The Real Cost of Custom E-commerce Development
Understand the true investment required for custom e-commerce development. Get realistic cost breakdowns and learn when custom makes sense over platforms.
Custom e-commerce quotes range from $15,000 to $500,000. That spread is so wide it's useless for planning. Worse, the quote is often the smallest part of the total cost.
The actual cost of custom e-commerce includes development, infrastructure, integrations, maintenance, and opportunity costs. Skip any category in your planning and you'll be surprised by bills later. Underestimate by 50% and you'll run out of budget before launch.
This guide breaks down what custom e-commerce actually costs. Not ranges that span orders of magnitude—specific cost categories with realistic estimates for different complexity levels.
What "Custom E-commerce" Actually Means
Custom e-commerce isn't one thing. The term covers everything from a Shopify theme modification to a ground-up marketplace platform. Costs depend entirely on what "custom" means for your project.
Level 1: Platform Customization ($5,000-25,000)
Starting with Shopify, WooCommerce, or another platform, then customizing beyond standard themes and apps. This includes custom theme development, app integrations and configurations, custom checkout scripts, basic workflow automation, and data migration from existing systems.
Level 2: Headless Commerce ($40,000-100,000)
Using a headless commerce backend with a custom frontend. This includes custom Next.js or similar frontend, integration with headless commerce API, custom checkout flows, product configurators and custom functionality, CMS integration for content, and basic analytics and tracking.
Level 3: Full Custom Commerce ($75,000-200,000+)
Building e-commerce from scratch with custom data models, business logic, and infrastructure. This includes custom product and inventory management, custom cart and checkout, payment processing integration, order management and fulfillment, customer accounts, admin dashboard, analytics and reporting, and all integrations custom-built.
Development Costs: What You're Paying For
Development costs comprise the bulk of initial investment. At development rates of $150-200/hour for a quality team, core features alone cost $39,000-104,000.
Core Commerce Features (260-520+ hours): Product Management (40-80 hours), Cart and Checkout (60-120 hours), Payment Processing (30-60 hours), Order Management (40-80 hours), Customer Accounts (30-60 hours), Admin Dashboard (60-120 hours).
Features That Multiply Complexity
Product Configurators add 80-160 hours for basic, 200+ hours for complex. Subscription Commerce adds 100-200 hours. Multi-Vendor/Marketplace Features add 200-400+ hours. B2B Features add 100-250 hours.
Infrastructure Costs: The Ongoing Expense
Development is a one-time cost. Infrastructure is forever.
Annual infrastructure for custom e-commerce: Early stage ($50K rev): $2,400-6,000/year. Growing ($50K-500K rev): $6,000-24,000/year. Established ($500K-2M rev): $24,000-60,000/year. Scale ($2M+ rev): $60,000-180,000+/year.
Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions
QA and Testing: Budget 15-25% of development time for testing. For a $100,000 project, that's $15,000-25,000 additional.
Data Migration: Budget $2,000-15,000 depending on data complexity.
Content Creation: Budget $5,000-20,000 for a catalog of 100-500 products.
Post-Launch Maintenance: Budget 10-20% of initial development annually. For a $100,000 build, expect $10,000-20,000/year in maintenance.
Total Cost of Ownership: Realistic Budgets
MVP Launch Budget (Simple Store): Development $50,000-80,000, Infrastructure Year 1 $3,000-5,000, Third-party Services $2,000-5,000, Hidden Costs $8,000-15,000. Total to Launch: $63,000-105,000.
Standard Custom E-commerce: Development $100,000-150,000, Infrastructure $6,000-15,000, Services $5,000-12,000, Hidden Costs $15,000-30,000. Total to Launch: $126,000-207,000.
Key Takeaways
Custom e-commerce costs more than vendors quote and more than founders expect. Realistic budgeting includes:
- Development costs vary from $50,000 for simple stores to $200,000+ for complex platforms
- Infrastructure costs run $3,000-60,000+ annually depending on scale
- Third-party services add $2,000-36,000+ annually
- Hidden costs including testing, migration, content, and maintenance add 20-30% to development budgets
- Ongoing maintenance costs 10-20% of initial development annually
The total cost of custom e-commerce is 2-3x the initial development quote when you include everything. Budget for the real cost or adjust your approach.
At NextBuild, we provide transparent estimates that include the costs others leave out. If you're planning custom e-commerce and want an honest assessment, let's discuss your project.
