What it costs
What an ecommerce website costs in Canada: Shopify vs custom
An online store in Canada runs $37 to $389 CAD a month on Shopify plus card fees. One agency lists custom builds at $3,000 to $15,000 CAD. The 5-year math.
An ecommerce website in Canada costs $37 to $389 CAD a month on a Shopify plan billed yearly, plus card fees on every sale (Shopify, retrieved 2026-09-28). A custom-built store costs more up front: one Canadian agency publishes $3,000 to $15,000 CAD for an ecommerce site (Purpose Path, retrieved 2026-09-28).
The real comparison is the total over 5 years, not the sticker price. Card fees are close on both paths, so the plan fee, the apps, and what you need the store to do decide it. For every other kind of site, see our guide to website costs in Canada.
The short version
- Shopify Basic is $37 CAD a month billed yearly, or $49 CAD billed monthly. Grow is $99 CAD and Advanced is $389 CAD, billed yearly (Shopify, retrieved 2026-09-28).
- Online card fees barely differ: 2.8% + $0.30 CAD on Shopify Basic, 2.9% + $0.30 CAD on Stripe for a custom store.
- Skip Shopify Payments and Shopify adds a 2% fee on Basic, on top of your processor's fee.
- Over 5 years, Grow costs $5,940 CAD in plan fees alone. That passes the low end of a published custom quote, before hosting. Basic stays under it at $2,220 CAD.
- Pick Shopify for a large catalogue you run yourself. Pick custom when the store must work your way, like a bouquet builder or a wholesale gate.
What does an online store cost in Canada?
A Canadian online store costs either a monthly platform fee plus setup, or a one-time build plus hosting. Both paths pay card fees on every order. Here is each line, using prices the vendors publish.
| Cost line | Shopify store | Custom-built store |
|---|---|---|
| Up front | $0 to start; paid themes from $150 USD (Shopify Theme Store) | $3,000 to $15,000 CAD at one agency (Purpose Path) |
| Every month | $37, $99, or $389 CAD, billed yearly | Hosting, quoted by whoever builds the store |
| Per sale, online | 2.8% + $0.30 CAD on Basic | 2.9% + $0.30 CAD on Stripe |
| Extra features | Apps, often billed monthly | Built into the store once |
| Who runs it | You, in Shopify's admin | You, with support from the builder |
Prices retrieved 2026-09-28. US stores pay in USD at different rates, listed on Shopify's US pricing page.
Shoppers are there either way. Online sales were 7.5% of all Canadian retail in July 2026 (Statistics Canada). In the US, the share was 17.1% in the second quarter of 2026 (US Census Bureau).
What Shopify costs over 5 years
Shopify's plan fee is the line that never stops. Over 60 months, billed yearly, Basic costs $2,220 CAD, Grow $5,940 CAD, and Advanced $23,340 CAD, before any app. Grow passes the low end of a custom store quote during year 3, before you add hosting to the custom side.
Billed monthly, the same plans cost $49, $132, and $517 CAD a month (Shopify). Yearly billing saves about a quarter.
The plan is rarely the whole bill. Features like reviews, subscriptions, or product builders usually come from apps, and many apps bill monthly too.
Add up every app you would need before you compare. Our list of hidden website costs covers the smaller recurring lines, from the domain to email.
Card fees: nearly the same on both paths
Card processing costs about the same whether you sell on Shopify or on a custom store. Shopify Basic charges 2.8% + $0.30 CAD per online card sale, and Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 CAD.
The gap opens only if you use a processor other than Shopify Payments. Shopify then adds a third-party transaction fee: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, and 0.6% on Advanced (Shopify, retrieved 2026-09-28). That is on top of what your processor charges.
So on $100,000 CAD a year, the two main paths are $100 CAD apart. Avoiding Shopify Payments on Basic costs $2,000 CAD more.
What a custom-built store costs
A custom store costs more up front and usually less each month after. The build is one payment, the store has no plan tier, and features are coded into it instead of rented as apps.
One Canadian agency, Purpose Path, publishes $3,000 to $15,000 CAD for an ecommerce site. The spread comes from scope: product count, payment options, shipping rules, customer accounts, and anything unusual like a product builder.
What you still pay after launch:
- Hosting, a monthly or yearly fee that varies by provider, so get it quoted with the build.
- Card fees, about 2.9% + $0.30 CAD per sale through a processor like Stripe.
- Changes, unless support is part of the deal. Ask in writing before you sign.
Only 33% of Canadian small businesses with a website use it for direct sales, and the figure is 52% in retail (CFIB, 2025).
Most small businesses with a website do not sell on it yet. The same CFIB report found Shopify and WordPress are the most common platforms among those that do. Across all Canadian businesses, 32% received e-commerce orders in 2023 (Statistics Canada).
Shopify or custom: which one fits your store?
Shopify fits a store with many products and a standard checkout. Custom fits a store where the buying process is the product. Here is how the choice usually splits.
| Your situation | Better fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hundreds of products, frequent restocks | Shopify | Built-in inventory tools and a large app catalogue |
| You want to launch this week, alone | Shopify | Start on a theme, no build time |
| Customers design or configure the order | Custom | The builder is coded into the store, not an app |
| Wholesale buyers who need approval first | Custom | Gated pricing and accounts work your way |
| 5 to 30 products and a strong brand | Either | Compare 5-year totals, including apps |
| Sales above $100,000 CAD a year | Price both | The Shopify tier you need and the custom hosting both matter more at this volume |
The 5-year cost of a plan versus a build follows the same logic as any website. Our comparison of custom websites vs Wix or Squarespace runs those numbers for non-store sites.
A real custom store: RoRoses
RoRoses sells handmade flowers made from pipe cleaners. Every order used to be an Instagram conversation about colours, counts, delivery, and payment, one chat at a time. That works for a handful of orders and stops working as the shop grows.
We built the RoRoses store around a bouquet builder: customers pick the flower, the colour, and the count, then check out on their own. There are 2 ways to buy, single stems or a bouquet, and orders now need 0 messages.
On a theme, a builder like that usually means an app and a monthly charge. Coded into the store, it is part of the build.
Maritime Tattoo Supply is the wholesale version: studios apply, get approved, and see bulk prices. They pay by card or Interac e-Transfer. Both builds are on our portfolio.
How to price your own online store in 4 steps
Work out the 5-year total for each option before you sign anything. You need your product list, your sales estimate, and 2 quotes.
- List your products and features. Count products, variants, and must-haves like a product builder, subscriptions, or wholesale pricing.
- Price the Shopify path. Plan fee times 60, plus theme, plus every app you listed times 60, plus setup help if you hire it.
- Price the custom path. Build quote, plus hosting times 60, plus any paid changes. Without the hosting quote, the custom total is incomplete.
- Add card fees to both. Use your expected yearly sales and order count. Remember the third-party fee if you skip Shopify Payments.
The lower number wins only if both stores do the same job. Pay a little more for the one that fits how your customers buy.
What a custom store costs with us
Samro Studios builds online stores with real checkout, coded for one business, and quotes each one per project. There are 2 ways to pay for the same build:
| Pay once | Monthly plan | |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Quoted per project | Included in the monthly fee |
| Term | None | 12 months |
| Hosting | Standard hosting fee, starting 30 days after payment | Bundled into the plan |
| Support | Included with every build | Carried in the plan |
| Approval | You approve before launch | You approve before launch |
The client approves the finished site before it goes live, and everything paid is fully refundable up to that approval. Support is never sold as a separate retainer.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Shopify store cost per month in Canada?
Shopify Basic costs $37 CAD a month billed yearly, or $49 CAD billed monthly. Grow is $99 CAD and Advanced is $389 CAD a month, billed yearly (Shopify, retrieved 2026-09-28). Card fees, paid themes, and apps come on top of the plan fee.
Is a custom online store cheaper than Shopify?
Not up front: a custom store costs more on the first day, and one Canadian agency publishes $3,000 to $15,000 CAD. Over 5 years it can cost less, because there is no plan tier and features are not rented as monthly apps. Compare the 60-month totals for both.
What are Shopify's transaction fees in Canada?
With Shopify Payments, Basic charges 2.8% + $0.30 CAD per online card sale, and there is no extra transaction fee. With an outside processor, Shopify adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, and 0.6% on Advanced, on top of that processor's own fee.
Do I still pay card fees on a custom-built store?
Yes, every online store pays a card processor. Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 CAD per domestic card sale in Canada (Stripe, retrieved 2026-09-28). On $100,000 CAD of sales in 2,000 orders, that is about $3,500 CAD a year, close to Shopify Payments on Basic.
Can I move my Shopify store to a custom website later?
Yes: Shopify lets you export your products to a CSV file, and you can point or transfer your domain to the new store. The theme and any app features stay behind, so those get rebuilt on the new store. Plan the switch for a slow sales month.
The decision
If you run a large catalogue yourself and need to launch fast, start on Shopify Basic and keep Shopify Payments on. Does your store sell in a way a theme cannot, like a product builder or a wholesale gate? Price a custom build against 5 years of Shopify fees and apps.
To get an exact number for a custom store, tell us what you sell on the contact form. We come back with a quote after hearing about the project.
Sami Bdeira is the founder of Samro Studios, which builds quoting agents and custom tools for service businesses in the United States and Canada.
