How much does it cost to start an online store in 2027?
Every line item in real dollars, for the two common ways to start: building the store yourself, or starting with one that is already built.
By Polina Beletskaya, Marketing Director at Sellvia · 7 min read
Quick answer
Starting an online store costs about $30 to $40 a month for the platform, plus card fees of around 3% per sale. The cost that decides your real total is advertising: $10 a day is about $300 a month. So a lean start, an entry plan plus $10 a day of ads, runs about $340 a month.
- Shopify Basic: $39/month, or $29 billed yearly. 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months.
- Sellvia: 14 days free, then $39/month. The store comes built and loaded with 1,000+ digital products.
- Building it yourself can add a premium theme, monthly apps and a domain (about $10 to $20 a year).
What are the costs of starting an online store?
Whatever you build on, the same costs show up. Two are small and predictable. Two decide whether your budget holds.
- A platform plan. The monthly fee for the software that runs your store, hosts it and takes payments.
- Card processing. A small cut of each sale for handling the payment, usually about 3%.
- Products. Your own time making them, stock you buy, or a catalog that comes with the store.
- Getting buyers. A new store gets no visitors on its own. Most people pay for ads; some build an audience on social media first.
| Cost | Typical amount | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Platform plan | $29 to $39 a month on entry plans | Monthly |
| Card processing | About 3% of each sale (2.9% + 30¢ on Shopify) | Every sale |
| Domain | About $10 to $20 a year for a .com | Yearly |
| Theme | Free, or a one-time fee for a premium theme | Once |
| Apps | $0, or a monthly fee per app | Monthly |
| Products | Your time, stock you buy, or a ready catalog | Ongoing |
| Ads | The budget you pick. This guide uses $10, $20 and $50 a day | Daily |
How much does it cost to start a Shopify store?
Here’s a do-it-yourself store on Shopify Basic, using Shopify’s published US prices:
| Cost | How much | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | $39/month, or $29/month billed yearly | Monthly |
| Trial | 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months | Once |
| Card processing | 2.9% + 30¢ per online sale with Shopify Payments; another 2% with other payment providers | Every sale |
| Theme | Free themes exist; premium themes are a one-time fee | Once |
| Apps | Many useful apps charge their own monthly fee | Monthly |
| Domain | Usually about $10 to $20 a year for a .com | Yearly |
| Products | Your own work, stock you buy, or a supplier you find | Ongoing |
| Ads | You choose the budget | Daily |
In the first months the plan is close to free: $1 a month during the intro offer, then $39. A premium theme, a couple of paid apps and a domain sit on top of that, and they’re easy to underestimate.
The bigger hidden cost is time. Picking a theme, connecting apps, finding products and writing every product page all happen before your first visitor. That’s where a lot of first stores stall. (Once it’s built, here’s what a store can run on its own.)
I tried setting up my own store before, but there were so many things to figure out that I never really got anywhere.
Anna · Sellvia client · St. Louis, MO
How much does a ready-made store cost?
The other route is a store that comes designed and loaded with products. You skip the setup and pay for the plan and your ads. The products are digital downloads such as guides and planners. We make Sellvia, so here are our own numbers, all of them (and how to check us):
| Cost | How much |
|---|---|
| Trial | 14 days, $0. A card is required; cancel before day 15 and you pay nothing |
| Plan | $39/month after the trial, about $1.30 a day. Cancel yourself, anytime |
| Products | 1,000+ ready-made digital products already in your store |
| Each sale | You keep 50-70% of the sale. Example: a customer pays $25, you keep about $17 |
| Order processing | One tap per order, within 24 hours. If the sale came from Sellvia Ads, that sale’s ad fee is taken from your balance when you process it; no sale, no fee. Automatic processing is a paid add-on |
| Ads | You choose the budget. $500 in ad credits at sign-up (see below) |
| Payouts | From $100 in your balance, with your ID verified and your plan active |
| Add-ons | Optional extra tools, only if you choose them |
About the $500 in ad credits: $40 is standard credit that pays for your first days of ads directly. The other $460 is a bonus that adds 10% to your daily budget, taken from the bonus balance until it runs out. It stretches your reach. It has no cash value, and your own budget still pays for the ads.
I launched my ads on my own. My Growth Manager explained how the Standard and Bonus Credits worked and helped me make sense of my ROAS.
Beth · Sellvia client · New Orleans, LA
How much money do you need to start an online store?
Plan for one full month of plan plus ads. Ads are the part you control, and they’re most of the bill:
Ads at 30 days a month plus a $39 plan. Card fees come out of each sale on top.
Your first 30 days on Sellvia at $10 a day look like this: about $260 of your own ad money (the $40 standard credit covers the first 4 days), plus the $39 plan charged on day 15. Around $299.
Pick a budget you can hold for a whole month without flinching. Ads that get paused after a week rarely tell you anything.
How many sales does it take to cover your costs?
Compare the monthly cost with what you keep per sale. On a $25 product you keep about $17:
| Ad budget | Monthly cost | Sales to cover it |
|---|---|---|
| $10 a day | $339 | About 20 |
| $20 a day | $639 | About 38 |
| $50 a day | $1,539 | About 91 |
That’s arithmetic, and it isn’t a forecast. Some stores sell more, some sell less, and sales are never guaranteed. Use it to pick a budget and to know what you’re aiming for.
Two habits keep ad money from leaking. Keep the budget steady: ad platforms need time to learn who buys, and most stores see the steadiest results when ads run for the first 28 days without pauses or budget changes. And watch what you keep per sale, which is smaller than what the customer pays.
Can you start an online store with no money?
You can start for $0. Shopify gives 3 free days, Sellvia gives 14 (with a card on file), and Etsy and Gumroad have no monthly fee at all.
Keeping it at $0 is the hard part, because every store needs buyers. Buyers cost money (ads) or time (building an audience on social media, which can take months). The cheapest real start is an entry plan, a free theme, no paid apps and a small ad budget you can keep steady.
Is an online store profitable? It can be. It can also lose money. A store makes money when what you keep per sale, times your sales, beats your plan plus your ads. The table above is the bar to clear. If you’re weighing platforms, see our Shopify alternatives with real fees.
Skip the setup costs
Start with a store that is built, styled and loaded with digital products. You set the ad budget and launch when you are ready.
Build my free store14 days free · Then $39/month · Cancel anytime · Card required.
Questions
How much does it cost to start an online store?
About $30 to $40 a month for an entry platform plan, around 3% of each sale in card fees, and your ad budget. With $10 a day of ads, a lean start is about $340 a month.
How much does Shopify cost per month?
Shopify Basic is $39 a month billed monthly, or $29 a month billed yearly. Grow is $105 ($79 yearly) and Advanced is $399 ($299 yearly). Online card payments with Shopify Payments cost 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic.
Can I start an online store for free?
You can start a trial for free: Shopify offers 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months, and Sellvia offers 14 days free with a card on file. After that, every option has a monthly plan or a fee per sale, and getting buyers usually means paying for ads.
What is the cheapest way to start an online store?
A store plan plus a small, steady ad budget, such as $10 a day. Free themes and fewer apps keep a do-it-yourself store cheap; a ready-made store skips those costs and has its own plan fee.
Do I have to keep paying for ads?
Yes, ads are an ongoing cost, and you control it: you pick the daily budget and can change it anytime. Sales usually come while ads are running.
How much does Sellvia cost per month?
$39 a month after a 14-day free trial. You also pay for your own ads, at the budget you choose. Add-ons are optional. Payouts start once your balance reaches $100, with your ID verified and your plan active.
Sources
- Shopify pricing (US), checked Nov 2, 2026
- Etsy fees and payments policy, checked Nov 2, 2026
- Gumroad pricing, checked Nov 2, 2026
- Sellvia plan and trial terms, checked Nov 2, 2026
About the author
Polina Beletskaya
Polina is Marketing Director at Sellvia and writes about ecommerce for Entrepreneur as a contributor. She has also worked as a strategy consultant, helping small business owners market their products online.
Sellvia makes one of the options in this guide. So we list every Sellvia cost, check other providers’ prices on their own pages, and say where Sellvia doesn’t fit.