Are you planning to develop a new online store or revamp your existing one, but worried about how much your eCommerce website development cost would be?
Take it easy!
You can consult top eCommerce development companies who can accurately answer your questions below :
- How much does it cost to build an eCommerce website?
- How can I minimize my eCommerce website development cost?
Well, eCommerce website development costs depend on various factors, such as tech stack, geographic location of your eCommerce web development company, type and size of your business, features, and functionality required in your online store, and more.
Here, we will discuss several factors that will help you determine your eCommerce website development cost, plus cost-control tips that will enable you to stay within a predefined budget while paying attention to the quality of your online store.
Before we discuss the major factors impacting the eCommerce website development cost, let's quickly review the cost breakdown based on the key elements of an eCommerce website.
Cost Breakdown Based On Key Elements of an eCommerce Website
While evaluating your eCommerce website development cost, the key elements that you need to consider are as follows:
Domain Name Registration & Hosting
Domain name registration can cost you around $10-$20 per year, which depends on the domain registrar, domain extensions, domain duration, etc. If the domain name you require has already been purchased, you need to pay the price the owner of that domain name asks for. Hosting a website can cost around $1.99-$250 per month, depending on whether you have opted for shared or dedicated hosting. If you have selected SaaS-based eCommerce website hosting like Shopify, it can cost you around $39-$399 per month, depending on your pricing package chosen.
Website Design & Development
The major share of the cost of setting up and running your eCommerce store is taken by website design & development. So, this section requires extra attention. However, the eCommerce website development cost highly depends on your eCommerce platform (SaaS or Open Source). Below are some examples of the cost of some of the cloud-based eCommerce platforms and free & open-source eCommerce solutions to choose from.
Cost of Cloud based eCommerce Platforms:
| Cloud Based eCommerce Platforms | Approximate Cost |
| WooCommerce | $0 - $29+ per year |
| Shopify | $29 - $2300+ per month |
| Wix | $17 - $159+ per month |
| Volusion | $35 - $229+ per month |
| BigCommerce | $29 - $299+ per month |
Cost of Free and Open Source eCommerce Platforms:
Magento - Hiring a Magento developer can cost you $25 - $200 per hour, and it takes around 40 - 100+ hours to develop a Magento website. There are predesigned themes on the Magento marketplace available at a price of $0 to $499. Using a design theme can minimize the hours required to build a Magento website. But, if you need a customized eCommerce website using Magento, then the cost may increase as it may take more time to create it. Moreover, the cost of developing a Magento website can increase if the functionality of your website requires downloading some extensions, which can cost you around $350 to $2000.
Prestashop - Hiring a Prestashop developer can cost you $35-$125 per hour and can take around 40-100+ hours to develop a Prestashop eCommerce website. Moreover, in Prestashop, if you choose a template to design your eCommerce website, it can cost you around $49.64 - $330.96. Different modules are available in Prestashop that can support customizations, and they are available for $30 - $550. So, based on all these expenses, you can calculate the exact cost of your Prestashop eCommerce website.
Precisely, the exact eCommerce website development cost, whether you are using SaaS or open source platforms, depends on the customization level, features & functionalities, and UI (User Interface) you require as that would decide the time taken to complete the entire Project.
Let's compare some of the eCommerce platforms based on their costs:
Content
SEO-friendly content on the website can drive traffic to your eCommerce website, which makes the content an essential part of your online store. As per Payscale, content writing services can cost you from around $14 to $50 per hour, depending on the experience level of the freelance writer or content writing company you have hired. If you have delegated the entire Project to an eCommerce web development company that includes the content creation process, then you don't need to spend this amount separately. In that case, the quote submitted by your eCommerce website development company would include the content writing cost.
SSL Certification
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a security protocol that can authenticate your eCommerce website's identity and enables an encrypted connection between web server and web browser. Below given are three different types of SSL certificates with their costs.
Type of SSL Certification (With Cost)
| SSL Type | Number of Validation Checks | Used By | Estimated Cost |
| Domain Validated SSL | Authenticated with one validation check | Used by websites that do not conduct UPI and credit card transactions like blogs, and personal websites | $50 per year |
| Organization Validated SSL | Authenticated with nine validation checks | Used by Login Screens and Business Websites | $50 - $100 per year |
| Extended Validated SSL | Authenticated with 18 validation checks | Used by Global Banks and Financial Institutions, ecommerce marketplaces, and Fortune 500 Companies | $150 - $500 per year |
Payment Gateway Integration
If you are planning to get a payment gateway built from scratch, it can cost you around $150 to $250 per hour. The more features a payment gateway has, the higher costs would be to build it.
There are ready-made payment gateways available, such as Stripe, Stax, and many more, that can be integrated into eCommerce stores to receive secure payments from multiple modes like credit card, bank UPI, etc. These payment gateways can be integrated by specialists within 3-4 hours who charge around $10 - $50, depending on the complexity level of your eCommerce website. Many of these payment gateways come with zero setup fees, 2.7% of the transaction amount as their payment processing fees, and a monthly charge of around $0 - $99.
eCommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, etc., have inbuilt payment gateways so you don't need to pay for integration charges. These platforms charge around 0.6% to 2% transaction fees depending on the package you have selected.
Testing & Launch
Accurately testing a website before launching it is essential to its success. On average, a QA tester charges $33 - $59 per hour. Usually, eCommerce web development companies include testing & launch costs in their quotes. But, if you are planning to hire a freelancer for your eCommerce development or an in-house team of developers to build your eCommerce website, this aspect should be considered during budget planning.
Ongoing Maintenance
Ongoing maintenance and support plays a vital role in the success of an eCommerce business. The cost of maintaining an eCommerce website depends on its size and complexity.
Below-mentioned are the maintenance cost details of eCommerce websites.
eCommerce Websites Maintenance Cost (Based On Its Size)
| Website Size | Approximate Cost |
| Small Websites (up to 50 pages) | $100 per year |
| Mid-Sized eCommerce Websites (50-500 pages) | $400-$500 per year |
| Large eCommerce Websites (500-1000+ pages) | $1000+ per year |
For complex eCommerce websites, you can ask for exact maintenance costs from the eCommerce development company or freelancer you hire.
Now, let's move on to the nitty-gritty of this article and that is the major factors that influence the eCommerce website development cost.
Factors Influencing eCommerce Website Development Cost
There are various factors that can influence the eCommerce website development cost like the type of your business, the location of your outsourcing partner or freelancer, hourly rates of eCommerce developers in different countries, and many other factors. Let’s study each of these factors to know how much eCommerce website development costs.
Type of eCommerce Business (B2B, B2C, C2B, C2C)
The eCommerce website development cost highly depends on the type of your eCommerce business. Basically, eCommerce businesses can be classified into four types - B2B (Business to Business), B2C (Business to Consumer), C2B (Consumer to Business), and C2C (Consumer to Consumer). Let's have a look at how these business models are different from each other and how much they can vary in terms of website development.
| Type | Business Model | Examples | Appx. Development Cost |
| B2B | One Business Sells Products or Services to Another Business | Alibaba, Quill, Medline | $10,000 - $250,000 |
| B2C | Business Sells Products or Services to End Consumers | Amazon, Netflix, Walmart | $1,000 - $10,000 |
| C2B | Consumers Sell Products or Services to Businesses | Scripted, Upwork, Fiverr | $10,000 - $50,000 |
| C2C | Consumers Sell Products or Services to Other Consumers | OLX, Quikr, Etsy | $10,000 - $40,000 |
eCommerce Website Complexity (Basic, Mid-Level, Advanced)
The simpler and smaller an eCommerce website is, the less expensive it will be to build. Basic websites with fewer pages take less time to build; thus, they are less expensive than mid-level and advanced eCommerce websites. Let's elaborate on this.
| Website Complexity | Attributes | Products Listed | Example | Development Cost |
| Basic |
| Up to 100 | https://thesusoutdoors.com/ | $1000 - $10,000 |
| Mid-Level |
| Up to 1000 | https://www.nykaa.com/ | $17000+ |
| Advanced |
| Unlimited | https://amazon.com | $28000+ |
eCommerce Website Development Team (Type, Location & Experience)
Besides determining the eCommerce website development cost based on project type and scope, how much do eCommerce developers charge also becomes an important aspect to consider while planning the budget. A professional eCommerce development company can charge more than a freelancer for the same Project. Also, hiring an eCommerce website development company in the USA can cost you more than an eCommerce development company in India with the same level of expertise.
As per talent.com, the average salary of an eCommerce developer in the USA is $118,423 per year or $56.93 per hour. Beginners start at $90,000 per year, whereas experienced eCommerce developers charge around $150,800 per year.
According to Glassdoor, the salary of an eCommerce developer in India is around $6000 - $13000 per year, and according to Upwork, Indian eCommerce developers charge around $20 - $140 per hour depending on their experience and expertise. Based on this information, you can estimate how much eCommerce website development costs in India.
Similarly, let's have a look at the hourly rates of eCommerce developers from different locations.
Hourly Rates of eCommerce Website Developers (Location Based)
| Country | Hourly Rates |
| North America | $75-200/hour |
| Latin America | $30-$50/hour |
| Australia | $100-$150/hour |
| Africa | $20-$40/hour |
| India | $25-$45/hour |
These hourly rates not only depend on the experience level of eCommerce developers but also are based on your choice of whether you are hiring in-house employees or freelancers or delegating the entire website development project to a professional web development company. Let's quickly have a look at the pros and cons of hiring each one of them for better decision-making.
Pros and Cons of Hiring Freelance eCommerce Developers
| Pros | Cons |
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Pros and Cons of Hiring In-House eCommerce Developers
| Pros | Cons |
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Pros and Cons of Outsourcing the Project to a Professional eCommerce Development Company
| Pros | Cons |
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So, this is it? Are we missing out on any information directly or indirectly relating to the eCommerce website development cost?
Yes, one thing - The cost of eCommerce mobile app development.
People these days are addicted to their mobile devices. They shop online even while commuting from one place to another. What if your store is not available to mobile users? Getting a responsive eCommerce website built can be the solution. But, an eCommerce mobile app is the winner when it comes to speed, feel, and performance. To survive in this cut-throat online shopping environment, you need to have an eCommerce app developed and synchronized to your eCommerce website so that your customers can have an omnipresent experience of your online store.
eCommerce is proliferating. According to eMarketer, global retail eCommerce sales have grown from $5.78 trillion in 2023 to $6.33 trillion in 2024 and are expected to rise to $8.03 trillion in 2027. Thus, to make the most of this growth, it becomes imperative to have an eCommerce store that gives wonderful shopping experiences over multiple devices and platforms.
Now, if you are not thinking about launching a mobile version of your online store, then you are missing out on a massive share of your sales coming from your audiences who buy online using their mobile devices only.
Here, we will briefly explain how much an online store app can cost and how much it costs to sync it with your web store.
How Much Does eCommerce Mobile App Development Cost?
The price of developing an eCommerce app can be around $5000 - $500,000+. However, these costs can differ based on the features and complexity of the app, its platform compatibility, and the geographic location & experience level of the mobile app development company you have hired and many more. Let's dive into more details about the cost breakdown of building eCommerce mobile apps based on different factors.
eCommerce App Development Cost - Based on Complexity Level
| Type | Features | Cost |
| Basic | Product Catalog, Shopping Cart, Secure Payment Gateway | $5,000 to $50,000 |
| Mid-Level | Customization, Personalized Recommendations, Chatbots, etc. | $20,000 to $120,000 |
| Complex | Integrations, Scalability, Analytics, Voice Search, etc. | $150,000 to $500,000 |
eCommerce App Development Cost - Based on Platform Compatibility
| Platform Compatibility | Cost |
| Native eCommerce Apps (Android or iOS) | $9,999 - $25,000+ |
| Hybrid eCommerce Apps (Android + iOS) | $45,000+ |
(It should be noted that these costs highly depend on the functionality & time taken to build the app).
However, eCommerce app developers worldwide have a different hourly rate depending on their geographical location. Let's have a look at hourly rates of eCommerce app developers from different countries as that would help you determine the total cost of your eCommerce mobile application development.
eCommerce App Developers Hourly Rate By Country
| Country | Hourly Rate |
| USA | $50–$200 |
| Canada | $50–$150 |
| Mexico | $40–$120 |
| UK | $50–$125 |
| Australia | $50–$125 |
| India | $25–$100 |
| Philippines | $25–$75 |
(These hourly charges are tentative and can depend on the developers' experience level).
An eCommerce app developer can take around 1000 to 1400 hours to finish an eCommerce development project again, depending on its complexity and technology. Considering that, the cost of developing an eCommerce app can be around $40,000 to $220,000. Basically, more features mean app developers require more time to build an app, which ultimately leads to paying a higher price.
Moreover, when we are talking about eCommerce web & application development here, it also becomes important to ensure that your web store and mobile store are linked with each other so that your customers can have access to uniform & consistent information on your online store whether they are using desktop or smartphone. Well, then, how much would an eCommerce website and app integration cost? Let's have a look.
How Much Does it Cost to Sync Web Store & Mobile Store?
Syncing a web store and a mobile store is done in different ways. One of the most common methods is to use an API that can send and receive information like user profile, settings, purchase history, etc., between the eCommerce app and the eCommerce website. Some eCommerce developers also use cloud-based databases like Firebase or AWS for the same task. Also, there are technologies like WebSockets that are used to connect web and apps for real-time information sharing.Now, the cost of synchronization depends on the method that your eCommerce web developers use. It depends on whether they are creating a custom API or using a ready-made one. Also, the tools and resources they are using for this task impact the cost. Usually, eCommerce web development companies quote their price, which includes the task of syncing web and app.
For better clarity on how much your eCommerce store (web and app) can cost, it is advised to consult the top mobile app development companies as they can come up with the exact price of your eCommerce mobile app after analyzing features & functionality requirements, business goals, technology, and all other criteria impacting the cost.
Precisely, navigating through the complex landscape of eCommerce web & app development costs requires vigilant consideration, starting from domain name registration to ongoing maintenance.
At every stage of your project development process, whether it is about building a marketplace like Amazon or a simple eCommerce website with 50 products, you need to ensure that you select the right options that ultimately lead to cost-effective solutions.
So, how will you ensure that your eCommerce web development project remains under a controlled budget? Let's shed some light on how to reduce eCommerce website development cost.
How to Reduce eCommerce Website Development Costs?
eCommerce website development can prove to be expensive, especially if unplanned costs occur due to website redo, lack of skilled resources, wrong CMS choice, etc. To overcome these challenges, we have outlined some cost-saving tips with experts' advices that would help you achieve your goal of gaining high-quality eCommerce web development at a low price.
Plan Strategically
Initial planning is highly critical to have clarity over your business requirements and project scope. At this stage, you can set a strong foundation for the entire project, as changes after project completion can prove to be expensive. By investing more time in planning the project scope, design, and functionality of your eCommerce store can help you save unexpected costs later on in the development process.
This is precisely why Jessica Bane (Operations Director at GoPromotional) emphasizes that taking the time for thorough planning upfront is extremely important.
We adopted the principle of "think twice, develop once." Instead of rushing into development, we spent ample time brainstorming, planning, and sketching out our ideas. This foresight led to a solid plan that prevented excess changes and overruns later on, thereby reducing costs in the long run. - Jessica Bane (Operations Director of Gopromotional)
Start With MVP (Minimum Viable Product)
Analyze your business requirements and determine the essential features you need to have in your online store, like product catalog, wish list, shopping cart, payment gateway, etc. Focus on launching MVP (minimal viable product) first, which includes the essential features only. And when you have enough resources and funds in hand, you can continue scaling your eCommerce store. This will help you reduce eCommerce website development cost and get your online store up and running at a lower cost.
This systematic approach allowed Precision Watches to ensure a cost-effective launch by rolling out the site in phases as cited by their marketing manager, Sergey Taver.
Instead of a full launch all at once, we rolled out the site in phases, which allowed us to manage costs more effectively and adjust our strategy based on customer feedback and analytic insights. - Sergey Taver(Marketing Manager of Precision Watches)
Pick the Right eCommerce Platform
Pick the right eCommerce platform depending on your Project, infrastructure, availability of resources, and technical abilities.
If you have enough budget to hire an in-house team of developers or outsource an entire project to professional companies/freelancers, you can opt for free and open-source eCommerce platforms like Magento or WooCommerce. But that would require you to spend money on paying your eCommerce development team, whether in-house or outsourced. Still, it will keep your costs low as eCommerce platforms you are using are free to download.
Here, Connor Butterworth (CEO & Owner of Southwestern Rugs Depot) shares his experience of how using WordPress and WooCommerce is helping them run a successful online store.
I decided to utilize WordPress, along with WooCommerce, for the website. WordPress is a cost-effective platform that allowed me to adapt the site as the business grew. WooCommerce, being a free plugin, made it easy to manage products and transactions without incurring additional costs. - Connor Butterworth (CEO & Owner of Southwestern Rugs Depot)
If you are using WordPress with WooCommerce for your online business just go through - How Is Metaverse Shaping the Future of WordPress Development? This article will help you to implement the latest and emerging practices in your eCommerce business and take it to the next level.
On the other hand, if budget is a constraint, you can select a free subscription provided by SaaS based eCommerce platform like Shopify and then upgrade the package later on when your business starts generating revenue.
As stated by Mimi Nguyen (founder of Cafely Web), they prefer Shopify over custom development from scratch as it offers them convenience and reduces costs in eCommerce website development.
We conducted extensive research to identify affordable yet reliable web development solutions. Instead of opting for custom development from scratch, which can incur significant expenses, we applied a pre-built eCommerce platform - Shopify. This platform offers customizable templates and functionalities at a fraction of the cost compared to bespoke development. Mimi Nguyen (Founder of Cafely)
Know your Limitations
When it comes to eCommerce platform selection, knowing your business limitations is extremely important. Every business is different and has limitations of its own pertaining to budget, resources, geographical location, and more. If you don't have technical expertise and are still trying to build your store using Magento, then you might end up having an online store that is full of bugs and errors, leading you to spend more on rework. In that case, it becomes easy to build an eCommerce platform using Shopify, which requires no technical expertise.
Not recognizing their own limitations led Sticker It to inconveniences and paying more for their eCommerce website as per their experience mentioned below:
During the initial stages of our eCommerce store, we opted for Magento as our platform. While Magento is known for its strength, we soon realized it came with challenges for our team members who were not deeply familiar with technical aspects. These challenges went beyond inconveniences; they significantly raised our expenses, leading to a redirection of funds that could have been better allocated elsewhere. - David Rubie-Todd (Co-Founder and Marketing Director of Sticker It)
Apply Design Templates & Plugins
Instead of getting an eCommerce website designed from scratch, it is always better to use ready-made design templates & plugins provided by platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, etc. These templates & plugins allow customization up to a certain limit, which allows you to get the look and feel of your website as per your brand identity. This can help you significantly reduce eCommerce website development costs.
Here, Organic Marketing lead of Red Stag Fulfillment shares their experience about saving money by using customizable templates for their ecommerce website instead of hiring a professional developer.
We saved money by using a web design platform that provides customizable templates. This cut our costs for hiring a professional developer to create our website from the ground up. Instead, we focused our budget on revamping our website template with our branded assets and on regular backend maintenance. - Colt Agar (Organic Marketing Lead of Red Stag Fulfillment)
Ensure Scalability
A scalable eCommerce platform would always allow you to save money in the long run when you need to add content, products, or features. So, you need to make sure that the templates, plugins, architecture, tech stack, and all the methods you use to build your eCommerce website allow scalability. The eCommerce business world is constantly changing, so when you require some changes in your online store in the future, you don't have to spend money rebuilding your store. Instead, you can use the same eCommerce platform and make innovative changes prevailing in the marketplace.
To prove this point, Marc Bishop, Director of Wytlabs, states how cloud-based development helped them scale their website and prevent overspending.
We leverage cloud-based development and testing environments, which reduce the need for expensive hardware setups and allow for greater flexibility. These environments enable our team to collaborate and make changes in real time, reducing delays and the costs associated with prolonged development cycles. Furthermore, cloud solutions offer scalability, which means we can adjust our resource usage based on real-time needs, avoiding overspending. - Marc Bishop (Director of WYTLABS)
Prefer Outsourcing Over In-House Hiring
Outsourcing an eCommerce website development not only saves money but also promotes globalization. If an expert in a specific technology is not available in your geographical region, you can hire an agency or freelancer who is particularly specialized in that particular technology. When the Project is over, you can immediately terminate the contract you have with the outsourcing services provider. On the other hand, if you have hired in-house developers, you need to pay salaries to in-house employees and bear the other overheads even if there are no projects on hand. Thus, outsourcing proves to be more cost-effective than in-house hiring and can help in reducing your eCommerce website development costs.
Here, Tim XU - Marketing Director of Go4MOULD explains why outsourcing should be preferred over in-house hiring.
Outsourcing to reputable, cost-effective developers or agencies can also provide expertise without the overhead of in-house teams. Tim XU (Marketing Director of Go4MOULD)
Conduct Rigorous Testing
Testing is highly significant before launching an eCommerce website. It helps in confirming that your customers will have a wonderful shopping experience. After launching the eCommerce website, if there are a lot of reworks, you might end up paying more to the web development company or freelancers you have hired on an hourly basis. Moreover, you lose the sales opportunities caused by flaws in the functionality of the website, and thus, it can prove to be highly expensive for you. The solution is to conduct rigorous testing leaving no room for flaws as that can help you to reduce your eCommerce website development costs.
Here, Rahul Vij - CEO of WebSpero Solutions shares their views on why conducting User Acceptance Tests (UAT) is highly significant to launching a flawless eCommerce website.
Conduct User Acceptance Tests (UAT) before launching your e-commerce website. Yes, you have to pay some amount if you're outsourcing it, but it's much better than having to redo your entire website after learning that users do not like it. - Rahul Vij (CEO of WebSpero)
Keep Minimal Functionality
Minimalism is a philosophy that is applied to successful eCommerce stores that focus on simple functionality and eliminate unnecessary elements that divert the minds of the users. eCommerce websites with minimal functionality get the benefit of good aesthetics and quick loading, which keep visitors coming back and buying repetitively. Moreover, with minimum features in an online store, it takes less time for developers to build, ultimately lowering the eCommerce website development cost.
James Taylor, SEO strategist at Embroyo.com, seconds with the thought of keeping minimal functionality by sharing his experience as given below:
By keeping things simple and functional, you'll save time, money, and stress and have a working website up and running much quicker. Keeping things simple also has other benefits; stats suggest that customers prefer minimal websites to more visually complex ones, the simpler the design, the faster your site is likely to be, and sites that are uncluttered in terms of their tech are likely to give you an SEO boost and rank higher in search engine results. - James Taylor(SEO Strategist of Embroyo Digital Marketing Agency)
Finally, spending on eCommerce website development is not an expense, it is an investment and so should be done wisely. By planning in advance, knowing your strengths and weaknesses, and understanding your own business requirements well, can help you to get an eCommerce website tailored as per your needs within your predefined budget.
Conclusion
To summarize, your eCommerce web development project can cost you around $10,000 to $500,000 or more. The exact cost would ultimately be determined by answering the questions below -
- Which eCommerce platform are you planning to use? Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, Squarespace, or any other.
- What level of complexity do you require for an eCommerce website? Simple, mid-level, or highly complex
- Do you already have in-house eCommerce developers, or are you planning to hire a team?
- Are you planning to outsource your eCommerce development project? If so, would you prefer to outsource the Project to freelancers or a professional company?
- eCommerce Developers from which country would you prefer? US, UK, Australia, India, or any other country.
After answering the above questions, you can make smart decisions that will help you develop your eCommerce store at a low price without compromising its quality. With a focus on cost-saving strategies, clear communication with your eCommerce development partner, customization planning, third-party integrations, intricate testing, and regular maintenance, you can achieve the outcome of an extremely lucrative online store.
All we can say is that nothing comes for free. If you choose Magento - a free eCommerce platform, then that might cost you more as you will need Magento developers to get your online launched and running successfully without any flaws. You cannot do it yourself with Magento if you don't have technical expertise. On the other hand, if you choose Shopify, it can prove to be a low-cost solution, but then you might not get the level of customization and scalability you require. For that, you need to select Shopify's advanced price package, which can again be equivalent to choosing the free Magento platform.
Similarly, there can be many other decisions pertaining to technology, web development team, features, etc., to be made throughout your online store development, which might sometimes seem to be finding a needle from a haystack. GoodFirms can make this task easier for you by introducing you to the list of top eCommerce developers with their comprehensive details and authentic users’ reviews all at one place. Just go through these shortlisted companies and make smart decisions that can help you strike the right balance between quality and cost.
