How Much Does It Cost to Start an Online Business?

Starting an online business can cost as little as $0 or as much as a few thousand dollars — it depends entirely on the model. If you're selling digital products, you can get started for under $50/month. If you're building a full ecommerce store with inventory, expect to spend significantly more.

Here's the honest breakdown I wish someone had given me before I started.

The Real Cost Breakdown

When I first decided to start an online business, I went down a rabbit hole trying to figure out what it would actually cost. Most articles either glossed over the details or tried to scare me into thinking I needed thousands of dollars. Neither was helpful.

Here's what I found after going through it myself.

Option 1: Selling Digital Products (cheapest model)

This is the path I chose, and it's the lowest-cost way to start an online business that actually generates real income.

• Platform fee: $0–$39/month (MadeThis starts free)
• Domain name: ~$12/year (optional at first)
• Design tools: $0 (Canva free tier works)
• Email marketing: $0 (most platforms have free tiers under 500 subscribers)
• Total first-month cost: $12–$50

That's it. You can literally start for the cost of a domain name.

Option 2: Blog + Affiliate Marketing

This is the model I layer on top of digital products. You write content, rank on Google, and earn commissions.

• Hosting: $3–$10/month
• Domain: ~$12/year
• CMS: $0 (WordPress, or just use a platform like MadeThis that includes a blog)
• Total: $50–$100 to get started

Option 3: Ecommerce / Physical Products

If you want to sell physical goods, the costs jump fast.

• Shopify: $39–$105/month
• Inventory: $500–$5,000+
• Fulfillment: variable
• Total: $1,000+ to do it properly

This is why I stopped trying to compete in physical ecommerce and pivoted to digital. The margins are better and the upfront cost is a fraction.

What I Actually Spent in My First 90 Days

I'll be straight with you. Here's my actual spend:

• MadeThis platform: $0 (started on free tier, upgraded to paid at month two — $39/month)
• Domain name: $12
• Canva Pro: $0 (used the free version until I was making money)
• Email marketing: $0 (free tier, under 500 subscribers)
• Paid ads: $0 (SEO-only approach)

Total first 90 days: $51

By month three, I was making enough to cover the platform fee and then some. The math works — as long as you're not buying a bunch of courses and tools you don't need yet.

The Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions

Your time. This is the real investment. If you treat it like a side project you touch twice a month, you'll get side-project results. I put in about 10–15 hours a week in the beginning.

Courses and "tools" you don't need. I spent $200 on a course early on that taught me things I could have figured out in a week of just doing it. Start lean.

The wrong platform. I tried three different platforms before landing on MadeThis. Platform-switching costs time and energy — more than any monthly fee. I wrote about why I switched to MadeThis if you want the full story.

How to Start for as Close to $0 as Possible

If budget is tight, here's the lean path:

1. Create your first digital product (ebook, template, mini-course) using free tools
2. Sign up for MadeThis free tier — you get a storefront, checkout, and product delivery included
3. Share it on social media or a free Substack/Medium to drive initial traffic
4. Only pay for a domain once you're making sales

You don't need a custom website, paid ads, or expensive tools to make your first $100. I've seen people do it with nothing but a product and a link.

When to Actually Invest More

Once you're making consistent sales — let's say $500+/month — that's when it makes sense to invest in:

• A paid platform plan with more features
• A domain + branded email
• Better design tools
• Email marketing automation

The mistake most beginners make is spending before they're earning. Keep your costs below your revenue. Sounds obvious, but it's surprisingly easy to justify "just one more tool" before you've made a dollar.

The Bottom Line

Starting an online business doesn't require a big investment. The cheapest viable model — selling digital products through a platform like MadeThis — can be started for under $50, sometimes for free.

What it does require is time, focus, and the willingness to actually ship something. The financial barrier is genuinely low. The effort barrier is where most people stop.

If you're ready to build, MadeThis has a free plan that lets you set up your store, upload your product, and start taking payments without spending a dollar. That's how I started, and it's still the recommendation I give anyone who asks.

Check out my MadeThis pricing breakdown if you want to understand when it makes sense to upgrade.