How much does it really cost to run an e-commerce business in 2026?

This guide helps business owners and e-commerce managers calculate the total cost of running an online store, distinguishing between initial costs, fixed costs, variable costs and hidden costs. The goal is not to provide a universal figure, which would not be credible, but to offer a method for comparing platforms and quotes correctly.

The correct formula for calculating the cost of an e-commerce store

To get a realistic estimate, you need to separate the startup cost from the operating cost. The first covers bringing the online store to market. The second covers keeping it running, secure and capable of generating orders.

A simple formula is:

Total monthly cost = platform + infrastructure + maintenance + tools + payment fees + logistics + marketing + administration + staff costs

Not all items will be borne directly by the company. However, the time spent by the owner or team still has an economic value. If someone spends ten hours a month updating plugins, fixing errors and checking orders, those hours must be factored into the comparison between platforms.

For a growing business, it's also worth calculating the cost over 36 months. A seemingly affordable fee can become expensive if it requires a lot of integrations, frequent maintenance or sales commissions. Conversely, a platform with a higher fee can be more efficient if it includes services you would otherwise have to purchase separately.

How much does it cost to launch an e-commerce store?

Initial costs cover design, catalog, technical setup, content, photography, payments, logistics and commercial launch. According to a Stripe guide dedicated to e-commerce businesses in Italy, indicative startup estimates include 50-300 euros a year for domain and hosting, 500-5,000 euros for platform and development, 200-800 euros for bureaucratic costs, 300-2,000 euros for initial logistics and 200-1,500 euros for initial marketing.

These figures are not a price list and do not necessarily include the value of stock, strategic consulting or a complex graphic design project. A store with a few dozen products and a standard theme requires a different investment than a catalog with variants, a configurator, management system synchronization and multiple delivery methods.

The initial figure alone says little. Before accepting a quote, always ask what activities are included, who enters the catalog, who sets up payments, who produces the content, who manages the URLs and who is responsible if something stops working after launch.

The cost of the platform and hosting

The first comparison to make is between three models: SaaS platform, open source CMS and managed platform with included services. They are not equivalent, even when they have a similar monthly price.

A SaaS platform tends to simplify hosting and updates, but may add apps, extra components and fees depending on the plan. Shopify, for example, publishes in Italy a Basic plan at 19 euros a month, Grow at 56 euros, Advanced at 289 euros and Plus at 2,100 euros a month. The same page lists POS Pro as an add-on component at 79 euros a month and card fees starting at 1.9% plus 0.25 euros per online transaction. Terms should always be checked against the plan actually chosen.

With an open source CMS, the software can be free, but the company has to purchase or manage hosting, domain, theme, plugins, security, backups and maintenance. WordPress.org explicitly states that anyone installing WordPress independently must obtain their own hosting and domain. The price of the software, therefore, does not represent the cost of the store.

With a managed platform, the subscription fee can include multiple services. KeideaCMS publishes a Starter plan at 49 euros per month, billed annually at 588 euros, and a Business plan at 99 euros per month, billed annually at 1,188 euros. The pricing page indicates dedicated hosting, maintenance, direct support and setup included in the plans; the Business plan adds the e-commerce module, unlimited product catalog, native cart and checkout, order management and zero commission on sales according to the published terms.

The correct comparison is therefore not “19 euros versus 99 euros”. It is “which services are included, which do I need to purchase separately, and how much technical time should I budget for?”.

Maintenance, updates and security

Maintenance is one of the most underestimated costs because it doesn't always appear in the initial quote. It includes CMS, theme and plugin updates, backups, monitoring, error checking, access management, certificate renewal and intervention after a malfunction.

In an e-commerce store, updating is not a formality. A plugin can change the checkout, an update can break a product page, and an integration can stop communicating with the management software. If no one monitors the system, the company may only discover the problem when a customer is unable to complete an order.

Security has both a technical and an organizational cost. You need to protect the admin panel, limit access, keep usable backups, monitor unusual activity and keep components up to date. The cost can be covered with in-house staff, a maintenance contract, external services or a platform that includes part of these activities in the subscription fee.

The question to include in every quote is precise: who intervenes, within what timeframe and with what coverage when the store has a problem? “Updates included” is not enough if it doesn't specify whether backups, testing, monitoring and real support exist.

Payment fees: the cost that grows with revenue

Payment fees are variable costs. They grow together with the number and value of orders, so they may seem irrelevant at first and become significant as revenue increases.

The fee may include a percentage of the payment, a fixed fee per transaction, costs for foreign currency, anti-fraud services or different terms for cards, wallets and bank transfers. For example, a rate of 1.9% plus 0.25 euros on a 100-euro order results in a cost of 2.15 euros before any other contractual terms. On 500 monthly orders of the same value, the theoretical cost would be 1,075 euros. This calculation helps understand the order of magnitude; it does not replace the provider's contract.

Don't confuse payment gateway fees with platform fees. These are two different items. A platform may not apply its own commission on sales, in which case the payment processor's costs still remain, or it may apply both.

To compare two solutions, use this formula:

Monthly payment cost = number of orders × fixed fee + processed revenue × percentage

Also include refunds, chargebacks and failed payments in the model. These are normal events in running an e-commerce business, not anomalies to be ignored.

Logistics, packaging, returns and support

For many online stores, logistics is the heaviest item after marketing. It includes storage, receiving goods, picking, packaging, labeling, shipping, delivery, returns management and support on order status.

The cost per order is not just the courier's rate. You must add packaging materials, preparation time, any fulfillment services, inventory, failed deliveries and management of returned products. In sectors with frequent returns, the margin can change radically even when the initial sale seems profitable.

To measure the situation, calculate the average logistics cost per order and separate at least four indicators: preparation cost, shipping cost, average cost of returns and support cost. If the system doesn't link the order, customer record and customer request, staff may waste time reconstructing information already available elsewhere.

An e-commerce store with products and bookings, or with complex after-sales support, has an additional problem: it must not only manage payment. It must keep availability, order, customer and communications consistent at every stage.

Marketing, SEO and customer acquisition

An online store without traffic is not a digital business. It's a catalog published on the internet. For this reason, marketing must be considered an operating cost, not an occasional expense to be added only when sales slow down.

Activities can include technical SEO, keyword research, content, photography, email marketing, paid campaigns, remarketing, price comparison sites, social media and conversion analysis. The right budget depends on the available margin, competition and average customer value, not a fixed percentage valid for all businesses.

SEO has both an initial cost and an ongoing cost. Pages need to be readable by search engines, fast, organized with structured data, linked to one another, and updated whenever products or search intent change. A CMS with native SEO tools can reduce reliance on plugins, but it doesn't replace strategy, content, and measurement.

To calculate whether acquisition is sustainable, use at least these three indicators:

If the acquisition cost is higher than the margin generated by the first order, you need repeat purchases, a higher margin, a lower CAC, or a different offer. Increasing the advertising budget without fixing the economic model is only an apparent solution, not a strategy.

Staff costs and management time

Staff costs are often left out because activities are spread across several people. That's a mistake. Uploading products, fixing orders, updating promotions, responding to customers, and checking reports all take time, even when there's no separate invoice line for it.

An owner who personally runs the store still pays the opportunity cost of that time. An e-commerce manager, on the other hand, needs to assess how many team hours are absorbed by manual tasks and how many directly produce growth, analysis, or improvements to the customer experience.

Comparing platforms, therefore, also means measuring operational autonomy. A less integrated system may have a lower fee but require more human work. A more integrated system may cost more in subscription fees while reducing technical workload. The outcome depends on the economic value of the hours saved.

Three monthly cost scenarios

The ranges below are not quotes. They are reasoning scenarios meant to help you avoid forgetting important items. The cost of goods sold and inventory investment are excluded because they depend on the business model.

In the basic model, the platform fee may be the dominant item, but it's not necessarily the largest cost. In the business model, maintenance, logistics, support, and acquisition become significant. In the growth model, marketing, staff, and logistics operations can far exceed the cost of the CMS.

How to compare two e-commerce quotes

The lowest quote is not automatically the most convenient. Before comparing figures, make the line items consistent. One offer may include design and development but exclude product entry, hosting, maintenance, and payment integration. Another may have a higher fee but include support, security, and updates.

Always ask for a table with this information: setup cost, subscription fee, hosting, domain, number of users, catalog limits, sales commissions, payment costs, mandatory plugins or apps, backups, security, maintenance, support, migration, data export, and response times.

Also ask what happens when the contract ends. Can you export products, customers, orders, and content? Are the URLs preserved? Does the provider deliver the data in a reusable format? A cheap platform that makes it hard to leave can become expensive the moment the business grows or changes direction.

Total cost over three years: an example method

Let's say you're comparing two solutions for a business e-commerce site. The first has low-cost software but requires hosting, premium plugins, maintenance, and technical work. The second has a higher fee but includes part of the infrastructure and management.

You shouldn't just add up the fees. You need to build two equivalent scenarios that include the same functions. If one platform requires a plugin for bookings, an external service for tickets, and a separate contract for updates, these items must appear in its total cost.

The spreadsheet should contain at least 36 monthly rows and columns for platform, hosting, maintenance, additional software, payments, support, staff, and one-off costs. At the end, compare three results: total cost, average monthly cost, and cost per order. The latter is especially useful because it makes stores with different volumes comparable.

When an integrated platform can be worthwhile

An integrated platform can make sense when a company wants to manage e-commerce, content, bookings and support in a single environment. The advantage isn't just fewer screens. It's reducing duplication, manual steps and responsibilities spread across too many vendors.

KeideaCMS presents this model for companies that sell, take bookings and provide support online, with modules connected to the same cart, order and panel. The pricing page lists plans starting at 49 euros a month for the company website and from 99 euros a month for the Business plan with e-commerce, plus higher plans for bookings and rentals.

This doesn't mean an integrated platform is the right choice for every project. Before adopting it, you need to check integrations, catalog requirements, data export, user management, logistics processes and compatibility with existing systems. The right criterion is the total cost to achieve the result, not the isolated price of the software.

The verdict: how much should you budget?

For an e-commerce site in 2026 there's no single credible figure. For a small project you can start with a few hundred euros a month for the platform and basic management, but the budget grows quickly once you add marketing, logistics, support and staff. A structured corporate e-commerce operation needs to plan for thousands of euros a month in overall operating costs, excluding the cost of the products sold.

The most reliable way to decide is to calculate the total cost over 36 months, separating fixed and variable costs. Compare equivalent platforms by functions and services included. If a solution seems cheap only because it offloads maintenance, security and work onto your team, the price isn't low: it's simply incomplete.

If you don't know how much your current stack costs you today, you can request the free e-commerce site audit on KeideaCMS. The analysis should start from hosting, plugins, maintenance, payments, integrations and operating time, to arrive at an estimate of the real cost rather than a comparison based on the subscription fee alone.