An online shop costs money at three moments: once when it is built, every month for the platform and maintenance, and with every order for the payment. If you only look at the build price, you miss two of the three. This article sets them side by side for a shop selling in the Netherlands, with the amounts providers list on their own pricing pages and our own packages as a concrete example.
We checked the Shopify, Mollie and Stripe figures on their own pricing pages in October 2026. Rates like these change; always check the page itself before you decide, the links are included. Several sources below are Dutch government pages, available in Dutch.
The three kinds of cost at a glance
| Kind of cost | When | What it depends on |
|---|---|---|
| Build and setup | One-off | Number of products and variants, payment and shipping methods, integrations, languages |
| Platform, hosting and maintenance | Per month or per year | Chosen platform, paid extensions, who handles updates and backups |
| Transaction fees | Per payment | Payment provider and payment method (iDEAL, credit card, Klarna) |
Build cost: what having an online shop built costs
The build price depends mainly on how much has to work. A shop with twenty products, one payment provider and one carrier is a different project from a shop with thousands of variants, several languages and an integration with accounting or ERP software.
As an illustration, our own packages, one-off prices:
- Starter Store, €3,950: up to 50 products, one payment provider, one carrier, a training session for products and orders and 30 days of support after launch.
- Growth Store, €8,450: up to 500 products and variants, multiple payment and shipping providers, discount codes, abandoned cart reminder emails, a product feed for Google Shopping and 90 days of support.
- Scale Store, from €10,500: unlimited products, multiple languages and currencies, an ERP or accounting integration and priority support.
We build an online shop in four to eight weeks. Other agencies and freelancers charge other amounts, and the differences are large. So do not compare only the total, compare per item: how many products does the builder add, which payment and shipping methods are included, who writes the copy and how long is support. Everything our packages include is on the page about online shops.
Monthly costs: platform, hosting and maintenance
This is where the two routes most business owners consider differ the most.
Shopify is a subscription: you pay per month for the platform, hosting included. According to Shopify’s Dutch pricing page, Basic costs €28 per month when billed monthly and €21 per month when billed yearly. Grow costs €78 or €59, Advanced €384 or €289. If you use an external payment provider instead of Shopify’s own payment service, Shopify charges a fee per payment on top: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced. Whether these amounts include or exclude VAT is not clear on the page; check with Shopify. Any paid apps come on top of that.
WooCommerce is a free, open-source extension for WordPress (WordPress.org). There is no monthly platform fee. You do pay for hosting, any paid extensions and for someone who keeps up with updates, backups and security, or you do that yourself. We build most shops on WooCommerce, because you own your data and pay no monthly platform fees. For very high volumes or complex catalogues we also build headless shops. Which platform fits, we only advise once we know your range and your order volume.
Transaction fees: what each payment costs
Every payment costs a fixed amount, a percentage or both. These rates were on the providers’ pricing pages in October 2026. Whether VAT is added differs per provider; check the pricing page.
| Payment method | Mollie | Stripe |
|---|---|---|
| iDEAL | €0.32 | €0.29 |
| Credit card, EEA consumer card | 1.80% + €0.25 | 1.5% + €0.25 (standard card), 2.8% + €0.25 (premium card) |
| Bancontact | 1.40% + €0.25 | see pricing page |
| Klarna | 2.99% + €0.45 (Netherlands and Belgium) | from 2.99% + €0.35 |
Stripe charges no setup or monthly fees, Mollie no fixed monthly fees for online payments. Mollie now calls iDEAL “iDEAL | Wero”. With its own payment service, Shopify charges €0.29 per iDEAL payment on Basic through Advanced, and 1.9% + €0.25 for cards on Basic.
Worked example
An example with assumed figures, to show how it adds up. Say: 200 orders a month averaging €50, of which 140 paid with iDEAL and 60 with an EEA credit card, through Mollie.
- iDEAL: 140 × €0.32 = €44.80
- Credit card: 60 × (1.80% of €50 + €0.25) = 60 × €1.15 = €69.00
- Total: €113.80 per month, on €10,000 in revenue
With your own split across payment methods and your average order value you can redo this in a few minutes. The higher the order value, the more the percentage weighs compared with the fixed amount.
How much does an online shop cost per month?
Add the fixed monthly costs (platform or hosting, paid extensions, maintenance) to the transaction fees for your expected number of orders. With Shopify Basic you start at €21 or €28 per month for the platform. With WooCommerce you pay no platform fee, but you do pay for hosting and maintenance. Either way, transaction fees grow with your revenue, and beyond a certain volume they become the largest monthly cost.
What to arrange before you start in the Netherlands
The main rules, each with the official source:
- Registering with the KVK. If you independently sell products or services, charge a price to make money and do so regularly to people other than family or friends, you must register with the Chamber of Commerce (KVK).
- Details on your site. Your visiting address, email address and phone number must be on your site, and you state clearly what you offer, what it costs and whether there are extra costs (KVK). Your KVK number belongs on your website too (KVK), and because you sell online, your VAT identification number as well (Ondernemersplein).
- Cooling-off period. A consumer buying online has 14 days to withdraw after delivery. If you do not inform them properly, that period can be extended by up to a year (ACM). After a cancellation you refund within 14 days (Ondernemersplein).
- Withdrawal button. Since June 2026, online shops must offer consumers a button to cancel a purchase easily (KVK). If your shop already exists, check that it has one.
- VAT on sales to other EU countries. If you sell to consumers in other EU countries for more than €10,000 per calendar year (excluding VAT), the VAT of the customer’s country applies. You can pay it through the One Stop Shop (OSS) in one return per quarter (Belastingdienst).
If you are unsure about your own situation, for example about VAT or the small business scheme (KOR), ask your accountant or the Dutch tax authority. This article is an overview, not tax advice.
Is an online shop profitable?
That depends on what remains per order once every cost is taken off: purchasing, shipping, packaging, transaction fees, returns and the marketing to bring the visitor in. Work that out per product before the build starts. A shop that loses money on every order does not become profitable with more orders.
One figure to keep in mind: the Baymard Institute averages 50 studies and arrives at about 70% of online shopping carts that are never checked out. In its own survey of US online shoppers, 40% of those who were not just browsing named extra costs that were too high, such as shipping, as the reason (Baymard Institute). So show your shipping costs early and honestly; a surprise at checkout costs orders.
Build it yourself or have it built?
With Shopify you can set up a shop yourself without programming, and for a small range that is a reasonable choice. You then pay per month instead of up front, and you depend on the platform and its apps. Having it built pays off when your shop has to connect to your stock, accounting or shipping, when you serve several countries, or when you do not have the time to do it well yourself. Moving later is always possible: we migrate shops from Shopify, Magento and Lightspeed among others, including products, customers and order history.
Curious about the conversion side? Read e-commerce conversion rate optimisation. Our fixed prices for every service are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to have an online shop built?
With us, an online shop costs a one-off €3,950 (up to 50 products), €8,450 (up to 500 products and variants) or from €10,500 (unlimited, multilingual, with ERP integration). Other providers charge other amounts; compare per item what the quote contains.
How much does an online shop cost per month?
On Shopify from €21 (billed yearly) or €28 (billed monthly) for the Basic plan, plus apps and transaction fees. On WooCommerce no platform fee, but hosting, maintenance and transaction fees.
What does an iDEAL payment cost?
In October 2026, €0.32 per payment at Mollie and €0.29 at Stripe and at Shopify (Basic through Advanced), according to their pricing pages.
Can you simply start an online shop?
Not without preparation. If you meet the KVK criteria, you must register. Your site needs your contact details and KVK number, and you must follow the rules on the cooling-off period, including the withdrawal button that has been mandatory since June 2026.
Where to start
Write down how many products you sell, which payment methods and carriers you want, whether you sell abroad and what the shop needs to connect to. With that list any builder can make a fair quote. If you want to know what we would advise for your shop, even if that is a smaller package, get in touch for a free consultation.
