Cost of setting up and running an online shop in 2026

indekscen.pl editorial team · published 30 September 2026 · prices according to the 5 October 2026 index

Setting up an online shop on an open-source platform (WooCommerce, PrestaShop) most often costs a one-off PLN 21,000 in 2026, with a typical range of PLN 15,000 ‑ 34,000. A cheaper option is a subscription to a ready-made SaaS platform, with a median price of 65 PLN/month. There are also ongoing monthly costs: accounting, advertising, SEO and content.

You can launch an online shop with a subscription costing around 65 PLN/month, or commission a one-off implementation costing as much as PLN 70,000. Both options make sense, depending on the scale. Below, we divide the costs into two parts: how much you need to spend initially and how much it costs to run an online shop each month. All figures are medians from public price lists published by agencies, accounting firms and platforms, with sources provided.

How much money do you need to open an online shop?

Opening an online shop built by an agency on an open-source platform most often costs PLN 21,000, according to 7 price lists collected by indekscen.pl, while half of all quotes fall within PLN 15,000 ‑ 34,000. The cheapest offers, starting from PLN 2,000, cover a shop using a ready-made theme without a bespoke design. The most expensive, at up to PLN 70,000, are extensive implementations integrating wholesalers, inventory systems and marketplaces.

The other option is an online shop on a ready-made subscription platform (SaaS). You do not pay for implementation, only a monthly fee, with a median of 65 PLN/month. You choose the template yourself, while the platform handles hosting, updates and security.

Your initial budget should also include items that are not usually covered by an online shop quote: product photos, descriptions, a logo, terms and conditions, a privacy policy, a domain and hosting (for open-source platforms).

Online shop: subscription or your own platform?

A SaaS subscription is cheaper to get started with and easier to operate, while your own open-source platform gives you full control and avoids charges for every module, but requires implementation and technical support. Here is a comparison of the key differences:

Feature	SaaS subscription	Open-source platform (WooCommerce, PrestaShop)
Initial cost	low, ready-made template	PLN 15,000 ‑ 34,000 for agency implementation
Monthly cost	subscription of around 65 PLN/month	hosting, domain, technical support
Hosting and updates	handled by the platform	handled by you or your contractor
Bespoke design and features	limited by the platform	unrestricted
Moving the shop	more difficult	full control over the data

For comparison, a standard company website for a business costs PLN 1,650, several times less than an online shop. The difference comes from the basket, payments, courier integrations and order processing, all of which must be designed and tested.

How much does it cost to run an online shop each month?

The monthly cost of running an online shop consists of several regular items: the platform or hosting, accounting, advertising and content. The most important costs, based on price-list medians, are:

Median and typical range from public price lists, as at 5 October 2026. Each price includes a source and quotation on the service page.

• Platform. A SaaS subscription costs around 65 PLN/month, while an open-source shop requires hosting, a domain and updates (annual maintenance for a standard website costs around 1,000 PLN/year, but a shop usually requires a more powerful server).
• Accounting. accounting for a sole proprietorship usually costs 205 ‑ 320 PLN/month. The number of documents grows quickly for an online shop, and accounting firms charge according to the number of invoices.
• Advertising. Managing a google Ads management campaign has a median price of 1,300 PLN/month, while managing facebook and Instagram Ads management costs 885 PLN/month. This is the agency’s fee. You pay the click budget separately, directly to Google or Meta.
• SSL certificate. An sSL certificate for a website costs 40 ‑ 250 PLN/year, although many platforms include it in their package.
• Payments and deliveries. Payment providers charge a commission on every transaction, while couriers charge per parcel. These costs are not included in our index, so check the providers’ price lists.

The smallest owner-operated shop, without an advertising agency, will only need to cover the subscription and accounting. A shop using paid advertising and SEO pays separately for each of these services every month, with the advertising budget as an additional expense.

How much does the first year of an online shop cost? Example

For a small shop using an accounting firm and an agency-managed Google Ads campaign, the first-year expenses mainly consist of service costs rather than the shop itself. A year’s accounting for a sole proprietorship costs around PLN 3,100 (typically PLN 2,500 ‑ 3,800), while annual Google Ads management costs around PLN 16,000, excluding the click budget. If you add SEO, a year of agency work at the local-business rate costs around PLN 12,000, and more for an online shop.

Item	Per month	Per year
Accounting for a sole proprietorship	260 PLN/month	around PLN 3,100
Google Ads management (excluding budget)	1,300 PLN/month	around PLN 16,000
Facebook and Instagram Ads management	885 PLN/month	around PLN 11,000
Social media management	850 PLN/month	around PLN 10,000

You do not need every item from day one. Many shops begin with self-managed campaigns and a single sales channel, hiring an agency only once they know which products sell.

How much does SEO for an online shop cost?

SEO for an online shop costs around 2,500 PLN/month, which is more than local SEO for a service business (1,000 PLN/month) or nationwide SEO (2,000 PLN/month). A shop has hundreds of category and product pages, each requiring descriptions, structured data and well-organised filters to prevent duplicate content.

SEO makes sense once the shop has a stable product range and product descriptions. You can write the descriptions yourself or commission them: copywriting (writing content) usually costs PLN 48 ‑ 52 per 1,000 characters including spaces. Read more about agency rates in our article website SEO price list.

Is it worth opening an online shop?

An online shop is worthwhile when the margin on its products covers the cost of acquiring customers and its fixed monthly expenses. Before paying for implementation, work it out on paper:

1. Margin on one order after deducting the cost of the goods, packaging and payment commission.
2. Customer acquisition cost, meaning how much you will spend on advertising to generate a purchase. Start with a cautious estimate and test it with a small budget.
3. Fixed costs: the platform, accounting and advertising management.
4. Number of orders needed to cover the fixed costs. If the result is more than you can realistically handle, start with a cheaper option.

A good approach is to start with a SaaS subscription or sell through a marketplace, test demand, and only then invest in an implementation costing PLN 15,000 ‑ 34,000.

Do you need to register a business to run an online shop?

In Poland, you can run a small-scale online shop as an unregistered business, provided that your revenue does not exceed the statutory limit linked to the minimum wage. Consumer rights legislation still applies, including requirements for terms and conditions, the right to withdraw from a contract and sales records. At a larger scale, you must register a business.

The details, including cash-register and VAT requirements for mail-order sales, depend on the type of goods and scale of the business. Ask an accountant or tax adviser before getting started. We discuss the cost of advice in our article tax adviser price list.

What determines the cost of building an online shop?

The cost of building an online shop depends mainly on the platform, the number of integrations and whether the graphic design is bespoke. Other factors include:

• Number of products and variants (sizes, colours) that need to be imported and configured.
• Integrations: payments, couriers, wholesalers, marketplaces and ERP systems.
• Additional modules: subscriptions, multilingual support, dropshipping and loyalty programmes.
• Contractor: a freelancer may be cheaper than an agency but is less likely to provide support after implementation.

Before signing a contract, ask whether the price includes training on using the dashboard and a warranty period for fixing errors, and who will have access to the server and source code once the engagement ends.

„W przypadku użycia popularnych platform open source ceny sklepów internetowych mogą sięgać od 2000 zł do 70 000 zł.”

prodesigner.pl, 2025-12, source

„prosty sklep na gotowej platformie (Shopify, WooCommerce) to koszt od 15 000 zł, a rozbudowany projekt z dedykowanym designem i integracjami – od 25 000 zł wzwyż.”

satisfly.co, 2026-05, source

„Wdrożenie sklepu internetowego w Polsce kosztuje najczęściej od 4 000 zł netto za prosty sklep na gotowym motywie do 60 000 zł netto i więcej za rozbudowaną platformę z integracjami.”

devisu.pl, 2026, source

„Koszt budowy: 5 000 - 25 000 PLN za projekt agencyjny.”

WebyJuice, 2026-07, source

You can find more prices for business and e-commerce services in the marketing and advertising category.

The prices in this article come from public price lists published by agencies, accounting firms and e-commerce platforms. Every price has a source, date and verbatim quotation on its service page.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an online shop cost?

Za sklep wykonany przez agencję na platformie open source płaci się najczęściej PLN 21,000 jednorazowo, typowo PLN 15,000 ‑ 34,000. Sklep w abonamencie SaaS kosztuje około 65 PLN/month bez opłaty startowej.

How much does a small online shop earn?

Nie ma jednej odpowiedzi, bo zależy to od marży na produktach i kosztu pozyskania klienta. Zanim policzysz zysk, odejmij od marży stałe koszty miesięczne, np. księgowość (260 PLN/month) i obsługę reklam (1,300 PLN/month).

Is a Shoper store cheaper than a WooCommerce store?

Na start tak: abonament SaaS to około 65 PLN/month, a wdrożenie WooCommerce przez agencję PLN 15,000 ‑ 34,000. W dłuższym czasie i przy dużej liczbie modułów różnica się zmniejsza.

How much does an SSL certificate for an online shop cost?

Podstawowy certyfikat SSL kosztuje zwykle 40 ‑ 250 PLN/year. Wiele platform SaaS i hostingów daje darmowy certyfikat w pakiecie.

How much do product descriptions for an online shop cost?

Copywriter bierze zwykle PLN 48 ‑ 52 za 1000 znaków ze spacjami. Przy stu produktach z opisami po 1000 znaków to około PLN 5,000.

Translation of the original Polish article dated 30 September 2026. Quotations from price lists are in Polish, as published by the companies. Read the original in Polish.

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