"How much does an online store cost?" It is the question every Swiss SME asks before launching into e-commerce. And the honest answer is frustrating: it all depends on the solution you choose and the scale of the project. Depending on the provider, the budgets mentioned can reach several thousand francs, and more still for custom development. The gaps between two quotes become easy to understand once you break the costs down item by item.
In this guide, we review the three main options available in 2026 — Shopify, WooCommerce and custom development — explaining what each item covers: setup, subscriptions, payment fees, maintenance and the total budget for the first year. The goal: help you choose with full knowledge of the facts, with no nasty surprises when the invoice arrives.
Why Do Prices Vary So Much?
Before comparing solutions, understand what drives the bill up. Five factors carry the most weight:
- The number of products: selling a few dozen items or several thousand does not require the same amount of structuring, photography and product-page work.
- The design: a customised existing theme costs considerably less than an interface designed from scratch.
- Integrations: connecting a POS system, an ERP, a Swiss invoicing tool or a carrier (Swiss Post, DPD) quickly pushes the bill up, because each link has to be built, tested and then maintained.
- Multilingual content: in Switzerland, an FR/DE/EN store is often essential, and every additional language increases the content budget.
- Logistics: shipping-cost calculation, click and collect, real-time stock management — every automation has its price.
Shopify: The Turnkey Solution
In 2026, Shopify remains the fastest platform for opening a professional store. Everything is hosted, secured and updated automatically. In exchange, you pay a subscription for as long as the store runs, plus fees on every sale.
Shopify Costs in Detail
- Subscription: several plans, billed monthly or annually, whose features and price rise with the size of the store. The amounts change, so check Shopify's pricing page. For an SME just starting out, the entry plan is usually enough.
- Theme: free for basic templates, a one-time purchase for a more polished premium theme. Each theme's price is shown in Shopify's theme store.
- Apps: a monthly cost to add up for each useful extension (customer reviews, translation, invoicing aligned with Swiss practices). List the ones you really need before choosing your plan.
- Payment fees: with Shopify Payments, a commission per transaction whose rate depends on the plan. If you use an external provider, Shopify may add an extra commission. Current rates are on Shopify's pricing page.
- Agency setup: the price follows what the service covers (customised design, optimised product pages, tested checkout funnel, Twint and credit-card integration). Ask for a quote that itemises each of these points.
First-year Shopify budget: add up the subscription, theme, apps, payment fees and setup, excluding marketing. A simple do-it-yourself launch stays light; a polished store with agency support takes more.
WooCommerce: The Flexibility of WordPress
WooCommerce turns a WordPress site into an online store. The licence is free, but "free" does not mean "cost-free": hosting, extensions, security and maintenance are all on you.
WooCommerce Costs in Detail
- Hosting: an annual subscription whose price follows performance and the ability to handle traffic spikes. A Swiss host also reassures your customers about data protection.
- Theme and extensions: a premium theme and the essential plugins (payments, Swiss VAT, Swiss Post shipping rates, backups), often sold as an annual licence to renew.
- Payment fees: Stripe charges a commission per transaction, published on its pricing page; Twint and PostFinance have their own pricing. WooCommerce adds no platform commission on these payments, which sets it apart from Shopify with an external provider.
- Agency setup: the price follows the level of customisation, the number of products and the integrations. Depending on the provider, the budgets mentioned can reach several thousand francs.
- Maintenance: updates, security and backups, to budget for every year. It is the item SMEs underestimate the most, and the one that prevents unpleasant surprises. Our maintenance costs CHF 49, 149 or 390 per month depending on the plan.
First-year WooCommerce budget: add up hosting, theme, extensions, setup and maintenance. The start often takes more work than Shopify, in exchange for recurring costs that can be lower and great freedom in the long run, especially for organic search.
Custom Development: For Genuinely Complex Needs
Custom development is justified when no standard platform covers your needs: a complex product configurator, synchronisation with an industry ERP, a multi-vendor marketplace, B2B pricing logic with negotiated contracts.
- Build: the highest item of the three options, because everything is developed for you. The price follows functional complexity and the number of integrations.
- Maintenance and evolutions: a budget to plan for every year, because every fix and every new feature goes through developers.
- Timeline: expect several months of project work, versus a few weeks for Shopify or WooCommerce.
Our advice is clear: for an SME starting out online, custom development is often a poor first choice. Validate your market with a standard platform first, then invest in specific development once your revenue justifies it.
The Costs Everyone Forgets
Payment Fees Add Up Fast
Every sale carries a commission, often a share of the amount plus a fixed sum. To estimate this item, multiply your expected revenue by the rate shown on your provider's pricing page. That is not a detail: build it into your margins from day one, and offer Twint, which has become essential in Switzerland.
Content and Photography
Professional product photos and well-crafted descriptions make the difference between a store that converts and a dead showcase. Ask your photographer for a price per product, then multiply it by your starting catalogue: the number of items is what sets the budget.
Marketing: No Visibility, No Sales
A store without traffic sells nothing. Plan an acquisition budget from launch: Google Ads campaigns, social media advertising and SEO services in Geneva to build a sustainable flow of visitors. Set a monthly amount for the first six months, adjusted to your goals and your measured results. Our SEO follow-up costs CHF 390 per month and our Google and Meta advertising service CHF 690, then from CHF 490 per month, ad budget on top.
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Total First-Year Budget: Three Costed Scenarios
Fictional example: here are three imaginary store profiles and a first-year budget for each, marketing included. The amounts are there to show the reasoning; they are neither rates nor market averages.
- The smart launch, CHF 7,700: Shopify store configured by an agency (CHF 3,000), subscription and apps (CHF 700), photos and content (CHF 1,000), launch marketing (CHF 3,000). Ideal for testing a market.
- The established SME, CHF 18,700: customised WooCommerce store (CHF 8,000), hosting and maintenance (CHF 1,500), multilingual content (CHF 2,000), ongoing acquisition (CHF 600 per month, or CHF 7,200 over twelve months). The best control-to-cost ratio over time.
- The ambitious project, CHF 50,000: a custom platform with ERP integrations, automated logistics and a substantial marketing budget. Reserved for companies whose business model is built on e-commerce.
Redo this calculation with your own quotes. When two offers differ widely, simply check what is included: maintenance, theme customisation, conversion optimisation. To compare concrete offers, request a free, transparent quote — every item is detailed with no hidden fees.
Five Tips to Keep Your Budget Under Control
- Start small, but start clean: a few dozen well-presented products beat hundreds of sloppy pages.
- Demand an itemised quote: setup, licences, hosting, maintenance, training. Whatever is not written down will end up as an extra.
- Budget for maintenance from day one: an unmaintained store ends up becoming a security risk and a sales blocker.
- Reserve a real share of the budget for marketing: the most beautiful store in the world sells nothing without visitors.
- Think total cost over three years, not just the setup price: subscriptions, commissions and maintenance completely change the ranking of solutions.
Key Takeaways
In 2026, the cost of a professional online store in Switzerland varies with the model you choose: Shopify takes a subscription and fees on sales, WooCommerce takes technical upkeep in exchange for great freedom, and custom development remains the highest item, reserved for complex needs. The right choice depends on your catalogue, your integrations and your ambitions — not on the trend of the moment.
At Digital Swiss Agency, we support Swiss SMEs from strategy to launch, with stores designed to sell. Our Boutique Premium costs CHF 4'900, for up to 100 products with TWINT and cards, in 5 weeks; our full price list is public. For a different need, tell us about your project: through our website creation in Geneva service, you receive a clear, free, no-commitment quote, usually within 24 hours.