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.
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.
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.
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.
Why people leave Shopify
Dashed reasons are sourced facts; the rest are opinions. Vendors can dispute.
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
Rows come from the E-commerce platforms checklist (14 rows). Human-verified cells only. ? means the value has not been verified.
| E-commerce platforms checklist | Shopify | Medusa | WooCommerce | BigCommerce | Saleor | Big Cartel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
| Starts at | ||||||
| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Hosted vs self-hosted | ||||||
| Transaction fees | ||||||
| Themes & storefront customization | ||||||
| Payment gateways | ||||||
| Multi-currency & tax | ||||||
| Inventory management | ||||||
| Headless API | ||||||
| App / plugin ecosystem | ||||||
| Digital products | ||||||
| POS integration |
Every fact and feature listed for Shopify is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model Subscription verified 2026-07-10
Basic: €32 EUR/mo
https://www.shopify.com/pricing -
Starts at €32/month verified 2026-07-10
Basic: €32 EUR/mo
https://www.shopify.com/pricing -
License Proprietary verified 2026-07-10
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
https://www.shopify.com/legal/terms -
Platforms Web, iOS, Android verified 2026-07-10
Download on iOS ... Download on Android
https://www.shopify.com/mobile -
Hosted vs self-hosted No verified 2026-07-10
On a SaaS ecommerce platform like Shopify, hosting is bundled into your subscription, so you don't need to source or manage it separately.
https://www.shopify.com/blog/ecommerce-website-cost -
Transaction fees Partial verified 2026-07-10
Third-party transaction fees may apply when you use a third-party payment provider (instead of Shopify Payments). The rate depends on your plan.
https://www.shopify.com/pricing -
Themes & storefront customization Yes verified 2026-07-10
customize your online store to match your brand and business needs
https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/online-store/themes -
Payment gateways Yes verified 2026-07-10
you can use Shopify Payments, a third-party provider, or both together
https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/payments -
Multi-currency & tax Yes verified 2026-07-10
Customizations control settings, such as currency, product availability, theme content, domains, languages, and taxes.
https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/markets -
Inventory management Yes verified 2026-07-10
You can set up inventory tracking, view stock levels, and make adjustments
https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/inventory -
Headless API Yes verified 2026-07-10
Get all the power of Shopify under the hood, with complete control over the frontend.
https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/headless -
Digital products Yes verified 2026-07-10
There are no additional fees for selling digital products on your online store.
https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/digital-service-product -
POS integration Yes verified 2026-07-10
sell in person, online, on social media, and marketplaces, while keeping everything connected
https://www.shopify.com/pos
FAQ
Yes. Big Cartel and OpenCart have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
Medusa, WooCommerce and Saleor — every license claim links its source.