How much does it cost to register a website with the Ministry of Industry and Trade?

The first question most business owners ask is how much it costs. The cost of registering a website with the Ministry of Industry and Trade actually has two very different parts: the fee paid to the state, and what you pay if you hire someone to handle it. Once you understand both, you know exactly what you are paying for. MONA Media breaks down each item clearly.

Does the state charge a fee for Ministry of Industry and Trade registration?

The answer surprises many people: notifying or registering a website on the online.gov.vn portal yourself is free. The state does not charge a single dong for this procedure.

Hearing that, many people decide to close the laptop and do it themselves to save money. But “free” here only covers the cash you pay out.

The real cost is elsewhere.

Hidden costs when you do it yourself

Free does not mean it costs nothing. When you do it yourself, you pay in a different currency: time, effort and risk.

First is the time to read and understand the rules. Telling notification apart from registration, working out which category your website falls into, preparing the right documents. This takes a few sessions if it is your first time.

Next is the effort of finishing your website. Missing a privacy policy, return policy or shipping policy page gets your application sent back. You have to write and build those pages yourself to meet the standard.

The costliest part is the risk of a rejected application. Every time you pick the wrong category or submit incomplete paperwork, you redo the whole round, which takes anywhere from a week to a month. Meanwhile your website stays in the zone where it can be fined.

Convert a business owner's time into money and that number is far from small.

Cost of hiring a Ministry of Industry and Trade registration service

When you hire someone to do it for you, you pay a service fee in exchange for peace of mind and speed. The fee depends on whether your website falls under notification or registration, and how complex the application is.

Notification applies to sales websites with an ordering function; the paperwork is lighter, so the fee is lower. Registration applies to trading platforms or e-commerce service websites; the application is heavy, with a project plan and operating rules, so the fee is higher.

MONA price list for Ministry of Industry and Trade registration service

Customers who already use MONA's services get an extra 1 to 2 million VND discount. Quotes are all-inclusive, with no hidden costs along the way.

Comparison: DIY or hire a service, which makes more sense

DIY suits you if you have spare time, a simple website, and are willing to learn the process. The cash outlay is close to zero.

Hiring a service suits you if you are busy, your website is complex, or you need it done quickly to avoid the risk of fines. The service fee buys back your time and certainty about the result.

Owners of larger businesses usually choose to hire, because one evening spent on their business is worth many times the service fee. If you want to weigh both options carefully, read registering yourself or hiring a Ministry of Industry and Trade registration service.

Don't forget the biggest cost: the fine for not doing it

There is one sum bigger than any service fee that many people forget to count: the fine for skipping the procedure.

Under Decree 98/2020/NĐ-CP, failing to notify a sales website is fined 10 to 20 million VND, failing to register a service website is fined 20 to 30 million VND, and the fine doubles for organizations. On top of that comes the risk of suspension of operations and revocation of your domain.

Put on the scale, the service fee is only a small fraction of the fine you could end up paying. For details on fine levels, see how much is the fine for not registering with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

Registering early is the cheapest investment you can make for peace of mind.

And we do the whole job ourselves, with no middlemen. You can focus on your business while MONA takes care of all the paperwork.

If you want it done cleanly, correctly and fast, see your Ministry of Industry and Trade website registration end to end from MONA, or call the hotline 1900 636 648 so we can give you an exact quote based on your website. If you want to understand the procedure first, read the procedure for registering a website with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.