Online store cost calculator - how much does e-commerce really cost
The budget for an online store is one of the most underestimated costs in Polish business. Companies plan 15,000 zlotys and end up spending 60,000 zlotys - or vice versa: they overpay for features they never use.
The difference stems from one thing: e-commerce is not just a website with products. It's a platform, integrations with warehouse and couriers, payments, SEO, analytics and logistics - each of these elements has a price tag that you don't see in the first offer.
This calculator breaks down the budget into its first parts. Based on data from more than 50 e-commerce projects completed by Digital Vantage - from simple stores on Shoper to complex headless B2B platforms with ERP integrations.
E-commerce projects - 20 years on the market - ERP integrations, marketplace, payments - Own server infrastructure
Platform
SaaS platforms (Shopify) have lower upfront costs but higher monthly fees at scale
Platform choice
Platform determines your long-term flexibility and cost structure. SaaS locks you into monthly fees and transaction percentages; headless gives full control but requires more dev work upfront.
Number of products
Large catalogs require data import scripts, category mapping, and QA testing for each batch. Over 1,000 SKUs typically adds 2–4 weeks of migration work alone.
Design
Design directly impacts conversion rate — a well-designed shop can convert 2–3× better than a default template
Design level
Custom design covers product page layout, cart UX, and mobile breakpoints. Premium UX adds user research, A/B-tested component variants, and a full design system.
Integrations
ERP integration is often the biggest hidden cost — budget separately
Additional features
Features like B2B pricing and product search have outsized ROI — prioritise based on your customer type
Content
Content is often underestimated — descriptions and photos directly affect SEO rankings and conversion rate
Infrastructure (monthly)
SaaS monthly costs grow with traffic — plan for scale
Estimated implementation cost
€0 — €0
Estimated timeline
~1–1 weeks
›SaaS platform costs (Shoper, Shopify) increase with sales volume.
›ERP integration is often the biggest hidden cost — budget separately.
›Does not include product import, photos and descriptions.
Where do these numbers come from?
E-commerce is one of the areas where the price range on the market is the largest. We have seen offers for an online store for 2,000 zloty and for 200,000 zloty - and both could be fair, because they described completely different projects. The calculator helps to understand these differences, not hide them.
Data basis
The price ranges in the calculator are based on e-commerce projects implemented by Digital Vantage: B2C and B2B stores, multi-language platforms, migrations between platforms, and integrations with ERP and marketplace systems. The data is updated annually - technology prices and labor rates change faster than in other IT industries.
What the calculator takes into account
' Platform deployment and environment configuration
' UX/UI design (depending on the level selected).
' Implementation of selected integrations (payments, couriers, marketplace)
' Basic technical SEO configuration
' Testing and commissioning the project with documentation
What the calculator doesn't take into account
' Product imports - priced separately depending on the source of the data and its quality
' Copywriting of product and category descriptions
' Product photography
' Configuration of advertising campaigns (Google Ads, Meta).
' Migration of data from the old store (orders, customers, history)
' Dedicated ERP modules - each integration priced individually
⚠️ Margin of Accuracy
The calculator gives indicative ranges with a margin of +/-25%. E-commerce has a high coefficient of valuation volatility - integration with a seemingly simple ERP system can cost 3,000 zloty or 25,000 zloty depending on the quality of the API and the number of business exceptions. Treat the result as a starting point for conversation.
Which platform is right for your store?
Choosing a platform is the most important decision in an e-commerce project. It determines the cost of implementation, the cost of maintenance, the possibility of development and, if you make a mistake, the cost of migration in 2 years.
Platform | When to choose | What to watch out for |
Shoper / Selly | Startup up to 12 months, budget up to PLN 15,000, catalog up to 500 SKUs, no specific technical requirements | Limited control over the code. Subscription costs increase with scale. Difficult to migrate when growing. |
WooCommerce | You already have WordPress, need plugin flexibility, team knows PHP, budget 8-25,000 zloty | Performance drops with a large directory without optimization. The cost of maintaining premium plugins can surprise you. |
Shopify | Quick start on the international market, multi-currency sales, budget of 10-30 000 zloty for implementation | Commission on transactions if you don't use Shopify Payments. Limited checkout control on lower plans. |
Headless / Next.js | Large catalog (1,000+ SKUs), B2B requirements, integrations with ERP, international plans, budget of 35,000+ zl. | Most expensive to implement. Requires a mature technical team on the client side or an agency with headless experience. |
💬 Digital Vantage expert commentary
The most common mistake we see: a company chooses Shoper because it's cheaper to start, outgrows the platform after a year and pays more for the migration than the savings. The rule of thumb is simple - if you have ambitious growth plans or B2B requirements, start with a platform that will carry those plans. E-commerce migration is one of the most expensive projects in the industry, because you are moving not only code, but customer data, orders, SEO and integrations.
What does your result mean?
The result of the calculator is the sum of one-time implementation and monthly maintenance cost. Both are equally important - a store for 8,000 zl deployment but with a subscription platform of 800 zl per month costs more after 3 years than a 25,000 zl store on its own server.
Price ranges | What you get | What to watch out for |
5,000 - 15,000 PLN | Store on SaaS platform (Shoper, Selly) with basic integrations of payments and couriers. Up to 200 SKUs, B2C standard. | Check the terms of subscription and sales commissions. Make sure that you can export product and customer data for possible migration. |
15,000 - 35,000 PLN | WooCommerce or Shopify with custom design, integrations and a basic B2B module. Typical SME scope. | Ask about the cost of maintaining and updating plugins. WooCommerce with 20+ premium plugins is realistically 300-600 zl per month in licenses. |
35,000 - 80,000 PLN | Shopify Plus or WooCommerce with extensive ERP/marketplace integrations, custom UI, advanced SEO. | In this regard, data architecture is key. A poorly designed category and attribute structure is very expensive to fix later. |
80,000+ PLN | Headless or dedicated platform, B2B with per-customer pricing, full ERP integrations, multi-language, CDN. | Require phasing and a buffer budget (min. 15%). Projects of this scale regularly uncover undocumented requirements during implementation. |
How much does the store really cost for 3 years?
The one-time cost of implementation is only part of the truth. An online store generates costs throughout its existence. Here's the full TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) picture for typical scenarios:
Position | Shoper (SaaS) | WooCommerce + VPS |
Deployment (one time) | 8,000 - 12,000 PLN | 15,000 - 25,000 PLN |
Platform subscription (per year) | 2,400 - 9,600 PLN | 0 PLN (open source) |
Hosting / server (per year) | by subscription | 1,200 - 3,600 PLN |
Premium plug-ins (per year) | no | 1,500 - 4,000 PLN |
Technical care (annually) | minimum | 3,000 - 8,000 PLN |
Total cost after 3 years | 25,000 - 50,000 PLN | 30,000 - 55,000 PLN |
The difference in TCO between platforms blurs after 2-3 years. The key question is not which one is cheaper to start with - but which one will bear your growth and how dependent you want to be on an outside provider.
The e-commerce market in Poland - data and benchmarks
Benchmarks that help you assess whether your valuation is realistic.
Indicator | Market value |
Median cost of implementing a B2C store in Poland | 18 000 - 28 000 PLN net |
Cheapest implementation on the market (SaaS, no custom) | from 3 000 PLN |
B2B store with full ERP integration | From PLN 50,000 |
Average lead time for a B2C store | 6 - 12 weeks |
The most common reason for exceeding the budget | Underestimation of ERP integration and data imports |
The cost of migration between platforms | 40 - 80% of the cost of the original implementation |
Value of the e-commerce market in Poland (2024) | approx. PLN 124 billion, up 12% y/y |
Three hidden costs that no one prices upfront
' Product import - with 500 SKUs from Excel is 2-4 days of work. With 5,000 SKUs from the wrong data source - it's a separate project for 8-15,000 zl.
' Certifications and compliance - RODO, regulations, return policy. Lawyer + implementation of marketing compliance is realistically 2,000-5,000 zlotys which are not included in the agency's quote.
' The first 3 months after the launch - conversion optimization, UX fixes, live payment testing. Plan a service budget of 10-15% of the value of the implementation.