E-commerce Websites in Singapore: Costs, Platforms and Pitfalls
A working online store in Singapore costs anything from about S$50 a month on a SaaS builder to S$15,000 and up for a custom build (typical ranges we see, not quotes). The platform matters less than owners expect. What decides survival: fees staying inside your margin, product pages people can find, someone maintaining the store after month two, and a checkout that works on a phone.
What are your realistic options for selling online?
Four honest routes. Each works, and each fails predictably.
SaaS store builders
A working store in days, nothing to host. The catch: plan, app and transaction fees stack quietly, and you rent the platform forever.
WooCommerce-style plugins
Cheap entry, full control. The catch: someone must own updates, backups and security, or the store rots.
Custom build with Stripe
Payment fees at cost, checkout shaped to how you sell (quotes, deposits, B2B pricing). The catch: more upfront cost and a builder you must trust.
Marketplace-only
Instant reach to buyers already there. The catch: you never own the customer data, and commissions plus price wars squeeze margin.
What does an online store actually cost?
These are typical ranges we see in Singapore, not a price list. Get real quotes before you budget.
| Route | Typical cost shape (SGD) |
|---|---|
| SaaS builder | S$50–S$150 a month plus apps, plus roughly 2–4% payment and platform fees per order. |
| WooCommerce-style | S$1,500–S$5,000 to build, S$20–S$60 a month hosting, plus maintenance time or a retainer. |
| Custom with Stripe | S$5,000–S$15,000+ as a project, or a monthly plan. Payment fees at processor cost. |
| Marketplace-only | Little upfront. Commission and payment fees per order; rates vary by category and change often. |
Still weighing a normal, non-selling site? Our guide to website design costs in Singapore covers those bands. Whoever builds the store, our guide to choosing a web design company in Singapore applies double, because a store is never finished.
Platform Fit Selector
Five questions, one direction. This is our view from building and fixing SME stores, not a quote.
Want a second opinion with your real numbers? Tell us what you sell and we will be straight about which route fits.
See what we build →Our view, based on the patterns in this article. Margins, catalogue and timeline can change the answer.
What actually kills small online stores?
In our experience, four patterns do the damage:
- Fees stacking past your margin. A S$40 product at 30% margin has about S$12 of headroom, and payment fees, app fees and commissions can eat it before you pay yourself. Run the maths per product before launch.
- Product pages with zero SEO. No real titles, no descriptive copy, nothing that answers what buyers search for. Nobody arrives, so your only traffic is paid traffic.
- Nobody maintains it after month two. Stock drifts, prices go stale, plugins sit unpatched. Put a name against owning the store weekly, before you build.
- Checkout friction on mobile. Most store traffic we see is on phones, and every extra field, forced sign-up or surprise fee loses buyers. Test your checkout on your own phone monthly.
Fees past margin, invisible pages and an unmaintained checkout kill more stores than platforms do.
Full disclosure: Aphyx builds custom e-commerce with Stripe, priced in SGD, for businesses whose selling flow does not fit a template. Additive Inn, a 3D-printing company, runs its storefront and instant quote-and-payment portal on one of our builds: customers upload a part, see a price and pay in one sitting. Revenue grew 60% year over year. Custom does not always win, but checkout should match how you sell.
Common questions
How much does it cost to build an online store in Singapore?
Typical ranges we see, not fixed quotes: SaaS builders run about S$50–S$150 a month plus apps and transaction fees. WooCommerce-style builds cost around S$1,500–S$5,000 plus hosting and upkeep. Custom builds with payments wired in usually land at S$5,000–S$15,000 or more, or a monthly plan. Add roughly 2–4% payment processing per order.
Should I use Shopify or get a custom build?
Shopify-style builders are the fastest route to a working store and hard to beat for a standard catalogue. The trade: costs stack as you add apps, and you rent the platform forever. A custom build costs more upfront but fits odd flows (quotes, deposits, B2B pricing) and keeps payment fees at cost. Standard flow, start SaaS. Odd flow, custom earns its keep.
Should I sell on marketplaces or my own store?
Usually both. Marketplaces like Shopee and Lazada bring ready buyers, but they keep the customer data, charge commission, and price wars squeeze margin. Your own store owns the relationship, the branding and the repeat sale. A common pattern: marketplaces for discovery, your own store alongside, so part of the relationship belongs to you.
What payment methods do Singapore shoppers expect?
Cards are the baseline. A processor like Stripe covers Visa, Mastercard and Amex plus wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. Many local shoppers also expect PayNow, and some stores add GrabPay or instalments. Start with cards and PayNow, then add methods when customers ask. Every method carries a processing fee, so price it in.
Who handles shipping for an online store?
You do, or a service you plug in. Most Singapore stores start by booking couriers per order (Ninja Van, J&T, SingPost and similar), then move to shipping apps or a fulfilment partner as volume grows. The site must collect the address cleanly and show honest delivery fees at checkout; surprise shipping is a classic cart killer.
Written by the Aphyx team · Published 25 August 2026 · Last updated 25 August 2026
Selling online and not sure which route fits?
Tell us what you sell and how, and we will give you a straight answer, including when the answer is "just use Shopify". WhatsApp us at +65 8613 7901, or see the kind of stores and portals we build.
See our capabilities