How much does it cost to start dropshipping?

Where the money actually goes

The number people quote for starting a dropshipping store is almost always the platform fee, because it is the only cost with a public price tag. It is also the smallest line on the list.

Two versions of this business exist, and they cost very different amounts. The organic route trades money for time: you post short-form video daily and buy no traffic. The paid route trades time for money: you test with Meta ads and get an answer in two weeks instead of two months.

The organic route: about $150 all-in

The honest total for a store you can actually launch is $77 in hard costs, plus $60-$80 of contingency for a second sample or a second domain. What it does not include is the 15-20 hours a week of filming and posting, for at least 30 days, which is the actual price.

That route works. It is also the one most people quit, usually in week three, when the account is still doing 200 views a post and the algorithm has not yet decided what to do with it.

The paid route: $1,200-$1,500

This is the number that matters if you intend to run ads:

• $130 platform and apps for three months
• $120 samples with express shipping
• $250 creative, or 6-10 hours of your own filming
• $700 ad budget, which is $50/day for 14 days

At $50/day you get a readable signal in five days: cost per add-to-cart on day 3, cost per purchase on day 5. Below $25/day, the data is too thin to distinguish a bad product from an unlucky week, and you end up making decisions on noise.

The costs nobody budgets for

Failed products. Roughly one product in five works, which is why the honest timeline is two or three tests. Budget for the second and third test before you spend on the first — a single $700 test is not a business plan, it is one attempt.

Refunds and chargebacks. 1-3% of revenue on a well-run store, 3-8% if you hide the delivery window. Each chargeback also carries a $15 fee on top of the refunded order — what a chargeback really costs prices out the full $54.73.

Annual billing traps. Most “from $X/mo” pricing is the annual prepay rate. Shopify Basic is $39 monthly and $29 if you commit to a year — and most first stores are closed within 90 days.

App creep. A store that installs one more app a week arrives at $220/mo of subscriptions in three months. At $35 gross profit per order, that is six orders a month spent before you buy a single ad. The tool stack page covers what to install and when, and hidden costs of dropshipping prices out the whole monthly picture.

What we would actually do with each budget

Run your specific product through the break-even calculator before committing to any of it. A product that needs a 2.1x ROAS is not a product, and no budget size fixes that.