The verdict in three sentences
A custom B2B e-commerce portal in Dublin costs between 35,000 and 90,000 EUR for a delivery window of 8 to 16 weeks, depending on the number of price lists and the depth of ERP integration. Once you need account-specific negotiated pricing and 30-day credit terms, packaged solutions like Shopify Plus (~2,000 EUR/month) quickly hit their limits on complex B2B. The return on investment lives in eliminating phone orders: every order a customer enters themselves saves 8 to 15 minutes of sales-rep time.
What your quote actually pays for
The price of a B2B platform is not a magic number: it is the sum of identifiable line items. Here is the 2026 order of magnitude for a distributor serving 150 to 600 pro customers.
| Quote line item | 2026 range (EUR) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping + UX/mockups | 4,000 - 9,000 | Pro buyer journey, multi-user accounts |
| Catalogue + search engine | 6,000 - 14,000 | Technical filters, SKUs, product sheets |
| Account-based pricing engine | 7,000 - 16,000 | Per-client grids, volume discounts, promos |
| Credit terms + 30-day payment | 4,000 - 9,000 | Credit cap, auto-block, dunning |
| ERP / stock integration | 8,000 - 22,000 | Sync products, prices, stock, orders |
| Account area + order workflow | 5,000 - 12,000 | History, reorder, purchase orders |
| QA, training, go-live | 3,000 - 8,000 | Testing, data migration, launch |
A Starter B2B project (1 price list, product sync only) fits within 35,000 EUR. A full project with multi-account pricing, credit terms and bidirectional ERP reaches 80,000 to 90,000 EUR.
Custom vs Shopify Plus: the real trade-off
Shopify Plus is excellent in B2C and fine for simple B2B. The moment you stack per-client grids, multi-buyer approval and credit terms, you pile up paid apps and fragile workarounds.
| Criterion | Custom | Shopify Plus + B2B apps |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 cost | 35,000 - 90,000 EUR | ~24,000 EUR/yr + apps 3,000-8,000 EUR |
| Year 3 cost (TCO) | + 21,600-54,000 EUR (maintenance) | ~81,000-110,000 EUR |
| Fine-grained pricing | Unlimited, bespoke | Limited / third-party apps |
| 30-day credit terms | Native | App workaround |
| ERP integration | Deep, bidirectional | Standard API, quotas |
| Code ownership | Full | Rented |
At high pricing-rule volume, custom becomes profitable over 3 years. Below that (simple catalogue, few accounts), Shopify Plus stays faster to launch.
Mini case study
Thomas, sales director of an industrial-supplies distributor in Dublin, manages 320 pro customers. His 4 reps spend on average 2 hours a day keying in orders received by phone and email, about 8 hours/day total, valued at 35 EUR/loaded hour: 280 EUR/day, or ~61,600 EUR/year over 220 days.
By shifting 60% of orders to self-service on the portal, he saves ~36,960 EUR/year of sales time, redeployed to prospecting. With a 62,000 EUR investment and 900 EUR/month maintenance (10,800 EUR/year), the year-1 cost is covered in year 2, before counting the basket uplift from a 24/7 catalogue.
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FAQ
What does a custom B2B platform really cost in 2026?
Expect 35,000 to 90,000 EUR depending on the number of price lists and the depth of ERP integration. A solid functional core sits around 55,000 EUR.
What is the delivery timeline?
Between 8 and 16 weeks. Scoping and mockups take 2-3 weeks, development 5-10 weeks, QA and data migration 1-3 weeks.
What maintenance budget should I plan?
Between 600 and 1,500 EUR/month depending on traffic and changes, i.e. 7,200 to 18,000 EUR/year. This covers security, fixes, minor enhancements and EU hosting.
Where is the data hosted?
On EU infrastructure, GDPR-compliant. This is a key argument for your enterprise customers' IT departments that require European data residency.
Is custom always more expensive than Shopify Plus?
No. Over 3 years, with complex negotiated pricing and credit terms, custom TCO becomes competitive, and you own the code instead of renting a platform.
Let's scope your project. Tell us about your catalogue, number of customer accounts and pricing rules: we'll quote a Starter or full B2B portal with ERP integration. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.