# Alternatives to Shopify

The hosted store standard.

Shopify ranks #8 of 9 in E-commerce platforms, with an Alt Score of 78. It is proprietary, sold by subscription from €32/month and available on Web, iOS and Android. 9 of 10 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/shopify/
Category: E-commerce platforms

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Small business owners, independent entrepreneurs, and larger retail brands who need to launch and run an online or omnichannel storefront without building custom commerce software.
- **What you get**: A hosted e-commerce platform with customizable storefront themes, integrated checkout and payments (Shop Pay), and tools for inventory, order fulfillment, and shipping. It supports selling across a website, social media, marketplaces, and in-person via Point of Sale. Built-in analytics and marketing tools help track and grow sales, and an app ecosystem extends functionality for shipping, accounting, and more.
- **How it works**: Merchants sign up, add products, choose and customize a storefront theme, and configure payment and shipping settings. Once live, they manage orders, inventory, and customers from the Shopify admin dashboard and can add more sales channels over time.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-10)
- **Pricing model**: Subscription (verified 2026-07-10)
- **Starts at**: €32/month (verified 2026-07-10)
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Medusa](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/medusa.md) | 91 | MIT | Web |
| 2 | [WooCommerce](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/woocommerce.md) | 91 | GPL-3.0 | Web |
| 3 | [BigCommerce](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/bigcommerce.md) | 82 | Proprietary | Web |
| 4 | [Saleor](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/saleor.md) | 82 | BSD-3-Clause | Web |
| 5 | [Big Cartel](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/big-cartel.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |
| 6 | [OpenCart](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/opencart.md) | 78 | GPL-3.0 | Web |
| 7 | [PrestaShop](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/prestashop.md) | 78 | OSL-3.0 | Web |
| 8 | [Adobe Commerce](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/adobe-commerce.md) | 73 | OSL-3.0 | Web |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| E-commerce platforms checklist | Shopify | Medusa | WooCommerce | BigCommerce | Saleor | Big Cartel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Subscription | OSS + paid hosting | OSS + paid hosting | Subscription | OSS + paid hosting | Freemium |
| Starts at | €32/month | $29/mo (Medusa Cloud Develop plan) | ? | $29/month | $1,599/mo | $15/month |
| License | Proprietary | MIT | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary | BSD-3-Clause | Proprietary |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web | Web | Web | Web | Web, iOS, Android |
| Hosted vs self-hosted | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Transaction fees | Partial | No | No | No | Partial | No |
| Themes & storefront customization | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Payment gateways | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-currency & tax | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Inventory management | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Headless API | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| App / plugin ecosystem | ? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Digital products | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| POS integration | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ? | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Shopify. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **Pricing model**: Subscription — <https://www.shopify.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Basic: €32 EUR/mo”
- **Starts at**: €32/month — <https://www.shopify.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Basic: €32 EUR/mo”
- **License**: Proprietary — <https://www.shopify.com/legal/terms> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “you will be licensed to access and use all POS Software installed in the POS Equipment (and any updates thereto), on a limited, non-exclusive, revocable, non-sublicensable, non-transferable basis, sol”
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — <https://www.shopify.com/mobile> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Download on iOS ... Download on Android”
- **Hosted vs self-hosted**: No — <https://www.shopify.com/blog/ecommerce-website-cost> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “On a SaaS ecommerce platform like Shopify, hosting is bundled into your subscription, so you don't need to source or manage it separately.”
- **Transaction fees**: Partial — <https://www.shopify.com/pricing> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Third-party transaction fees may apply when you use a third-party payment provider (instead of Shopify Payments). The rate depends on your plan.”
- **Themes & storefront customization**: Yes — <https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “customize your online store to match your brand and business needs”
- **Payment gateways**: Yes — <https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “you can use Shopify Payments, a third-party provider, or both together”
- **Multi-currency & tax**: Yes — <https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/markets> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Customizations control settings, such as currency, product availability, theme content, domains, languages, and taxes.”
- **Inventory management**: Yes — <https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/inventory> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “You can set up inventory tracking, view stock levels, and make adjustments”
- **Headless API**: Yes — <https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/headless> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “Get all the power of Shopify under the hood, with complete control over the frontend.”
- **Digital products**: Yes — <https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/digital-service-product> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “There are no additional fees for selling digital products on your online store.”
- **POS integration**: Yes — <https://www.shopify.com/pos> (verified 2026-07-10)
  - Quote: “sell in person, online, on social media, and marketplaces, while keeping everything connected”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/