Building an online store in Estonia in 2026 usually costs 3,000 to 25,000 euros. A simple store built on a standard solution falls in the €3,000–6,000 range, a mid-sized online store with custom design and integrations costs €7,000–15,000, and a larger multilingual or ERP-connected store starts from 15,000 euros. On top of that comes monthly upkeep, which is typically €50–400 per month. Below, we look at where this difference actually comes from and how to plan your budget realistically.
Why the price range is so wide
If you ask five providers for a price for “building an online store,” you will probably get five very different numbers. The reason is not that someone is cheating. The reason is that the term “online store” means something completely different for a store with 40 products and one payment solution than for a store with 4,000 products, a warehouse integration and three languages.
Five factors affect the price, and in order of importance they are the following.
1. Size and logic of the product catalog
Twenty products without variations is a couple of days of work. Two thousand products with colors, sizes, stock levels and price groups means designing a data model, importing and testing. Catalog complexity is the most common point where the initial quote and the final invoice part ways.
2. Degree of design customization
Adapting a ready-made theme with your brand colors and fonts costs a fraction of what a user journey designed from scratch costs. The difference is typically 1,500 to 6,000 euros. If the brand is not yet settled, it is worth sorting that out first, because redesigning halfway through the project is expensive.
3. Integrations
Every external system is a separate piece of work: payment solution, parcel lockers, accounting, warehouse software, newsletter software. One standard payment solution is usually included in the price. A two-way integration with an ERP or warehouse system alone can cost 2,000–8,000 euros.
4. Languages and markets
A second language is not just a translation. It means a second pricing logic, different delivery methods, a second SEO structure and often a second tax logic as well. Expect each additional language to add 15–30% to the development scope.
5. Content and images
Product descriptions and photos are not included. If you do not have them, the choice is to either create them yourself or order them. A hundred products with proper descriptions realistically means dozens of hours of work, and that has to be in the budget.
Online store price table
The table below is based on typical projects in the Estonian market. The figures exclude VAT.
| Tier | What is included | Build | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple online store | Up to ~100 products, ready-made theme in brand colors, 1 payment solution, 1 parcel locker service, 1 language | €3,000–6,000 | €50–120 |
| Mid-sized online store | 100–1,000 products with variations, custom design, 2–3 integrations, accounting connection, SEO foundation | €7,000–15,000 | €120–250 |
| Large online store | 1,000+ products, multiple languages and markets, ERP or warehouse integration, B2B price groups, custom checkout process | €15,000–35,000 | €250–400 and up |
The monthly cost consists of hosting, domain, security certificate, platform or plugin licenses, a backup solution and maintenance. On rented platforms, a transaction fee is added on top, which at high revenue becomes the single largest cost item.
Buy or rent: which comes out cheaper
A rented platform (a Shopify-type solution, for example) starts out cheaper because there is less to build. However, monthly and transaction fees grow along with revenue. A store on your own platform (WooCommerce, for example) requires a larger initial investment, but the monthly cost stays more or less the same even when sales triple.
A simple rule of thumb: if the projected annual revenue is below 100,000 euros, a rented solution is usually more affordable. Above that, an owned solution starts to pay for itself, because transaction fees disappear and customizations can be made without platform restrictions.
Hidden costs that are usually missing from the quote
- Entering products. If the quote says “data import,” ask for clarification: does it include cleaning up the texts and images, or only the technical import?
- Marketing after launch. A new online store is not visible on Google. The first months belong to paid advertising or an SEO service, and that is a separate line in the budget.
- Training. Who will add products and process orders? A couple of hours of training saves months of support costs.
- Changes after launch. Plan 10–15% of the project cost for adjustments during the first six months. There are always some.
How to split the budget
The most common mistake is to put all the money into the build and set nothing aside for making sure someone actually finds the store. A working split for the first year looks roughly like this:
- 60% build and design,
- 15% content, product descriptions and images,
- 20% marketing for the first six months,
- 5% maintenance and backups.
If the budget is 10,000 euros, that means roughly 6,000 euros for the build and 2,000 euros for marketing. A store that cost 10,000 euros and nobody visits is more expensive than a store that cost 6,000 euros and brings in orders.
How long building an online store takes
A simple store is ready in 3–6 weeks, a mid-sized one in 2–4 months, and a large store with integrations in 4–8 months. The most common cause of delay is not development but content: product descriptions and images arrive later than planned. If you want to stick to the deadline, start collecting content on the same day the project begins.
Where to start
Before requesting quotes, write down four things: the number of products including variations, the required integrations, the languages and who will manage the store day to day. With these four points, you get comparable quotes instead of five different numbers.
A longer step-by-step overview is in the article building an online store: where to start. If you are also looking for the price level of a regular website, those numbers are collected in the website cost overview.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the cheapest online store cost?
A working online store with a payment solution and parcel lockers starts at around 3,000 euros in Estonia. Cheaper solutions are usually self-service template-based stores where the business owner does all the work and pays only a monthly fee.
What is the monthly cost of an online store?
For a small store, 50–120 euros per month (hosting, domain, certificate, maintenance). For a mid-sized one, 120–250 euros. On a rented platform, a transaction fee is added, typically 0.5–2% of revenue.
WooCommerce or Shopify?
WooCommerce is the right fit if you want full control, custom logic and your revenue grows beyond 100,000 euros per year. A Shopify-type solution is the right fit if you want to start quickly, your product range is standard and you do not want to handle technical maintenance yourself.
Is SEO included in the price?
A technical SEO foundation (URL structure, speed, structured data, sitemap) should be included in a proper quote. Content optimization, keywords and link building are separate work and a separate budget.
How much does updating an existing online store cost?
A design refresh without changing the data model usually lands between 1,500 and 4,000 euros. A platform switch including data migration usually costs as much as building a new store, because cleaning up the data is a bigger job than the build itself.
Summary
The cost of building an online store depends on three things: how many products, how many integrations and how many languages. Everything else derives from these. A realistic budget includes content and marketing in addition to the build, because a store without visitors is not a cheap solution but a cost without revenue.
If you want a specific number for your project, take a closer look at our online store development service or get in touch and we will work out the budget based on your product range.
