Short answer: the two models get their cost from different places
The cost of a ready-made e-commerce package is made up of subscription, payment commission and add-ons, and it rises as turnover grows. The cost of custom e-commerce software is made up of one-off development, hosting and maintenance, and stays largely fixed as turnover grows. So the two models should be compared not by "which is cheaper" but by at what turnover level they catch up with each other. We could not find a reliable published price range for custom e-commerce software in Turkey, and this article gives no TL range; we write the formula and the assumptions openly.
| Item | Ready-made package | Custom software |
|---|---|---|
| Start | Setup, theme | Analysis, design, development (one-off) |
| Regular | Subscription | Hosting, maintenance and support |
| Tied to turnover | Payment provider commission (depends on package) | The payment provider's own fee (present in both models) |
| Over time | Add-on fees | Development fees for new features |
| Limits | The platform's feature and plan limits | The limits of your software are your own design |
How does the cost of a ready-made package work?
Subscription and commission must be considered together
As an example, Shopify's pricing page (in euros, billed yearly) lists: Basic at €19/month, Grow at €56/month, Advanced at €289/month, and Plus from €2,100/month. The same page says that when a third-party payment provider is used (instead of Shopify Payments), a transaction fee applies depending on the plan: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced, 0.2% on Plus. Shopify Payments is available only in certain countries; check your business's country in the supported countries list, and if it is not listed you must use a third-party provider. These are the euro prices on the day we read the page and may vary by location; the payment provider's own fee, add-ons and taxes are not included in these figures.
With these prices, the break-even between plans can be calculated from monthly sales (monthly cost = subscription + commission rate × monthly sales; the calculation is ours and uses only the figures on the page):
| Switch | Monthly sales at which they are equal |
|---|---|
| Basic → Grow | about €3,700 |
| Grow → Advanced | about €58,250 |
| Advanced → Plus | about €452,750 |
In other words, as turnover grows the commission share overtakes the subscription fee. The cost of a ready-made package is not fixed.
Limits are a cost too
A platform's feature and plan limits change your design as you grow. For example, according to Shopify's B2B features page, on Basic, Grow and Advanced at most three active catalogs can be assigned to B2B markets; assigning a catalog directly to a company exists only on Plus. If you have many dealer groups or special price lists, that limit means a plan upgrade or custom development. Before choosing a platform, do the limit check in our 10 questions before changing your e-commerce platform article.
How does the cost of custom software work?
Three items stand out in custom software: one-off development, yearly hosting and security, and yearly maintenance and support. In addition, every new feature is a separate development job. To think of total cost over 5 years, you can use the method in our ERP pricing: 5-year total cost article, and for the ready-made-or-custom decision itself, our off-the-shelf vs custom software decision matrix.
The 3-year cost formula
Write your own figures into the formula below:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| a | Ready-made package yearly subscription |
| c | Payment commission rate (depends on package) |
| S | Yearly turnover |
| E | Yearly add-on fees |
| K | Ready-made package start-up (setup, theme) |
| I | Custom software development (one-off) |
| H | Custom software yearly hosting |
| B | Custom software yearly maintenance and support |
Ready-made package (3 years) = 3a + 3cS + 3E + K Custom software (3 years) = I + 3H + 3B Yearly turnover at which they are equal: S* = (I + 3H + 3B − 3a − 3E − K) / 3c
A fictional example
The figures below are made-up assumptions; they are not a price quote or Besh data. a = 60,000 TL, c = 1%, E = 60,000 TL, K = 100,000 TL; I = 1,800,000 TL, H = 60,000 TL, B = 270,000 TL.
| Model | 3-year cost |
|---|---|
| Ready-made package | 460,000 TL + 0.03 × S |
| Custom software | 2,790,000 TL |
Yearly turnover at which they are equal: (2,790,000 − 460,000) / 0.03 ≈ 77.7 million TL. With these assumptions, custom software pays for itself, on cost alone, only at very high turnover; at lower turnover the ready-made package is cheaper. Your real quotes may come out entirely different; what matters is to run the formula with your own figures.
What to look at beyond cost
In terms of margin and growth, the real difference lies in flexibility rather than cost. The situations that usually justify custom software are these (our assessment):
| Situation | Why a ready-made package struggles |
|---|---|
| Dealer-based pricing, credit limits, one-to-one flow with an ERP | Plan and catalog limits, need for custom rules |
| A distinctive shopping experience the brand needs | Theme and payment flow limits |
| Multi-channel stock and price rules | Dependence on add-ons and add-on fees |
| Full control over data and infrastructure | The platform's cloud model |
For rule design on the wholesale side see B2B site for wholesalers: dealer pricing, credit limits and promotion rules, and for ERP connection connecting a dealer portal to your ERP. It is also possible to start with a ready-made package and move to custom as you grow; in that case, count the cost of moving data and addresses from the start.
For the decision, see our e-commerce service page and our custom software development page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cost difference between a ready-made e-commerce package and custom software?
A ready-made package consists of subscription, payment commission and add-ons and grows with turnover; custom software consists of one-off development, hosting and maintenance. Which is cheaper depends on your turnover and customization needs; run the formula above with your own figures.
How is commission calculated on a ready-made package?
According to Shopify's pricing page, when a third-party payment provider is used a transaction fee applies by plan (Basic 2%, Grow 1%, Advanced 0.6%, Plus 0.2%); the payment provider's own fee comes on top. For other platforms, confirm the rates and terms on their own pricing pages.
How much does custom e-commerce software cost?
We could not find a reliable published price range for Turkey, so we give no figure. Cost depends on scope, number of integrations and customization; ask for several quotes on the same scope and put them into the formula above.
Can you move from a ready-made package to custom software later?
You can, but moving product, customer and order data and planning the address redirects (SEO) are needed. See our 10 questions before changing platform article.
If you would like to run this comparison together with your own turnover and needs, get in touch.
Sources: Shopify Pricing (Shopify, accessed 13 November 2026), Supported countries for Shopify Payments (Shopify Help Center), Shopify B2B features by plan (Shopify Help Center)