How Much Does an Online Store Cost in 2026: Launch and First-Year Budget

You already sell through Instagram, a marketplace, an offline outlet or a manager in a messenger. Orders have increased, the same questions keep coming up, and prices and stock must be reconciled by hand. At that point, an online store feels like the obvious next step. Yet commercial proposals can show figures that differ severalfold. If some sales already come through a marketplace, compare its commission with the cost of your own channel in our article on the value of having your own store. To choose without surprises, calculate not only the launch, but also the first year of operation and the cost of each order.

Short answer: an Artbrain online store starts at $2,500, or approximately 112,250 UAH at an exchange rate of 44.9 UAH per $1. This base includes a custom design, an unlimited product catalog, search and filters, cart, checkout, Nova Poshta, an admin panel, basic SEO, CRM integration and delivery tracking by Nova Poshta waybill. Online payment is a separate option, with a guide price of $250 in the calculator. Development cost is not the whole budget, however: a domain, hosting, support after the first 60 free days, a software cash register (PRRO) where required, content and promotion are separate. Each order also has its own cost: the website card fee, cash-on-delivery fee, returns, packaging and advertising. At launch, the biggest factor is not the product counter but the state of the data: whether there is a ready spreadsheet, photos, variations, supplier prices and stock, and whether integration with BAS or migration of an old site is needed.

UAH amounts in this article are guide figures at 44.9 UAH per $1. They help with planning but are not an offer for a particular store.

What the budget consists of

Start with three separate cost buckets. One-off costs cover building the store itself. Recurring payments keep it available and working. The third part is invisible in the starting estimate but repeats with every sale. When these figures are mixed together, a cheaper launch can turn out costly to run, while a more expensive starting option may avoid manually duplicating the same work.

One-off work

Launch work includes catalog structure, design, cart, checkout, delivery setup, order testing, basic customer pages and preparing the admin panel. Artbrain's base price includes a catalog, search, filters, Nova Poshta, CRM integration and delivery tracking by Nova Poshta waybill. This gives the manager a workspace for products, customers and orders, while the buyer can choose a branch or delivery address.

Anything outside the base scenario is estimated separately. Connecting online payment costs approximately $250. Integration with 1C, BAS or Dilovod costs approximately $450, while an export for marketplaces and Google Shopping costs $300. A second language costs approximately $250, and an extra currency $200. This is not a list that everyone needs to buy. It helps separate features that are genuinely needed from those that do not yet affect the first sales.

Annual and monthly payments

A domain and hosting are not included in the development price: they are paid directly to providers. The guide we give clients is $10-30 per month for hosting and $5-50 per year for a domain. If you need a particular .com.ua address, registration costs 499 UAH in one official price list. Check the renewal price there as well: it usually differs from the first year. This is an example of one registrar's rate, not a universal price for every domain.

Example domain rate: official registrar price list, checked 17.09.2026.

After launch, Artbrain provides 60 days of support free of charge. Afterwards, you can arrange maintenance from $100 per month or individual changes at $25 per hour. For a store, support is not abstract insurance. Updates, backups, checking the cart, email and the main flows after changes all matter. Cash register, notifications, content, licences and advertising also remain separate lines in the financial plan if the business needs them.

Costs from every order

This is often where the sense of control over margin disappears. If the buyer pays by card on the site, the acquirer retains a percentage. If they collect a cash-on-delivery parcel, a transfer-service fee applies. A return can bring costs for delivery both ways, inspecting the product, repacking and refunding. Add a box, packaging, an advertising click or a sales-channel commission, and the net income from an order differs from its total.

Three ways to launch: subscription SaaS, ready-made CMS, custom development

Products can be sold online in different ways, and the launch method depends on how you work. A business owner should start not with a platform name but with three questions: where product data will come from, how an order is processed, and what needs to change in the team's work after launch.

Subscription SaaS platform

This format suits a quick test of demand, a relatively simple catalog and processes that fit a standard set of capabilities. It usually provides a ready admin panel, a template appearance and a subscription instead of major upfront development. The owner has a smaller initial workload, but must account for the recurring fee, plan limitations and possible charges for additional services.

Before choosing, ask to see how you will add a product with variations, update a price from a supplier file, pass an order to a manager and export your data if you decide to change solutions later. If the answers rely on manual duplication, an initial saving can become a daily team expense.

Ready-made CMS

A ready-made content management system can suit a store with fairly standard logic where you need more control over pages, catalog and checkout. In the estimate, separate installation and configuration from paid add-ons, updates, hosting and subsequent support. Do not assume that a module shown in a demonstration is already included in your project price.

This path requires discipline with access. The owner must have access to the domain, hosting, email, third-party service accounts and catalog data. Also ask how the system will be updated and what happens if a routine update affects checkout.

Custom development

Custom development is needed when a store must fit a real sales model: multiple price lists, dealer terms, a complex catalog, accounting integration, non-standard order checks or special delivery logic. An Artbrain base store already includes key elements for a retail launch, including Nova Poshta delivery, CRM integration and Nova Poshta waybill tracking. The budget then takes shape around specific business rules, not an abstract number of “features”.

A detailed comparison of these three approaches is in our article on choosing an online store platform. It is useful reading before negotiations, so you can describe your sales process to a contractor instead of asking for “a store like someone else's”.

What makes a store more expensive

Not the number of products, but the data source

Eighty product cards with ready names, prices, descriptions, attributes and photos can be simpler than twenty products whose data is scattered between a price list, correspondence and a paper catalog. Complexity grows when a supplier supplies XML or a spreadsheet in its own structure and you need to map fields, check photos, product variations, categories, prices and stock. The cost here is not the import button but preparing rules and checking the result.

In the Airstep case, the store works with more than 6,700 products; data arrives automatically from XML files from four suppliers together with prices and stock. For the owner, this means a different way of working: the manager does not re-enter every change manually, but upload rules and data quality must be set up and monitored. The cost of importing for your store therefore depends on the structure and quality of the file, not on the number of rows in a price list.

Variations, photos, filters and stock

A product with one SKU and one with size, colour, material, compatibility or set composition require different catalog work. The buyer must see the correct price, photo and availability for the chosen variation. Filters are useful when attributes are filled in consistently. If the same attribute has different names in price lists, the data first needs to be standardised.

At Safari Zbroia, the catalog is synchronised with 1C, and 2,119 products and 518 categories were automatically translated into English. This illustrates why a second language is not limited to a switch in the site header. You need data for products, categories and attributes, translation control, and clear rules for when a price or stock level changes in the source.

What to prepare for the brief

For an estimate, it is most useful to show an example of your daily work rather than a technical description. Provide a link to the current store or social-media page, one product spreadsheet, several photos, order examples and a list of situations the team currently handles manually. For example: “the price depends on quantity”, “the item is available only to order”, “some products cannot be shown in a particular channel”.

Also record where prices and stock currently live. This may be an accounting system, supplier file, manager's spreadsheet or several sources. If two people give different answers about which price is correct, it is not a minor launch detail. Choose a source the store will trust and agree the update frequency. This list often saves more time than cutting one feature from the estimate.

It is also useful to make a list of required scenarios. Include an ordinary order, a product with a variation, an order with cash on delivery, card payment, cancellation, return and stock change. For B2B, add a dealer request and price approval. When scenarios are visible at the outset, it is easier to decide what belongs in the first version and what can safely wait.

Our online store brief helps put this into a convenient format. It does not replace a conversation about processes, but it prevents data sources, roles and exceptions from being lost.

Migrating from a previous site

Moving to a new store has two parts: transferring what the customer sees now and retaining old links already used by people and search engines. At ZHNIV-AGRO, about 219 products and 471 photos were migrated, and old URLs were retained through redirects. The scope is defined by more than the catalog. You need to know which pages remain necessary, where duplicates exist, whether images are ready and whether missing attributes need to be restored.

Migration cost depends on the catalog and the map of old URLs. If your store already has traffic, decide in advance which pages and URLs must be retained. We explain how this works in practice in our article on migrating a store without losing search traffic. It helps prevent a launch from becoming manual correction of hundreds of pages after opening.

Accounting, delivery and sales channels

When one product is sold in the store, an offline outlet and several marketplaces at the same time, the cost of a stock mistake exceeds the cost of a catalog page. Agree which system is the source of truth for price and available quantity, when an update reaches the site and who checks exceptions. The process becomes more complex if some products are sold only in a particular channel or have different delivery terms.

At Novavroda, the buyer sees 4,552 Nova Poshta parcel lockers in Kyiv, while only products meeting the rules of those channels are sent to Google Merchant, Rozetka and Prom. This is not catalog decoration but selection rules and current data. Preparing such a process takes more clarification, but the manager does not have to filter items manually every time.

How much each order costs

Let us calculate an order for 1,500 UAH. This is planning arithmetic, not a rule for every product. Add product cost, packaging, delivery, advertising and a possible return to your own spreadsheet in separate columns: these costs differ for every business.

Card payment on the site

Under mono's official internet acquiring rate, checked on 17.09.2026, the fee for a Ukrainian card is 1.3%, and for a foreign card it is 2%. For a 1,500 UAH order, the Ukrainian-card fee is 19.50 UAH: 1,500 × 1.3%. If the seller bears this cost, 1,480.50 UAH reaches their account before other expenses. Confirm the settlement time for your own agreement with the service and how refunds appear in accounting.

The LiqPay rate depends on the terms of the agreement. Check it on the official rate page before connecting it. Record the cost of connecting online payment to the store and the transaction fee as separate budget lines.

Rate source: mono official internet acquiring page, checked 17.09.2026.

Cash on delivery

NovaPay's official page states 1% + 10 UAH when paying with a NovaPay card or by automatic debit, and 2% + 20 UAH by another method. The parcel recipient pays the fee. For 1,500 UAH, that is respectively 25 UAH: 1,500 × 1% + 10 UAH, or 50 UAH: 1,500 × 2% + 20 UAH. Your financial model therefore needs to show which cash-on-delivery method prevails and whether you include this amount in the margin.

Cash-on-delivery funds arrive after the buyer receives the parcel and the service processes the transfer under its rules. Set out a separate process for a return: who initiates it, who pays return delivery, when the product is inspected and how money is refunded. These rules must be clear to the buyer before checkout.

Rate source: NovaPay official page, checked 17.09.2026.

IBAN transfer

A transfer using bank details can be convenient when a manager confirms an order manually, the buyer is a legal entity, or you use a different payment process. There is no exact guide for its fee here because it depends on the bank and account terms. Do not put an arbitrary percentage in the estimate. Check who sees the incoming payment, how the order status changes after payment, what happens if the amount is wrong and how a refund is processed.

For card payment on a site, the State Tax Service of Ukraine explains that it is a settlement transaction requiring a fiscal receipt. For IBAN and cash on delivery, confirm the document process with an accountant or lawyer for your payment arrangement. Do not leave this until the final week before launch, because it affects the cash register, emails, payment page and test order.

For weekly control, a spreadsheet with several actual orders is enough: product total, payment method, fee, delivery, packaging, advertising source, cost price and return outcome. Compare not only average order value but also which payment methods and product groups leave the most money after known costs. Keep the spreadsheet with service invoices and return rules so the calculation can be updated when a rate or delivery changes.

Costs after launch

After launch, a store does not become a finished file. Prices, assortment, delivery terms, bank details and promotion pages change. Someone must watch domain renewal, hosting access, backups and the order form. It is better to include a minimal technical budget from the start, even if you do not plan new features for the first months.

• Domain and hosting. These are provider payments. Register them under your own contact details and do not lose renewal emails.
• Support. After 60 free days, Artbrain support costs from $100 per month for an agreed scope of work or $25 per hour for individual tasks.
• PRRO. The State Tax Service of Ukraine has a free solution. Commercial service Checkbox lists 249 UAH per month per cash register or 294 UAH for an extended plan, with the first 30 days free.
• Content. New photos, attributes, descriptions and checking product cards have no universal price because it depends on how ready the materials are.
• Promotion. Advertising is not part of development cost. The necessary budget depends on goals, margin, seasonality and selected channels, so do not insert a random figure here.

Commercial PRRO guide: Checkbox official price list, checked 17.09.2026.

If you plan Google Shopping, include more than the $300 guide for export in our calculator. You need complete names, prices, availability, photos and other data that will actually be maintained after launch. Otherwise, the expense will be continuous correction of its output rather than the tool itself. We cover the connection between a store, delivery, accounting and payment in more detail in our article on online store integrations.

Fiscalization and documents

Plan fiscalization as part of the order process, not as a formality after launch. The State Tax Service of Ukraine explains directly: payment by card on a site, including through LiqPay, NovaPay, WayForPay or Portmone, is a settlement transaction and requires fiscalization. Review the State Tax Service guidance with an accountant who knows your sales model.

A free option exists: the State Tax Service PRRO is available for Web, Windows, Android and iOS. You can choose a commercial product, but then check the monthly rate, number of cash registers, support for returns and how a receipt is sent to the buyer. The cash-register price does not remove the need to test the entire chain in a real scenario.

Before the store opens, a buyer should be able to find the seller's contacts, payment, delivery and return terms, privacy policy and public offer easily. Do not copy these pages from another site. They must match your method of selling, delivery, returns and data handling. Legal form, business activity codes, documents and the exact fiscalization arrangement require confirmation from an accountant or lawyer. This text is not a replacement for that advice.

How long launch takes

Developing a basic online store takes 4-8 weeks. During that time, you can move from catalog structure and design to cart, checkout, delivery, admin panel and testing the main scenarios. This timeframe works when product data and photos can be provided clearly, and decisions on customer-facing pages are made without delay.

The term grows if data must be collected or cleaned before the start, a supplier file analysed, integration with 1C or BAS configured, or a catalog and old URLs migrated. The owner's decisions on documents and fiscalization also affect the schedule: payment, delivery and return terms, public offer and PRRO operation. Do not leave these to the end, otherwise a ready catalog will wait for the sales process to be approved. The earlier these rules are defined, the more accurately a launch can be planned.

Example estimates

The following is not a price list for every business but three guides for planning the first year. Recurring expenses are shown as a range: hosting at $10-30 per month, a domain at $5-50 per year, and support from $100 per month for ten months after 60 free days. This gives $1,125-1,410 for the first year. If you are also comparing the cost of other site types, see website development prices in 2026. Order fees, PRRO, content, advertising, third-party service rates and data work that depends on its condition are not included.

The lower recurring-cost limit is calculated as follows: $10 × 12 for hosting + $5 for domain + $100 × 10 for support = $1,125. The upper limit: $30 × 12 + $50 + $100 × 10 = $1,410. Support is not an obligatory identical amount for every store, so the tables use its minimum guide. The range does not include payment fees, which depend on the number and amount of orders. It also excludes product import where supplier data needs separate preparation. This keeps the estimate from suggesting that all store costs are known before launch.

For each scenario, keep the list of assumptions beside the figure. Then, if the catalog, payment methods or support change, you will know exactly which budget line needs recalculation.

Scenario A: a first store with about 80 products

Assume one language version, ready product data and photos, Nova Poshta, and card payment on the site. The base already includes the catalog, delivery, CRM integration and Nova Poshta waybill tracking. Add only online payment. This scenario does not mean that 80 products are automatically simple. It works when product cards are genuinely ready and do not need separate import or data cleanup.

Add the cost of every transaction to this amount. For card payment, the 1,500 UAH order in the example above gives a 19.50 UAH fee for a Ukrainian mono card. If some buyers choose cash on delivery, include the relevant NovaPay option in the model as well.

Scenario B: about 1,500 products from a supplier file

Assume you need integration with 1C or BAS, card payment and an export for Google Shopping. The base store, online payment, accounting integration and export total $3,500 at the calculator guide prices. Importing a supplier file is not included because it depends on the file structure, photos, variations, category rules, prices and stock.

Before launch, ask the supplier for a current file, an explanation of its fields, several examples of products with variations and a list of update rules. One stable file can be more convenient than thousands of manually entered product cards. But if data is incomplete, the cost will be correcting it, not the number of items itself.

Scenario C: B2B prices, dealers or non-standard logic

If one buyer sees one price, a dealer another, and a manager must approve deferred payment, a minimum order or special delivery, there is no ready calculation. Basic development starts at $2,500 and B2B logic is estimated separately. Roles, pricing rules, exceptions, documents and cancellation or return scenarios matter here.

For such a project, it is more useful to spend time on a proper process description than to get an attractive number without boundaries. Draw the path of one dealer order from entry to return: who sees the price, who confirms stock, when a document is created and what the buyer sees. This gives the contractor material for an estimate and gives you a basis for accepting the result.

How to reduce the budget without damaging the store

Save on what can safely wait, not on checkout, an up-to-date price or a clear catalog. A phased launch often works better than trying to foresee everything a year ahead. The first stage should get you to a sale: catalog, delivery, payment in the required scenario, document pages and a test order.

1. Prepare one product spreadsheet before work begins: name, price, category, attributes, variations, stock and a link to photos. Mark empty fields honestly rather than trying to hide them in correspondence.
2. Postpone what does not change the first purchase. For example, instalment payments, Apple Pay and Google Pay, a second currency, email newsletters, SMS, a Telegram bot, quick view, installing the store on a smartphone as an app, reviews or product comparison. You can return to these after a real demand appears.
3. Do not order manual entry when a supplier can provide a usable data source. First check the file quality and its update rules.
4. Place a test order yourself before launching advertising: product, delivery, payment, email, receipt, cancellation and return. This check helps find problems before the first buyers encounter them.

Reducing the budget does not mean giving up a reserve for support. After launch, questions from managers and buyers almost always appear. It is better to postpone a decorative feature than lack time to fix an address field or return scenario.

How to compare commercial proposals

Ask every contractor to complete the same list. Compare not the “turnkey” heading but the same result on paper. If one proposal includes product migration, documents and a test order while another includes only a “website”, the figures are not competing with each other.

• What is included and what is not. Catalog, product data, photos, design, delivery, online payment, PRRO, emails, exports, migration of old URLs, training.
• Who owns the assets. Code, design, domain, hosting, email, service accounts, catalog data and access must be transferred to the owner.
• How you pay. Stages, payment amounts, the result of each stage, how new requirements are agreed and when an extra payment applies.
• How you accept the work. Test order, chosen delivery method, emails, fiscal receipt under your arrangement, cancellation, return, mobile version and access to the admin panel.
• What happens after launch. Warranty-support period, subscription scope, rate outside it, response time, backups and the procedure for urgent requests.
• What assumptions apply. How many languages, products, variations, data sources and payment methods are included. Without this, even a fixed amount may not mean a fixed scope.

There are several red flags. An exact figure without questions about data and processes. A promise that “everything is included” without a list of exclusions. A domain and access that remain only with the contractor. No return or document check. Payment for “readiness” without describing what will be checked. A sound proposal may contain open questions because they really must be resolved before the start.

CEO & Lead Developer at Artbrain

Anton Kunashenko

Founder of Artbrain since 2018. Builds digital products for business — from landing pages to enterprise systems.