Hire Shopify Developers & Custom Solution Experts

"Shopify developer" describes at least six specialisms that share a platform and almost nothing else. Hourly rate tells you very little about fit — a strong theme developer given a custom app project delivers something that works and can't be maintained, and a senior backend engineer with no Liquid experience spends paid hours learning your theme.

Six specialisms cover nearly all Shopify development:

- Theme and front-end work — custom theme development, theme customisation, and anything visible on the storefront the editor can't do. On shopexperts, theme customisation packages have a median of $548. The majority of Shopify development sits here.

- App and API development — custom apps for internal workflows, public App Store apps, and API integrations. Custom development and app packages on shopexperts have a median of $1,000 for a defined scope; larger app builds are quoted per project. See Shopify app development.

- Checkout and Plus features — checkout customization, Checkout UI extensions and Shopify Functions development. Most of it needs Shopify Plus: extensions inside the checkout steps and custom Functions are Plus-only, although any plan can brand its checkout and use public apps built on Functions.

- Backend and systems — ERP and backend integrations, connecting Shopify to systems that weren't designed to talk to it. More data modelling than Shopify.

- Headless — Hydrogen and headless commerce development. A genuinely different discipline, and most stores don't need it; a well-optimised theme covers what merchants usually assume requires it.

- Fixing and hardening — bug fixes and troubleshooting, performance and speed optimization, and accessibility compliance. Reactive work, and frequently the right first purchase.

If you can't tell which applies, a short paid scoping engagement costs less than hiring the wrong specialism and discovering it in week three. Compare expert Shopify developers below, or browse the specific service you need.

Top-rated Shopify developers, agencies and Plus Partners

Say Yes

AgencyLondon, United KingdomFrom $1000

5.00(2 reviews)

shopexpertsscore

We are a digital agency - with our HQ at Patch in York - who focus on brand & product storytelling. We carefully curate, design & build websites that tell people why your brand is special, and why your products are better. Whether it's optimising for conversions or crafting seamless digital experiences, we provide the tools, experience and insights to grow your brand. From design to strategy, we handle the details, so you can focus on what you're great at. We work across liquid themes and headless sites with Shopify - as well as custom builds for growing brands. Get in touch today for a consultation.

Offered services

Shopify Development

Store Setup & Management

Consulting & Strategy

AI & Emerging Tech

Design, UX & Branding

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Mikhail Malkov

Shopify Plus EngineerBelgrade, SerbiaFrom $50

Not yet rated

shopexpertsscore

Senior Shopify Developer (7 years exp) I have 13 years of experience in web development, with the last 7 years focused on Shopify. Coming from a full-stack background (Node.js, Databases), I specialize in technical challenges - from building custom apps and checkout logic to implementing complex, pixel-perfect theme customizations. My Stack: Shopify: Liquid, Checkout UI Extensions, Functions, Storefront API. General: JavaScript, Node.js, SQL, React Key Project: I worked on the Fender.com migration to Shopify (Plus). My focus was on replicating their business logic via Checkout Extensions and handling data synchronization. I’m looking for projects that require deep technical understanding, whether it's backend integration or advanced frontend work.

Offered services

Shopify Development

Store Setup & Management

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Checkout Collective

AgencyWashington, United StatesFrom $1000

Not yet rated

shopexpertsscore

Checkout Collective is a Shopify development agency specializing in custom theme development, checkout customization, and long-term technical support for established ecommerce brands. We work with internal teams and agencies to implement reliable, maintainable Shopify solutions and provide senior-level development support as stores scale.

Offered services

Shopify Development

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Benjamin Cofrancesco

Shopify Plus EngineerCanberra, AustraliaFrom $100

Not yet rated

shopexpertsscore

I build Shopify stores that don’t just look good, they convert. If you’re tired of “pretty” stores that make $0, I’m the developer who fixes that and actually keeps your accountant happy. From upsells and flows to full rebuilds, I turn browsers into buyers and analytics into bragging rights. I’ve worked on some of the world’s leading Shopify brands and a combined total revenue of nine figures. I know what it takes to scale stores, optimise conversions, and create a shopping experience that keeps customers coming back. I work with Shopify Plus, Liquid, React, Rust for checkout extensions, GraphQL, TypeScript, and modern frontend tools like Lit and Tailwind to deliver fast, scalable, and maintainable solutions. Hire me and you’re not just getting a Shopify developer, you’re getting the only developer you will ever need, someone who can handle everything from storefront design to backend wizardry without making you cry over code.

Offered services

Shopify Development

Store Setup & Management

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Codersy

AgencyBelgrade, SerbiaFrom $500

5.00(22 reviews)

shopexpertsscore

Codersy is a Shopify focused agency that designs and builds high converting storefronts for growing brands. With 300+ projects delivered, we specialise in Shopify and Shopify Plus, custom theme development, and performance first builds that feel pixel perfect on every device. We also handle complex integrations and custom apps when off the shelf solutions fall short. Expect clear communication, disciplined QA, and an owner ready handover so your store stays fast, stable, and easy to evolve long term.

Offered services

Shopify Development

Store Setup & Management

Design, UX & Branding

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Shinetech Software

AgencyBeijing, ChinaFrom $40

5.00(5 reviews)

shopexpertsscore

Shinetech Shopidev is the dedicated Shopify development team within Shinetech Software. We specialize in building, customizing, and scaling Shopify stores for growing brands and enterprise merchants. As a Shopify Partner, our team combines deep technical expertise with proven delivery processes to provide reliable, long term ecommerce solutions.

Offered services

Shopify Development

Store Setup & Management

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Vigeo Studio

AgencyBratislava, SlovakiaFrom $100

5.00(3 reviews)

shopexpertsscore

We specialize in custom development and end-to-end technical support for Shopify merchants, from daily store maintenance to complex custom engineering. We bridge the gap between simple design and advanced functionality. Our Technical Expertise We deploy a robust tech stack to build scalable, high-performing solutions: Frontend: Liquid, JavaScript (React/Vue), HTML5, and CSS3. Backend & Integrations: Node.js and PHP for custom apps and API connections. Low-Code Solutions: We have a dedicated team trained specifically in GemPages for rapid, high-converting landing page builds. How We Help Custom Development: Our senior developers write clean, bespoke code for features that off-the-shelf themes can’t handle. Store Health & Maintenance: Ongoing site audits, speed optimization, and technical troubleshooting. Operational Support: Expert assistance with product uploads, catalog management, and content updates. Whether you need a quick GemPages layout or a complex custom-coded integration, we provide reliable, growth-oriented solutions tailored to your brand.

Offered services

Shopify Development

Store Setup & Management

Technical Support & Maintenance

Design, UX & Branding

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Matteo Gavin

Theme DeveloperRome, ItalyFrom $65

5.00(26 reviews)

shopexpertsscore

Hi, I’m Matteo, a Shopify Expert and Web Designer specialized in building, optimizing, and scaling high-performance eCommerce experiences. I’ve worked extensively with Shopify for several years, helping medium and large businesses design, develop, and grow their online stores with a strong focus on UX, performance, and conversion rate optimization. I’m currently ranked among the Top 10 Shopify Experts in Italy, and I collaborate daily with brands that need more than just a “nice-looking” store, they need a platform that truly supports their business goals. My experience covers: Custom Shopify theme development Advanced theme customization and UI/UX optimization Shopify app integrations and API-based solutions Store migrations and complex setups (B2C, B2B, multi-market) Ongoing optimization, performance improvements, and CRO

Offered services

Shopify Development

Store Setup & Management

Training, Coaching & Support

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Maukau

AgencyParis, FranceFrom $500

5.00(5 reviews)

shopexpertsscore

Maukau (pronounced mo-ko ) takes a holistic approach to e-commerce growth. We identify and execute on the highest-impact opportunities across your entire business—not just your storefront. Since 2016, we've worked exclusively on Shopify, helping merchants with established product-market fit break through their revenue ceiling. What we do: → Complete store redesigns & Shopify Plus migrations → Store audits & analytics → CRO & UI/UX optimization → Back-end automation & operational workflows → Retail & international expansion → Strategic guidance on where to focus for maximum impact Back-end stack: Matrixify · Mechanic · Shopify Flow · SupaEasy (Shopify Functions) · Checkout Blocks (Checkout Extensibility) · Elevar · Prediko · Order Edit · Baback · Siena · Atlas Pickup Points Marketing & retention: Klaviyo · Loyoly · WhatsApp · JudgeMe · Social Snowball Our average client relationship spans 4 years. Merchants see +78% revenue growth on average after their first year working with us. Based in Paris with US/UK backgrounds and native English fluency—we work seamlessly with international brands.

Offered services

Shopify Development

Operations, Logistics & Fulfillment

Marketing & Growth

Store Setup & Management

AI & Emerging Tech

Consulting & Strategy

Design, UX & Branding

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Godspower Oboido

Theme DeveloperWashington, United StatesFrom $80

Not yet rated

shopexpertsscore

I build Shopify stores that survive $1M+ sales days, high-traffic launches, and zero-downtime requirements. Senior Shopify Developer with 8+ years of experience building, scaling, and operating high-traffic Shopify storefronts for sports, entertainment, and hospitality brands. I’ve worked on Shopify ecommerce systems for organizations including Chicago Bulls, Denver Nuggets, Michigan State Football, OKC Thunder, Call of Duty, Four Seasons Hospitality, Coco5, Forme, and others — supporting $1M+ single-day sales, $500K+ launch days, and enterprise-scale inventories exceeding $60B across North America. My expertise spans Shopify 2.0 theme builds, advanced customizations, custom app development, and performance optimization for stores where downtime, slow checkout, or failed launches are not acceptable. I also run and operate my own Shopify store, which means every engagement is approached with an operator’s mindset — prioritizing conversion, scalability, clean architecture, and long-term maintainability over shortcuts or quick fixes. Best suited for brands doing real volume — or preparing for it.

Offered services

Shopify Development

Store Setup & Management

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How to hire a Shopify developer

Development quotes vary widely — the same brief can return figures far apart, because it was ambiguous enough to support both readings.

Write the brief as an outcome with constraints, not a task. "Build us a custom app" produces vague quotes. "Build a custom app that syncs inventory between Shopify and our NetSuite instance every 15 minutes, handles 8,000 SKUs across three locations, and alerts us on sync failure" produces comparable ones. Time spent on the brief saves back-and-forth and money later.

Match the specialisation, not the rate. Theme and Liquid work fits freelancers and small studios. Custom apps need API experience. Shopify Plus builds, Functions and checkout work need a specialist with shipped Plus projects — a general developer learns them on your budget. On shopexperts, development freelancers list a median starting price of $100 and agencies $250 (October 2026).

Verify Partner status where it matters. Shopify's Partner Program has five tiers: Registered, Select, Plus, Premier and Platinum, with Platinum at the top. Verify claimed tiers in the Shopify Partner directory rather than accepting them from a proposal. Non-Partners can be excellent, but they lack the Partner support channel that resolves platform edge cases quickly.

Ask for live URLs and follow up on two of them. Three live Shopify stores from the last twelve months, and for a large project, contact two of those merchants directly. Ask whether the project shipped on time, what changed mid-project, and whether they'd hire again. That conversation is worth more than any portfolio.

Insist on milestone structure. Good quotes break into phases — discovery, build, QA, launch — with deliverables and payment tied to each. A lump sum with no phase breakdown means either a senior developer confident enough to absorb the risk, which is rare, or nobody has thought about the hard parts yet, which is common.

Ask who owns the code and where it lives. Repository access, documentation, and whether you can hand the project to another developer without an archaeology exercise. This costs nothing to agree upfront and is expensive to resolve later.

Which kind of Shopify developer do you actually need?

Six distinct specialisations, and the wrong choice costs more than the rate difference. Match your project to one of these before you shortlist. The prices below are fixed-price packages listed on shopexperts in October 2026; each covers a defined scope, so larger projects are quoted separately.

Theme and Liquid developer — theme customisation packages have a median of $548, custom section packages $280 and custom theme builds $1,750. Custom sections, layout changes, theme customisation, OS 2.0 migrations, styling beyond the editor. This covers the majority of Shopify development work. If your requirement is something visible on the storefront that the theme editor can't do, this is your hire.

Custom app developer — custom development and app packages have a median of $1,000 (middle half $390 to $2,499); larger app builds are quoted per project. Custom apps for internal workflows, public apps for the App Store, embedded admin tools, and anything using the Admin API, webhooks or OAuth. Distinct skill set from theme work; the overlap is smaller than merchants assume.

Shopify Plus and checkout specialist — Plus and checkout packages have a median of $1,050 (middle half $625 to $8,000). Plus setup and migration, Functions, Checkout Extensibility, multi-store, B2B. In practice it needs someone with shipped Plus projects. Mistakes here affect checkout, which makes them immediately expensive.

Integration engineer — integration packages have a median of $625, across 7 packages from $250 to $10,000. Connecting Shopify to ERPs, 3PLs, PIMs, CRMs and accounting systems. The work is data modelling and error handling more than it is Shopify, and someone who has only worked inside Shopify usually underestimates it.

Headless and Hydrogen developer — three headless packages are listed, at $2,499, $2,800 and $5,000; full builds are scoped per store. React engineering against the Storefront API. Genuinely different discipline, and most stores don't need it — a well-optimised theme covers what merchants usually think requires headless.

Maintenance and support developer — monthly support retainers have a median of $1,950 (middle half $500 to $2,575), and bug-fix packages $95. Ongoing fixes, theme updates, app conflicts, small features. Undervalued and frequently the right answer when the real problem is that nobody owns the store technically.

If you can't tell which of these your project needs, that's a legitimate reason to pay for a short scoping engagement before hiring. It's cheaper than hiring the wrong specialisation and discovering it in week three.

How much does a Shopify developer cost?

Shopify development spans a wide price range, because "development" covers everything from a CSS fix to an enterprise replatform. Typical market ranges, followed by what developers on shopexperts list:

Per project

$500 – $500,000+

Small fixes to enterprise Plus builds

Hourly rate

$60 – $400

Freelance developers to senior Plus specialists

Monthly retainer

$500 – $30,000+

Maintenance to active feature development

Starting prices on shopexperts

$85 – $1,000

Middle half of 596 listed; median $200

The first three tiles are typical market ranges, not shopexperts data. The fourth is: in October 2026, 596 Shopify Development experts listed a starting price. A starting price is the smallest job an expert will quote, often an audit or a small fix, so treat it as a floor, not a quote.

In the wider market, small theme fixes and Liquid customisation sit at $500-$3,500. Custom section development runs $600-$3,000 per section. Full theme development or heavy customisation runs $5,000-$30,000. Custom app development runs $12,000-$120,000+ depending on whether it's a private internal tool or a public App Store listing with billing and review. Integration work — ERP, 3PL, PIM, accounting — runs $15,000-$150,000+. Shopify Plus setup and enterprise builds run $20,000-$400,000+ depending on migration complexity and checkout customisation. Headless builds run $25,000-$500,000+.

Ongoing retainers sit at $500-$3,000/month for maintenance and small fixes, $3,000-$10,000/month for regular feature work, and $10,000-$30,000+/month for dedicated Plus development capacity. Well-specified work — theme customisation, defined feature builds, app configuration — travels well across time zones.

Architecture decisions, Plus edge cases and anything where the specification will change mid-project go better with a developer who shares some of your working hours, because the cost of a misunderstanding scales with the complexity of what's being built. Request a free quote for a figure specific to your project.

What do Shopify developers do?

Six specialisations, and most developers are genuinely strong in one or two:

Theme Development and Liquid

Custom sections, layout, OS 2.0 migration, storefront work

Custom App Development

Private and public apps, Admin API, webhooks, embedded tools

Shopify Plus and Checkout

Plus migration, Functions, Checkout Extensibility, multi-store, B2B

Integrations and Data

ERP, 3PL, PIM, CRM and accounting system connections

Headless and Hydrogen

Storefront API, React storefronts, PWA and mobile

Maintenance and Support

Theme updates, app conflicts, bug fixes, ongoing small features

Frequently asked questions about hiring Shopify developers

What does a Shopify developer do?

Shopify development covers six fairly distinct specialisations: theme and Liquid work on the storefront, custom app development against Shopify's APIs, Shopify Plus and checkout work using Functions and Checkout Extensibility, integrations with ERP, 3PL and accounting systems, headless builds with Hydrogen, and ongoing maintenance. Most developers are genuinely strong in one or two of these, and matching the specialisation to your project matters more than comparing hourly rates.

How much does a Shopify developer cost?

On shopexperts, the 596 development experts who list a starting price have a median of $200, and the middle half sit between $85 and $1,000 (October 2026). A starting price is the smallest job an expert will quote. Fixed-price packages are closer to project costs: theme customisation has a median of $548, custom development and apps $1,000, Shopify Plus and checkout $1,050, and monthly support retainers $1,950. Larger builds are quoted per project, so request a free quote with your scope.

Freelancer, agency, or Shopify Plus Partner?

Freelancers fit theme work, defined features and maintenance. Agencies fit larger projects where design, development and project management need coordinating, and where continuity across a longer engagement matters. Plus specialists fit Plus stores and projects with custom Functions, in-checkout extensions, multi-store or B2B. On shopexperts, development freelancers list a median starting price of $100 and agencies $250 (October 2026). Pick the smallest team that can credibly deliver your scope — a larger team costs more and rarely delivers more until the scope needs it.

Do I need a Shopify Plus Partner for a Plus build?

Not necessarily. Plus work (custom Functions, checkout extensions, multi-store, B2B) rewards prior Plus experience, so ask for shipped Plus projects and check any claimed tier in Shopify's Partner Directory. A general developer can work on a Plus store, but learns its enterprise layer at your expense.

How long does Shopify development take?

Small theme fixes take 1-3 weeks. Full theme development or heavy customisation takes 4-12 weeks. Custom app development runs 6-16 weeks. Integration projects run 8-20 weeks depending on the system at the other end. Shopify Plus migrations and enterprise builds take 12-32 weeks. Rush timelines are possible, usually at a premium, and almost always achieved by compressing QA, which is where the cost reappears later.

What's the difference between a Shopify developer and a general web developer?

Platform-specific knowledge: Liquid templating, Shopify's app architecture and injection patterns, checkout extensibility rules, Functions, Plus enterprise features, and how to ship without breaking site speed or app compatibility. A capable general web developer can learn Shopify, but the ramp-up comes before productive feature work starts, and you're paying for it. For a store that runs its business on Shopify, platform-specific experience usually pays for itself.

Should I hire offshore Shopify developers?

For well-specified work, location matters less than the brief — theme customisation, features built from clear specifications, app configuration, and defined bug fixing travel well across time zones. Don't assume it costs less: on shopexperts, development experts based outside the US, Canada, Western Europe, Australia and New Zealand list a median starting price of $300, against $199 for those based there (October 2026). Where it goes wrong is anything where the specification will change mid-project, or where architecture decisions are being made rather than executed, because the cost of a misunderstanding scales with what's being built. Many mid-market brands run a hybrid: local senior direction and architecture, offshore implementation underneath it.

What should I ask a Shopify developer before hiring?

Five things. Which of the six specialisations is their primary one, and what proportion of their last year was spent there. Three live Shopify URLs from the last twelve months, ideally in a comparable scope. How they structure customisations so future theme updates don't destroy them — the answer should involve separate section and snippet files rather than edits to core theme files. Who owns the repository and documentation at the end. And what happens if the scope changes mid-project, because it will.