Table Of Contents
What Is The Purchase Price Range For An Existing Shopify Store?
When it comes to the cost breakdown of buying an existing Shopify store, the first thing you need to know is the initial price you pay to acquire the store.
Ideally, you should expect to pay anywhere from a few thousand dollars to several hundred thousand dollars (even a million dollars).
It all depends on the income and traffic of the e-commerce brand you acquire.
In other words, the price of a Shopify store depends on how much profit the store makes each month.
Most marketplaces value a store at a multiple of its monthly profit.
For instance, on Flippa, the average multiple is 3.03x the monthly profit. This means that if a store nets $5,000 per month, it could sell for around $15,150.
On Flippa, 67% of e-commerce listings go for under $50,000. These are usually small stores that make $2,000 to $5,000 per month in profit.
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Shopify Stores Valuation Multiples And How They Vary
Different brokers and marketplaces use different multiples for e-commerce businesses on sale.
Flippa uses 3.03× monthly profit for most listings. Empire Flippers, on the other hand, tends to use monthly profit multiples between 25× and 45× for well-established stores (though they reported an average multiple of 31× in 2023 for top deals).
The multiple you pay mostly depends on the store’s age, traffic sources, niche, and profit stability.
A newer store with big growth may get a lower multiple. A stable store with steady sales and strong branding can fetch a higher multiple.
Buying A Shopify Store: Broker Fees and Commission
When you acquire an online store through a broker, you should expect to pay a commission on the sale price.
Empire Flippers charges 15% on sales under $700,000, 8% on the amount between $700,000 and $5 million, and 2.5% on any amount above $5 million (Empire Flippers).
Brokers like FE International charge 12-15% for deals under $1 million.
Flippa charges listing fees that range from $29 to $999 based on your listing price, but does not charge a buyer commission.
If you buy an online store listed at $50,000 on Empire Flippers, you pay $7,500 as commission. On a $200,000 deal, you pay $30,000 for the first $200,000 at 15% ($30,000).
If you buy via Flippa, you pay no commission, but you do pay the listing fee, which at $50,000 is typically $299.
Legal And Accounting Fees
Yes, you’ll need a lawyer when buying an e-commerce store. Their job is to review the sale agreement and to handle the asset transfer.
Moreover, you’ll need an accountant or a CPA to help you check the store’s financials.
According to the Clio Legal Trends Report, the average lawyer billing rate in 2024 was $341 per hour.
Thus, if your lawyer works 10 hours on your deal, you pay about $3,410. If your accountant works 5 hours at $150 per hour, you pay $750.
Some buyers include a retainer fee of $1,000 to $2,000 to cover unexpected hours.
In total, you should plan $5,000 to $6,000 for legal and accounting work when you buy a store.
Technical Migration And Redesign Costs
After you pay for the store and close the deal, you must move the site to your hosting and Shopify account.
For this part, you may need a developer to fix migrations, adjust apps, or redesign your theme.
A Shopify developer usually charges $50 to $100 per hour. If you spend 20 hours on migration and tweaks, you pay $1,000 to $2,000.
If you want a new theme setup or custom code, you may pay $3,000 to $5,000 more.
We Help You Buy / Build, Manage and Scale E-commerce Brands for an EXIT
E-commerce Simplified for Busy Individuals – We handle the buying, building, and scaling, so you can focus on what matters.
Growth-Focused Strategies – From sourcing to marketing, we drive growth and prepare you for a profitable exit.
Expertly Managed Exits – We build a high-value brand designed for a Lucrative exit.
Inventory And Working Capital
Some Shopify stores include physical products. If you acquire such a store, then you may need to buy inventory to refill the stock.
If the listing comes with $10,000 of inventory value, you pay that in addition to your purchase price.
You also need working capital (i.e., money to pay suppliers, ads, and operations for the first month). A safe cushion is $5,000 to $10,000.
Due Diligence And Other Costs
You may also need to pay for third-party tools to run due diligence on your behalf.
For example, you might pay $200 for a detailed website audit or $100 for a traffic-monitoring tool.
Some buyers also pay for a data room service, which costs $100 per month. Plan $500 to cover these small fees.
Ongoing Fees: Shopify Subscription And Transaction Fees
When you own a Shopify store, you’ll need to pay ongoing fees for the Shopify platform subscription as well as transaction fees.
Shopify usually presents you with several plans as follows:
The Starter plan costs $5 per month.
The Basic plan costs $39 per month.
The Grow plan costs $105 per month.
The Advanced plan costs $399 per month.
If you pick the Starter plan, you can sell via social channels, but you cannot run a full online store.
The Basic plan gives you an online store and up to two staff accounts.
The Grow plan gives you more advanced analytics and five staff accounts.
The Advanced plan gives you custom reports and 15 staff accounts. If you bill annually, Shopify cuts the price by about 25%.
On top of your subscription, you’re also supposed to pay transaction fees when you sell products.
If you use Shopify Payments, fees are 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction on the Basic plan. They drop to 2.6% plus 30¢ on the Grow plan, and 2.4% plus 30¢ on the Advanced plan.
If you use another payment gateway, Shopify adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, and 0.5% on Advanced. These fees add up if you do many sales.
Buying An Established Shopify Store Total cost summary:
If you buy a small Shopify store for $30,000 that nets $2,500 per month, you should expect to incur the following costs:
You pay $30,000 for the purchase.
You pay $4,500 broker commission (15%).
You pay $5,000 in legal and accounting fees.
You pay $1,500 for technical migration work.
You pay $7,000 for inventory and working capital.
You pay $500 for due diligence tools.
Your total out-of-pocket is $48,500.
And if you buy a larger store for $200,000 that nets $10,000 per month, you should expect to incur the following costs:
You pay $200,000 for the purchase.
You pay $30,000 broker commission (15%).
You pay $6,000 in legal and accounting fees.
You pay $3,000 for technical migration.
You pay $10,000 for inventory and working capital.
You pay $500 for due diligence.
Your total out-of-pocket is $249,500.
PRO Tip: Partner With One Expert And Skip The Headache Of Juggling Multiple Vendors
Adding a partner like our own Acquisition Partnership Program lets you sidestep the usual headache of juggling brokers, lawyers, accountants, developers, and more.
Instead of chasing invoices from five different experts, you work with one team that handles everything on your behalf.
This includes spotting the best deal, running due diligence, managing the migration and legal transfers, and so on.
This way, you’ll get fewer surprises on your final bill and a single point of contact who knows your project inside out.
You also won’t have to worry about syncing calendars, tracking down status updates, or negotiating rates with each provider.
With a dedicated acquisition partner, you get a clear, consolidated view of costs and progress.
As such, you can focus on growing the store rather than wrestling with logistics. It’s a simpler, smoother path to ownership—and a lot less stress all around.
Wrapping Up
Buying a Shopify store this year means more than just paying the listed price. You must budget for the platform fees, transaction fees, broker commission, legal and accounting work, technical migration, inventory, and due diligence. Knowing the full cost breakdown of buying a Shopify store in advance will help you plan your investment with confidence.
If you’re serious about buying a Shopify Store, we can help you avoid extra costs by spotting the best deals, handling due diligence, and negotiating on your behalf. Once you’ve made the purchase, we’ll work with you to scale the store to 2–4x its value, so you can exit at a strong profit when the time is right. Check out our Acquisition Partnership program to learn how to get started.
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