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What it costs to own an online store: startup and monthly expenses

| Article: 6 min read | Launch and platforms

The cost of owning an online store (total cost of ownership) is all the money the store demands from the start until the moment you close or sell it: one-time launch costs and monthly running costs. The cost of the website is only one line, and often not the biggest.

There is no single "price of an online store", and the honest way is to build your own estimate line by line. Below is a list of lines, fresh reference figures and a calculation example with illustrative numbers. There is no fresh independent data on the price of website development or platform subscriptions in Ukraine (2025–2026): collect quotes from several places and compare them in your own table.

Part 1. Startup (one-time) costs

Line

What it includes

What fresh sources say

Legal form

Sole proprietor (FOP) or LLC, bank account

According to NetFreedom (23.03.2026) a sole proprietor (FOP) registers for free, an LLC from 5,000 UAH plus the charter (NetFreedom). Online registration via Diia takes a few minutes (Holovbukh, 23.03.2026)

Platform or development

SaaS setup, a template, customizations or turnkey development

Prices vary, there is no fresh independent review. The choice between approaches is in the article SaaS or a custom store

Design and UX

Template or custom design, mobile version

Ranges from zero to significant sums; no fresh data

Catalog and content

Photos, descriptions, specs, product upload

Depends on volume: ten products or ten thousand (catalog structure)

Domain and certificate

Domain registration, SSL

Registrar prices differ, there is no single fresh price list

Payment and delivery

Contracts with the acquirer and the carrier

See the contract for connection terms; fees are in the monthly part

Legal pages

Terms, returns, privacy policy

Requirements for information to buyers: Law on Consumer Rights Protection, art. 13; see also GDPR, cookies

Analytics

Setting up online store events

Google Analytics itself is free, but setup and checks take time (Google Analytics Help)

Inventory

First purchases

The biggest line for many stores

First ad tests

Budget for testing channels

Depends on the niche; no fresh independent data on cost per click

Cash register

PRRO setup, if needed

Depends on the group and payment method (PRRO)

A rule for an honest estimate: on top of the sums your contractor names, add your own team's time and working capital. Inventory and advertising almost always outweigh the cost of the website.

Part 2. Monthly costs

Fixed (do not depend on the number of orders)

  • Platform or hosting and support. SaaS subscription, hosting, domain, backups, security updates. For a custom solution, developer support is added: unattended code accumulates technical debt, which later costs money.
  • Tools. CRM, mailings, analytics, reviews, chat support (CRM, CRM for an online store).
  • People. Owner, order manager, content, marketer, accountant.
  • Social contribution (ESV) for a sole proprietor (FOP). In 2026, 1,902.34 UAH a month (22% of the minimum wage of 8,647 UAH; it can be paid quarterly, 5,707.02 UAH) (monobank, 16.06.2026).
  • Warehouse, rent, accounting software.

Variable (grow with orders)

  • Taxes. For a group 3 sole proprietor (FOP) in 2026: 5% of income (3% for a VAT payer), 1% military levy on income; income limit 10,091,049 UAH a year (monobank). The tax is taken from revenue, not profit.
  • Payment fees. According to monobank's comparison as of 1 September 2026: 1.3% for Ukrainian bank cards in plata by mono and LiqPay, 1.5% in hutko and Portmone; foreign cards 2% in the first two (monobank).
  • Cash on delivery. NovaPay from 1 June 2026: 1% + 10 UAH when settled with a NovaPay card, 2% + 20 UAH for cash or other cards (DT-KT). Who pays the fee depends on the contract.
  • Delivery. Nova Poshta rates within Ukraine from 13.04.2026: up to 2 kg 90 UAH, up to 10 kg 135 UAH, up to 30 kg 200 UAH; packing a box up to 2 kg 15 UAH (Liga.net, 04.04.2026). When you deliver part of the orders for free, that is your cost (free shipping threshold).
  • Advertising. Usually the biggest variable line. Assess it through CAC and ROAS, and for marketplaces through retail media.
  • Marketplace fees. If you sell through Prom or Rozetka, check the current rates in the seller's account: there is no single published table.
  • Returns and refused parcels. Two-way delivery, lost goods, packaging (returns, cash on delivery).

Reference context: according to a WayForPay report, the average online purchase in Ukraine in 2025 was about 1,320 UAH, and online spending was roughly 256 billion UAH (dev.ua, 25.05.2026). This is a market average, not a forecast for you.

Example: an illustrative month of a small store

All figures are illustrative, except the tax rates, ESV, acquiring fees and the Nova Poshta rate from the sources above.

Suppose: revenue 400,000 UAH, 308 orders with an average order of about 1,300 UAH, a group 3 sole proprietor (FOP) without VAT.

Line

Assumption

Amount, UAH

Cost of goods

55% of revenue

220,000

Single tax and military levy

5% + 1% of revenue

24,000

ESV

per the source

1,902

Payment fees

1.5% of revenue (all payments online)

6,000

Delivery paid by the store

half the orders at 90 UAH

about 14,000

Packaging

15 UAH per order

about 5,000

Advertising

15% of revenue

60,000

Platform, domain, tools

illustrative

8,000

Content, site support

illustrative

15,000

Order assistant

illustrative

25,000

Total


378,902

Remainder


21,098 (about 5%)

This example does not include returns and refused parcels: if they make up 5–8% of orders, the remainder almost disappears. The takeaway is not in the specific sums but in the structure: a small share goes to the site and platform, while decisions on advertising, delivery and returns determine whether the store earns money. The same logic is laid out in detail in the article on unit economics.

Also watch the limit: 10,091,049 UAH a year is on average about 840 thousand UAH of revenue a month. With fast growth you cross it, and then a different tax regime is needed. Check with your accountant.

Hidden costs

  1. Time. The owner often covers several roles, and that work has a price.
  2. Technical debt. Decisions made quickly or without engineers get more expensive over time (SaaS or a custom store).
  3. Migration. Moving to another platform requires work with URLs and data (migration).
  4. Lost orders. According to Baymard, 70.22% of carts are abandoned, and the reasons include extra costs (40%), slow delivery (20%), site errors (17%) and a declined card (10%) (Baymard, updated 22.09.2025). Mistakes at these steps are a cost, even though it doesn't show up in invoices.
  5. Rate changes. Nova Poshta raised prices in April 2026, NovaPay changed its terms in June: build a cushion for price increases into your model.

How to build your own estimate

  1. Write out all the lines from the two parts above and add your own.
  2. For each, set a range from minimum to maximum and a source (contractor quote, price list, contract).
  3. Calculate per order (unit economics) and per month.
  4. Run three scenarios: few orders, as planned, twice as many.
  5. Set a threshold: at what monthly volume the store breaks even.
  6. Update once a quarter: rates and fees change.

Common mistakes

  • Comparing only the price of the site and not counting advertising, delivery and returns.
  • Not building in a reserve for at least two or three months of work without profit.
  • Forgetting that the single tax is calculated on revenue, not profit.
  • Taking figures from agency advertising blogs as the norm.
  • Not recalculating the estimate after rates change.

FAQ

How much does it cost to open an online store in Ukraine? There is no single sum, and there is no fresh independent data on development costs in 2026. Build an estimate from the lines above. Registering a sole proprietor (FOP) is free, the ESV in 2026 is 1,902.34 UAH a month.

How much does it cost to run an online store per month? It depends on volume. Fixed lines: platform or hosting, tools, people, ESV. Variable: taxes, payment fees, delivery, advertising, returns. An example with illustrative numbers is above.

What are acquiring fees? According to monobank's comparison as of 1 September 2026: 1.3–1.5% for Ukrainian bank cards, depending on the provider. Rates change, so check with the provider.

What is more expensive: development or advertising? For most stores in the first year, advertising and inventory exceed the cost of the site, but it depends on the niche; there is no confirmed general data, so check against your own estimate.

Sources

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