“How much does a website cost?” is the wrong question. The useful question is: how much does it cost me to sell consistently, and how much time does it take? A €5 monthly fee can be more expensive than a €30 one if it forces you to spend five hours a month maintaining it.
Let’s break down the real costs of the three most common options for an artisan: a custom website, a marketplace, and a digital storefront.
The costs almost nobody adds up
1. Domain and hosting
A domain usually costs €10–20 per year. Hosting can range from a few euros a month to much more if you need performance and support. On a custom website, this is only the beginning.
2. Design and maintenance
A custom website can cost from several hundred to several thousand euros. Then come updates, backups, design changes, and technical issues. If you cannot do it yourself, every small change has a cost.
3. Marketplace commissions
Marketplaces usually charge a commission per sale, plus possible listing or subscription fees. That commission can make sense for discovering new customers, but it eats into your margin on every repeat sale.
4. Payment fees
If you accept cards, the payment processor charges a transaction fee. It is not bad on its own, but it must be included in your pricing.
5. Advertising
Without an audience, a website does not sell by itself. Organic Instagram helps, but many brands end up paying for ads to fill the funnel.
6. Time
This is the biggest and most invisible cost. Updating prices, uploading photos, answering DMs, fixing a broken link, or chasing an order. If your website takes five hours a month, those hours are worth more than the subscription.
An honest comparison
| Item | Custom website | Marketplace | Mercader |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Weeks or months | Fast | Minutes |
| Upfront cost | High | Low | €0 |
| Monthly fee | Hosting + maintenance | Variable | From €5/month |
| Commission on direct sales | Usually none | Yes, variable | 0% on direct sales |
| Catalog and prices | Custom | Limited to the marketplace | Included |
| Events and markets | Custom | Not always | Included |
| Technical maintenance | You or a third party | The marketplace | Mercader |
| Management time | High | Medium | Low |
There is no best option for everyone. There is a best option for each stage.
When a custom website makes sense
A custom site fits if:
- you have a large, fast-changing catalog;
- you need complex integrations;
- you sell to other businesses;
- you have a budget and someone to maintain it;
- your brand justifies a very tailored experience.
If you are starting out, a custom website often arrives before you know which products work. It is easy to spend a lot on something that changes later.
When a marketplace makes sense
A marketplace fits if:
- you need discovery urgently;
- your products match its audience;
- you accept its commission;
- you are okay with the customer relationship going through its platform.
The problem appears when your entire business depends on that channel. The commission becomes structural and the brand loses control.
When a storefront like Mercader makes sense
A storefront fits if:
- you want your own link without technical work;
- you sell through Instagram, WhatsApp, and markets;
- you need to show products, prices, and events;
- you want to start now and decide later whether you need more;
- you prefer a clear fee over a commission on every direct sale.
Mercader starts at €5 per month and charges no commission on sales you close directly. Payment is arranged with the customer; the platform focuses on the storefront and organization. You get a 14-day free trial and can cancel anytime.
Break-even example
Imagine you sell €20 pieces with a 50% margin (€10 per piece). With a €5 monthly fee, half a piece covers the tool. With a 10% commission per sale, you would need more sales to cover the same fee, and every extra sale would keep paying commission.
This is not an argument to always choose a fee. It is an argument to look at total cost, not just the sticker price.
How to decide in one afternoon
Do this math:
- How many direct sales do you make per month?
- What margin does each sale leave?
- How many hours do you spend on your online presence?
- What is one hour of your time worth?
- What commission do you pay today per channel?
If commission or time is higher than the fee of a simple tool, try the tool. If you need something very specific, invest in a custom website.
Start with the lowest-cost test
You do not need to commit to a multi-thousand-euro website to find out whether selling online works for you. Create a storefront, publish your products, and share it. In two weeks you will have real data.
Create your free storefront and see if it saves you time and commissions. No card required, no lock-in.
by mercader.app Team
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