commercetools Pricing 2026
Complete pricing guide with plans, hidden costs, and negotiation tips
commercetools pricing varies by team size and features, ranging from $40K to $500K per year in 2026. Your actual cost depends on the tier you choose, contract length, and negotiated discounts.
Use the interactive pricing calculator to estimate your exact cost based on team size and requirements.
- Free tier: No free tier available
- Billing: Monthly and annual (save 15-20%)
- Hidden costs: Add ~35% for implementation, support, and training
commercetools offers 4 pricing tiers: Core Commerce, Foundry, Premium, Enterprise Custom. The Foundry plan is scaling enterprises undergoing digital transformation.
Compared to other enterprise e-commerce software, commercetools is positioned at the premium price point.
commercetools is the pioneering headless commerce platform built on MACH architecture (Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, Headless) for enterprise retailers and brands with complex digital commerce requirements. Founded in 2006 in Munich, Germany, commercetools powers major brands including AT&T, Woolworths, NBCUniversal, Audi, and Qantas Airways. The platform provides a suite of commerce APIs covering product catalog, cart, checkout, orders, and customer management — but notably no front-end storefront, requiring businesses to build or buy their own presentation layer.
commercetools pricing starts at approximately $40,000/year for the Core Commerce edition and scales to $150,000-$500,000+/year for Premium and Enterprise tiers, based primarily on your Gross Merchandise Value (GMV). However, the license fee is just one piece of the puzzle — total cost of ownership including front-end development ($50,000-$250,000+), implementation ($100,000-$500,000+), cloud hosting, and ongoing maintenance typically runs 3-5x the license cost. This guide breaks down commercetools pricing across all editions, reveals the true TCO, and helps you determine if a composable commerce approach justifies the premium investment over turnkey platforms like Shopify Plus or BigCommerce.
All commercetools Plans & Pricing
| Plan | Monthly | Annual | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core Commerce GMV: Up to ~$10M annuallySKUs: Limited catalog size | Contact | Contact | Mid-market brands starting with composable commerce |
| Foundry GMV: Up to ~$50-100M annuallySKUs: Expanded catalog capacity | Contact | Contact | Scaling enterprises undergoing digital transformation |
| Premium GMV: Up to ~$200M annually | Contact | Contact | Large-scale enterprises with complex global commerce operations |
| Enterprise Custom GMV: $200M+ annually | Contact | Contact | Fortune 500 and global retailers with $200M+ GMV |
View all features by plan
Core Commerce
- Essential commerce APIs
- Product catalog and cart management
- Standard cloud infrastructure
- API-first headless architecture
- Basic support included
Foundry
- All Core Commerce features
- Multi-storefront support
- Multi-language and multi-currency
- ERP and PIM integration APIs
- Dedicated technical onboarding
- Higher API rate limits
Premium
- All Foundry features
- Unlimited SKUs
- Advanced B2B APIs
- Premium support with SLA
- Audit logs and compliance features
- Third-party integration marketplace
Enterprise Custom
- All Premium features
- Custom API rate limits
- Dedicated infrastructure
- Custom SLA and uptime guarantees
- Named account team
- Multi-year contract discounts
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Frequently Asked Questions
01 How much does commercetools cost?
commercetools pricing is entirely custom and quote-based, starting at approximately $40,000/year for the Core Commerce edition and scaling to $150,000-$500,000+/year for Premium and Enterprise tiers. Pricing is revenue-based — the more GMV your business generates, the higher the license fee. For example, a company with $100M in annual revenue might pay around $120,000/year in license fees alone.
02 What is the total cost of ownership for commercetools?
The total cost of ownership for commercetools typically runs 3-5x the license fee when you factor in front-end development ($50,000-$250,000+), implementation ($100,000-$500,000+), cloud hosting ($6,000-$60,000/year), ongoing maintenance (15-25% of build cost annually), and third-party integrations ($10,000-$100,000+/year). A realistic first-year TCO for a mid-market deployment is $300,000-$800,000.
03 Is commercetools worth it for mid-market companies?
commercetools is generally overkill for mid-market companies doing under $50M GMV. The platform requires significant upfront investment in front-end development and integration since it's headless-only. Shopify Plus ($2,000-$40,000/year) or BigCommerce Enterprise ($5,000-$60,000/year) offer faster time-to-market at 60-80% lower TCO for most mid-market use cases.
04 What is MACH architecture and why does commercetools use it?
MACH stands for Microservices, API-first, Cloud-native, and Headless — the modern architecture commercetools pioneered for enterprise commerce. This means you can swap or upgrade any component independently, scale individual services on demand, and build any front-end experience. The trade-off is higher complexity and development cost compared to monolithic platforms.
05 How long does commercetools implementation take?
A typical commercetools implementation takes 6-12 months for a full production launch, though MVP launches can happen in 3-6 months. Complex multi-brand, multi-region deployments may take 12-18 months. The longer timeline compared to SaaS platforms like Shopify Plus (4-8 weeks) is due to the need to build a custom front-end and integrate all composable components.
06 Does commercetools include a storefront or front-end?
No. commercetools is a purely headless, API-only platform — it does not include any storefront, CMS, or front-end interface. You must build or purchase a separate front-end using frameworks like Next.js, Nuxt, or React, adding $50,000-$250,000+ to your initial investment. commercetools does offer starter kits and reference architectures to accelerate development.
07 How does commercetools compare to Shopify Plus?
commercetools offers unlimited customization flexibility with its MACH architecture but costs 5-10x more than Shopify Plus when you factor in total cost of ownership. Shopify Plus ($2,000-$40,000/year) provides a complete, turnkey solution ideal for B2C brands. commercetools ($40,000-$500,000+/year plus implementation) is better suited for enterprises needing custom omnichannel experiences across web, mobile, IoT, and in-store.
08 Can I negotiate commercetools pricing?
Yes, commercetools pricing is fully negotiable. Multi-year commitments (2-3 years) are the strongest negotiation lever and can yield 15-25% discounts. The typical redline threshold is around $250,000/year. Volume discounts, competitive bids from alternatives like Elastic Path or Spryker, and timing your purchase near quarter-end also help reduce costs.