Most first-time sellers ask what an online store costs and picture a single number. The build is only part of it, and it is rarely the part that surprises people. What surprises them is the running bill, the payment charges, and a set of Portuguese legal obligations that apply before the first sale, not after.

I build online stores, so this is the breakdown I wish every new seller had before they started: what you pay in year one, what it costs to keep running, and the rules you cannot skip in Portugal.

What the store itself costs

There are three realistic scenarios, and they are genuinely different products aimed at different stages of a business.

Do it yourself on a hosted platform — the first year with Shopify runs roughly €480 to €1,080 once you include essential apps. A self-hosted WooCommerce setup can start lower, around €220 to €530 for the year, but you assemble and maintain the pieces yourself.
A professional simple store — roughly €1,500 to €3,000. A designed store with your branding, product setup done properly, and the integrations that matter connected from the start.
A professional advanced store — from around €3,000 to €10,000 and up, once you add automation, connections to shipping and stock systems, or a custom checkout.

The published 2026 ranges from Portuguese studios sit in the same territory. The wide gap is not markup; it is the difference between a template you fill in and a store built around how your business actually sells.

Shopify or WooCommerce

The platform choice sets most of your recurring cost, so it is worth getting right early.

Shopify charges a monthly fee and includes hosting, security, and the shop engine. You trade some flexibility for not having to maintain anything. WooCommerce is a free plugin for WordPress, which sounds cheaper until you add hosting, a theme, and the plugins that make it usable, all of which someone has to keep updated and secure. Shopify is predictable; WooCommerce is flexible. For a first store with a modest catalogue, predictable usually wins. For a business with unusual rules or an existing WordPress site, the flexibility can be worth the upkeep.

The payment charges that eat your margin

Every sale carries a transaction fee, and in Portugal the method matters. Card payments and international wallets tend to cost more per transaction; Multibanco and MB WAY are usually more competitive, and they are what a large share of Portuguese shoppers reach for on their phones. Leaving MB WAY out of the checkout is one of the most expensive small mistakes a new store makes, because it quietly sends part of your traffic away at the exact moment they were ready to pay.

Run the numbers on your average order before you launch. A fee that looks trivial as a percentage is a real slice of the margin on a €15 product, and it repeats on every sale for the life of the store.

The legal obligations you cannot skip

This is the part that catches people, because none of it is optional and most of it applies before your first sale.

Certified invoicing. Selling in Portugal requires software certified by the Autoridade Tributária. Some tools have free tiers for low volumes and scale up to around €50 a month as you grow. It has to be in place before you invoice a customer.
MB WAY and Multibanco. Not a legal requirement, but close to one commercially, since a Portuguese store without them is fighting its own customers.
Livro de Reclamações eletrónico. The electronic complaints book is mandatory for businesses selling to the public, with a link on the site.
RGPD. You are collecting names, addresses, and order history, so you need a clear privacy notice and lawful handling of that data. I wrote a plain-language privacy checklist for small businesses that covers the practical parts.
Omnibus on discounts. When you show a discount, the Omnibus rules require the reference price to be the lowest price charged in the previous 30 days. A half-price banner set against an invented original is exactly the kind of thing that draws a fine.

None of these need a lawyer to start, but they do need to be handled deliberately. A store that treats them as an afterthought is building a liability into its launch.

What to budget, realistically

Put the one-off build to one side and look at the monthly floor: platform, certified invoicing, domain, and hosting commonly land around €50 to €150 a month before you spend a euro on stock or ads. Add accounting if you trade as a company. Then add a marketing budget you are willing to treat as tuition, because the first months are for learning what converts, not for turning a profit.

If you are still deciding whether the store is worth building at all, that is a different question from what it costs. I worked through it in will an online store actually make money. Cost tells you the entry price; that article tells you whether to pay it.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to open an online store in Portugal in 2026?

Doing it yourself on a platform like Shopify or WooCommerce costs roughly €220 to €1,080 in the first year. A professional store runs from about €1,500 for a simple build to €10,000 or more for an advanced one, plus recurring costs of around €50 to €150 a month.

Is Shopify or WooCommerce cheaper?

WooCommerce has no licence fee but adds hosting, a theme, plugins, and maintenance you manage yourself. Shopify bundles those into a predictable monthly fee. For a first store, Shopify is often cheaper in total once you account for the time WooCommerce needs.

What legal requirements does a Portuguese online store have?

Certified invoicing software approved by the Autoridade Tributária, an electronic Livro de Reclamações, RGPD-compliant data handling, and Omnibus-correct discount pricing. Certified invoicing and the complaints book must be in place before you start selling.

Do I need MB WAY and Multibanco?

They are not legally required, but a large share of Portuguese shoppers prefer them, and they usually carry lower fees than cards. Leaving them out costs you sales at checkout, so treat them as essential rather than optional.

When it is worth a conversation

If you have a product and a rough budget but cannot tell which platform or which obligations apply to you, that is the point where an outside view saves money. Send me what you plan to sell and your budget, and I can map the realistic setup, the recurring costs, and the legal steps you need in place before launch.