Most first-time sellers budget for the build and forget the running costs — then discover that the monthly total is what actually decides whether the store is viable. Here is the full picture for 2026.

Build cost by store type

₹25,000 to ₹50,000 — starter store

Up to around 100 products, UPI and card payments, shipping integration, guest checkout, basic SEO and a mobile-first design. This covers most first stores for a boutique, a bakery or a local retailer in Hyderabad or Pune.

₹50,000 to ₹1,50,000 — growth store

Larger catalogues, variants and filters, coupon engine, abandoned-cart recovery, customer accounts, GST invoicing and proper analytics. This is where stores start competing on search rather than only on ads.

Above ₹1,50,000 — custom

B2B pricing tiers, ERP integration, multi-vendor marketplaces, subscription billing. Priced by requirement.

The running costs people forget

  • Hosting — cloud or managed, not the cheapest shared plan; an online store that goes down during a campaign costs more than it saved.
  • Payment gateway fees — a percentage of every order. Compare settlement cycles as well as rates.
  • Shipping aggregator — per shipment, plus returns.
  • Maintenance — updates, backups, security. Non-negotiable on a store taking payments.
  • Marketing — realistically the largest ongoing line. A store with no traffic earns nothing regardless of how well it was built.

What to skip in year one

Loyalty programmes, a mobile app, multi-currency, complex bundling and a custom checkout. None of these fix the two things that actually limit early stores: not enough traffic, and too much friction at checkout.

Where small sellers overspend

On design polish, and on premium themes with features they never switch on. Where they underspend is product photography and product descriptions — the two things that most directly drive add-to-cart rate and organic rankings. Shift budget from the first to the second.

Own your channel alongside the marketplaces

Amazon, Flipkart and the quick-commerce platforms bring volume and take a commission on every order. ONDC and your own store cost less per sale and let you keep the customer relationship. Most successful sellers in 2026 run all three, and treat their own store as the margin channel rather than the volume one.

A realistic first-year plan

Launch a starter store with excellent product pages, UPI checkout and WhatsApp support. Spend the savings on photography and a small, well-tracked ad budget. Upgrade features only when order volume justifies them.

See our pricing, explore our e-commerce development services, or get a free quote.

Affordable online stores for sellers in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata and every city we serve.