Shopify has become one of the most popular ecommerce platforms, powering over 1 million businesses globally. But it’s not necessarily the best fit for every merchant. Depending on your business needs and budget, one of these 10 Shopify alternatives may be a smarter choice:
Why Consider Shopify Alternatives?
Before diving into the top competitors, let’s recap core Shopify pros and cons:
Pros:
- Easy cart migrations
- Mobile optimized themes
- Robust app ecosystem (6000+ apps)
- Integrates with popular software like MailChimp, Google Analytics etc.
- Solid features even on low cost plans
Cons:
- Transaction fees apply unless you use Shopify Payments
- Limited customization flexibility on site design/layout
- Can get pricey for mid-market/enterprise players
- Lack of support for newer sales channels like TikTok
For many merchants, Shopify strikes an optimal balance. But others require different capabilities or want to avoid vendor lock-in.
Fortunately, Shopify now makes it easier to migrate. But savvy merchants still want to consider their options before committing to any single solution.
Key Ecommerce Platform Considerations
As you evaluate alternatives, keep requirements around:
Customization – the more flexibility you need in site design, layout, code access etc., the more you should look into open source and hosted hybrid players.
Budget – what level of transaction fees, monthly charges etc. can you sustain? Price sensitivity likely pushes you towards open source platforms.
Support – if you’re light on technical expertise, prioritize responsive customer support and an intuitive UI.
Scalability – anticipate future changes in order volumes (# SKUs), sales channels, fulfillment complexity etc.
Features – what specific must-haves do you need around payments, shipping, reporting, integrations and apps?
Let’s explore how 10 leading Shopify competitors stack up across these dimensions:
1. Squarespace – Best-Looking Sites Out-of-the-Box
Squarespace competes neck-and-neck with Shopify around ease of use but offers superior design aesthetics for sites that value visual pop and polish.
Pricing:
- Basic Plan – $12/month
- Unlimited Plan – $18/month
- Business Plan – $23/month
Key Features:
- Award winning modern templates created by world-class designers
- Integrated email marketing and mailing list manager
- Built-in SEO tools, social media integration and analytics
- Apple Pay and Stripe integration
- Inventory management, discounts and coupons
Pros:
- Sites look spectacular without needing design expertise
- Very simple for beginners
- All-in-one marketing suite
Cons:
- Much less app ecosystem depth than Shopify
- Transaction fees slightly higher at 2.9% + 30¢
Best for design-forward brands that value aesthetics–particularly in industries like fashion, jewelry and crafts. The stunning sites and built-in marketing suite compensate for less expansive app functionality.
2. WooCommerce – Most Customizable
Built on WordPress, WooCommerce earns its reputation as the most customizable and extensible ecommerce platform. With site design limited only by your imagination.
Pricing:
- Free! Open source software
- Paid plugins and themes expand features
Key Features:
- Extremely flexible site design and layout
- Access to WordPress theme and plugin ecosystem
- Open source so full code access
- SEO capabilities leveraging WordPress foundation
- Sales reporting and analytics
Pros:
- Customize literally every aspect of site design
- Huge developer community for support
- Solid basic feature set without paying
- Easy to migrate away in future
Cons:
- No native built-in payments (requires plugin)
- Steeper learning curve for those new to self-hosted sites
Ideal for developers or merchants comfortable working with WordPress. Especially B2B companies needing configurable catalog/pricing controls.
3. BigCommerce – Scales to Enterprise Level
BigCommerce rivals Shopify on breadth of features but extends further to meet large B2C and B2B enterprise requirements.
Pricing:
- Standard Plan – $29.95/month
- Plus Plan – $79.95/month
- Pro Plan – $249.95/month
Key Features:
- Native integration with Google Shopping, Instagram and Facebook for selling
- Advanced promotions, discounts and coupons
- Role-based admin access controls
- Price list management for B2B pricing control
- Multi-store management with single login
Pros:
- Rich enterprise feature set
- Better control over payment processing costs
- Marketplace integrations (eBay, Amazon etc)
- More customizable checkout templates
Cons:
- May get pricy managing multiple separate branded stores
- Limited free themes compared to Squarespace/Shopify
Ideal for established brands ready to scale, plus B2B players requiring role-based pricing control.
4. Wix – Best for Small Product Catalogs
Wix shines for selling simple product lines or digital goods. Clean templates and a super intuitive editor make it very beginner friendly.
Pricing:
- Connect Domain Plan – $14/month
- Unlimited Plan – $22/month
- VIP Plan – $39/month
Key Features:
- Drag and drop site builder needs no coding
- 500+ professional templates
- Blog, chat, appointments and emails integrated
- Native payment processing via Wix Payments
- eCommerce focused mobile layouts
Pros:
- Extremely easy for non-techies
- Very affordable starter plan
- Nice built-in blogging and email
- Can bypass transaction fees using Wix Payments
Cons:
- Transaction fees high at 3.5% + $0.20 outside Wix Payments
- Max 100 products unless on most expensive plan
- Less ability to customize design vs self-hosted
Ideal for selling smaller product lines or digital goods. Super easy startup narrowly focused stores benefit most.
5. Volusion – Great Marketing & Analytics
Volusion offers best-in-class analytics and integrations with email, social and other marketing tools to boost sales conversions.
Pricing:
- Personal Plan – $29/month
- Professional Plan – $79/ month
- Business Plan – $299/month
Key Features:
- Built-inordoer, inventory and customer management
- Email marketing automation with templates
- Advanced tracking and analytics reporting
- hundreds of apps and integrations
Pros:
- Very transparent analytics
- Better UX and conversion optimization
- Stacked with built-in marketing tools like email and loyalty programs
Cons:
- Transaction fees slightly higher at 2.9% + 30¢
- Less UX polish than Shopify and Squarespace
Ideal for established brands looking to fine tune conversions using analytics. The marketing technology compensates for slightly clunkier admin interface.
6. PrestaShop – Open Source Freedom
PrestaShop offers unmatched flexibility as a free open source solution. Perfect for technical teams wanting to deeply customize features and site experience.
Pricing:
- 100% Free and open source
- Paid subscriptions for priority support
Key Features:
- Open source so full control of code base
- 10,000+ modules and themes to expand features
- Built in order management and inventory tracking
- 70+ payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe etc
- Single vendor and multi-vendor marketplace options
Pros:
- Free and unlimited product listings
- Complete control customizing features
- Self-hosted so can move platforms easily
- Very scalable and stable proven platform
Cons:
- Lack of non-tech help resources
- Cart migration requires developer skills
- Payment gateways cost extra
Developer focused brands benefit most from open source control and customization power
7. Big Cartel – Great for Small Inventories
Big Cartel delivers max simplicity for selling handmade goods and digital downloads. Offers just enough features at entry level pricing.
Pricing:
- Free Plan – 5 products
- Gold Plan – $9.99/month 25 products
- Diamond Plan – $19.99/month 100 products
Key Features:
- Photo organization tools
- Mobile friendly templates
- Integrated Square payment processing
- Basic shipping label printing
- Optional delivery integrations
Pros:
- Feature set purpose built for use case
- Simple and distraction free UI
- Easy digital download delivery
- Very small monthly cost
Cons:
- Zero customization flexibility
- Limited payment processor options
- Light on advanced features expected by larger sellers
Micro product sellers like artists benefit most. Digital good delivery and elegance compensate for control restrictions.
8. 3dcart – Great Integrations & Support
3dcart punches above its weight on integrations and customer support. Reliability helps reassure less technical merchants explore beyond Shopify.
Pricing:
- Startup Plan – $19/month
- Basic Plan – $29/month
- Plus Plan – $79/month
Key Features:
- Order management automation
- Integrated fraud protection
- Hundreds of platform connections
- Marketing CRM and email
- Free lifetime support 24/7
Pros:
- Depth of integrations unusual at low pricing tiers
- Very reliable uptime record
- Quality support plan better than peers
Cons:
- Web builder less polished than Shopify and Wix
- Transaction fees slightly higher at 2.9% + 30¢
Reliability seeking brands gain peace of mind from breadth of integrations and support safety net.
9. Cratejoy – Best for Subscription Sites
Purpose built to support subscription ecommerce models, Cratejoy simplifies complex recurring order and fulfillment tracking needs.
Pricing:
- Basic Plan – $13/month
- Standard Plan – $36/month
- Premium Plan – $113/month
Key Features:
- Native subscription order and tracking
- Custom cancellation reasons
- Automated dunning emails
- Coupon codes by customer tier
- Built in sales tax calculations
Pros:
- Smoothes out complexity of servicing recurring orders
- Better cancellation insights to improve retention
- Nice quality themes and site design
Cons:
- Narrowly focused so light in some other areas
- Reporting less robust as some alternatives
Online wine clubs, pet boxes, cosmetic crates and similar recurring fulfillments gain operational efficiency.
10. Shoplazza – Best Hosted in Asia
Hong Kong based Shoplazza leads options for stores wanting to deeply customize while hosted in high growth Asian markets.
Pricing:
- Basic Plan – $24/month
- Standard Plan $69/month
- Advanced Plan $299/month
Key Features:
- Developer friendly customization
- 200+ payment gateways
- Cross border trade simplified
- Built in site analytics
- Multi language and multicurrency
Pros:
- Customization rivaling WooCommerce
-Localized support and documentation - Purpose built for Asian expansion
Cons:
- Less third party apps than US focused rivals
- Less name recognition in western markets
Merchants wanting deep customization combined with Asia centric support will appreciate Shoplazza’s blend of capabilities.
11. Storenvy – Best for Social Sellers
Storenvy interweaves ecommerce capabilities with a vibrant maker community. Perfect for social savvy creatives looking to directly monetize their audience skillset.
Pricing:
- Basic Plan – $29/month
- Advanced Plan – $79/month
Key Features:
- Direct shop creation from Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and TikTok
- Branded custom domain
- Multi-variant product creation
- Automated sales tax calculations
- Sync published listings across multiple sales channels
Pros:
- Smoothly bridges social to commerce
- Nimble adjustments responding to audience
- Less risky way to test products before heavy time investment
Cons:
- Light on advanced enterprise features
- Less ability to customize vs self-hosted
Creative makers gain built-in community and flexibility to nimbly try small batch digital product ideas before investing deeply.
Key Takeaways: Shopify Alternatives Checklist
While Shopify works for many online sellers, merchants with specific customization, pricing, scalability, feature or regional support needs gain advantages evaluating alternatives like:
- Squarespace – for gorgeous design aesthetics
- WooCommerce – for open source control and customization
- BigCommerce – for built-in enterprise capabilities
- Wix – for smaller online product catalogs
- Volusion – for analytics and marketing technology
- PrestaShop – for developer control as open source
- Big Cartel – for simple digital download selling
- 3dcart – for reliability and support reassurance
- Cratejoy – for complex subscription fulfillments
- Shoplazza – for Asian centric customer support
- Storenvy – for social native creative monetization
While Shopify deserves credit innovating simplicity in ecommerce, it can’t match the unique capabilities purpose-built into alternative platforms tailored for specific merchant needs.
Conclusion
Ecommerce success requires technology aligned with your business model, requirements and internal capabilities.
Rather than reflexively default to Shopify, conduct an assessment across dimensions like design flexibility, scalability needs, customization goals, required native features, regional support, available developer resources and budget thresholds.
Select the platform matching your priorities for the next 3-5 years. Shopify alternatives won’t automatically increase sales – but they ensure the technology fades to the background so you can focus more on crafting an amazing merchant experience.
