PrestaShop has been a significant platform for small to medium-sized businesses or simply those who want to develop an online presence. With almost 300,000 online stores globally, this platform has proved to be a powerful and flexible eCommerce solution that happens to be free, open-source, and highly customizable. That being said, one must fully understand the whole cost structure to plan and budget accordingly.
While PrestaShop itself is free to download and use, creating a fully functional eCommerce website entails additional costs. These expenses include PrestaShop developer and designer fees, hosting services, and more. With this guide, we will talk about different costs associated with PrestaShop, from the beginning step and PrestaShop development to its continuous expenses, helping you make informed decisions for your eCommerce venture.
PrestaShop Pricing Overview
The overall expense of developing and maintaining a PrestaShop eCommerce website depends and varies based on many factors, including the choice between its Open Source (free) version and the Hosted (paid) version. Let us see how the costs are involved in both scenarios.
PrestaShop Pricing Plans
1. Open Source (Free) Version
PrestaShop’s Open Source version is entirely free to download and use. However, “free” does not mean there are no costs involved. Here’s what you can expect with the Open Source version:
- Core Application Features: The free version provides a fully customizable eCommerce solution with all the essential features for running an online store. These include product management, order processing, and customer management tools.
- Themes and Add-ons: You get access to over 4000 themes and add-ons available in the PrestaShop Marketplace. While some are free, many come with a price tag, especially if you require advanced PrestaShop themes with unique design and functionality.
- SEO Capabilities: Advanced SEO features are included to help improve your store’s visibility on search engines.
- Customization: You can customize every aspect of your store to fit your brand’s identity and business needs.
2. Hosted (Paid) Version
The Hosted version of PrestaShop, also known as PrestaShop Ready, includes hosting, support services, and additional functionalities through pre-installed modules. Here are the key features and costs associated with the Hosted version:
- Hosting and Support Services: This plan includes hosting and support services, ensuring your store runs smoothly and any issues are promptly addressed.
- Pre-installed PrestaShop Modules: The Hosted version comes with several pre-installed modules, such as:
- Automatic VAT Calculation: Ensures compliance with tax regulations.
- GDPR Compliance and Cookie Management: Helps manage customer data and privacy settings.
- Support Services: Six days a week, support via email, live chat, or phone.
- All-in-One Payment Solution: Simplifies the payment process for customers.
- Automated Ads: On Google networks, Facebook, and Instagram, helping you reach a broader audience.
- Marketing Automation: Tools to automate your marketing campaigns.
- Shipping Service: Integration with shipping providers for streamlined order fulfillment.
- Comprehensive Analytics Tool: Provides detailed insights into your store’s performance.
- Pricing: You get a 14-day free trial to test the Hosted plan, after which you’ll need to pay from €24 (excluding tax) per month.
Hosting and Domain Expenses
It is important to note that whether you choose the free Open Source version or the Hosted version, hosting and domain expenses are inevitable. Here’s a detailed look at these costs:
Hosting Options for PrestaShop
It certainly helps when you choose the right hosting plan for your PrestaShop store, as it is important for its performance, security, and scalability. Here are the typical hosting options and their associated costs:
- Shared Hosting: Shared hosting is the most affordable option, costing around €1-14 per month. This type of hosting involves multiple websites sharing the same server resources, which can be affordable. However, if one site consumes excessive resources, this can lead to performance issues. This option is suitable for small stores with low traffic.
- VPS Hosting: Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting leverages virtualization technology to allocate dedicated resources, delivering superior performance and security over shared hosting. Priced between €18-95 per month, VPS hosting is ideal for medium-sized online stores with moderate traffic, providing a reliable and efficient solution for growing businesses.
- Dedicated Hosting: Dedicated hosting means you get an entire physical server dedicated solely to your website. This option offers maximum performance, security, and control, with costs ranging from €70-460 per month. It’s suitable for large stores with high traffic and complex requirements.
- Cloud Hosting: Cloud hosting uses multiple virtual servers to host a website, ensuring high reliability and scalability. Its cost ranges from €10 to € 185 per month. This option is excellent for stores that experience variable traffic and need scalable resources.
Additional Costs to Consider
The additional cost of PrestaShop development goes beyond hosting and the initial setup. This involves several additional costs, which you should keep in mind.
1. Domain Expenses
Your domain name is your store’s online address. Here’s what you need to know about domain costs:
- Domain Registration: Registering a domain typically costs between €10 and € 30 annually, depending on the domain extension (.com, .net, .org, etc.) and the registrar’s pricing policy.
- Renewal Costs: Domain names need to be renewed annually to maintain their active status.
2. SSL/TLS Certificate
An SSL/TLS certificate is essential for encrypting data exchanged between your website and your customers, ensuring secure transactions. The cost of SSL/TLS certificates varies widely:
- Standard SSL/TLS Certificates: Cost between €5-1000 per year, depending on the level of security and the issuing authority.
- Additional Security Tools: For enhanced protection, you should also consider additional security tools like vulnerability checkers, application scanners, and monitoring software.
3. Server Services
In addition to hosting, you may need server maintenance and management services. These costs can vary significantly based on your hosting type and the level of service required:
- Maintenance and Management: Costs can range from €5-5000 per month. Managed hosting plans often include server maintenance, security updates, and technical support.
4. PrestaShop Modules and Templates
Enhancing your store’s functionality and appearance often involves purchasing modules and templates. The following are the estimated costs:
- Modules: Prices range from $30-550 per download, depending on the module’s complexity and functionality.
- Templates: The cost of templates ranges from $50 to $330 per item. Investing in high-quality templates can significantly improve your store’s user experience and visual appeal.
6. Customer Support
While the Open Source version of PrestaShop offers community support through forums and documentation, you may need professional support services for more complex issues. A summary of the support plans is provided below:
- Technical Support: Fixing bugs, counseling for setups, and providing native module configurations. Costs start at €330.
- Updates & Migration: Choosing payment modules, themes, and the most recent PrestaShop version.
- SEO Pack: Detailed analysis, technical suggestions, and corrective actions. Costs start at €551.29.
- Performance Pack: Adding cache modules, cleaning files, and providing performance audits. Costs start at €99.23.
- Security Pack: Comprehensive security reports, issue resolution, and file cleanup. Costs start at €900.
7. Migration, Updating, and Upgrading
Maintaining compatibility and keeping your PrestaShop store up-to-date involves several processes:
- Update: Regular updates fix bugs and improve performance. Costs typically start around $79 per update.
- Upgrade: Upgrading involves moving to a major software version, offering new features and improvements.
- Migration is the process of transferring content from one version to another to ensure compatibility and performance. The cost of Prestashop migration varies depending on its complexity and extent. To ensure smooth updates and migrations, consider using extended modules or third-party experts like LitExtension or Cart2Cart.
Conclusion
Whether you are a small business owner just starting or an established merchant looking to expand, PrestaShop offers the flexibility and scalability to meet your needs. Investing in the right tools and services will help you create a robust, secure, and user-friendly online store that can grow with your business.
Shlok Parikh
Shlok is working as Operations Manager and leading the consulting team at iCreative technologies, we're a digital eCommerce agency mainly serving B2B clients across the globe. With experiences in more then 15 eCommerce framework segments, Shlok offers consulting and expert advices to different business problems and getting custom as well as process oriented solutions for his client. Given more then 100 solutions to our customers and made them happy with the best possible consulting services!