How Much Does an Ecommerce Website Cost in Melbourne?

Ask three Melbourne agencies what an online store costs and you can get three different numbers, and it's not always clear why.

So here's a straight answer: what an ecommerce website actually costs in Melbourne in 2026, what moves the number, and how a fixed-price Shopify build compares.

The short answer (published prices, 2026)

What an online store costs to run and to build:

Option	Price	Notes
DIY on Shopify (Basic to Advanced plan)	A$42–A$431/month on a yearly plan (A$56–A$575 month to month)	Plus your own time setting it up.
Agency-built Shopify store	Quoted per job	Depending on catalogue and features. Ask for an itemised quote.
Fully custom-built store	Quoted per job	Usually only worth it for an unusual catalogue or deep software integration.

Source: Shopify pricing (Australia), read 30 September 2026. We couldn't find published agency prices for online stores, so we haven't listed a range.

Most small and medium stores don't need the custom-build version. They need a fast, findable store, which a properly set-up Shopify build can give you for less than a custom build.

What actually changes the price

Catalogue size and complexity. Twenty simple products costs a lot less to set up than two thousand with variants.
Payments, shipping and subscriptions. Standard checkout is quick to set up; recurring billing or complex shipping rules add time.
Custom vs Shopify. See our ecommerce website design guide for the full Shopify-vs-custom breakdown.
Who supplies the product photos and copy. Bring your own and the build moves faster, and costs less.

The hidden costs nobody quotes upfront

Platform subscription. Whichever platform you pick, there's an ongoing monthly fee — budget for it as part of the real cost, not a surprise later.
Payment processing fees. A small percentage per transaction, standard across every platform. No agency can remove this one.
Lock-in. Some agencies build on a platform only they can touch, so every future change goes through them. Ask before you sign.
Apps and add-ons. Extra features like reviews, upsells or loyalty programs often carry their own small monthly fee. Start lean, add only what you actually use.

So where does Whale fit?

We build on Shopify, properly set up rather than a default theme with your logo dropped on top. Our published $499 / $1,699 / $4,800 packages are our cafe and restaurant website packages; an ecommerce build is a one-off fixed price scoped and quoted individually, upfront, once we know your catalogue and what you need to sell.

See the full breakdown — cost, Shopify vs custom, and what makes a store actually sell — on our ecommerce website design page, or get a quote scoped to your catalogue.

The cheapest store is the one that actually gets visitors to check out.

Whichever budget you're working with, the store is only half the job. The other half is people finding it and trusting it enough to buy.

If you're weighing this up against a brochure-style site instead, see what a small business website costs in Melbourne for comparison. Tell us what you're selling and we'll send back a clear, fixed quote, agreed before we start — get a proposal.

Questions we get asked

How much does an ecommerce website cost in Melbourne?

Agency quotes for an online store depend on catalogue size and features, so compare written, itemised quotes. Our three published packages — $499, $1,699 and $4,800 — are our cafe and restaurant website packages; an ecommerce build is scoped and quoted individually, upfront, once we know your catalogue.

Is Shopify cheaper than a custom build?

Usually, yes — Shopify avoids the development cost of building a store engine from scratch. A custom build only earns its price when Shopify genuinely can't do what you need.

What ongoing costs should I budget for?

Shopify's own monthly subscription (covers hosting, security and updates) plus standard payment processing fees. That's it beyond the build — no separate agency lock-in fee on top.