Ecommerce in South Africa: How to Set Up an Online Store

Ecommerce in South Africa is its own kind of website, because the moment you take money you add payments, delivery, stock and tax. The local tools are mature: established platforms, local gateways that support EFT and South African cards, and courier and pickup networks that plug into your store. Here is how the pieces fit, what they cost in rand today, and the order to set them up.

The four pieces of ecommerce in South Africa

Every online store, large or small, is the same four parts wired together:

• The platform: where the store lives and products are managed, usually Shopify or WooCommerce.
• Payments: a local gateway so people can actually pay, such as Payfast, Yoco, Peach Payments or Ozow.
• Delivery: getting the order to the customer, by courier or pickup point.
• Trust and tax: clear policies, a secure checkout and VAT handled correctly.

Most launch problems are one of these four left half-done.

What an online store costs in South Africa

Item	Price	Notes
Shopify Basic	US$25 a month, or US$19 billed yearly (about R408 or R310)	Hosted; plus 2% per sale because Shopify Payments is not offered in South Africa
Shopify Grow	US$65 a month, or US$49 billed yearly (about R1,061 or R800)	Third-party payment fee drops to 1%
WooCommerce	No monthly platform fee	Open-source; you pay for hosting, and some extensions cost extra
Local web hosting (example)	From R99 a month at xneelo	Needed for WooCommerce; Shopify includes hosting
Payfast gateway	3.2% plus R2 per card payment; 2% (minimum R2) for Instant EFT	Before VAT; also supports Capitec Pay, SnapScan and more
.co.za domain (example)	R105 a year at xneelo	Register it in your own name

Dollar prices converted at US$1 = R16.32, before VAT. Delivery rates depend on parcel size and route, so compare quotes from couriers and pickup networks for your products.

If you want the store built for you, get fixed quotes for the same written scope. As one reference point, Zaiq’s published prices start from R8,000 for a focused build and from R80,000 for a full system.

Shopify vs WooCommerce in South Africa

• Shopify. Fastest to launch, fully hosted, and nothing to maintain. Its plans include abandoned checkout recovery and marketing automations. The South African catch: Shopify Payments is not available here, so you use a local gateway and pay Shopify’s third-party fee on every sale, 2% on Basic and 1% on Grow, on top of the gateway’s own fee.
• WooCommerce. Open-source software on WordPress with no monthly platform fee, and you control the store and its data. The trade-off is that you look after hosting, security and updates, or pay someone to.

Payment gateways: Payfast, Yoco, Peach Payments and Ozow

• Payfast lists 3.2% plus R2 per card payment and 2% (minimum R2) for Instant EFT, before VAT, and supports methods such as Capitec Pay, SnapScan, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
• Yoco includes payment links and an ecommerce plugin on its free Core plan. Its in-person card fees start at 2.3% for smaller merchants, and Yoco says online payments cost 0.5% more.
• Peach Payments and Ozow (pay-by-bank EFT) are the other common local options. Check their current fees on their sites.

Offer more than one way to pay. An EFT option alongside cards gives shoppers who prefer to pay from their bank account a way to complete the order.

Delivery: couriers and pickup points

Connect a courier such as The Courier Guy, or a pickup network such as Pargo’s click and collect points. PUDO’s website now redirects to The Courier Guy’s locker courier service. Show the delivery cost and time before checkout, because an unexpected cost at the last step can make a shopper abandon the order.

VAT for online stores: the new threshold

VAT rules changed this year. According to SARS, since 1 April 2026 you must register for VAT once your taxable supplies exceed R2.3 million in any 12 months (it used to be R1 million), and you may register voluntarily from R120,000. The standard rate stays 15%, after the proposed increase was reversed in 2025. Once registered, switch on VAT in your store, and confirm your position with an accountant.

How to start an online store in South Africa without overspending

For example, a Johannesburg candle maker could start by selling on Instagram and WhatsApp with a Yoco payment link, then move to a Shopify Basic store once orders are steady. The first month costs little, and by the time the store launches, she knows which products sell and what customers ask before buying.

After launch: automate the busywork

The store going live is the start. The steady gains come from automating the repetitive work around each sale: abandoned checkout reminders, order updates, review requests and stock alerts. Shopify’s plans include abandoned checkout recovery, and Zapier or Make can connect the rest.

Your store also collects customer names, addresses and emails, so POPIA applies. Publish a privacy policy, keep only what you need, and only send marketing emails to people who agreed or who bought from you, with an easy way to opt out. For the wider picture, see what to automate first in your business.