10 Best Shopify Alternatives & Competitors for 2023
This article is part of a larger series onRetail Management.
Shopify is our top pick for thebest ecommerce platform. Its scalable features and intuitive user interface make it a highly rated and popular software among experts and users. Still, there are instances where Shopify’s ecommerce solution is not a right fit for your business.
We looked at Shopify competitors, compared their platforms against Shopify, zeroed in on unique features they offer, and recommended types of businesses for which they are best suited.
Based on our evaluations, the best Shopify alternatives are:
- BigCommerce:Best overall, particularly for extensive inventories or high-volume sales
- Square Online:Best for storefronts looking to add an online store functionality
- Ecwid:Best for an existing site, especially Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace
- WooCommerce:Best for WordPress websites
- Squarespace:Best for those that need robust content management features
- Wix:Best for a quick and easy store setup with strong SEO features
- Shift4Shop:Best free Shopify alternative for US merchants
- Big Cartel:Best for creative artists selling limited products
- Sellfy:Best for selling mainly digital products and subscriptions
- Etsy:Best marketplace for entrepreneurs selling handmade products
Shopify Alternatives Compared
Monthly Fee |
Payment Gateways |
Store Website Setup |
How It Beats Shopify |
|
---|---|---|---|---|
|
Starts at $39; $5 for social checkout links |
Shopify Payments and more than 100 others |
Standalone website |
N/A |
|
Starts at $39 |
PayPal powered by Braintree and more than 65 others |
Standalone website |
Custom work order tools, product variants |
|
Free; paid plans start at $29 |
Exclusive with Square |
Standalone website |
Price, curbside pickup, all-in-one retail solution |
|
Free; paid plans start at $19 |
Over 100, including PayPal, Stripe, and Square |
Add-on to an existing site, standalone (landing) page |
Add ecommerce checkout to any site |
|
Free |
83, including Stripe and Square |
WordPress plugin |
Well-suited for WordPress |
|
Starts at $33 for ecommerce plans |
Apple Pay, PayPal, and Stripe |
Standalone website |
Templates and CMS features |
|
Starts at $27 |
Wix Payments and more than 70 others |
Standalone website |
SEO and drag-and-drop designer |
|
Free (US based merchants) using Shift4Payments; paid plans start at $29 |
Shift4Payments and 100 providers on paid plans |
Standalone website |
Free unlimited plan for US-based merchants using Shift4Payments |
|
Free; paid plans start at $9.99 |
Stripe, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay |
Standalone website |
Connect custom domain on a free plan |
|
Free, paid plans starts at $29 |
Stripe and PayPal |
Standalone website; Buy Now buttons |
Digital downloads |
|
Free; paid plan at $10 |
Etsy Payments |
Part of Etsy; more of a single landing page |
Etsy’s marketplace audience of 90.5M buyers |
If you still think Shopify might be your best choice, readour Shopify reviewto learn more. Otherwise, continue reading for more information on Shopify competitors.
BigCommerce: Best Overall Shopify Alternative
Pros
- No transaction fees
- Sell on enterprise and marketplace apps
- Extensive product options and variants
- Custom work order fields
Cons
- No native POS tools
- Abandoned cart recovery feature is available only on higher-paid plans
- No shipping discounts available
How BigCommerce Compares to Shopify
- BigCommerce offers up to 600 product variants; Shopify offers only up to 100.
- BigCommerce has built-in custom work order fields for store products; you’d need a third-party app installed to enable it on Shopify.
- Digital downloads is a native feature in BigCommerce; Shopify requires a third-party app.
- BigCommerce has no transaction fees when using other payment providers; Shopify charges 0.5%–2% based on subscription plan.
- BigCommerce provides a real-time shipping calculator on basic plan; that is only available on Shopify’s highest tier.
- BigCommerce has Walmart Marketplace and PriceGrabber integrations; Shopify doesn’t.
- Shopify has a free native POS tool for in-person sales; you’d need to integrate and buy one for BigCommerce.
- Shopify doesn’t have annual online sales limits; BigCommerce enforces limits on each plan.
Read our in-depthBigCommerce vs Shopify comparison.
Use BigCommerce if you have an extensive product catalog and need to set up plenty of product variants. You can easily set up 250 product options with 600 product variants. Custom order fields, handy for personalization, are also built in so you can set up custom fields for your products (like engraving, initials, messaging, gift-wrapping options, and more).
Go with BigCommerce if you would like to save on processing fees. Unlike Shopify, it doesn’t charge transaction fees, allowing you to shop for the best payment processing rates. This is especially advantageous for high-revenue companies.
在我们评价最好的电子商务平台,BigCommerce ranked second to Shopify. The platforms are tied for design, sales tools, and customer service. Shopify had the edge over BigCommerce regarding marketing features, affordability, and extensive integrations. However, BigCommerce wins for product and order management.
In the News:BigCommerce announced aprice increasefor its software subscriptions, effective immediately for new sellers. Current BigCommerce subscribers can lock in their current rates by opting for an annual subscription before the new pricing takes effect for current sellers on June 1, 2023.
- Standard ($39/month):Includes a responsive website, a single-page checkout, access to the BigCommerce mobile app, and payment integrations (Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Amazon Pay). It provides real-time shipping quotes, professional reporting tools, coupons, discounts, and gift cards
- Plus ($105/month):Features an abandoned cart saver, persistent cart saver, customer groups, and stored credit cards
- Pro ($399/month): Provides product filtering, custom SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), and Google customer reviews
All plans include unlimited staff accounts, products, file storage, and bandwidth. Each plan has access to 24/7 live support, BigCommerce’s POS tool, and multiple sales channels—such as a branded online store, eBay, Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, and Google Shopping.
BigCommerce’s platform is designed to make it user-friendly for nontechnical users but scalable so you can grow your online business. It boasts detailed product management features and many sales and marketing tools to promote your business.
Take a look at some of BigCommerce’s standout features below:
- A dozen free and over 100 paid website themes (starting at $150), all mobile-friendly and AMP-enabled (Accelerated Mobile Pages)
- Sell physical, digital, and services without the need for an app, 600-product variant limit, custom product fields
- Multichannel selling via Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, as well as marketplaces such as eBay and Amazon
- Support 100 currencies; automatic currency conversion based on site visitor’s geolocation
- Abandoned cart recovery (higher-paid plan), product reviews, discounts, gift cards, coupon codes
- Automated image optimizer, on-page SEO capabilities, sitemap generation, and site speed enhancers
- Third-party real-time shipping rates
Did you know?
Lifestyle audio brandSkullcandymigrated to BigCommerce for its versatility, adaptability, and affordability. Jenny Buchar, its Director of Digital Experience and Operations, shared thatone of BigCommerce’s biggest attractionswas learning that its nontechnical team could configure its global stores’ checkout, taxes, shipping and payment types with simple preset selections.
Square Online: Best for Storefronts Looking to Add Online Functionality
Pros
- All-in-one ecommerce and POS solution
- Free
- Sell on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest
Cons
- 虫胶ks advanced inventory management features
- Limited customization options
- Premium features are expensive compared to Shopify’s
How Square Compares to Shopify
- Square provides more products and solutions for food and beverage and professional service businesses; Shopify doesn’t have this built-in functionality.
- Square offers a free standalone payment solution for mobile, in-store, and online while Shopify has this as a paid option.
- Square Online lets you start selling for free in a matter of minutes; Shopify setup takes more time because of its features.
- Square has a more reliable offline mode, while Shopify is more suited for online selling.
- Both offer online and in-person tools for selling.
See our comparison ofSquare vs Shopifyfor a full breakdown.
For multichannel selling, Square is a top Shopify competitor. If you are a small or new business on a budget and operate a brick-and-mortar store, use Square Online. While Square and Shopify offerPOS solutions,mobile payments, andmultichannel sales, Square has a more stable offline mode and mobile hardware reader options. In addition, Square Online is free.
Go with Square Online if you are a solo entrepreneur that offers service-based products, as its checkout feature lets you accept prepayments and monthly subscriptions. It also has subscription management tools, self-service customer accounts, and a full-featured online booking platform.
Use Square Online if your business is among the following industries: food and beverage, appointment-based, and retail, as Square has an all-purpose POS and specific business solutions for these. It’s Square’s most significant advantage over Shopify. As your business grows, you can add or remove certain features (like payroll, loyalty programs, and team management)—Shopify doesn’t have this built-in functionality; you’d need a third-party app.
Square Online is just one of Square’s many small business products.Learn more about Squarein our guide.
In the News:Square Online announced aprice increaseand recalibration of its plans from four tiers to three—Free, Plus, and Premium for its software subscriptions. This new pricing is effective immediately for new sellers. Current Square Online subscribers will be billed at their new rate beginning April 11, 2023.
- Free ($0):Includes all the main features of a professional ecommerce site. Create a complete website, list unlimited products with variants, and manage your orders through Square Dashboard. The free option requires you to use a yoursite.square.site domain, though, and will display a Square logo on the footer.
- Plus ($29/month)*: Includes all Free features, plus the ability to accept PayPal payments, personalized ordering, expanded site customization, self-serve (QR) ordering, customer accounts, and a free domain for a year
- Premium ($79/month)*: Adds a shipping calculator to charge customers real-time rates from USPS, UPS, FedEx, or DHL. Transaction fees are also discounted.
*Lump-sum billing
Learn more aboutSquare fees and pricing.
Square Online’s biggest strength lies in its all-one-platform—user-friendly POS software, an online store with inventory management and ecommerce functionalities, and integrated payment processing with industry-leading omnichannel and contactless payment tools.
看看广场网上的一些杰出的铁atures:
- Drag-and-drop website builder
- Product and inventory management (sync with Square POS for online and in-person sales; add unlimited products, variants, and modifiers—even under the free plan)
- Click and collect and delivery options (curbside pickup, send-order text alerts)
- Square Online checkout (send checkout links through email, QR codes, checkout button on a website page, or by posting on social media)
- Multichannel selling with Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest
Did you know?
- Parlouruses Square Appointments for its online appointment booking and Square Online for selling its hair care products online. Learn more about Square Appointments in our in-depthSquare Appointments review.
- Stay Golden is a Nashville-based bar, restaurant, and coffee shop that set up aSquare Online ordering pageto adapt to the needs of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was so widely adopted by customers that they have decided to keep it for the long term. Customers can order online and do curbside pickups.
Ecwid: Best for Businesses With an Existing Site
Pros
- Easy to use; sell anywhere—in person or online
- Can adapt to your existing site’s theme
- Shipping calculator even on a free plan
- Shipping calculator even on a free plan
- Available widgets/apps for Squarespace, WordPress, Wix, Weebly, and GoDaddy sites
Cons
- Weak SEO tools
- Cannot create a full-blown website with Ecwid alone
- Limited customer support
- Limited customization options
How Ecwid Compares to Shopify
- Ecwid has a forever-free plan. Shopify doesn’t have one.
- Ecwid has a free embeddable Buy Now button that adapts to a website’s theme; Shopify’s is a paid provision.
- Ecwid Is the only ecommerce platform that provides shipping calculators with a free plan; you only unlock this on Shopify’s highest tiers.
- Ecwid comes with unlimited product variants; Shopify has a 300 limit.
- Ecwid has a lower-tier price point ($19/month) that allows you to sell on multiple channels for up to 100 products; Shopify’s lowest tier is at $39/month.
- Sell subscriptions with Ecwid at $39/month; Shopify has this as a paid app (added cost).
- Shopify lets you build a full-blown standalone website; Ecwid’s Instant Site Builder only provides for a single landing page.
- Shopify’s tiers lets you sell unlimited products; Ecwid unlocks this at its highest tier ($99/month).
- Shopify has 24/7 support; Ecwid has limited support.
Take a look at ourfull Ecwid vs Shopify comparison.
Use Ecwid if you already have an existing website and would like to easily add an online store. Ecwid has built-in integrations with Squarespace, WordPress, Wix, Weebly, and GoDaddy, making it easy to build your store seamlessly. Aside from the seamless integration, Ecwid provides a shipping calculator and related products section—all on its free plan.
Go with Ecwid if you are a seller with a limited product inventory and would like to sell on different channels. Ecwid’s forever-free plan is perfect if you have 10 or fewer products to sell. In contrast, Ecwid’s basic plan ($19/month) lets you sell on Facebook and Instagram and provides you with inventory tracking, marketing tools, and a mobile app.
- Free ($0):Up to 10 products
- Venture ($19/month):Up to 100 products
- Business ($39/month):Up to 2,500 products
- Unlimited ($99/month):Unlimited products
Multichannel selling is available starting at the Venture plan. With just $19 a month, you can start selling on social media like Facebook and Instagram, compared to Shopify’s Basic at $39 monthly. This is a cost-effective way to start selling in many online channels (as a hobbyist or casual seller, for example), especially if your target market is social media.
Ecwid’s features let you quickly sell your products online. It does not offer comprehensive ecommerce features such as inventory tracking or SEO tools. Still, its out-of-the-box functions are enough for you to start selling online.
- Instant Site Builder (single landing page)
- Product management (unlimited product variants and options)
- Shipping tools
- Third-party integrations (a little over 100)
- POS integration with Vend, Clover, and Square
- Mobile app
Did you know?
Betsy Enzensberger is a pop artist known for her realistic, larger-than-life sculptures of dripping, frozen treats. She uses Ecwid for heronline store并支持多路购物。她连接her shop to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok Shopping, and Google Shopping to market her products online. This strategy boosted sales and raised brand awareness.
WooCommerce: Best for Businesses Using WordPress
Pros
- Limitless expansive design and variety
- Real-time shipping rates
- Seamless WordPress integration
Cons
- Steep learning curve; not beginner-friendly
- Hosting is not included
- 虫胶ks free customer support
How WooCommerce Compares to Shopify
- WooCommerce has built-in ecommerce features such as product reviews and custom work order tools, unlike Shopify that needs an app.
- WooCommerce has zero transaction fees regardless of whether you use its in-house payment provider; Shopify charges transaction fees if you use a third-party provider.
- WooCommerce can be added to an existing WordPress site; you cannot do this with Shopify (must be on a different subfolder or subdomain).
- WooCommerce is an open-sourced platform, allowing limitless customization; Shopify’s is closed and limited.
- Shopify comes with free hosting, SSL certificate, and installation. You need to get these separately or do it yourself with WooCommerce.
- Shopify has 24/7 support; WooCommerce only provides a help forum and paid partner support.
Use WooCommerce if you need WordPress’ content management system (CMS) for your business or have already built your website in WordPress and would like to add an online store functionality, WooCommerce is the best option since it’s a free WordPress ecommerce plugin. It is widely reviewed and recommended by experts and users.
WooCommerce is not that user-friendly for beginners, unlike Shopify, where you can intuitively set up an online store with little technical knowledge. But if you know more, are familiar with WordPress, or have a developer to work with, WooCommerce will be an easy setup.
WooCommerce costs nothing to install on your WordPress site but has other associated expenses, depending on your starting and ongoing needs. For startup expenses, expect to shell out anywhere from $500 to $1,000, with monthly recurring fees starting at $300, depending on your sales volume.
WooCommerce is the only free ecommerce platform that is jam-packed with a lot of features. We can list many features below, but that barely touches the surface. Its open-source software provides limitless customization options.
- 无限的产品(物理、数字服务),custom orders, custom product designs, bundles, and composite products
- Shopping cart options include credit card, PayPal, direct bank transfer, check, and cash on delivery
- Multichannel selling and social media integration
- Built-in blogging
- Shipping tools such as flat rate, international, local delivery, local pickup, and free shipping
- One-click refund for customers
- Product reviews
Did you know?
EcoKittyis a dedicated online store for cat toys and accessories. Its shop uses default WooCommerce styles, with the Builder theme as its template. You can set up a fully functional online store that is pleasing to the eye using WooCommerce’s built-in features quickly.
Squarespace: Best for Businesses Needing More Content Management Features Than Just a Robust Store
Pros
- Highly rated website templates
- Sell on Instagram and Facebook
- Set up product forms
Cons
- Basic ecommerce functions are only available on higher plans
- Transaction fees without upgrade
- Limited payment options
How Squarespace Compares to Shopify
- Squarespace offers more intuitive drag-and-drop functionality for 80 of its templates that look unique and different from one another; Shopify’s website builder is not as user-friendly.
- Squarespace has better SEO tools, like blogging features and the ability to edit product URLs. Shopify’s SEO tool kit is rudimentary in comparison.
- Squarespace为销售phy内置功能ical, digital, and service products; Shopify unlocks this with an app.
- Shopify has more robust marketing features and an extensive app store; Squarespace’s is limited.
Read our in-depthShopify vs Squarespace comparison.
If you are an entrepreneur with plans to have more website content than just an online store, Squarespace is a better fit than Shopify. It is known for its aesthetically pleasing drag-and-drop website templates. Shopify has a variety of themes, but none offer such modern and trendy designs as Squarespace.
Use Squarespace to showcase a portfolio of your work and sell physical, digital, and service products. Unlike Shopify, which requires a third-party app to sell digital downloads, you can set this up quickly.
If you just intend to sell a few products as part of your main website and brand presentation is a priority, use Squarespace.
- Business ($33/month):Entry-level plan for ecommerce, unlimited products (physical and digital), 3% fee on transactions on top of payment processing fees
- Basic Commerce ($36/month):Same features as Business but without the extra 3% transaction fee, more advanced analytics
- Advanced Commerce ($65/month):Same features as Basic Commerce plus a USPS shipping calculator, abandoned cart recovery, and the ability to sell subscriptions
Squarespace网站s are made with design in mind. Its templates are created to look modern and trendy, no matter how much of a beginner you are at web design. It is ideal for solopreneurs or creatives who don’t have the time to learn Shopify’s more advanced platform but want to showcase their products with top-notch quality.
Some noteworthy Squarespace features include:
- Website builder (includes templates from portfolios to blogs)
- Create variants for products, set up low stock alerts, set up forms for products (if you need additional information from customers)
- Real-time shipping rates are available on the Advanced Commerce plan ($54 per month)
- Multichannel selling on Facebook and Instagram
- Abandoned cart recovery is available on the Advanced Commerce plan
- Commerce plan ($35 per month) provides a purchase funnel report—the percentage of visitors who view products, add them to their cart, and make purchases
Did you know?
- Digital entrepreneur Puno created her Squarespace website,ilovecreatives, as a digital resource for creatives. She has an online shop that sells physical and digital goods.
- Sadie Williams is a fashion designer who uses Squarespace as herportfolio website, which she updates regularly with her latest work, and an online shop, where she sells her products.
Wix: Best for a Quick & Easy Store Setup With Limited Know-how
Pros
- Easy and intuitive website setup
- Built-in online booking tools
- Good SEO tools
Cons
- Fewer ecommerce features like inventory management
- Difficulty exporting website data such as blog posts and digital downloads
- Storage limits across all plans
How Wix Compares to Shopify
- Wix provides robust product management features with up to six product options and 1,000 variants—better than Shopify’s limit of three product options with 100 variants.
- If you use Wix Payments, Stripe, or PayPal, you can accept recurring payments or subscriptions in Wix. You need an app to enable this feature in Shopify.
- Wix has better blogging tools than Shopify. Shopify lacks built-in analytics features, social bookmarking, and blog search functions.
- While Shopify and Wix come with more or less the same SEO tool kit, Wix has a slight edge over Shopify with its keyword support function.
- Wix also provides built-in online appointment booking tools that Shopify doesn’t.
We discuss this in detail in ourShopify vs Wix comparison.
Use Wix if you are looking for a quick and easy online store setup with limited technical know-how. It has an intuitive user interface and drag-and-drop builder templates since it is more known as a website builder that provides online selling features. Wix is better for those planning to launch an online store with a few products and who want full creative control in their design.
Wix is also a good Shopify alternative for those that sell few or limited products but want robust marketing tools to promote and drive traffic to their store. Wix has good SEO and marketing features, unlike Shopify (which is suited for a full-fledged online store) and Ecwid (also great for selling limited inventory).
Go with Wix if you want to build a community for your shoppers. Wix lets you organize and host events and communicate with site visitors via live chat, host discussion forums, and more. Shoppers can create accounts to participate in discussions, but also view their past orders and create wishlists.
All plans include unlimited pages and products, hosting, and free domain registration for a year.
- Business Basic ($27/month):50GB of storage space and five hours of video. You can sell unlimited products and activate the abandoned cart recovery feature.
- Business Unlimited ($32/month):100GB of storage, ten hours of video, an automated sales tax feature, and the ability to display pricing in local currency. Include up to 1,000 product reviews, offer subscriptions, and dropship up to 250 products.
- Business VIP ($59/month):unlimited storage space, video hours, and dropship products. It includes 3,000 product reviews, customized analytics reports, a loyalty program, and priority customer care.
Wix is known for its ease of use, which extends to how its features work. Its advanced ecommerce features take little time to set up.
Some of its notable features include:
- Sell physical, digital, and service products; subscription plans and recurring payments
- Multichannel selling (social channels and marketplaces)
- Product reviews, abandoned cart recovery, loyalty program
- Multicurrency support
- Dropshipping
- Specialized tools:
- Online booking tools
- Ticket and event management tools
- Online orders and reservation management
- Online rentals and listings
Did you know?
- An ethical hairdressing salon,Mane, uses its store made from the Wix platform as an online booking site for its services.
- Strathcona Spirits distillery co-founder Andrea Shubert decided on using Wix for anonline storebecause she wanted a website that was easy to update and required little technical skills. Shebuilt the websitein less than a week.
Shift4Shop: Best Free Shopify Alternative for US Merchants
Pros
- Free high-end plan for US-based merchants
- Robust, highly scalable sales and marketing features
- No transaction fees
Cons
- Sale revenue limits on paid plans
- Limited to Shift4Payments as payment gateway on free plan
- Inconsistent customer service feedback from user reviews
How Shift4Shop Compares to Shopify
- Shift4Shop has more built-in advanced sales and marketing features such as product reviews, CRM, and automation workflows (email, fraud detection, and task management) than Shopify (which you would need an app for).
- Shift4Shop provides a free domain with all its paid plans; Shopify doesn’t.
- Both platforms have their in-house payment gateways. Shift4Shop doesn’t charge any transaction fees if you choose to go with another provider.
- Real-time shipping rates and gift cards are available in Shift4Shop’s basic tier compared to being unlocked in Shopify’s highest tier.
Use Shift4Shop (formerly 3dcart) if your business is based in the US and you are willing to use its in-house payment provider, Shift4Payments. It provides a free subscription on its most advanced plan if you meet both conditions.
Shift4Shop has a wealth of native features only available in Shopify’s highest tiers or as an app in the Shopify App Store. However, there are mixed reviews about the payment gateway, and Shopify still outperforms Shift4Shop regarding performance. Still, if you are looking for a less expensive option than Shopify with almost the same advanced features, Shift4Shop is an excellent alternative.
- End-to-End Ecommerce ($0):Unlimited staff users; no limits, Shift4Shop for payments—exclusive only for US-based merchants
- Basic Store ($29/month):Two staff users; unlimited products
- Plus Store ($79/month):Five staff users
- Pro Store ($229/month):15 staff users
All plans include the following features:
- No transaction fees
- 50+ mobile-ready website themes with built-in blog
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Domain
- Unlimited orders
- Shopping cart feature
- Integration for Facebook Shop
Shift4Shop,健壮的开箱即用的铁的含量都很高atures. From product management to marketing and automation, Shift4Shop has got you covered. Take a look at some its features below:
- Unlimited product variants, advanced product options, smart categories, digital downloads
- Single-page checkout, multiple ship-to checkout
- Product reviews, Google customer reviews, gift wrapping, upsell and cross-sell, social wish list, gift certificates, daily and group deals, affiliate program, loyalty program
- Automated email, fraud detection, task management
- Sales channels such as Facebook, Instagram, eBay, and Google Shopping feed
Did you know?
Kevin Canning, Pearls of Joy founder, built hiswebsiteon Shift4Shop. His favorite features are the SEO-friendly URL structure and the built-in product review module.
Big Cartel: Best for Creative Artists Selling Limited Products
Pros
- Custom domain on a free plan
- Low monthly fees
- Stylish themes with no ads
Cons
- 虫胶ks scalable features
- Very few integrations and payment providers
- Limited SEO Tools
How Big Cartel Compares to Shopify
- Unlike with Shopify, you can connect a custom domain even on Big Cartel’s free plan.
- BigCartel has a forever-free plan; Shopify does not.
- Big Cartel doesn’t charge any transaction fees; you only pay credit card processing fees. Shopify charges transaction fees on top of card fees if you do not use its built-in payment gateway, Shopify Payments.
- BigCartel doesn’t have a built-in payment processor and accepts only Apple Pay, PayPal, and Stripe. Shopify has Shopify Payments as a payment provider and over 100 payment methods.
- BigCartel has product limits—up to 500 on its highest plan. Shopify provides unlimited products even on its basic tier.
Use Big Cartel if you need the flexibility of branding your store without ads and only have plans to sell occasionally or in limited quantities. Its free plan is robust enough for the artist or entrepreneur who has limited products to sell. Big Cartel’s free plan is included in our top picks forbest free ecommerce platforms. You can connect a custom domain, set up a beautiful website using their templates, sell up to five products, and manage orders—all under a free plan.
- Gold ($0):Sell up to five products
- Platinum ($9.99/month):Sell up to 50 products
- Diamond ($19.99/month):Sell up to 500 products
Big Cartel provides an easy-to-use platform where you can set up products, process payments, and ship your items—all from your dashboard. Its website themes are modern and aesthetically designed, an excellent fit for creatives and artists. You can even remove the small Big Cartel logo on the website footer using code.
Big Cartel’s features are very basic and include the following:
- Set up product details such as description, variants, category, pricing, shipping, tax fees
- Inventory and shipment tracking
- Discounts and promos
- Integrations with Mailchimp, Instagram, and Zapier
Did you know?
José A. Roda is a creative artist who sells his colorful illustrations and freelance editorial work in hisBig Cartel online shop.
Sellfy: Best for Businesses Mainly Selling Digital Products & Subscriptions
Pros
- Instant payout after a sale
- Print-on-demand tools
- Has a free plan
Cons
- Digital downloads and subscriptions aren’t available on the free plan
- Annual sales limits
- Limited design options
How Sellfy Compares to Shopify
- Sellfy provides native features to sell digital, subscription, and print-on-demand products. Shopify requires a third-party app to unlock these.
- Sellfy has a forever-free plan—unlike Shopify.
- Both provide embeddable Buy Now buttons you can use on other websites and social media to sell products. Sellfy provides these for free; you unlock this at $5 a month with Shopify.
- Shopify has a more robust website builder than Sellfy, which only has a standard website builder you cannot customize extensively.
- Shopify offers free and paid website templates; Sellfy doesn’t.
Use Sellfy if your store mainly sells digital and print-on-demand products because these are Sellfy’s main advantages over Shopify. If you are a creator selling digital content such as music, audiobooks, e-books, templates, and more, Sellfy is the perfect platform for you. If you want to diversify your income from sales, Sellfy’s print-on-demand tools enable you to sell custom clothing, accessories, home decor, and more using your digital products.
- Free ($0):Sell up to 10 print-on-demand or physical products, no digital or subscriber product sales
- Starter ($29/month):$10,000 annual sales limit, unlimited products, custom domain, 2,000 email credits, and support for print-on-demand, physical, digital, and subscription products
- Business ($79/month):$50,000 annual sales limit, Starter features, plus 10,000 email credits, the removal of Sellfy branding, cart abandonment tools, and product upselling
- Premium ($159/month):$200,000 annual sales limit, Business features, plus 50,000 email credits and priority customer support
- Sell physical, digital, subscriptions
- Digital downloads, video streaming—limited downloads and unique download links for security
- Online store builder and Buy Now buttons
- Marketing features such as upsell, email marketing, coupons and discounts, cart abandonment
- Self-POD (print on demand) for selling custom clothing, accessories, and more with physical or digital products
Did you know?
Ashley Renee’s food videos went viral on TikTok, so she started writing and selling keto diet cookbooks (e-books) using Sellfy because of the high demand for her recipes.
Etsy: Best for Entrepreneurs Selling Handmade Products & Looking for a Marketplace for Exposure
Pros
- Prebuilt audience due to Etsy’s marketplace
- Quick and easy store setup
- No monthly fees
Cons
- Listing and transaction fees
- Only handmade or vintage items are allowed
- Limited creative control in setting up your online store
How Etsy Compares to Shopify
- Both platforms are beginner-friendly when it comes to store setup. It only takes a little over an hour to get started selling on Etsy.
- Etsy has a free plan and very minimal startup upfront costs. Pay only for product listing fees and transaction charges for each sale. Shopify doesn’t offer a free plan, and upfront costs usually range from $250 to $500.
- While Shopify gives you marketing tools to help promote your store, Etsy’s marketplace provides a large audience if it’s the right market for your products.
Read ourEtsy vs Shopify comparisonfor more details on how Etsy stacks up to Shopify.
Use Etsy if you are looking for product exposure and have limited time marketing your products. Etsy is the perfect avenue to set up an online store and get instant exposure to a marketplace of90.5 million active buyers. Etsy is considered more of a marketplace than an ecommerce platform but provides its sellers their online store. You can sell unlimited products for free, ship anywhere worldwide, and get shipping discounts.
Use Etsy if you sell handmade products and don’t want to spend too much time building your online store. Etsy provides sellers with the basic functionalities of an online shop. You can set up custom work order fields in your product listings—an advantage for personalization requests. You can also get a store up and running with Etsy in less than an hour.
Etsy has its ecommerce platform,Pattern by Etsy($15 per month), with a 30-day free trial. Pattern by Etsy is not integrated with the Etsy marketplace, so you will be responsible for generating traffic. If you want to keep selling within the Etsy platform, consider this as an alternative.
- Monthly pricing:Free; paid plan (Etsy Plus) starts at $10
- Transaction fees:5% from each sale (item price + shipping fee)
- Listing fees:20 cents per listing
- Payment processing fees:3% plus 25 cents each sale (US); varies per country
Learn more about howEtsy feesare calculated in our guide.
Etsy simplifies the selling process for business owners by providing the bare minimum when operating an online store. You can sell unlimited physical and digital products and list them in the Etsy marketplace. The most significant advantage of selling on Etsy is exposure to its marketplace, where your product listings are automatically included.
Etsy also has these features:
- Custom work order tools for physical products (personalization)
- Sell online and in-person via Square integration
- Print shipping labels
- Supports international shipping
- Inventory management
- Etsy Ads (listings on Etsy) and Offsite Ads (listings on Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Bing)
Learn more on how to successfully sell on Etsy with ourselling on Etsy tips.
Did you know?
Sydney Jackson and Casey Mattis started sellingtheir curated vintage jewelry collection in Etsyat the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their shop,BLACKFEMME, sells limited-edition vintage finds and has amassed more than a hundred sales since starting.
Reasons to Choose a Shopify Alternative
You Have Large or Complex Inventory
如果你有一个广泛的产品库存,智慧h BigCommerce, Ecwid, or Shift4Shop. BigCommerce lets you set up 250 product options and up to 600 variants. Ecwid and Shift4Shop, meanwhile, allow for unlimited product variants. Note that Ecwid has product limits on its plans. With Shopify, you can only configure up to three options and 100 variants for a product.
你需要工作订单或订单管理
If you need to personalize orders for your products, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Etsy offer these as built-in features. While Shopify doesn’t provide product custom fields natively, you can activate the feature by adding a Shopify app like Infinite Options.
You Want the Lowest Possible Transaction Fees
BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Shift4Shop have zero transaction fees—these are great alternatives to Shopify.
With Shopify, you can avoid transaction fees by using Shopify Payments, its built-in payment provider. But if you choose to go with a third-party processor, there are added transaction fees (2%) on top of credit card processing fees. Read ourultimate guide on Shopify pricingto learn more about its fees.
You’re Building a Content-based Online Business
If you need to create content regularly for your business, consider going with Wix or Squarespace. Both platforms have great blogging tools. Shopify is not as fluid when it comes to maintaining content.
You Have a Food or Restaurant Business
If you are in the food and restaurant industry and would like to add an online ordering component to your business, consider going with Square Online. You can create a simple website (even a single landing page) that enables customers to order online in advance and decide delivery options (such as pickup, curbside delivery, and click and collect). In turn, you automatically get notified when orders are placed on your website through your Square POS system.
Read our guide to thebest online ordering systems for restaurantsfor more alternatives.
How We Evaluated Shopify Alternatives
We evaluated the top Shopify competitors by first scoring ecommerce tools on their own merits—price, site builder tools and maintenance, sales and product features, and ease of use. We tested each platform by signing up for its free version and building a test store.
Next, we looked at specific features these platforms offer that Shopify doesn’t. We also looked at functionalities they do better than Shopify. We compared each platform with Shopify and recommended what types of businesses these platforms are best for based on a specific need for a functionality Shopify lacks.
Best Shopify Alternatives Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
There are many competitors to Shopify. However, in our evaluation of thebest ecommerce platforms, BigCommerce is a close second to Shopify. Square is also a top Shopify competitor for multichannel selling, as both provide tools for online and in-personal selling—POS and ecommerce functionality.
Among the providers we have reviewed, a few affordable Shopify alternatives exist—Square Online, Ecwid, WooCommerce, Shift4Shop, Sellfy, WooCommerce, Big Cartel, and Ecwid. They all offer a forever-free plan and cheaper paid plans than Shopify, although there are limitations such as the number of products, storage space, transaction fees, or a lack of certain features.
Yes, there are Shopify free alternatives such as Ecwid, Shift4Shop, Square Online, Sellfy, and BigCartel. Ecwid, Big Cartel, and Square Online have forever-free plans; Shift4Shop provides a free plan if you are based in the US and use its built-in payment provider. WooCommerce is also a free Shopify alternative, but there are separate costs involved in building a website and ensuring it can securely process payments.
The best Shopify alternative for you will ultimately depend on your business needs. Find a Shopify alternative with the priority features you need—unlimited product listings, shipping discounts, or multichannel selling—at a price point that fits your budget.
We list our recommended Shopify competitors in this guide. It includes a healthy mix of free and paid websites like Shopify. When deciding what to use instead of Shopify, compare each platform against Shopify to see if the Shopify alternative can deliver what you are looking for that Shopify can’t.
Bottom Line
Shopify is a great ecommerce platform, but it won’t always work for everyone. Many other ecommerce platforms can help you build and grow your online business. The key is to find one that provides a solution to your business need—whether it’s lower transaction fees, an extensive catalog for products, shipping discounts, or in-person and online store sale syncing.
When considering which ecommerce platform to use, research its features, check out reviews from actual users and experts, and sign up for a free trial if they offer one. That way, you can see if it fits your online store needs before signing up for a subscription.