An e-commerce app costs $25,000 to $150,000 to build as a customer-facing shopping app, and $150,000 to $400,000 or more for a multi-vendor marketplace or headless commerce platform. Published industry surveys cluster in the same ranges — basic commerce apps start around $25,000, while enterprise-grade mobile commerce platforms exceed $300,000. Most owners should also budget 15–20% of the build cost per year for maintenance, hosting and third-party services.
- A simple e-commerce app costs $25,000–$60,000; a mid-complexity app $60,000–$150,000; a marketplace or headless build $150,000–$400,000+.
- Payments, inventory sync and personalization are the three features that most often blow the budget.
- Building on Shopify or a similar platform can cut the first release 40–60% versus a fully custom build.
- Cross-platform frameworks cut a two-app (iOS + Android) release by 25–35%.
- Add 15–20% of the build cost annually for hosting, maintenance and app-store compliance.
Cost by app complexity
| Tier | What it looks like | Typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | Product catalog, cart, checkout, push notifications, one platform | $25,000–$60,000 |
| Mid-complexity | User accounts, order tracking, loyalty, payments, both platforms | $60,000–$150,000 |
| Complex | Multi-vendor marketplace, headless architecture, personalization, AI recommendations | $150,000–$400,000+ |
These are build costs for the app itself. Add app-store fees, cloud hosting ($300–$3,000/month at moderate scale), payment processing integration, and a support plan.
What drives the cost up or down
- Feature depth. Each significant feature adds $5,000–$30,000. Product search with filters, saved carts, and reviews are cheap; real-time inventory sync, live shopping, and AI product recommendations are not.
- Integrations. Connecting the app to your ERP, inventory system, shipping providers, or a POS adds $8,000–$30,000 per production-grade integration, including error handling.
- Payments. A single payment gateway is straightforward. Multi-currency, wallets, buy-now-pay-later, and subscription billing multiply the testing surface.
- Platform choice. A custom app on top of Shopify or a headless commerce backend costs more up front than a platform-native store app, but removes per-month licensing fees and keeps your data model yours.
- Team location. US agencies bill $100–$180/hour; blended US/UK-facing offshore delivery runs $25–$75. A 1,000-hour build costs $25,000–$75,000 offshore versus $100,000–$180,000 onshore.
Build custom or build on Shopify?
For most small and mid-size retailers, a platform-first launch is the cheaper credible path: a Shopify Plus storefront with a companion mobile app routinely lands in the $40,000–$100,000 range and ships in 3–4 months. A fully custom build makes sense when your buying experience itself is the differentiator — marketplaces, subscription commerce, unusual fulfillment logic. A mobile app development partner should be able to price both paths side by side before you commit.
How much does it cost to build an e-commerce app for a marketplace?
Multi-vendor marketplaces cost $150,000–$400,000 or more: vendor onboarding and payouts, commission logic, dispute handling, and separate buyer/seller experiences are all net-new engineering, not features you can buy off the shelf.
How long does it take to build an e-commerce app?
Three to four months for a simple single-platform app, five to seven months for a mid-complexity build with integrations, and eight to twelve months or more for a marketplace or headless platform. Timeline tracks scope almost linearly.
How much does it cost to maintain an e-commerce app?
Plan 15–20% of the build cost per year. A $100,000 app needs roughly $15,000–$20,000 annually for OS updates, security patching, payment gateway changes, and seasonal feature work — holiday readiness alone is a recurring engineering cost most owners forget.
One last thing
The cheapest quote is rarely the cheapest app. Low bids on commerce builds usually assume template UI, no inventory-integration edge cases, and no post-launch holiday support — the three things that surface as lost revenue in the first sales season. Fix the feature list, make every bidder price the same scope, and add the maintenance line before you compare totals. Syndell's guide to estimating custom software development cost walks through that scoping exercise step by step.
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FAQ
How much does it cost to build an e-commerce app?
A simple shopping app costs $25,000–$60,000, a mid-complexity app with accounts and integrations runs $60,000–$150,000, and a multi-vendor marketplace or headless build starts at $150,000 and can exceed $400,000.
Is it cheaper to build on Shopify or build a custom app?
Platform-first is cheaper in year one — a Shopify Plus storefront with a companion app lands around $40,000–$100,000. Custom wins over a 3–5 year horizon when per-month platform fees compound and your buying experience is the differentiator.
How much does a marketplace app cost to build?
$150,000–$400,000+. Vendor onboarding, payouts, commission logic and dispute handling are net-new engineering on top of the standard shopping app.
How much should I budget for maintenance?
15–20% of the build cost per year — a $100,000 app needs roughly $15,000–$20,000 annually for OS updates, security patching and holiday-season readiness.
How long does an e-commerce app take to build?
3–4 months simple, 5–7 months mid-complexity, 8–12+ months for a marketplace or headless platform. Scope, not team speed, drives the timeline.
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