A working e-shop in Greece costs between €800 and €2,000 on a ready-made template, €2,500 to €8,000 for a custom WooCommerce build, and upwards of €8,000 for a large catalogue or B2B store. On top of that you should budget €600–€2,500 a year for hosting, licences, invoicing and maintenance.
The figure on a quote is not your total cost. It is one of four parts — and you pay the other three whether you planned for them or not.
Want a figure for your own case? Request a free cost estimate and you will have it within 48 hours, broken down line by line.
Table of Contents
The four parts of the cost
Before looking at numbers, split the cost into four categories. This is how you spot what a quote is leaving out.
| Category | What it covers | When you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Build | Design, development, catalogue setup | One-off, at the start |
| Running | Hosting, domain, licences, backups | Every year |
| Transaction | Card fees, courier, marketplace commission | Per sale |
| Growth | SEO, advertising, content, photography | Monthly, optional |
Most quotes only describe the first. The businesses that get burned by their e-shop usually ignored the third and fourth.
How much does building an e-shop cost in 2026?
The Greek market splits into three price bands. The difference is not how pretty the result looks — it is how much work happens before and after the design stage.
| E-shop type | Price range | Timeline | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ready-made WooCommerce template | €800 – €2,000 | 2–4 weeks | Up to 50 products, simple invoicing |
| Custom WooCommerce | €2,500 – €8,000 | 6–10 weeks | 100–1,000 products, variants, integrations |
| Premium / B2B / large catalogue | €8,000 – €25,000+ | 3–6 months | Wholesale, per-customer pricing, ERP |
| Shopify (subscription) | €30 – €300 / month + setup | 2–5 weeks | Fast launch, few Greek-specific needs |
An e-shop starts higher than a brochure website for a simple reason: it contains a till, a warehouse and a tax obligation. For the comparison, see our detailed guide on how much a professional website costs in Greece.
Why a €500 quote is not cheaper
For €500 you get an installation. Someone sets up WordPress, a purchased theme and WooCommerce, then hands you the passwords.
You do not get product entry, VAT rules per category, courier integration, payment testing or baseline SEO. That is 20–40 hours of work you will either do yourself or pay for later at a higher rate.
What your e-shop costs every year
These run whether you sell or not. Budget them from day one, because they set the minimum turnover you need.
| Recurring cost | Annual range | Note |
|---|---|---|
.gr domain | €15 – €30 | Usually billed per two years |
| E-shop hosting | €150 – €700 | A €3/month shared plan will not carry a catalogue |
| SSL certificate | €0 – €80 | Free Let’s Encrypt covers most cases |
| Premium plugin licences | €150 – €500 | Payments, filters, shipping, backups |
| E-invoicing provider (myDATA) | €120 – €400 | Effectively mandatory |
| Maintenance & updates | €300 – €1,200 | Updates, backups, monitoring |
| Total | ≈ €750 – €2,900 |
The invoicing line is new for many owners. From 1 October 2026 electronic invoicing becomes mandatory for all Greek businesses, so it is no longer an optional expense. Our guide on connecting an e-shop to myDATA explains what you need and in what order.
How much are payment fees?
Every card sale leaves a percentage with the provider. On small baskets, that percentage eats more than you would expect.
| Provider | Fee | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Viva Wallet | 1.5% – 2% | Greek e-shops, fast settlement |
| Stripe | 1.4% + €0.25 | Sales outside Greece as well |
| PayPal | 3.4% + €0.35 | Customers who specifically ask for it |
| Cash on delivery (courier) | €1.50 – €3 per shipment | Still popular in the Greek market |
Here is what that means in practice. On a €25 basket, Stripe costs roughly €0.60, or 2.4%. The same basket through PayPal costs €1.20, or nearly 5%.
Across 500 orders a month, the difference is €300. That is your entire annual hosting bill, gone in a quarter.
WooCommerce or Shopify for a Greek e-shop?
The platform choice changes the shape of your costs more than the total.
| WooCommerce | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Higher (€2,500+) | Lower (€800–€2,000 setup) |
| Monthly subscription | None | €30 – €300 |
| myDATA integration | Many proven options | Fewer apps, often via a provider |
| Cash on delivery & Greek couriers | Supported directly | Needs an app or custom work |
| Ownership | Yours, portable at any time | You rent the platform |
| Maintenance | Your responsibility | Handled by Shopify |
The practical rule: if you sell mainly in Greece with cash on delivery and invoices, WooCommerce works out cheaper after year two. If you want to launch in three weeks and never touch anything technical, the Shopify subscription earns its keep.
Not sure which platform fits? Tell us what you sell and how many products you have and we will tell you which option costs less over five years.
The hidden costs that never make it into quotes
These surface in month two or three, once the shop is already open.
- Product photography: €250 – €1,500 depending on volume. Phone photos in natural light do work, but they cost you time.
- Copy and product descriptions: €3 – €10 per product if outsourced. For 200 products, that is €600–€2,000.
- Catalogue entry: without an XML feed, someone has to add products one by one.
- Skroutz / BestPrice integration: €200 – €600 to set up, plus commission per sale.
- Returns: the cost of the return shipment, typically €3–€5 each.
- Post-launch changes: anything not in the original scope is billed separately.
A realistic rule of thumb: add 25% to the build quote for what will come up in year one. If it turns out you do not need it, so much the better.
Can I get funding for my e-shop?
Yes — Greek and EU programmes periodically cover part of the digitisation cost for small and medium businesses. Rates and eligibility change with each funding round, so the check has to happen at the moment you are interested.
The most common mistake is starting work before approval. Most schemes do not cover expenses incurred before the application is submitted.
Our guide to ESPA funding for websites and e-shops covers what currently applies and the order of steps that keeps you eligible.
How long until an e-shop pays for itself?
An e-shop is not a marketing expense. It is a sales channel with a fixed cost, so payback is a calculation.
Take a worked example with realistic figures:
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Build | €3,000 |
| Annual running cost | €1,200 |
| Average basket | €45 |
| Gross margin | 40% (€18 per order) |
| Orders to break even in year one | ≈ 233 |
That is roughly 20 orders a month. For an Instagram shop already closing sales in DMs, this is usually the turnover it is doing already — just with far more manual work.
From year two the equation changes, because only the running cost remains. At that point you need about 6 orders a month to break even.
How to compare two quotes properly
Ask both providers for the same five things. Without them, you are comparing apples with oranges.
- An itemised deliverables list — what exactly is included, not “e-shop build”.
- Who enters the products, and up to how many.
- Which integrations are included (payments, myDATA, courier, marketplace) and which are billed extra.
- What year two costs — maintenance, licences, hosting.
- Who holds the credentials for domain, hosting and platform. The answer must be “you”.
If anyone refuses to answer the fifth, end the conversation there.
Frequently asked questions
Can I build an e-shop myself?
Yes, with Shopify or WooCommerce and a ready-made theme. Expect 40–80 hours, and expect to get stuck mainly on VAT rules, shipping zones and invoicing.
Do I need a cash register?
No, if you sell online only. Receipts are issued electronically through a certified provider.
How many products can a simple e-shop handle?
WooCommerce comfortably handles thousands. The limit comes from your hosting, not the platform.
What does migrating an existing e-shop cost?
Typically €1,000–€4,000, depending on catalogue size and order history. The critical part is redirects, so you do not lose your Google rankings.
Is it worth paying for SEO from the start?
Baseline SEO — structure, titles, speed — belongs in the build. An ongoing campaign can wait until sales are steady.
What to do this week
Before requesting quotes, write down three numbers: how many products you have, how many orders you currently take through other channels, and your average basket value.
With those three, any serious provider can give you a realistic price within a day. Without them, you will get ranges like “somewhere between €900 and €6,000”.
And once the shop is open, the next job is being found. Start with our guide to local SEO and Google Business Profile.
Next step Book a free 30-minute call with the team at The Dev Alley. We will look at what you sell, what you actually need and what you do not — and you will leave with a figure, not a range.
