E-commerce Website Costs in the UK: Shopify, WooCommerce and BigCommerce
An online shop costs more than its platform subscription. For a UK small business, the useful comparison is the total of the store plan, payments, hosting where required, essential apps and the time needed to keep the shop running. Start with your expected orders and a list of required features before comparing headline prices.
Quick decision: shortlist Shopify when you want a hosted store with a predictable platform bill; investigate WooCommerce when you already use WordPress and have someone to maintain it; include BigCommerce when its catalogue and growth model fit your requirements. These are selection criteria, not a hands-on performance ranking.
What you actually need to budget for
| Cost | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Platform or hosting | Is the advertised monthly amount billed monthly or committed annually? |
| Payments | What percentage and fixed fee apply to your actual card and payment mix? |
| Apps and extensions | Are bookings, subscriptions, accounting or delivery charged separately? |
| Design and setup | Can you launch with the included theme, or do you need paid implementation? |
| Maintenance | Who owns updates, backups, troubleshooting and the next redesign? |
| Growth | Do sales volume, locations, users or orders change the subscription? |
Shopify: separate annual pricing from monthly billing
On 2 October 2026, the official UK pricing page displayed Basic at £25 per month on monthly billing, or £19 per month when paid yearly. That annual equivalent is £228 for twelve months; it is not a promise that you can cancel after one month having paid £19. Promotions should be kept separate from the ongoing budget.
The same source lists hosting as included and shows payment rates and third-party transaction fees separately. A paid app or POS Pro location adds another line to the budget. Check the actual checkout and payment-provider conditions before committing, including how tax is presented. For the product context, read our Shopify POS overview.
WooCommerce: free software does not mean a free operation
WooCommerce's pricing explanation separates its free core platform from costs such as hosting, extensions and payment services. A shop owner still needs someone responsible for WordPress maintenance. See our WooCommerce overview before deciding whether that flexibility is useful to your business.
Request a hosting quote that covers your catalogue and traffic, then list the extensions your checkout needs. Include renewal prices rather than only introductory offers. If an agency handles updates, ask whether restoring a broken checkout is included or billed separately. That support arrangement can matter more than a small difference in hosting cost.
BigCommerce: check the current plan rules
BigCommerce has published a 2026 pricing update. Use its current pricing page to check your plan, currency, sales-related limits and payment conditions instead of relying on older Standard/Plus/Pro comparisons. Do not treat a USD list price as a GBP subscription. Our BigCommerce overview is a starting point for the shortlist.
A worked monthly budget you can reuse
Illustrative figures, not vendor quotes: imagine £5,000 in card sales across 100 orders, a £30 platform bill and £20 in apps. At an assumed 2% plus £0.25 per order, payments cost £100 + £25 = £125. Total recurring cost is £175 before taxes, maintenance, shipping and setup. If setup costs £600, first-year cost is £2,700 under these assumptions, not £2,100.
Run the same calculation for every shortlist: fixed monthly costs + sales × percentage fee + orders × fixed fee. Use separate rows for different payment channels. Test both your current volume and twice that volume; a small difference in percentage fees can outweigh a cheaper subscription.
Before you buy
- Build one real product, one shipping rule and one refund in the trial.
- Price every must-have app and record its renewal date.
- Ask how you can export products, customers and order history.
- Choose who will fix checkout problems during busy trading hours.
- Compare the twelve-month commitment and the cash due upfront.
Frequently asked questions
Which platform is cheapest?
It depends on payment volume, extensions and maintenance. Compare a complete shop budget for the same requirements; a free core platform can still have substantial operating costs.
Should I start with annual billing?
First verify the shop can handle your essential workflow. Annual discounts reduce the equivalent monthly subscription but commit cash before you know the platform fits.
Next, compare the e-commerce software catalogue and budget for the connection to your accounts in our Shopify–Xero integration checklist.
Sources checked 2 October 2026. This is a researched budgeting guide; worked examples are our own assumptions, not supplier quotations.