How much does it cost to maintain and develop a PrestaShop store? Hidden costs after launch

Basic PrestaShop store maintenance costs

Basic PrestaShop store maintenance costs primarily include expenses required to keep the platform available, secure, and operating properly. Some of these costs are fixed, while others depend on the size of the store, the number of users, and the complexity of its infrastructure.

Store hosting

Hosting is one of the most important factors affecting store performance. Its quality influences page loading speed, platform stability, the ability to handle higher traffic volumes, and data security.

For a small store with relatively low traffic, shared hosting designed for PrestaShop may be sufficient. The cost of such a service can range from a few hundred to approximately PLN 1,500 net per year. For example, offers available in August 2026 showed renewal prices for selected PrestaShop hosting packages ranging from approximately PLN 500 to PLN 1,400 net per year.

However, requirements increase as the number of products, integrations, and users grows. Larger stores may require a VPS server, cloud infrastructure, an additional caching system, a separate database server, load balancing, or a high-availability environment. In such cases, hosting costs can range from several hundred to several thousand PLN per month.

The cheapest package is therefore not always the best choice. If an underperforming server slows down the store, causes checkout errors, or limits future development, the savings on hosting may ultimately result in lost sales.

Domain name

A domain is another recurring cost, usually renewed once a year. Initial registration can be very inexpensive, but the renewal price is much more important in the long term.

Depending on the provider, renewing a .pl domain may cost from approximately PLN 60 to more than PLN 200 gross per year. For example, in August 2026, OVHcloud offered .pl domain renewal for PLN 58.99 net, while another major provider charged PLN 179 net.

If a company uses multiple domains, sells across several markets, or secures different versions of its brand name, the total cost may be correspondingly higher.

SSL certificate

An SSL certificate encrypts the connection between the store and its users. It is essential for every online store because customers provide personal data, addresses, and payment-related information.

In many cases, businesses can use a free Let’s Encrypt certificate that is automatically renewed by the hosting provider. Let’s Encrypt is a free and open certificate authority providing TLS certificates for websites.

Additional costs may arise when the company requires a paid certificate, extended warranty, support for multiple subdomains, or custom security configuration.

Backups

Backups are often included in the hosting price, but it is worth checking:

• how often backups are created,
• how long they are stored,
• whether they include both files and the database,
• how the restoration process works,
• whether a backup is stored in a different location from the main server,
• whether an additional backup can be created before a store update.

Creating backups alone is not enough. They should also be periodically tested to confirm that they can be restored correctly. Otherwise, the company may only discover a problem when a serious failure occurs.

Monitoring and technical administration

The store should be regularly monitored for availability, server errors, resource usage, integration performance, and the effectiveness of purchasing processes.

Monitoring may include:

• website availability,
• server response time,
• application errors,
• payment issues,
• ERP synchronization errors,
• unsent emails,
• inventory synchronization failures,
• unauthorized access attempts.

A monitoring tool may be free or cost anywhere from a few dozen to several hundred PLN per month. However, an alert alone does not solve the problem. A technical team is still required to analyze the issue and take the appropriate action.

Hidden costs of modules and extensions

Modules make it relatively easy to extend PrestaShop functionality. They can be used to add additional payment methods, courier integrations, advanced filtering, SEO tools, review systems, loyalty programs, or marketing automation features.

However, it is important to remember that the online store cost increases not only with the number of features being implemented but also with the cost of maintaining them later. In PrestaShop, modules and extensions play a particularly important role in this area.

That is why an audit and the cost of PrestaShop modules should take into account more than just the price displayed on the product page. In addition to the purchase price, there may be costs related to installation, configuration, updates, theme customization, and resolving conflicts with other elements of the store.

How much do PrestaShop modules cost?

Module prices vary significantly. The official PrestaShop Marketplace pricing guidelines allow prices ranging from €49.99 to as much as €4,999.99, depending on the functionality and complexity of the solution.

Examples of prices available in August 2026 included:

These prices are examples of specific products and may change. They also do not include the time required for analysis, installation, configuration, and testing.

Updates and Business Care

Purchasing a module from the official PrestaShop Marketplace includes the right to use it in one store as well as 12 months of Business Care. This service provides access to compatibility updates and technical support from the module developer.

After the first year, Business Care may be automatically renewed. According to the Marketplace terms, the standard renewal cost is 40% of the add-on price. Reactivating support after the subscription has expired may involve an additional fee.

As a result, stores using a dozen or several dozen paid modules may find that annual update and support costs become a significant part of their budget.

Installation and configuration

A module rarely works optimally immediately after installation. It often needs to be configured, adapted to specific sales processes, connected to an external service, or visually adjusted.

Additional costs may result from the need to:

• adapt the module to a custom theme,
• change how data is displayed,
• prepare translations,
• configure automated tasks,
• connect it to an external API,
• adapt the module to a multistore environment,
• perform tests on mobile devices,
• verify compatibility with other add-ons.

As a result, a module that costs only a few hundred PLN may require implementation work worth several thousand PLN.

Conflicts between modules

Each module modifies specific elements of the store. If several extensions affect the same process, such as the cart, payment, pricing, or product page, conflicts may occur.

The issue may only become apparent after one of the extensions is updated or after upgrading the PrestaShop version. In such cases, code analysis, communication with module developers, and a custom fix may be required.

That is why modules should not be evaluated solely on their feature lists. The frequency of updates, compatibility with the version of PrestaShop being used, documentation quality, and availability of technical support are equally important.

External service fees

Some modules are simply connectors to services provided by external vendors. In addition to the extension itself, the company may therefore incur additional fees for:

• sending SMS messages,
• marketing automation,
• search engines using external infrastructure,
• recommendation systems,
• AI-powered content generation,
• file storage,
• maps and geolocation,
• review management,
• marketplace integrations,
• advanced fraud protection.

As a result, a relatively inexpensive module may generate recurring monthly costs based on the number of products, users, queries, or orders.

Costs of developing store functionality

An online store should develop together with the business. Over time, new products, sales channels, markets, integrations, delivery methods, or customer expectations may emerge. In practice, this means that the online store cost includes not only implementation and maintenance but also the ongoing development of functionality.

That is why the answer to the question how much does eCommerce development cost depends primarily on the scale and type of changes being planned.

A simple change to text or the appearance of a single element may require only a few hours of work. Developing a product configurator, ERP integration, or a new B2B process, on the other hand, may require dozens or even hundreds of hours.

Who is involved in store development?

Developing a PrestaShop platform is not always limited to a developer’s work. Depending on the scope of the project, the following specialists may be required:

• business analyst,
• project manager,
• UX designer,
• UI designer,
• front-end developer,
• back-end developer,
• integration specialist,
• QA tester,
• system administrator or DevOps specialist,
• SEO specialist,
• web analyst.

Of course, not every change requires the involvement of an entire team. However, with more complex features, skipping business analysis, UX design, or testing can result in a solution that works technically but fails to meet the needs of customers and employees.

Example case study

Suppose a growing store wants to:

• simplify the checkout process,
• redesign the mobile product page,
• implement additional filtering,
• extend the ERP integration with new statuses,
• add automatic notifications about product availability.

An example scope of work could look like this:

In total, the project may require approximately 170 to more than 400 hours of work. The final price depends on the contractor’s rates, the quality of the existing code, the availability of documentation, the number of language versions, and the way existing modules work.

What is more, during development it may turn out that some older solutions need to be rebuilt. If the store has been developed over the years by multiple vendors without a consistent architecture, an apparently simple change may first require the existing codebase to be cleaned up.

Development cost vs. the cost of not developing

Not every feature needs to be implemented immediately. At the same time, postponing every improvement can also generate costs.

If customers cannot easily find products, the checkout process is too long, or employees perform many tasks manually, the business may be losing money every day. Development decisions should therefore be based not only on implementation costs but also on the expected business value.

For example, an integration costing tens of thousands of PLN may still be worthwhile if it eliminates hundreds of hours of manual work every month and reduces the number of order-processing errors.

Audits and optimization – essential investments

Regular audits help identify problems before they lead to lower sales, system failures, or data loss. They should therefore not be treated solely as an additional expense but as part of responsible platform management.

The scope of an audit depends on the situation. It may focus on a single area, such as performance or SEO, or cover the entire store architecture.

PrestaShop store audit checklist

Performance

• Do store pages load quickly on mobile devices?
• Is the database properly optimized?
• Does the store use caching correctly?
• Are images in the correct format and size?
• Does the server have sufficient resources?
• Are modules generating an excessive number of queries?
• Are automated tasks overloading the platform?

Security

• Is the PrestaShop version currently in use still supported?
• Are modules and libraries up to date?
• Is access to the admin panel and server properly secured?
• Does the company have a process for granting and revoking access permissions?
• Are backups regularly tested?
• Does the store log suspicious login attempts?

Technical SEO

• Are search engines indexing the correct URLs?
• Are redirects working correctly?
• Is the store generating duplicate pages?
• Are filters and sorting options creating thousands of unnecessary URLs?
• Is the sitemap up to date?
• Is structured data implemented correctly?
• Have migrations or category changes caused a loss of organic traffic?

UX and sales

• Can users find products easily?
• Do the search engine and filters reflect how customers shop?
• Does the product page provide all the information customers need?
• Does the checkout process work correctly on smartphones?
• At which stage do users most often abandon their carts?
• Are form error messages easy to understand?
• Are all payment and delivery methods available?

Integrations

• Is data synchronized according to schedule?
• Are there discrepancies in prices or inventory levels?
• Are failed orders automatically flagged?
• Is there a clear process for handling ERP downtime?
• Does the team receive notifications about issues?
• Does the integration provide logs that make it possible to analyze errors?

How much does a store audit cost?

A focused audit of a single area may require approximately 20 to 50 hours of work. A comprehensive analysis of a larger store covering the codebase, server, integrations, performance, UX, and SEO may take anywhere from 80 to 200 hours.

It is important to separate the cost of diagnosis from the cost of implementing the recommendations. An audit identifies problems, evaluates their importance, and helps establish priorities. Fixing the identified issues is a separate stage of work.

This means that the company does not need to implement every recommendation at once. It can first resolve issues that threaten sales or security and then plan further optimization within the available budget.

Hidden costs of PrestaShop updates

Updating the platform is not simply a matter of clicking a button. Before changing versions, the compatibility of the theme, modules, integrations, and custom modifications must be verified.

The process may include:

• creating a copy of the environment,
• preparing a testing environment,
• updating PHP, the database, PrestaShop, and modules,
• adapting custom code,
• testing checkout, payments, delivery methods, and integrations,
• performing the final migration,
• post-deployment monitoring.

The more custom modifications the store contains, the more time-consuming an update may become. This is why customizations should be documented throughout the development process, and changes made directly to the platform’s core files should be avoided.

Postponing updates for many years can also increase costs. Moving between consecutive versions is usually easier than migrating from a very old platform that is no longer compatible with current server software.

Future expenses – how to plan an eCommerce development budget?

Budget planning should cover both predictable expenses and a reserve for unexpected problems. This helps ensure that a failure, an update to an external system, or an urgent business requirement does not stop the company from developing its online sales.

Separate maintenance from development

First, it is worth separating two types of expenses.

Maintenance includes activities required to keep the store stable, such as updates, monitoring, bug fixes, backups, and responding to failures.

Development, on the other hand, includes new features, UX improvements, process automation, additional integrations, and the launch of new sales channels.

If the entire budget is spent on ongoing fixes, the company will not have the resources to develop the platform. On the other hand, focusing exclusively on new features can cause technical problems and technical debt to accumulate.

Plan a fixed monthly budget

Instead of financing every change separately, it is worth planning a fixed monthly pool of hours or budget. Its size may depend on the scale of the platform and the pace of development.

For example:

• a stable store with relatively few changes may require approximately 10–20 hours of support per month,
• a growing store may use 30–60 hours per month,
• a large platform with numerous integrations and an active development roadmap may require 80 or more hours per month.

These are only indicative figures. The best starting point is to analyze the history of support requests, planned changes, and the risks associated with potential failures.

Create a reserve for unexpected expenses

Part of the budget should be reserved for issues that cannot be predicted precisely. These may include:

• changes to an external system’s API,
• discontinuation of a module,
• a security vulnerability,
• server failure,
• payment issues,
• unexpected regulatory changes,
• increased traffic during a campaign,
• the need to quickly implement a new delivery method.

Depending on the scale of the business, this reserve may amount to approximately 10–20% of the annual technical budget.

Plan development with a roadmap

A roadmap makes it easier to organize ideas and assign priorities. Each planned feature should be evaluated based on:

• its impact on sales,
• its impact on the team’s work,
• the number of users affected,
• technical risk,
• implementation cost,
• future maintenance cost,
• dependencies on other changes.

This allows the company to prioritize initiatives that deliver the greatest value instead of spending the budget on unrelated ideas.

Maintain a register of modules and subscriptions

It is worth creating a central record containing:

• module names,
• purchase dates,
• license owners,
• renewal dates,
• subscription prices,
• module versions,
• developer contact details,
• information about custom modifications,
• external services being used.

Such a register makes annual cost planning easier and helps prevent situations where an important license expires without the team being aware of it.

Analyze the total cost of ownership

When comparing solutions, businesses should consider more than the initial price. The online store price for implementation is only one element of the total cost of ownership.

The analysis should cover a period of at least two or three years and include:

• hosting and infrastructure,
• domains and certificates,
• module licenses,
• external service fees,
• technical support,
• feature development,
• audits,
• updates,
• failure resolution,
• manual work performed by employees,
• revenue lost due to technical issues.

It is worth remembering that a cheaper store does not always mean a lower cost in the long term.

How much does it really cost to maintain a PrestaShop store?

There is no single amount that applies to every business. A small store relying mainly on standard functionality may generate relatively low expenses. A complex B2B or B2C platform connected to ERP, PIM, WMS, and marketplaces, however, requires a larger budget and ongoing technical support.

The final cost depends on factors including:

• the number of products and variants,
• monthly traffic,
• the number of orders,
• the number of language versions,
• the scope of custom functionality,
• the number of integrations,
• the quality of the existing codebase,
• update frequency,
• required response times,
• the pace of business growth.

That is why a search for PrestaShop store maintenance costs should not lead to one universal answer but rather to an analysis of the specific platform. Only a technical audit, an understanding of the company’s processes, and a clear development plan make it possible to prepare a realistic budget.

Summary

The actual online store cost does not end when the platform is launched. After implementation, businesses need to account for hosting, domains, SSL certificates, backups, monitoring, modules, updates, and ongoing technical support.

An important part of the budget is also the audit and cost of PrestaShop modules. The purchase price of an add-on may only be the beginning, as the module still needs to be configured, tested, updated, and adapted to other elements of the platform.

The answer to the question how much does eCommerce development cost depends on the scope of the planned changes, the quality of the existing solution, and the number of specialists required. A simple modification may take only a few hours, while an advanced feature or integration may require hundreds of hours of work.

The best approach is therefore to plan a fixed maintenance budget, a separate development budget, and a reserve for unexpected situations. This allows the store to remain stable, secure, and ready for the next stages of business growth.