What does Shopware cost?

What does a Shopware Store? This is certainly always one of the first questions we are asked in relation to Shopware projects. The costs for a Shopware store vary from case to case and always depend on individual customer requirements. Here we will briefly explain the various factors that influence the price of individual Shopware solutions.

Shopware is free of charge!

Shopware is actually free. Almost. Shopware is open source and is therefore also available free of charge on the shopware AG website. Community Edition available. If the functionalities of the Community Edition are not enough for you, you can choose between two more. Which version is the right one for your company must of course be checked in advance and is the first decisive factor influencing the price.

Shopware Professional Edition

The Professional Edition currently costs EUR 2,495 one-off or EUR 199 per month in the subscription model. In addition to all the functions of the Community Edition, this also includes the so-called storytelling function with extended marketing options. If you also need a merchandise management system, Shopware ERP is an ERP system with central administration.

Shopware Enterprise Edition

The most expensive and at the same time most comprehensive version is the Shopware Enterprise Edition. Prices for this are only available on request from Shopware. We know from our own experience: from this point onwards, prices can easily reach five figures. However, this version is only necessary for high-performance e-commerce projects. However, it offers useful additional features: a retailer integration for setting up a distribution network, a B2B suite with special solutions for B2B business models and many other special solutions.

Our recommendation

Even before the project starts, you should consider where you want to go and which features are needed and which are not. If in doubt, we always recommend starting with the smaller edition first - you can always upgrade later depending on the success of the project and your requirements.

NEW: Shopware Cloud

Announced in June 2020, Shopware 6 is now also available as a software-as-a-service (SaaS) in the cloud. This eliminates the need to purchase, set up and maintain your own server. Shopware is also already pre-installed.

Here we start with the Starter Edition as a freemium model: 0 € monthly costs and you pay 3% sales commission.

With the Advanced package, you pay €29 per month, but only 1.5 % sales commission.

With the Professional package (only available in the Professional Edition, not in the Community Edition), you pay €199 plus 0.5% commission.

Basic costs for Shopware

If I don't go to the cloud, I have the option of installing Shopware on a local hosting environment. So I need to rent a server that meets Shopware's system requirements. I also need a domain (www.mein-shop.de).

In addition, there are now expenses for setting up the server and for the installation and basic configuration of Shopware. Configuration includes, for example, setting up payment and shipping methods, maintaining billing data, setting up shipping conditions and much more. Terms and conditions often also need to be set up. Overall, you can expect a total effort of 1-3 days.

Costs for design & templates

Thanks to the large developer community around Shopware, there are some great ready-made themes available for around 200 to 500 euros, which can be easily customized according to your own CI with just a few hours of work. However, you usually have a few more wishes - and you should plan a total of 3 to 8 days for these special requests. This is because in most cases it is not enough to simply replace the logo and adjust the colors due to special requests; the template has to be modified.

If you don't want an off-the-peg design, you'll have to dig deeper into your pockets. Of course, there are hardly any limits here: The designer can create freely, then the design must be implemented (so-called templating). You can't get away with less than 5 days, 15 days is not uncommon and is not the end of the line. Depending on the degree of customization, the costs increase because the designer's work has to be converted into templates by a developer.

There may also be costs for plugins/themes from the store. Basically, you have the choice between existing themes or an individual design. The two options differ enormously in terms of the time required. If you use an existing design, you can expect it to take around 5-8 days. For a complete individual design, on the other hand, you can expect 10-15 days!

Costs for further requirements

Experience has shown that there are always special requests that Shopware cannot map. However, thanks to the active developer community, solutions for many requirements can already be found as plugins in the Shopware store. Most of them are available for a fee, but you still save money overall. This is because reprogramming the features usually takes longer and costs more. The plugins here are usually (as a purchase version) in the range of 10 to 300 euros.

If there is not yet a solution from the Shopware store for a specific requirement, individual development is usually required. This could be costs for an interface to an existing merchandise management system or the import of articles.

Ongoing costs for Shopware

You need to be aware that one-off expenses are never enough. In addition to the running costs for the infrastructure (cloud or own server), regular updates for Shopware, themes and plugins must be planned. Experience has shown that new requirements also arise regularly, for which you should plan an annual budget

Further expenses

Additional time is required for the creation of general terms and conditions, applying for business accounts (e.g. for DHL or PayPal) and familiarization with the system. In some cases, internal processes also need to be set up: Goods dispatch, returns management, customer support, etc. should be thought through and set up in advance. Product data often also needs to be maintained or images created.

Butter to the fish: This is what Shopware costs

The cost estimates are based on our experience as a Shopware agency and can also vary depending on the choice of agency.

Variant 1 - Low budget

0 to 1,000 euros: If you understand web technologies (server, HTML, PHP etc.) and have the time, you can get by with minimal costs for a server, a few plugins and possibly a theme. Here Shopware is installed as an instance on your own server (approx. 30 euros / year)

With the cloud version, hosting is free and I don't have to worry about the initial setup. However, depending on the cloud plan selected, there is a revenue share of 3 % (free) or monthly costs of at least 29 euros and a maximum of 1.5 % revenue share.

Option 2 - I need support but don't have much of a budget

from approx. 6,000 euros: This is the minimum amount you should plan on spending to start your own Shopware store with external support. However, you only get the basics here - there is not much room for special requests. The more you can contribute yourself, the better it is, of course.

Option 3 - I need support and am looking for a professional solution

from approx. 15,000 euros: From this budget, you can already get viable concepts. Of course, there is no upper limit here. The more individual and complex the requirements are, the more budget needs to be planned.

I want to know exactly!

No problem, talk to us! We will be happy to listen to your requirements and advise you without obligation and, above all, independently. We classify an initial assessment as "good service" without trying to sell you anything.