How Much Does It Really Cost to Start an E-Commerce Business in 2026?

Search this question and you'll find two kinds of answers: gurus claiming you can start with £0, and agencies quoting £50,000. Both are technically describing something real. Neither describes what a serious first store actually costs. Here are honest numbers.

The baseline: what every store pays

Platform and apps run roughly £30–80 per month on Shopify once you add the two or three apps every store ends up needing (reviews, email, upsells). A domain is £10–15 a year. Payment processing takes 1.5–3% of every sale plus a small fixed fee — not a startup cost, but budget for it in your margins from day one.

Product costs: the part people underbudget

If you're dropshipping, your cash outlay is samples — realistically £50–150 to properly test 3–5 products. If you're holding stock, first inventory orders typically run £500–2,000 for a viable starting position. Either way, add product photography: £100–300 if you shoot samples properly yourself, more if you hire.

Marketing: the number that decides everything

This is where the "start for free" narrative falls apart. Paid traffic is how nearly every new store finds its first customers, and the learning phase costs money: a workable minimum is £500–1,000 for your first 60–90 days of ad testing. Below that, you won't gather enough data to learn what converts — the money is spent but the lesson isn't bought.

Organic channels (SEO, short-form video) are cheaper in cash and expensive in time — three to six months before meaningful traffic. The winning pattern is both: paid for immediate data and sales, organic building in the background.

The build: DIY, freelancer, or done-for-you

Doing it yourself costs £0 and typically 60–150 hours — with rookie conversion mistakes that quietly tax every visitor thereafter. Freelancers charge £500–3,000 for a store build of reasonable quality, though sourcing, marketing, and post-launch fixes remain your problem. Traditional agencies charge £5,000–20,000 and mostly won't take pre-revenue founders seriously.

Realistic totals

A lean but real dropshipping start: £1,000–2,500 covering platform, samples, branding basics, and a proper ad-testing budget. A stock-holding start: £2,500–6,000. Anyone quoting materially less is either reusing skills and assets they already have — or selling you a course.

Where Shopfinity fits

We built Shopfinity for the gap between DIY and the £10k agency: a one-time setup fee plus a monthly subscription gets you a professionally built store, vetted suppliers, brand and launch marketing, and ongoing growth management — a full e-commerce team without the payroll. Plans start at £499 setup + £149/month, every plan is month-to-month, and you own everything.