Quotes for a Shopify store in Pakistan vary enormously, and the reason is simple: they are quotes for different things. One covers a theme installed in an afternoon. Another covers eight weeks of design and engineering. Before comparing numbers, compare what is being built.
1. The Shopify subscription
You pay Shopify a monthly fee, billed in US dollars. Plans differ in staff accounts, reporting and transaction fees. Most new Pakistani stores start on the entry plan and move up when order volume justifies it. Check Shopify's pricing page for the current figures, since they change.
2. The theme
Shopify offers free themes that are well made. Paid themes from the Theme Store are a one-time purchase per store. A fully custom theme is a development project. For most first stores a good free or paid theme, properly configured, is the right choice.
3. Apps
This is the cost that creeps. Each app looks cheap by itself, and ten of them can exceed your Shopify plan every month. Apps also slow the store down. Install only what you use, and review the list every quarter.
4. Development
This is the agency or developer fee, and the widest range of all. It depends on:
- Whether the design is a theme, a customised theme or built from scratch
- The number of products and how they are imported
- Custom features such as bundles, subscriptions or wholesale pricing
- Integrations with couriers, payment gateways and other systems
- Whether content, photography and copywriting are included
5. Running costs
A domain renewal each year, any ongoing app fees, and support. Budget for a few hours of developer time each month. Stores that are never maintained slowly break.
Why the cheapest quote often costs most
We regularly rebuild stores that were built cheaply a year earlier. The pattern repeats: a pirated or unlicensed theme, apps doing what ten lines of code should do, the store registered under the developer's email. The owner pays once for that build and again for the rebuild.
How to get a quote you can trust
Write down what you sell, how many products you have, which features you need at launch and which can wait. Send the same brief to each agency. If you would like ours, send the brief and you will receive a fixed price against a written scope.