An ecommerce website in India costs about ₹6,000 in the first year built yourself on WooCommerce, ₹1,50,000–₹5,00,000 as a studio build, and ₹1,499 a month on Shopify Basic billed yearly. Hosting and domain are small; labour, design and integrations decide the real figure.
What an ecommerce website costs in India by build route
A WooCommerce store built yourself costs about ₹6,000 in year one, a small-agency setup ₹15,000–₹25,000, a WebJi studio build ₹1,50,000–₹5,00,000, and Shopify about ₹18,000 a year in platform fees. The route, not the platform logo, sets the price.
| Route | What it costs | What you get | What it leaves to you |
|---|---|---|---|
| DIY on WooCommerce | About ₹6,000 in year one: hosting ₹400/month plus a .com domain | Software, hosting and free SSL | Design, catalog upload, gateway and shipping setup, updates |
| Freelancer or small agency | ₹15,000–₹25,000 one-time for a standard WooCommerce setup | Theme install, gateway and shipping setup, product upload | Custom design, live test orders, training |
| WebJi studio build | ₹1,50,000–₹5,00,000 | Custom design, catalog, payments, shipping rules, GST invoices, test orders, handover | Product content and photography |
| Hosted builder (Shopify Basic) | ₹1,499/month billed yearly, about ₹18,000 a year | Hosting, admin and checkout in one subscription | App costs, local gateway, per-sale platform fee |
| Enterprise custom | ₹5,00,000 and up | ERP or CRM ties, multi-warehouse stock, headless storefront | A developer on retainer after launch |
WebJi bands from the company's published pricing; Shopify and small-agency figures as published in 2026. Confirm current plan prices with the vendor before you budget.
The jump from ₹25,000 to ₹1,50,000 buys design, catalog structure, tested payments and a handover, not more software. A WebJi store build includes live test orders through each payment mode and one shipping label per courier path, which is where cheap setups break after launch.
Domain, hosting and SSL costs for an Indian store
A .com domain costs ₹900–₹1,200 a year, WebJi hosting ₹400 a month for a normal catalog or ₹5,900 a month for peak traffic, and SSL is included with hosting. These are the smallest lines in the budget.
- WordPress Unlimited: ₹400/month with LiteSpeed and LSCache, free SSL, sized for one catalog store.
- Cloud Entry: ₹5,900/month with 2 vCPU and 8 GB RAM for festive sale traffic.
- .com domain: ₹900–₹1,200 a year at registration.
- SSL: free with WebJi hosting and renewed automatically.
- Managed WordPress updates: ₹5,900/year if you do not want to run them.
Renew on time: an expired domain or certificate takes the store offline, and recovery costs more than the renewal. Hosting and domain together come to about ₹6,000 in year one before GST. Bigger catalogs move to a WooCommerce hosting tier sized for the load.
Payment gateway and transaction fees for Indian stores
Indian gateways charge roughly 2% per card transaction and less on UPI, plus 18% GST on the fee itself. Setup is free; the per-sale fee is the line that grows with revenue.
Razorpay and PayU both need KYC, a live website and a bank account in the business name before activation. Treat the fee as a cost of sale rather than a monthly cost, and compare the UPI rate separately because UPI carries the largest share of Indian checkouts. The payment gateway guide compares settlement and pricing per provider.
GST invoicing costs for an online store
GST invoicing adds no licence cost when the store issues tax invoices from a plugin, but it needs a GSTIN, HSN codes and a tax breakup on every invoice. WebJi's own invoices are in INR with 18% GST.
A GST-registered seller has to show tax separately from the price and keep invoice numbers in sequence. WooCommerce does this through an invoice plugin; Shopify does it through an app or its tax settings. Both are configuration work, which is why it belongs in the build quote and not in the hosting line.
Shopify vs WooCommerce total cost in India
Shopify Basic costs ₹1,499/month billed yearly, about ₹18,000 a year, and adds a 2% fee on Basic when a third-party gateway is used. WooCommerce costs about ₹4,800 a year in hosting and takes no commission, but you run the updates.
| Cost line | WooCommerce on WebJi | Shopify Basic |
|---|---|---|
| Platform subscription | ₹0 | ₹1,499/month billed yearly |
| Hosting | ₹400/month | Included in the plan |
| Domain (.com) | ₹900–₹1,200/year | Bought separately |
| Per-sale platform fee | ₹0 | 2% on Basic with a third-party gateway |
| Updates | Your time, or ₹5,900/year managed | Included |
At ₹5 lakh of annual sales, that 2% fee is ₹10,000 on top of the subscription, more than a year of WooCommerce hosting. Below roughly ₹2 lakh of sales the gap is small enough that launch speed may matter more than the monthly bill.
Recurring costs to run an online store in India
Expect yearly hosting and domain renewals, gateway fees on every sale, and either your own time on updates or a managed plan at ₹5,900 a year. Themes and apps are optional and usually annual.
- Hosting renewal: ₹4,800 a year on WordPress Unlimited.
- Domain renewal: ₹900–₹1,200 a year for a .com.
- Managed updates: ₹5,900 a year, optional.
- Gateway fees: about 2% per card sale plus 18% GST on the fee.
- Apps and plugins: free options cover invoices and shipping; paid ones renew yearly.
Only the gateway fee scales with sales, so a store with thin margins should price it into the product instead of absorbing it later. Platform choice and the full feature comparison sit in the guide to the best ecommerce platforms in India. To have a build scoped against your catalog, send your product list and the quote comes back in INR before payment.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to build an ecommerce website in India?
About ₹6,000 in year one if you build it yourself on WooCommerce, ₹15,000–₹25,000 for a small-agency setup, and ₹1,50,000–₹5,00,000 for a WebJi studio build. Hosting and domain are the small part; design, catalog and integrations are the rest.
Is WooCommerce cheaper than Shopify in India?
Yes on running cost: WooCommerce hosting is about ₹4,800 a year with no commission, while Shopify Basic is ₹1,499/month billed yearly plus a 2% fee on Basic with a third-party gateway. Shopify is cheaper in time, not in fees.
What are the monthly running costs of an online store?
About ₹400 a month for hosting on a normal catalog, roughly ₹100 a month for the domain, gateway fees of about 2% per card sale, and optional managed updates at ₹5,900 a year. Paid apps add monthly charges if you use them.
Can I build an ecommerce website under ₹10,000?
Yes, if you build it yourself: hosting at ₹400/month plus a .com domain lands near ₹6,000 for the first year before GST. That covers software and hosting, not design, product photography or paid themes.
How much does a payment gateway charge per transaction?
Around 2% on cards and less on UPI at Indian gateways, plus 18% GST on the fee. Rates are negotiated by volume and category, so confirm the card and UPI rates on the gateway's pricing page.
What are the hidden costs in ecommerce website development?
Product photography, catalog data entry, gateway KYC delays, app subscriptions and GST invoice setup are the usual extras. None appears in a hosting quote, and each one delays launch if left to the last week.