Online store questions, answered with real numbers

To start an online store, choose a specific product and audience, check that people will pay, pick a platform (Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce or a website builder with a store), set up payments, shipping and taxes, build a small store with clear product pages, and launch to the first customers you can reach directly. Marketing, not building, is where most new stores struggle.

You can start an online store for under $100 using a marketplace or a cheap store plan and products you make or print on demand. A typical small store spends roughly $30 to $100 a month on its platform and apps, about 3% of each sale on payment processing, plus inventory, packaging, shipping and marketing. Inventory and ads are usually the biggest costs, not the website.

Shopify is worth it for stores that sell regularly and want a reliable, full-featured platform without managing hosting or security. Basic costs $39 a month ($29 billed yearly) plus about 2.9% and 30 cents per online card sale, as of 2026. For very small or occasional sellers, a marketplace or a cheaper website builder store can cost less, and app subscriptions are what push Shopify bills up.

Etsy is better when you are starting out with handmade, vintage or craft products and need shoppers who are already searching; it charges about 10% per sale in fees but no monthly subscription. Shopify is better once you have your own audience and steady sales; it charges a monthly fee plus card processing, and you keep the customer relationship. Many sellers use both.

Shopify is better for most store owners who want to sell without managing technology: hosting, security and updates are included for a monthly fee. WooCommerce is better if you already use WordPress, want full control and no platform transaction fees, and are comfortable managing hosting, plugins and security yourself. WooCommerce is free, but hosting and extensions mean it is rarely free to run.

On the Basic plan, Shopify Payments charges about 2.9% plus 30 cents per online card sale in the US, falling to 2.7% on Grow and 2.5% on Advanced, according to 2026 pricing guides. Shopify itself takes no extra transaction fee if you use Shopify Payments; with another payment provider, it adds 2% on Basic. Your monthly plan and any apps are on top.

Dropshipping is rarely worth it as the easy income it is marketed as. Margins on commodity products are thin, advertising eats most of the profit, shipping times and quality are outside your control, and you are legally responsible for your customers' orders. It can work as a low-risk way to test product ideas, or for a niche you understand deeply with products and branding competitors cannot easily copy.

The easiest way to accept payments on a website is a hosted checkout from a processor such as Stripe or PayPal: create a payment link or button, put it on your site, and the processor handles card details and security. For many products, use a store platform with checkout built in; for services, invoices or booking tools with payments work well. In the US, standard online card fees are around 2.9% plus 30 cents.