A ready-made online store is a store you rent on a hosted platform such as Salla, Zid or Shopify: you choose a theme, add products and start selling within days for a monthly or yearly subscription. A custom store, usually built on WooCommerce or programmed from scratch, costs more upfront, but you own the code, the design and every integration. For most new Saudi and GCC merchants in 2026, a ready-made platform is the faster and cheaper start. A custom or WooCommerce store pays off once fees, apps and platform limits start costing you more than ownership would.
This guide compares a ready-made online store vs custom build across plan prices, fees, payments, ownership, SEO and Arabic support, and shows when to move. The Saudi Ministry of Commerce counted 43,854 e-commerce commercial registrations at the end of 2025, up 9% in a year, as reported by Mubasher.
Three ways to launch: ready-made, free or custom#
- Ready-made (SaaS) store: a hosted platform such as Salla, Zid or Shopify runs the software, security and hosting; you work inside its themes and app store.
- Free store: the free tier of a platform, or free open-source software such as WooCommerce. Free means no licence fee, not no cost.
- Custom store: a store designed for your brand on software you control, either WooCommerce on your own hosting or a fully programmed platform such as Laravel or Next.js.
Ready-made platforms in 2026: published plan prices#
List prices below come from each platform’s pricing page or a dated review, checked in October 2026. Confirm them before you subscribe.
| Platform | Free tier | Paid plans (published, Oct 2026) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salla | Basic: free | Plus SAR 990/year; Pro SAR 2,990/year | Online payment activation and a custom domain are listed under Plus; CSS and JS design customisation under Pro |
| Zid | Starter: free | Rise SAR 99/month; Growth SAR 299/month; Pro on request | Starter is limited to bank transfer and cash on delivery and has no custom domain; Growth adds custom CSS and tax settings |
| Shopify | Trial only | Basic $29, Grow $79, Advanced $299 per month billed annually ($39, $105, $399 billed monthly) | Shopify Payments is not offered in Saudi Arabia, so an extra 2%, 1% or 0.6% transaction fee applies |
Sources: salla.com/plans, zid.sa/pricing, Shopify’s Shopify Payments country list and Shero Commerce’s Shopify pricing review dated 1 October 2026 (US prices).
Can you design an online store for free?#
You can open a store for free, but a store that takes card payments on your own domain always costs something. Free options in 2026 look like this:
- Salla Basic is free and allows unlimited products and orders, according to Salla’s pricing page. Electronic payment activation and booking your own domain appear in the Plus plan.
- Zid Starter is free with unlimited products, but Zid’s pricing page limits it to bank transfer and cash on delivery and does not include custom domain linking.
- WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin. Seahawk Media’s May 2026 cost guide puts hosting for a starter store at $180 to $600 a year, a domain at $12 to $20, and a few paid extensions at $200 to $600 a year.
A free plan is a sensible way to test products, but rarely a good way to launch a brand, because bank transfer and cash on delivery add friction at checkout.
The fees that sit on top of the subscription#
Compare total yearly cost, not the headline plan price:
- Payment processing: Zid’s payments page lists Growth-plan transaction fees from 1% + SAR 1 up to 3.3% + SAR 1 depending on the card, excluding VAT, with deposits every 2 to 3 days and a SAR 3 fee per deposit. Salla’s payments page lists the methods it supports but does not publish rates, so ask for them in writing.
- Platform transaction fees: on Shopify in Saudi Arabia you pay your gateway’s fee plus Shopify’s 2%, 1% or 0.6%, depending on plan.
- Apps and themes: reviews, loyalty, filters and premium themes are often paid monthly.
- Hosting and care: WooCommerce and custom stores have no subscription, but need hosting, backups, updates and security.
Payments Saudi shoppers expect: mada, Apple Pay, Tabby and Tamara#
The Saudi Central Bank (SAMA) reported that electronic payments made up 85% of retail payments in 2025. Your checkout, ready-made or custom, should offer:
- mada, the national debit network, plus Visa and Mastercard.
- Apple Pay, which accepts eligible mada cards, according to mada’s Apple Pay page.
- STC Pay as a popular wallet.
- Buy now, pay later through Tamara, licensed by SAMA in March 2025, and Tabby, licensed in November 2025.
Salla’s payments page lists mada, Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, stc pay, Tabby and Tamara. Zid’s payments page lists instalments from Tamara, Tabby, MISPay, Emkan and Madfu. On WooCommerce, the Moyasar plugin supports mada, Apple Pay and STC Pay according to Moyasar’s documentation, and Tabby and Tamara publish official checkout plugins on WordPress.org. Missing methods cost sales: Baymard Institute found that 9% of shoppers abandoned a checkout because there were not enough payment methods.
Ownership, SEO and Arabic: where ready-made and custom differ#
| Factor | Ready-made (Salla, Zid, Shopify) | WooCommerce or custom |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | You own data and domain; you rent the software and theme | You own code, design, data and hosting account |
| Upfront cost | Low | Medium to high |
| Running cost | Subscription, payment and app fees | Hosting, extensions, maintenance |
| Technical SEO | Platform-controlled URLs and templates | Full control of URLs, schema and speed |
| Arabic and RTL | Salla and Zid Arabic-first; Shopify depends on theme | Built to your bilingual plan |
| Integrations | App store and APIs | Any ERP, CRM or warehouse system |
| Time to launch | Days to a few weeks | Several weeks to months |
Ownership. On a platform, your products, customers and orders are exportable; Salla’s help centre documents product and order export templates. The theme and platform code stay with the provider, so leaving usually means rebuilding the design.
SEO. Ready-made platforms handle technical basics but set the rules. Shopify, for example, uses fixed URL prefixes such as /products/ and /collections/ that you cannot edit or remove, as TinySEO’s October 2026 guide explains. A WooCommerce or custom store gives you full control of URLs, bilingual hreflang, schema markup and page speed.
Arabic. Salla and Zid were built for Arabic-speaking merchants. On Shopify, right-to-left support depends on the theme, as many Shopify Community threads show. A custom store can be Arabic-first from day one.
How much does a professional online store cost?#
A professional online store is a store designed around your brand, products and customer journey rather than a theme with your logo on it. These are typical Saudi market ranges from Qawabid’s July 2026 price guide, not fixed quotes:
| Store type | Typical range (SAR) |
|---|---|
| Ready-made platform store, set up and branded | About 1,000 to 3,000 |
| Professionally customised Salla or Zid store | About 3,000 to 10,000 |
| WooCommerce store on a template | About 3,000 to 7,000 |
| Custom professional WooCommerce store | About 8,000 to 20,000 |
| Fully custom-programmed store | From about 20,000 to 25,000; 50,000+ for complex builds |
Larger platforms cost far more: Apptunix’s February 2026 guide puts custom e-commerce development in Saudi Arabia at SAR 80,000 to 160,000.
When to move from a ready-made store to a custom one#
Stay on a ready-made platform while it fits. Plan a move when you see these signs:
- Yearly subscription, transaction and app fees exceed what a WooCommerce or custom store would cost to own and maintain.
- You need wholesale or B2B pricing, quotes, subscriptions or product configurators.
- You need real-time ERP, accounting or warehouse integration across branches.
- You want a marketplace with multiple vendors.
- SEO has become a main sales channel and the platform’s URLs, templates or speed are holding you back.
- Your brand needs a design the theme system cannot deliver.
A safe migration keeps the domain in your name, exports products, customers and orders, maps every old URL to its new address with 301 redirects, and tests checkout with real mada and Apple Pay payments before switching DNS.
Which option fits which merchant?#
- New Saudi brand with a standard catalogue: a paid Salla or Zid plan with a professionally customised theme.
- Brand selling across the GCC and abroad: Shopify or WooCommerce with local gateways.
- Content-led or SEO-led brand: WooCommerce, for full control of content and URLs.
- Complex B2B, marketplace or integration-heavy business: a custom-programmed store.
Consult One is a web development agency based in Amman, Jordan, working with Saudi and GCC merchants since 2004. We advise on the platform first and build where it makes sense: see our e-commerce development for Saudi Arabia, WooCommerce development, Shopify development and wider e-commerce services.
Not sure whether to stay on a ready-made platform or go custom? Send us your platform, product count, monthly orders and integrations, and we will compare the total yearly cost of each option. Get a free quote.
FAQ#
Is a ready-made online store good enough for a new Saudi business?
Yes, for most new merchants. Platforms such as Salla and Zid are Arabic-first, include local payments and shipping, and can be launched in days. Their paid plans cost far less upfront than a custom build. A ready-made store becomes limiting later, when you need custom pricing, deep integrations, multiple languages with full SEO control or a design that the theme system cannot deliver.
Can I design an online store for free?
You can start for free, but not run a complete store for free. In October 2026, Salla Basic and Zid Starter cost nothing, yet Salla lists online payment and a custom domain under its paid Plus plan, and Zid’s free plan is limited to bank transfer and cash on delivery. WooCommerce is free software, but you still pay for hosting, a domain and extensions.
How much does a professional online store cost in Saudi Arabia?
Saudi pricing guides published in 2026 put a professionally customised Salla or Zid store at about SAR 3,000 to 10,000, a custom WooCommerce store at about SAR 8,000 to 20,000, and a fully programmed store from about SAR 20,000 to 25,000, rising past SAR 50,000 for complex projects. Platform subscriptions, payment fees, apps and maintenance are extra running costs.
Does Shopify support mada and Apple Pay in Saudi Arabia?
Shopify Payments is not available in Saudi Arabia according to Shopify’s list of supported countries, so Saudi merchants connect a third-party gateway for mada, cards and Apple Pay. Shopify then adds its own transaction fee on top of the gateway fee: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced, according to Shero Commerce’s October 2026 pricing review.
Who owns my store on Salla, Zid or Shopify?
You own your brand, your domain if it is registered in your name, and your products, customers and orders, which you can export. You do not own the platform software or the theme code; you rent them through a subscription. If you leave, your data moves with you, but the store design usually has to be rebuilt on the new platform.
When should I move from a ready-made store to a custom one?
Consider moving when platform fees and paid apps cost more each year than owning a WooCommerce or custom store, when you need B2B or wholesale pricing, ERP or warehouse integration, a marketplace model, or full control of URLs and technical SEO. Plan the move carefully: keep your domain, export all data and redirect every old URL to protect search rankings.
