How Much Does an Online Store (E-Shop) Cost in Serbia?

An online store is not just a "website with a Buy button". It is a sales channel that works 24 hours a day, seven days a week — and the price depends on how seriously you want that channel to actually perform. The range is wide: from around 1,000 to over 20,000 euros.

What determines the price of an online store?

With a store you pay for far more than looks. The price is shaped by:

• Platform — WooCommerce, Shopify, or a custom solution.
• Number of products and how they are entered — manually or via an automated feed import.
• Design and UX — a ready-made theme or a custom checkout flow built to sell.
• Integrations — payment systems, courier services, fiscalisation, ERP, warehouse, accounting.
• Features — filters, product variations, coupons, user accounts, wishlists, recommendations.

Platforms: WooCommerce vs Shopify vs custom

WooCommerce

The most popular choice in Serbia. WordPress with the WooCommerce plugin — open-source, full control over your data, a huge library of extensions, and no monthly commission on sales. A basic store costs 1,000–3,000 EUR (around 117,000–350,000 RSD); a mid-complexity store with integrations and custom design 3,000–8,000 EUR. It requires your own hosting and regular maintenance.

Shopify

A SaaS platform — fast to launch, hosted, and stable out of the box. You pay a monthly subscription (Basic around $29, the standard plan around $79 per month) plus a transaction fee if you do not use Shopify Payments — which is unavailable in Serbia, so that per-transaction fee stays. Setup and design 500–2,500 EUR. Excellent for a fast market entry, but less flexible, and monthly costs grow with turnover.

Custom solution

For large catalogues, specific business logic, per-client B2B pricing, or marketplace models. The price starts at 8,000 EUR upward, often 15,000–25,000+ euros. It pays off when standard platforms start to hold you back instead of helping.

What drives the price up?

• A large number of products and variations (sizes, colours, combinations).
• Custom design and a purpose-built purchase flow and checkout.
• Integrations — payment system, courier services, fiscal registers, accounting software.
• Migration from an existing store without losing data or Google rankings.
• Multiple languages and currencies for selling outside Serbia.

You can read more about our approach to store builds on the website development page.

The recurring costs of an online store

Unlike a regular website, a store carries several "live" costs that must be planned in advance:

• Payment system — to accept cards you need an e-commerce agreement with a bank plus a processor (for example AllSecure, Monri/WSPay, or Chip Card). Expect a fee of around 1.5–3% per transaction, a monthly charge of around 1,500–3,000 RSD, and a possible one-off activation. Cash on delivery avoids the fee but loses the customers who want to pay by card.
• Hosting — a store uses more resources than a regular site; realistically 60–200 EUR per year for a good shared or VPS plan.
• Domain and SSL — mandatory; SSL is now standard and a condition for card payments.
• Maintenance — updates, security, backups, and small edits. This is more critical for a store than for a site: every hour of downtime is lost sales. Realistically 30–150 EUR per month depending on scope.

When does custom pay off?

Ready-made platforms are perfect for launching and for most small and medium stores. Custom development becomes justified when:

• you have thousands of products or a complex catalogue with frequent changes;
• you need specific logic that plugins do not cover (B2B pricing, volume discounts, configurators);
• the store must integrate deeply with your ERP or warehouse;
• the fees and limits of ready-made platforms at your turnover become more expensive than owning your own solution.

The rule is simple: while the platform carries you, use it. When it starts to hold you back, custom pays off.

A realistic budget and tips

• Start smaller, but stable. A solid store with 50 products that runs flawlessly beats "everything at once" that falls apart under the first real traffic.
• Factor payment and delivery costs into your margin from day one.
• Do not skimp on product photography — in online selling, the image is the salesperson.
• Plan maintenance as a fixed cost, not an option.

An online store that pays for itself within a few months is not an expense — it is an investment with measurable returns. The key is to set it up to sell from the start, not merely to exist.

Ready to sell online?

Tell us what you sell and how many products you carry, and you will get a clear, transparent quote with all costs — one-off and monthly. Average isn't an option. Request a free estimate and start your project.