0.5% (Plus) when using external gateways; Razorpay and others add their own 2–2.5% — the full picture is in our ecommerce development cost guide
- Maintenance and iteration: ₹10,000–50,000/month for a serious store
A ₹2 lakh launch store realistically costs ₹3.5–4.5 lakh in year one all-in. Budget the stack, not just the build.
What drives setup cost
- Catalogue complexity — 50 products with variants is configuration; 5,000 with size charts and bundles is engineering
- Design ambition — premium-theme customisation versus conversion-engineered custom theme: the ₹1–4 lakh difference that pays back in conversion rate
- Integrations — ERP, CRM, logistics (Shiprocket, Delhivery) and accounting each add scope
- Migration — moving from WooCommerce or Magento with SEO, customers and order history intact is a specialised project
When Shopify is the wrong answer
Shopify is rented land: brilliant when standard commerce fits, frustrating when your business model is the exception. Multi-vendor marketplaces, complex B2B approval flows, or checkout experiences the platform forbids customising — these belong on custom builds. The honest test: if your differentiation is the shopping experience itself, you will fight the platform; if it is the products and operations, Shopify accelerates you. Our Shopify development services and custom ecommerce platform pages cover both sides of that fork.
India context
Indian merchants get local payment gateways (Razorpay, PayU, Cashfree), COD apps and logistics integrations out of the ecosystem — the parts global guides skip. Setup pricing runs 40–60% below Western agencies for identical scope; the premium tier (₹1.5–5 lakh custom themes) is where India-based teams deliver the strongest value.
Budgeting honestly
- First store, testing the channel: template tier, ₹1.5–2.5 lakh year one all-in
- Brand building: custom theme tier, ₹4–7 lakh year one — see how we price
- Scaling or complex flows: Plus or headless, priced after discovery — bring your catalogue and volume to a scoping call and get a real number
The platform fee is the visible cost; the theme, apps and conversion engineering are where stores actually win or lose.
Frequently asked questions.
How much does a Shopify store cost to build?
Template stores on premium themes run ₹40,000–1.5 lakh setup, custom theme development ₹1.5–5 lakh, custom functionality ₹3–8 lakh, and Shopify Plus or headless builds ₹8–25 lakh. India-based teams deliver 40–60% below Western agency rates for identical scope.
What are Shopify monthly fees?
Plans run ₹1,994/month (Basic) to ₹30,000/month (Advanced), with Plus at $2,300+. Add app subscriptions — typically ₹2,000–25,000/month across 15–40 apps — and transaction fees of 0.5–2% when using external payment gateways.
Is Shopify cheaper than WordPress WooCommerce?
At launch, comparable; over 2–3 years it depends on apps and scale. Shopify bundles hosting, security and updates; WooCommerce front-loads lower platform costs but carries hosting, maintenance and plugin licences. Heavy app stacks can make Shopify the more expensive choice.
When should I NOT use Shopify?
Multi-vendor marketplaces, complex B2B approval flows, heavily customised checkout experiences, and business models where the shopping experience itself is the differentiation — the platform restricts checkout customisation, so custom builds serve these better.
How much do Shopify apps cost per month?
Typical stores accumulate ₹2,000–25,000/month across 15–40 app subscriptions. The compounding app stack is the quietest budget killer in Shopify — audit it quarterly, because apps solving problems you no longer have keep billing.
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