How much does it cost to start an online store?

You can start a small online store in the UK for a few hundred pounds if you already have products, or a few thousand if you need to buy stock and advertise. The fixed costs (platform, domain, data protection fee) are small. The big, variable costs are stock, delivery, payment fees and marketing, and those are the ones to plan carefully.

Here’s each cost in turn, what drives it up or down, and how to build a simple budget.

The one-off costs

• Stock and samples. Usually your biggest upfront spend. Order samples first, then the smallest sensible first batch.
• Branding. A logo and basic colours. You can do this yourself or pay a designer.
• Photography. Good photos sell. A phone, natural light and a plain background go a long way; a professional shoot costs more but can be worth it for a small range.
• Packaging. Boxes, mailers, tape, labels and any inserts.
• Company setup. Free as a sole trader. Forming a limited company has a Companies House fee; check gov.uk for the current amount.

The monthly and yearly costs

Your shop platform

Hosted platforms charge a monthly fee, often with cheaper rates if you pay yearly. As an example, Shopify’s UK pricing page listed its Basic plan at £25 a month (or £19 a month billed yearly) when checked in autumn 2026, with higher plans above that. Always check the provider’s own pricing page, as plans change.

Look past the headline price. Ask:

• Which features need a paid app or add-on, and what do those cost each month?
• Is there a fee on each sale on top of payment processing?
• Will you need a paid theme?

Self-hosted WooCommerce is free software, but you pay for hosting, and often for a theme, extensions and someone to keep it updated.

Merchella, for comparison, has two plans: Basic at £29.99 a month and Full at £89.99 a month, with no Merchella fee on sales.

Your domain

A .co.uk or .com usually costs somewhere around £5 to £20 a year, depending on the registrar. The first year is often discounted, so check the renewal price before you buy.

Data protection fee

Most businesses that handle customer details need to pay the ICO’s data protection fee. As of October 2026 the smallest tier is £52 a year, or £47 by direct debit. Check ico.org.uk to see if you need to pay.

Email and tools

A business email address, an email marketing tool once your list grows, and accounting software. Many have free or low-cost starter plans.

The costs that grow with every order

These are the ones new sellers most often underestimate, because they repeat on every single sale.

• Payment fees. Usually a percentage of the order plus a small fixed fee. As examples, Shopify Payments listed 2% + 25p for UK cards on its Basic plan (autumn 2026), and PayPal’s standard UK rate for a domestic sale was 2.9% + 30p (as of October 2026). Check the provider’s current fee page.
• Delivery. Postage or courier costs, plus packaging. Heavier or bulkier items cost far more to send.
• Fulfilment. If a warehouse packs your orders, expect a pick-and-pack fee per order plus storage.
• Returns and refunds. Some products come back. Budget for it.
• Advertising. If you pay for ads, the cost of winning each customer is part of the cost of each order.

Marketing: the cost people forget

A new shop doesn’t get visitors just by existing. You’ll either spend money (ads) or time (social media, content, email) to bring people in, usually both.

With paid ads, start with a small daily budget you’re comfortable losing while you learn. Track which clicks turn into sales, then move money towards what works. Don’t judge a channel on its first few days.

How to work out your numbers

Before you launch, work out the profit on one typical order. It’s simple arithmetic and it tells you whether the shop can work at all.

1. 1Start with your selling price, excluding VAT if you’re VAT registered.
2. 2Take off the product cost, including shipping it to you.
3. 3Take off packaging and delivery to the customer.
4. 4Take off payment fees and any per-order fulfilment fee.
5. 5What’s left is your contribution per order before marketing.
6. 6Now ask: how much can I afford to spend on ads to win this order and still make a profit?

If the answer is “almost nothing”, you need a higher price, a cheaper supplier, a bigger average order (bundles, upsells) or a different product.

Three example budgets

These are illustrations, not quotes. Your figures will depend on your product and choices.

• Testing an idea: you make or source a handful of products, take your own photos, use a basic platform plan and spend a small amount on ads. Mostly your time.
• A small range: a first batch of stock, a simple logo, packaging, a platform plan and a monthly ad budget. Stock is the biggest line.
• Moving an existing business online: you already have stock and suppliers, so costs are mainly the platform, photography, delivery setup and marketing.

Ways to keep costs down

• Start with a small range and reorder what sells.
• Use a free trial to build and test your shop before paying.
• Avoid paying for apps or add-ons until you actually need them.
• Negotiate courier rates once you have steady volume.
• Put effort into free channels like email and helpful content alongside paid ads.

In short

The platform and domain are the easy part: a predictable monthly bill. What decides whether your shop makes money is the cost per order: stock, delivery, payment fees and the marketing spend to win each customer. Work out those numbers before you launch, and check them again every month once you’re selling.