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How much does an online store cost in Iraq and Syria in 2026? Item by item.
There's no single price for an online store, because the cost is a sum of items: some you pay once, like design and the build, and some come back, like domain renewal, payment fees, delivery, and ads. At Maizny, the online store package is $399 at standard specifications, with hosting and a domain name free for one year. This guide walks through each item and says where we found an official published price and where we didn't.
By: Maizny team
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The items
Which items make up the cost of an online store?
Before you ask what a store costs, list what you'll pay for. Some items are fixed and known before you start. Others grow with your sales. This table sums up each item and what we found about it in official sources as of this guide's date.
| Item | When you pay | What we found officially |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | Every year | The .com wholesale price changes on November 1, 2026; official .sy fees are published in new Syrian pounds; we found no published official fees for .iq |
| Hosting | Monthly or yearly | Depends on the provider and the size of the store |
| Security certificate (SSL) | Renews automatically | Available free from a nonprofit |
| Design and build | Once | Maizny's online store package: $399 |
| Payment gateway | A share of each payment | First Iraqi Bank and ZainCash publish their fees; we found no published fees for the others |
| Delivery and cash on delivery | Per order | We found no published official rates |
| Content and photos | As needed | Depends on the work |
| Ads | A budget you set | You pay the platform directly |
| A store app (optional) | Developer account fees | Apple yearly, Google Play once |
Domain name
How much does a domain name cost?
Verisign, the company that runs the .com registry, announced that it's raising the yearly wholesale price for every new or renewed .com name starting November 1, 2026. The figures are in its results release for the first quarter of 2026. Note that this is the wholesale price the registrar pays the registry, not what you pay. The registrar, the company you buy the name from, adds its own margin, so prices vary from one registrar to the next.[1]
In Iraq, the Communications and Media Commission runs the .iq registry. On March 31, 2024, the Commission announced a digital platform to reserve .com.iq and .net.iq names and pay their fees, but the announcement didn't state the amount. We found no published official source that confirms today's .iq fees, so ask the Commission or your registrar for the figure before you rely on it.[2][3]
In Syria, IANA lists the National Authority for Information Technology Services (NAITS) as the sponsor of .sy, in a record updated on July 23, 2026. NAITS publishes yearly .sy fees in new Syrian pounds on its site, which we saw on September 29, 2026: 60 for a Latin-script second-level name, 40 for an Arabic second-level name or a Latin-script third-level name, and 10 for an Arabic alias name. We haven't converted them to dollars. Our guide to opening an online store in Syria lists the booking documents.[4][14][15]
With any of Maizny's four packages, the domain name is free for the first year. The cost of renewing it after that goes in your written quote before we start.
Hosting and security
How much do hosting and an SSL certificate cost?
Hosting is where your store's files and database run. Its price depends on the provider, the size of the store, and your traffic, and we don't quote other companies' prices here. With Maizny's four packages, hosting is free for the first year. After that, it becomes a recurring item in your budget.
An SSL certificate shows the padlock in the browser and encrypts your customers' data. It can be free: Let's Encrypt is a free, automated, and open certificate authority run by a nonprofit, and anyone who owns a domain can get a trusted certificate from it at no cost. Paid certificates with higher levels of validation exist, but a typical store doesn't need one.[6]
The build
How much does it cost to design and build the store?
This is the biggest one-time item, and it varies a lot with the number of products, the payment methods, and what needs connecting. Maizny has fixed prices for four packages, all at standard specifications, with hosting and a domain name free for one year:
| Package | Price |
|---|---|
| One-page website (landing page) | $99 |
| Multi-page website | $199 |
| Website with a blog | $299 |
| Online store | $399 |
What the standard specifications include in each package goes in your written quote before we start.
If you want an app for your store, apps of any type are from $599, and the final price is in a written quote. Any work outside these packages is priced for you in a written quote before we start.
Payments
How much does a payment gateway take from each payment?
Most online payment providers take a fee on each payment, usually deducted from what you receive. It's a variable cost that grows with your sales, so build it into the margin on each product.
| Service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Card payment gateway (online or in an app) | 1% |
| Card payment link | 1% |
| QR payment link | 0.5% |
| QR code payments | 0.3% |
| Card payments at point-of-sale terminals | 1% |
The bank's developer docs say web payments currently support Iraqi dinars only, and that live credentials go through the bank's integration request form.[8]
Qi Card describes its online payment gateway on its official site, but it doesn't publish a merchant fee for it.[9]
After launch
Which costs come back after the store launches?
Put these items in your monthly or yearly budget, not only in your launch budget:
- Domain and hosting renewal after the first year.
- The payment fee on every order paid online.
- Delivery and cash on delivery: we found no published official postal rates in Iraq or Syria, and private delivery companies' prices vary, so ask them directly.
- Ads: a budget you set and pay to the platform directly.
- Content and photos: new product photos and descriptions whenever you add products.
- If the store has an app: the Apple Developer Program has a yearly fee, and a Google Play Console account has a one-time fee. Their fees aren't part of our price, and whose name the two accounts are opened in is agreed with you and put in your written quote.
Maizny
How can Maizny help you work out your store's cost?
Print your draft
Write one line about your store in the drafter on our home page, and it prints a first automatic draft, item by item.
Send it to us
Send the draft on WhatsApp. Our team reviews it before we write your quote.
Get your written quote
We put the price, the timeline, and what each item covers in a written quote before we start.
We connect the local payment methods where you sell, such as Sham Cash, Syriatel Cash, MTN Cash, and cash on delivery in Syria, and Qi Card, ZainCash, and cash on delivery in Iraq. We don't promise a number of sales, and your ad budget isn't part of our price: you pay the platforms directly.
Questions
Common questions.
Is $399 enough to open an online store?
$399 is the price of Maizny's online store package at standard specifications, with hosting and a domain name free for one year. On top of that come variable costs we don't set, such as payment fees, delivery, and ads, and then renewals after the first year.
Do I have to pay for an SSL certificate?
Not necessarily. Let's Encrypt issues trusted certificates for free to anyone who owns a domain, and that's enough for a typical store. Paid certificates are an option if you need a higher level of validation.
What do .iq and .sy domains cost?
NAITS publishes yearly .sy fees in new Syrian pounds, which we saw on September 29, 2026: from 10 to 60 pounds, depending on the type of name. For .iq, we found no official published source for current fees, so ask the Communications and Media Commission or your registrar before you rely on a figure. And don't rely on Syrian pound amounts published before 2026, because the pound lost two zeros.
Is the payment gateway fee fixed?
It varies by provider and by service. First Iraqi Bank, for example, publishes a 1% fee on its card payment gateway for 2026, and ZainCash publishes fees that depend on the wallet type. We found no published official fees for the others, so ask the provider for them in writing.
Does Maizny's price include the ad budget?
No. You set the ad budget and pay it to the platforms directly. It isn't part of our price.
Sources
Sources.
The sources this guide relies on, and the day we read each one.
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Note: General information, updated September 29, 2026. It isn't legal or financial advice. Fees, commissions, and rules change, so check the official source before you decide.
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