How much should a custom Shopify store actually cost?
I've had quotes from $500 to $40,000 for what sounds like the same thing. How do I tell what's fair?
— First-time merchant
The huge range is real and it usually reflects scope, not quality. A styled premium-theme store build runs in the low thousands; a fully custom-coded theme with bespoke design is more; a headless or app-heavy build is more again.
What to look for in a fair quote: a fixed price agreed in writing before work starts (no open-ended hourly), a clear deliverables list, who owns the code afterward (you should), and a realistic timeline. Be wary of both ends — $500 usually means a copy-paste template with no support, and $40k often means agency overhead you're paying for, not better code.
Ask every candidate the same three questions: what exactly do I get, when, and do I own it. The answers separate the real builders from the rest fast.
Answered by Ashraful · Shopify Select Partner · May 8, 2026
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