How much does an e-commerce website cost in India? (2026 breakdown)

The short answer: an e-commerce website in India costs ₹0–₹2,000/month if you build it yourself on a DIY platform's entry plan, roughly ₹4,000–₹25,000/month if a service builds and runs it for you, and a per-project quote — typically lakhs — if you commission a custom build from an agency. The platform subscription is usually the smallest of your real costs; payment fees, shipping, apps and marketing decide what you actually spend. Every platform price below was checked on the official pricing page on 10 June 2026. (Disclosure: StoreCrew, our product, appears in the done-for-you section.)

The three routes, priced

Route 1: DIY on a store builder (₹0–₹2,000/month to start)

You sign up, pick a theme, upload products, connect payments, and run it yourself. Verified entry pricing as of 10 June 2026:

What the table doesn't show is the labour. Realistically, a first-time DIY store takes 2–6 weeks of evenings to get genuinely ready — products photographed and written up, payments tested, shipping configured — and a few hours every week after that. If your time has value, put a number on it before calling this the cheap option.

Route 2: done-for-you service (flat monthly fee)

A team builds the store and operates it with you; you stay focused on products and customers. This is the category StoreCrew is in, so here are our published numbers as the reference point: Starter at ₹4,000/month covers a branded web store, custom native iOS and Android apps, WhatsApp-based operations (add a product by sending a photo and a voice note), and up to 10 products. Pro at ₹9,000/month raises that to 30 products and adds marketing — Instagram drafts, festive-season planning, AI product photography. Payments run on Razorpay and settle directly to your bank account; shipping is via Shiprocket; the one-time setup for both is an optional ₹10,000. Go-live is about two weeks from the first call, with no long-term contract and full data export if you leave.

The comparison to run: StoreCrew Starter at ₹4,000/month costs less than Shopify's Grow plan (₹5,599/month, software only, you do the work) — the question is whether you want hours back or maximum control. Our StoreCrew vs Shopify page lays the trade-off out honestly.

Route 3: custom build by an agency (per-project quote)

An agency designs and develops a bespoke site (and possibly apps) on Shopify, WooCommerce, or a custom stack. Quotes vary so widely by scope that any specific number we printed here would mislead — but expect a multi-lakh project for anything beyond a template skin, plus monthly retainers for maintenance. This route makes sense when you have requirements off the shelf can't meet: complex integrations with existing ERP systems, unusual checkout flows, very large catalogues.

The five costs that aren't on the pricing page

1. Payment fees. Every order pays the gateway (Razorpay and peers publish their rates on their own sites), and on some platforms an additional platform fee — Shopify's 2% on Basic with third-party providers, Instamojo's 5% + ₹3 on its free plan. At ₹1,00,000/month in sales, a 2% platform fee is ₹2,000/month: more than Shopify Basic's own subscription.

2. Shipping. Courier charges are per order, by weight and zone. Aggregators like Shiprocket publish current rates on their sites. COD orders typically carry an extra collection fee — and COD remains a large share of Indian e-commerce orders.

3. Apps and add-ons. On DIY platforms, reviews, WhatsApp notifications, bundle offers and the like are usually paid apps, each a small monthly subscription that compounds. Done-for-you plans tend to bundle these.

4. Design and content. A theme is not a brand. Product photography, descriptions, and a logo either cost money or cost your weekends. (This is where most half-finished DIY stores stall.)

5. Marketing. The store is the easy part; being found is the spend. Whatever route you choose, budget something monthly for ads or content from day one — a store with no traffic costs the same as a store with traffic, and earns nothing.

So what should you budget?

Validating an idea (first 90 days): ₹0–₹500/month. Instamojo free plan or a WooCommerce experiment, accepting the high per-order fee or the manual labour as the price of learning.

Running a real store, doing it yourself: ₹2,500–₹8,000/month all-in at modest volume — entry subscription, apps, domain, plus payment and shipping fees that scale with orders. And your hours, every week.

Running a real store, done for you: ₹4,000–₹9,000/month flat (StoreCrew's published range) plus per-order payment and shipping fees. Your hours stay on the business.

Custom requirements: get three agency quotes; expect lakhs upfront plus a maintenance retainer.

---

Frequently asked questions

How much does an e-commerce website cost in India?

From ₹0/month (DIY on Instamojo's free plan, with 5% + ₹3 per order) to ₹1,499/month+ on Shopify, ₹4,000/month+ for a done-for-you service like StoreCrew, and per-project lakhs for custom agency builds. Prices verified 10 June 2026.

Can I build an online store for free?

Yes — Instamojo's ₹0/year plan or free WooCommerce software. "Free" shifts the cost to per-order fees (5% + ₹3 on Instamojo) or to hosting and your own maintenance time (WooCommerce). Fine for validation; recompute at volume.

What are the ongoing costs?

Five recurring ones: platform subscription, payment fees, shipping, apps/add-ons, and marketing. The last four scale with orders and are where budgets usually go wrong.

What does done-for-you cost?

StoreCrew lists Starter at ₹4,000/month and Pro at ₹9,000/month, with an optional ₹10,000 one-time payments-and-shipping onboarding. Custom agency operation costs substantially more and is quoted per project.

Do I need a mobile app too?

Not on day one, but repeat-purchase businesses benefit. Custom app development is typically a multi-lakh project; StoreCrew bundles custom-branded native iOS and Android apps into its standard plans.

How long until I'm live?

DIY: realistically 2–6 weeks including products, payments, shipping. StoreCrew: about two weeks from the first call. Custom builds: months.