How Much Does an Ecommerce Website Cost in Australia?
Most online stores in Australia cost A$2,000 to A$10,000 to build on Shopify or WooCommerce, and more for a custom build. Monthly running costs and card fees come on top, so budget for both.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure was read on 21 October 2026. Build ranges come from four cost-guide pages by two Australian publishers and the pages of two Australian agencies, one of them in Melbourne. We've kept the numbers and left the names out. Platform and payment fees come from the official pages: shopify.com/au/pricing, stripe.com/au/pricing, and WooCommerce's own pricing and fees pages. Some agency pages don't say whether their prices include GST, so treat build ranges as accurate to about 10%.
What an online store costs to build
| Kind of store | Build price | What you usually get |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify template store | A$2,000–8,000 | A paid or free theme set up with your products, payments and shipping |
| WooCommerce standard store | A$3,000–10,000 | WordPress plus WooCommerce on a theme, with extensions for the extras |
| Agency-built store | A$8,000–25,000 | Design rounds, product setup, integrations. The two agency pages started at A$8,000 and A$10,000 |
| Custom Shopify theme | A$10,000–30,000 | A design made for your brand on Shopify |
| Custom WooCommerce build | A$10,000–40,000 | Custom features: subscriptions, complex shipping, links to other systems |
| Shopify Plus or enterprise | A$30,000–100,000+ | Large catalogues, wholesale, several markets |
What a store costs to run each month
| Running cost | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | A$42–431 a month billed yearly (Basic to Advanced) | Free plugin |
| Hosting | Included in the plan | A$30–150 a month for managed WordPress hosting |
| Apps or extensions | A$50–500 a month | A$0–150 a month |
| Care and support | A$150–750 a month | A$100–500 a month |
| Typical total once live | A$250–1,500+ a month | A$150–750+ a month |
The card fee on every sale
| Payment provider | Australian cards | International cards | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stripe | 1.65% + A$0.30 | 3.5% + A$0.30, plus 2% if currency is converted | None |
| Shopify Payments (Basic) | 1.7% + A$0.30 | 3.5% + A$0.30 | Comes with the Shopify plan |
| WooPayments | 1.75% + A$0.30 | Plus 1.5%, and 2% for currency conversion | None |
One month of A$5,000 in sales, from 50 orders
| Setup | Platform | Card fees | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom store + Stripe | A$0 | A$97.50 | A$97.50 | A$1,170 |
| Shopify Basic + Shopify Payments | A$42 | A$100 | A$142 | A$1,704 |
| WooCommerce + WooPayments | Hosting from A$30 | A$102.50 | From A$132.50 | From A$1,590 |
What moves the build price
Five things explain most of the spread between A$2,000 and A$40,000:
- How many products, and how many options. Ten products with no sizes is an afternoon of setup. Five hundred products with colours, sizes and stock levels is weeks, or a data import.
- Template or custom design. A theme sets the layout. A custom design starts from your brand and your products, and costs more.
- Shipping rules. A flat rate is simple. Rates by weight, postcode zone or courier, or click-and-collect, all take building.
- Links to other systems. Xero, a warehouse, a point-of-sale system or a wholesale portal are each priced on their own.
- Moving from an old store. The cost guides put a migration at A$3,000–15,000 on Shopify and A$3,000–12,000 on WooCommerce.
When you don't need a custom store
If you sell a handful of products and want to start this month, a Shopify theme you set up yourself is a fair deal. Basic is A$42 a month billed yearly, and Shopify was offering three months at A$1 a month when we checked. You'll do the setup and updates, and the apps you add will bill monthly. A custom store earns its price when the shop is a real part of your revenue, the theme can't do what you need, or the monthly apps start adding up.
Where our prices sit
We quote online stores in writing after we've seen what you sell. Our eCommerce package runs headless on Shopify or WooCommerce, with a custom-coded shop front, up to 50 products, Stripe payments and an order dashboard. If we've already built your website, a shop add-on is A$2,500 setup and A$100 a week, ex GST. On a store we build you pay the payment provider's rate, Stripe's 1.65% + A$0.30 for Australian cards, and we take no percentage of your sales.
Sources
- Shopify pricing (Australia)https://www.shopify.com/au/pricing
Plan prices, Shopify Payments card rates and third-party transaction fees.
- Stripe pricing (Australia)https://stripe.com/au/pricing
1.65% + A$0.30 for Australian cards, 3.5% + A$0.30 for international cards, no monthly fee.
- WooCommerce pricinghttps://woocommerce.com/pricing/
The WooCommerce plugin is free, with no monthly subscription.
- WooPayments feeshttps://woocommerce.com/document/woopayments/fees-and-debits/fees/
Australian domestic card fee of 1.75% + $0.30.
Where to next
- Add a shop to a site we built
A$2,500 setup and A$100 a week, ex GST.
- How we handle payments
Stripe accounts in your name, and what that means per sale.
Get a written quote for your store
Tell us what you sell and how many products you have. We'll come back with a fixed price in writing and a free homepage design, before you pay anything.
