Custom e-shop or Shoptet? Four ways to get an e-shop, compared
A rented platform (Shoptet, Upgates), open-source WooCommerce, traditional development at an agency and a custom e-shop from ITgale from €990. Below are the ten criteria that decide the cost over five years and who owns your store.
How much does a custom e-shop cost
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- Price
- from €990
- Delivery
- 2–3 weeks
- from €990
- No monthly licences
- The code and the data are yours
- B2C and B2B
- Hosting from €10 per month
The short answer
01ITgale
A platform you own
A custom e-shop at platform pricing: from €990 one-off, hosting from €10 per month, no deposit. Thanks to our own platform, the code and the data are yours.
02Shoptet / Upgates
A fast start, someone else's shop
The fastest way to start with a small range. Features are capped by your plan, and the shop stays rented – never yours.
03WooCommerce
Yours, updates included
You assemble the shop from a template and plugins. You own everything, including the updates, compatibility and maintenance you handle yourself.
04Agency
No limits, a higher price
A traditional agency builds the shop exactly to spec, with no limits – but for over €2,000 and months of work.
A comparison across 10 criteria
| Criterion | Custom e-shop from ITgale | Shoptet / Upgates (rented) | WooCommerce / WordPress | Traditional agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01Entry price | Custom e-shop from ITgalefrom €990, no deposit | Shoptet / Upgateslow, depending on the plan | WooCommercelow (template + plugins), development on top | Agencyover €2,000 |
| 02Monthly payments | Custom e-shop from ITgaleHosting from €10 per month | Shoptet / Upgatesrent by plan + paid add-ons | WooCommercehosting + paid plugins | Agencyhosting + maintenance |
| 03Ownership of code and data | Custom e-shop from ITgaleyours | Shoptet / Upgatesthe code belongs to the platform, you export your data | WooCommerceyours | Agencyyours |
| 04Limits (products, features) | Custom e-shop from ITgaleyou choose the scope, not a plan | Shoptet / Upgatesset by the plan | WooCommerceset by the plugins and the hosting performance | Agencyno limits |
| 05B2B features (company ID, price tiers) | Custom e-shop from ITgale+500 € one-off | Shoptet / Upgatesan add-on or a higher plan | WooCommerceplugin | Agencycustom built, for a surcharge |
| 06Integrations (Packeta, GLS, invoicing) | Custom e-shop from ITgale+75 € per carrier, invoicing from +50 € | Shoptet / Upgateswhatever the add-on catalogue offers | WooCommercea plugin, if one exists | Agencycustom built |
| 07Control over SEO | Custom e-shop from ITgalefull | Shoptet / Upgateswithin what the template and the plan allow | WooCommercefull, depends on the plugins | Agencyfull |
| 08Speed and Core Web Vitals | Custom e-shop from ITgaleunder control | Shoptet / Upgateshandled by the platform operator | WooCommercedepends on the plugins | Agencyunder control |
| 09Migration and moving away | Custom e-shop from ITgaledata and redirects included, catalogue import from +100 € | Shoptet / Upgatesdata export; the site and the redirects are built again | WooCommercepossible, you handle the data and the redirects yourself | Agencypossible |
| 10Support and further development | Custom e-shop from ITgaledirectly from the team that built the e-shop | Shoptet / Upgatesthe platform's helpdesk | WooCommercethe community, freelancers | Agencythe agency |
Platform and agency prices and options follow their own current price lists and plans. The columns other than ITgale describe how that model works, the types of cost and the usual market range – not a quote or a plan from any specific provider.
The cost over 5 years
ITgale over 60 months
ITgale over 60 months: from €1,590
€990 one-off + 60 × €10 hosting
The e-shop is yours right after payment — hosting only keeps it running.
From month 26, you pay less than for Shoptet.
A 60-month comparison: ITgale versus Shoptet and Upgates
Custom e-shop by ITgale
One payment, then only hosting
€1,590€990 + 60 × €10
Shoptet Business
Rent and add-ons, every month
€2,97060 × €49.50 per month
Upgates Silver
Rent and add-ons, every month
€2,64660 × €44.10 per month
Even after 5 years, you own nothing.
That is why a custom e-shop works out better wherever a store runs for longer than a year and needs at least one thing the platform does not have in its plan.
Shoptet Business and Upgates Silver per the public price lists at shoptet.sk and upgates.sk, as of 25 Sep 2026, on annual billing, excl. VAT and without paid add-ons.
When a platform is the better choice
If you want to test selling a few products for a few months, a rented platform is a sensible start.
Once the range and the orders grow, we move the e-shop and its data over to you.
Once you outgrow the platform
- 01Products, customers and order history
- 02A 301 redirect for every old address
- 03Meta data carried over
- 04Structured data
Work Examples
Custom e-shops from ITgale
Questions about the comparison
Is a custom e-shop more expensive than Shoptet?
At the start you pay from €990 once. With a rental you pay every month, plus the add-ons; from roughly the third year a custom e-shop is usually cheaper, and it is yours the whole time.
Why is a custom e-shop from ITgale cheaper than one from a traditional agency?
We have our own platform and automated development: payments, shipping, invoicing and the admin panel are built and tested, and we build to order only what is specific to your store.
Can you move my e-shop from Shoptet or WooCommerce?
Yes. We move the products, customers and orders over and set up redirects for the old addresses.
E-shop migrationWhat if I need a feature you have not built before?
We program it and tell you the price up front. You are not dependent on whether the platform ever adds it.
Related pages
Get a free clickable demo of your e-shop
- IT Gale s.r.o.
- Company ID 56186339
- Plynárenská 3B, 821 09 Bratislava
- +421 220 400 922