Top 8 Shopify Alternatives That Are Cheaper And Better (2026 Update)

If you are tired of getting nickel and dimed by Shopify’s high transaction and recurring app fees, this post will show you the 8 best Shopify alternatives that are as good or better than Shopify.

In the war of ecommerce platforms, Shopify has emerged to become one of the most popular shopping carts in the world. But the problem with popularity is that people tend to blindly recommend Shopify without understanding its limitations.

First of all, Shopify is not a one-size-fits-all solution and you should do your own due diligence on the Shopify alternatives before making a decision.

Because I run my own 7-figure ecommerce store and have taught ecommerce for almost two decades now, I have used or evaluated practically every shopping cart out there. The only way to fully understand the pros and cons of any ecommerce platform is to actually use it with money on the line.

So unlike other shopping cart comparisons you’ll find on the Internet, today’s post is based on my own personal experiences. Even though Shopify might appear to be the defacto standard of shopping carts, your choice of ecommerce platform is not a black and white decision. And depending on the nature of your business, Shopify might not be the best choice.

Today, I will discuss my favorite Shopify alternatives and when to go with Shopify vs the competition.

Note: This post will only cover what I deem to be “viable” Shopify alternatives rather than a random listing of ecommerce platforms. All of the shopping carts mentioned in this post are platforms that either I or one of my students have personally used for their online store.

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Why Is Shopify So Popular?

First off, there’s a reason why Shopify is a market leader and popular among successful online store owners. It is built to appeal to the masses. Shopify is a fantastic general purpose ecommerce platform and it is both aesthetically beautiful and powerful. I often compare Shopify to Apple.

Here are Shopify’s main advantages:

• Shopify Is User Friendly – Shopify’s interface is so intuitive and easy to understand that my Mom could probably launch an online store. There is no coding knowledge required.
• Shopify Is Beautiful – They offer a variety of great looking themes for free.
• Shopify Handles All The Tech – You do not have to worry about server downtime or getting hacked. Shopify takes care of everything for you and you can sell unlimited products with unlimited bandwidth.
• Shopify Offers Great Support – They have an excellent support team available 24/7, plus an army of third-party consultants available to help you get started.
• Shopify Has A Huge App Ecosystem – If you are looking for cutting-edge features for your online store, chances are you will find an app that does exactly what you need.

However, all of the advantages above come at a price and Shopify is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Depending on your exact needs, Shopify may not be a good fit at all. Fortunately, there are many Shopify alternatives that address these shortcomings.

Click Here To Try Shopify For Free

The Main Disadvantages Of Shopify

When you build a platform that is beautiful and built for the masses, there will always be drawbacks. Here are my biggest complaints about Shopify based on running my own store and watching hundreds of students use the platform.

Shopify Is Expensive

When you first sign up for Shopify, you’ll probably notice that the base shopping cart has practically no features. As a result, you’ll end up spending a lot of money paying for third-party apps.

Every Shopify third-party app carries a monthly recurring fee. The Shopify app store has over 12,000 apps, the average app runs about $66 a month, and the typical store runs six to eight, which means $400 to $500 a month just in app fees. Even my students who run lean spend around $200 a month on apps.

That $29 base plan becomes hundreds a month fast. Shopify also does not have a free plan.

Shopify Charges A Transaction Fee

Shopify essentially forces you to use their built-in payment platform called Shopify Payments. If you want to use your own credit card processing solution, they will impose a heavy transaction fee. For example, on their basic plan, their transaction fee is 2% which is ridiculously high.

Now if Shopify’s payment gateway was reasonably priced, it would not be an issue. But their credit card processing rates are over 20% more expensive than what you can get if you choose a third-party processor.

A telling fact: in a recent year, credit card processing made up about 73.5% of Shopify’s revenue, and subscriptions only 26.5%, which shows where their priorities are.

Shopify Payments Offers Poor International Support

If you plan on opening a store in a non-supported country, then you are out of luck. Not only will you have to find your own payment processing solution but you will also get charged a large transaction fee as well. Shopify Payments is supported in roughly 22 countries, including the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore. If you don’t see your country on the supported list, you should explore Shopify alternatives.

Shopify Prohibits The Sale Of Certain Products

There are many products that Shopify will not permit you to sell online. In the United States, you cannot sell adult-related products on their platform, drug-related paraphernalia such as bongs, vaporizers, or hookahs, certain supplements, firearms, or chemicals. There is a long list of prohibited goods that you should examine thoroughly before signing on.

You should also be aware that their prohibited list of goods changes from time to time. One of my friends sold supplements on Shopify for several years before they decided to ban the sale of his product. He had to switch platforms, which wreaked havoc on his SEO rankings.

Shopify Can Shut Your Store Down Overnight

The worst part is control. During the pandemic, a friend who legitimately sold hand sanitizer for years raised his prices when his supplier did. Shopify flagged him for price gouging and shut his entire store down overnight, destroying his income and SEO rankings even though he was just passing on costs.

On trademark claims you are guilty until proven innocent. I have had friends lose stores to fake infringement claims from competitors, with no investigation and weeks of legal work to recover.

Shopify makes sense if you want quick and easy. If you care about cost, flexibility, or control, it can be one of the worst choices.

Shopify’s Blogging Platform Is Mediocre

If you plan on implementing a blog with your shopping cart, then you have two choices. One, you can stick with Shopify’s less than adequate blogging platform. Or two, you can install WordPress on a subdomain, which is not optimal for SEO.

The pros and cons of both choices are clearly outlined in my post on How To Start A WordPress Blog On A Shopify.

Shopify Has A Sub-Optimal SEO URL Structure

One of the most annoying features of Shopify is that you cannot optimize your URLs for SEO. Instead, Shopify often inserts extraneous terms in your URL such as “collections” or “products” which are not conducive to SEO rankings.

Shopify Only Allows 3 Sets Of Variants Per Product

If you sell a product that offers many different options to choose from, then Shopify will probably not be a good platform for your shop. For example, if you sell widgets in your store, you can only offer 3 types of choices such as size, color, material. If you need to offer more configuration choices, then you are out of luck.

In addition, Shopify only allows you to have 100 total combinations of variations per product on older themes. Newer ones allow up to 2048. Using the example above, if the number of sizes multiplied by the number of colors multiplied by the number of materials exceeds 100, then you cannot list your item.

Shopify’s Best Features Are Only Available On Higher Plans

In my opinion, there are basic ecommerce features that every shopping cart should support out of the box. If you want to run an online store in more than one country (with multiple language support), you will have to sign up for Shopify Plus, which is $2,000/month, or pay a recurring monthly fee for a language plugin.

My main gripe with Shopify is that you will often feel nickeled and dimed on the platform. For the full rundown on Shopify’s costs, check out my post on Shopify Pricing Plans: How To Pick The Best And Cheapest Plan For Your Store.

Shopify’s Overall Rating (5 is the best)

Ease Of Use: 4.5
Out Of The Box Features: 3
Customer Support: 5
3rd Party Support: 5
Cost: 2.5
Search Engine Optimization: 3.5
Flexibility: 4

Click Here To Try Shopify For Free

Now that you have a high-level picture of Shopify’s pros and cons, here are my favorite Shopify alternatives for your online store.

Shopify Alternative #1: BigCommerce

BigCommerce goes toe-to-toe with Shopify at the higher end and fixes some of its pain points. With all of Shopify’s disadvantages outlined above, the closest and best alternative to Shopify is BigCommerce. Based on experience, BigCommerce offers all of Shopify’s ecommerce features and more at a much lower price point.

Click Here To Sign Up For BigCommerce And Get 1 Month Free

BigCommerce Offers A Full Suite Of Advanced Features Out Of The Box

Remember when I said that Shopify’s base shopping cart does practically nothing? It is the opposite with BigCommerce. Even though the pricing for BigCommerce and Shopify appear to be the same cost, do not be deceived by the price.

BigCommerce offers full-blown discount features on their cheapest plan, including buy-one-get-one promotions, tiered discounts based on quantity, and discounts for repeat customers. Their base discounting features are more powerful than Shopify’s third-party plugins and you get it all for free out of the box.

BigCommerce also does not have the product variant limitations that Shopify has. While Shopify caps you at 3 options and 100 variants per product, BigCommerce does not, so it handles clothing with many sizes and colors or complex customizable products. For more on this comparison, check out my post on BigCommerce vs Shopify – Which Cart Is Cheaper And Better? and the full BigCommerce Review.

BigCommerce Does Not Charge Transaction Fees

With BigCommerce, you have the freedom to use whatever payment gateways you want WITHOUT any additional transaction fees. As your online store grows, it is important to not limit your choice of payment providers, because transaction fees will eat into your profit margins.

BigCommerce Offers Built-In Features For Multi-Channel Selling

With BigCommerce, you can manage your stores on Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram all from the BigCommerce backend. Your inventory syncs across every marketplace, which will save you from purchasing costly third-party tools that do the same thing. With Shopify, you are forced to pay a recurring monthly fee for the same ecommerce functionality.

BigCommerce Will Be Cheaper In Most Cases

Because BigCommerce has almost every feature out of the box, you will end up saving a ton of money on third-party apps that you would have to purchase using Shopify. They also do not charge any transaction fees, which gives you the freedom to find a better deal with your payment gateways.

In my experience, BigCommerce almost always ends up being cheaper than Shopify. While they do not have a free plan, you can get your first month free.

Click Here To Sign Up For BigCommerce And Get 1 Month Free

Shopify’s Advantages Over BigCommerce

The main advantage Shopify has over BigCommerce is that they have a much larger app ecosystem and a larger installed base. Most developers create apps for Shopify first before porting them over to BigCommerce. Shopify also offers more design themes and templates.

Shopify is also more user friendly because of the lack of built-in features. The less features you have, the less you have to understand. Overall, Shopify’s main strength over BigCommerce is their third-party support.

One tradeoff with BigCommerce worth flagging: they charge based on revenue, not profit. That is fine for high-margin products and rough for thin-margin dropshipping, so BigCommerce is usually a poor fit for dropshippers.

Summary

Pros For BigCommerce

• BigCommerce will be cheaper
• BigCommerce allows you to have more product options
• BigCommerce will not charge you any transaction fees
• BigCommerce gives you the freedom to use whatever payment processor you want, which will save you money
• BigCommerce has better international support
• BigCommerce offers much better discounting features out of the box
• BigCommerce allows you to sync inventory across marketplaces

Cons For BigCommerce

• Shopify has more design themes
• Shopify has a larger third-party app ecosystem
• Shopify has more developer support
• Shopify has a larger installed base
• BigCommerce charges on revenue, which is poor for thin-margin dropshipping

BigCommerce’s Overall Rating (5 is the best)

Ease Of Use: 4
Out Of The Box Features: 4.5
Customer Support: 5
3rd Party Support: 4
Cost: 3.5
Search Engine Optimization: 4
Flexibility: 4

Click Here To Sign Up For BigCommerce And Get 1 Month Free

Shopify Alternative #2: WooCommerce

WooCommerce gives you the most freedom and control of any ecommerce platform, because you own your site, sell anything Shopify bans, and nobody can pull the plug on your store. WooCommerce is WordPress with an ecommerce plugin, and WordPress powers over 40% of the internet.

What is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is an ecommerce software plugin for WordPress websites that allows you to take ecommerce transactions on the world’s most popular content management system. The biggest benefit is that WooCommerce is free, and there is a huge ecosystem of third-party developers and free themes to use.

In fact, WooCommerce arguably has more third-party developers than Shopify because the WordPress platform powers over 40% of the entire web. If you already have an existing website or WordPress blog, you can instantly start selling online with WooCommerce.

Click Here To Try WooCommerce

WooCommerce Is Easy To Setup And You Own The Platform

WooCommerce is a self-hosted ecommerce platform and requires a web hosting account. Most web hosts have a 1-click WooCommerce install. For example, Hostinger will install the entire shopping cart for you upon signup and give you a free domain.

Once WooCommerce is installed, you have full control over your own online store and you completely own your website. You can modify your shopping cart how you see fit, and no one can ever kick you off, change the rules, or raise prices on you. Out of all the Shopify alternatives, WooCommerce gives you the most control over your online store because you literally own the source code.

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WooCommerce Is Free And Can Be Incredibly Cheap

The WooCommerce base plugin is 100% free and you can start selling right away. Two of the most popular payment gateways (Stripe and PayPal) can be installed for free out of the box, and there are no additional transaction fees.

Your only cost is web hosting, which can be as little as $3 per month. My kids run a print-on-demand store at KidInCharge.com for about $2.69 a month, and I have colleagues running high seven-figure stores on WooCommerce.

If you need additional functionality like multi-channel selling, most WooCommerce plugins can be purchased for a one-time fee rather than a recurring monthly subscription. Some premium plugins charge annual renewals, and the total is still usually far below Shopify’s recurring app tax.

Blogging With WooCommerce Is Much Better Than Shopify

Unlike Shopify, which has a clunky blogging platform, WooCommerce is based on WordPress, which is the best blogging platform in the world. Not only can you seamlessly run your blog alongside your online store, but they can coexist on the same domain, which offers superior SEO benefits.

WooCommerce really shines if you want advanced content marketing features to sell your physical products online. Because WordPress is so popular, if you need any additional functionality, you can probably find a free WordPress plugin that does exactly what you need. If you drive traffic with content, WooCommerce is the choice.

Click Here To Try WooCommerce

The Disadvantages Of WooCommerce

The primary disadvantage of WooCommerce is that you have to manage the technical aspects of your online store. Having run two WooCommerce shops over the years, I can honestly say that it can be a little daunting for a tech-challenged entrepreneur.

Because WordPress is not designed for ecommerce out of the box, your site will run slow unless you know how to optimize your website for speed. The speed issue can be mitigated by going with a special WordPress hosting platform like WPEngine.

WordPress plugins can sometimes conflict with one another, leading to unexplained problems with your site. Overall, you may need to hire a developer to customize your site, which may incur additional costs. It is not for everyone, since things break and you need to troubleshoot, but if you value freedom and total ownership, it is one of the best options out there.

Summary

Pros Of WooCommerce

• WooCommerce is free
• WooCommerce is easy to setup and use
• WooCommerce allows you to have a blog on the same domain
• WooCommerce is better for SEO
• WooCommerce has a large third-party ecosystem
• WooCommerce plugins do not carry recurring fees unless you need support
• WooCommerce allows you to control the source code for your site

Cons Of WooCommerce

• WooCommerce is slow out of the box
• WooCommerce requires technical skills for customization
• WooCommerce requires you to host your own website
• WooCommerce may conflict with other WordPress plugins

WooCommerce’s Overall Rating (5 is the best)

Ease Of Use: 3
Out Of The Box Features: 3.5
Customer Support: N/A (You have to pay)
3rd Party Support: 5
Cost: 5
Search Engine Optimization: 5
Flexibility: 5

Click Here To Try WooCommerce

Shopify Alternative #3: Shift4Shop (Formerly 3DCart)

Shift4Shop rarely gets hype, which is a shame because it gives you a lot for very little if you fit the criteria. It can be 100% free, with one catch: you must reside in the US and process at least $1,000 a month through Shift4 Payments. Meet that and you get an enterprise-level platform with no subscription fee.

My daughter runs her jewelry store on Shift4Shop and loves it, especially the built-in email marketing that saves her money.

Editor’s Note: Shift4Shop’s free plan is only for US businesses at the moment, as long as you use their credit card processing, which is still cheaper than Shopify.

Click Here To Sign Up For Shift4Shop For Free

Shift4Shop Offers More Features Out Of The Box At A Significantly Lower Price

It is not watered down either. You get unlimited products and staff accounts, a built-in blog, SEO tools, loyalty programs, gift registries, daily deals, an affiliate program, and free email marketing baked in, all features that cost extra on Shopify.

While Shopify’s base shopping cart does not do very much (and will nickel-and-dime you with recurring app fees), Shift4Shop offers a complete suite of free marketing services out of the box. At zero cost, Shift4Shop allows you to offer social wish lists, coupons and discounts, and gift certificates.

Shift4Shop Offers FREE Email Marketing With Their Higher Plans

Email marketing will make up a significant portion of your overall revenue. For my online store, email generates over 30% of my sales. Email marketing is also one of my largest monthly expenses.

Right now, Klaviyo is the best email marketing provider out there for ecommerce, but it is also quite pricey. Managing an email list of my size typically costs over $800/month.

If you are on a budget, Shift4Shop includes basic email marketing services at no additional cost on the Plus and higher plans. You can run abandoned cart savers, email newsletters, winback campaigns, basic segmentation, and email autoresponder campaigns. Even though Shift4Shop’s email features are not as good as Klaviyo, they might be good enough for you, and they are included at no cost. However, if you require a more powerful email marketing solution, Shift4Shop also integrates with Klaviyo and other popular email providers.

Shift4Shop Does Not Charge A Transaction Fee

The main reason Shopify forces you to use Shopify Payments is because they have an arrangement with Stripe where they split the credit card processing revenue. If you do not use Shopify Payments, Shopify will slap you with a transaction fee.

Shift4Shop allows you to use whatever credit processor you want WITHOUT paying any extra credit card transaction fees. They are offering an amazing ecommerce plan that is 100% FREE if you use Shift4 as your payment processor. Shift4 can give you the shopping cart for free because they make their money on the credit card processing.

Shift4Shop Offers Flexible SEO Features

One of the biggest concerns when migrating ecommerce platforms is search engine optimization. Even if you issue 301 redirects from your old pages to your new pages, there is a risk that you could lose a significant portion of your organic traffic.

Shift4Shop allows you to configure your URL structure however you want. You can migrate to Shift4Shop without fear of losing any of your traffic. Simply duplicate your exact URL structure from your old platform and you will not lose your search rankings. Shift4Shop also offers free migration services from most popular carts.

Shift4Shop Will Always Be Cheaper Than Shopify

Because Shift4Shop has almost every feature out of the box plus email marketing, you probably will not need to pay for any additional apps like you would with Shopify. Not only that, but Shift4Shop is 33% cheaper and does not charge any transaction fees.

The combination of all of these factors will make Shift4Shop significantly cheaper than Shopify in almost all cases. Overall, Shift4Shop is probably the best Shopify alternative for online store owners on a budget. For a more thorough comparison, read this post on Shift4Shop Vs Shopify.

Click Here To Sign Up For Shift4Shop For Free

Shopify’s Advantages Over Shift4Shop

The downsides of Shift4Shop are a smaller app ecosystem, a more dated interface, and fewer developers and tutorials. Shopify’s third-party app ecosystem dwarfs any other platform, including Shift4Shop.

Shift4Shop is run by a public company, which means they have a huge war chest of cash, and I expect them to up their offerings moving forward to better compete with Shopify. For the right person, Shift4Shop is fantastic.

Summary

Pros For Shift4Shop

• Shift4Shop will be significantly cheaper
• Shift4Shop offers free email marketing
• Shift4Shop does not charge transaction fees
• Shift4Shop offers much better marketing features out of the box
• Shift4Shop will not nickel-and-dime you with recurring app fees

Cons For Shift4Shop

• Shopify has more design themes
• Shopify has a larger third-party app ecosystem
• Shopify has more developer support
• Shopify has a larger installed base
• Shift4Shop has a more dated interface

Shift4Shop’s Overall Rating (5 is the best)

Ease Of Use: 3.8
Out Of The Box Features: 5
Customer Support: 5
3rd Party Support: 3
Cost: 4
Search Engine Optimization: 5
Flexibility: 4.5

Click Here To Sign Up For Shift4Shop For Free

Shopify Alternative #4: Open Cart

Open Cart is an open source ecommerce platform that is 100% free to use and a great Shopify alternative. What I personally like about Open Cart is that it’s a lightweight shopping cart that is extremely fast and easy to use.

Having done a little hacking for Open Cart in the past, I can say that the source code is well organized and intuitively designed.

As a result, if you are technically inclined, you can easily modify OpenCart to do whatever you want it to do.

In many ways, Open Cart carries many of the same advantages of WooCommerce with the following differences.

Because Open Cart is designed from the ground up for ecommerce, the cart is extremely fast and feature rich. In addition, most hosting platforms offer a 1 click install of Open Cart right out of the box.

The biggest downside to Open Cart is that there isn’t nearly as much 3rd party developer support as Shopify, BigCommerce or WooCommerce.

While Open Cart has a decent sized plugin database, you will probably need a developer to implement any additional features you require.

Overall, Open Cart is an incredible cart if you need custom functionality that you can’t get with an out of the box solution.

If you require complete control over your shop’s features, then Open Cart is an excellent choice because you have the complete source code at your disposal.

Summary

Pros Of Open Cart

• Open Cart is free
• Open Cart is easy to setup and use
• Open Cart allows you to have a blog on the same domain
• Open Cart is better for SEO
• Open Cart plugins don’t carry recurring fees
• Open Cart is fast and lightweight
• Open Cart code is well written and easy to understand
• Open Cart allows you to control the source code for your site

Cons Of Open Cart

• Open Cart requires technical skills for customization
• Open Cart requires you to find your own hosting
• Open Cart offers very little 3rd party support

Open Cart’s Overall Rating (5 is the best)

Ease Of Use: 3.5
Out Of The Box Features: 3.5
Customer Support: N/A (You have to pay)
3rd Party Support: 3
Cost: 5
Search Engine Optimization: 5
Flexibility: 5

Shopify Alternative #5: Magento

Magento is an open source shopping cart that is extremely powerful, 100% free to use and rivals Shopify in terms of out of the box features.

In terms of marketshare, Magento is #3 overall only behind WooCommerce and Shopify in terms of popularity.

Similar to WooCommerce and Open Cart, Magento is open source and 100% free.

But that’s where the similarities end.

Having analyzed the source code for Magento in the past, I can say first hand that it’s both unwieldy and overly complicated.

Back in the day, Magento was the standard for high end online stores and it was by far the most flexible and scalable ecommerce platform in the world.

In the past, if you wanted the best and most powerful platform out there, then Magento was a logical choice.

But today, more and more Magento users are switching over to Shopify because the level of technical expertise to run a successful Magento shop has become too high of a bar.

In terms of pricing, Magento offers a free plan called the “community edition”, but it requires you to host your own website.

However because the code base is so complex, you will require high end hosting that will cost you several hundreds of dollars per month.

And if you need support from Magento developers, the Enterprise Edition will cost you at least $15,000 per year.

As a result, while Magento is still a viable alternative to Shopify, it is reserved only for high end ecommerce businesses that require full control and flexibility over their platform.

Summary

Pros Of Magento

• Magento is free
• Magento is the most feature rich ecommerce platform in the world
• Magento has lots of 3rd party support with thousands of extensions and custom plugins

Cons Of Magento

• Magento requires a developer to do pretty much anything
• Magento requires high end hosting
• Magento is complicated to use
• Magento’s Enterprise edition is costly

Magento’s Overall Rating (5 is the best)

Ease Of Use: 2.5
Out Of The Box Features: 5
Customer Support: N/A (You have to pay)
3rd Party Support: 5
Cost: 1
Search Engine Optimization: 5
Flexibility: 5

Shopify Alternative #6: Wix

Wix is a drag and drop website builder that allows you to create beautiful content based websites without any technical knowledge required. Over the years, Wix has added ecommerce functionality that allows you to accept transactions online.

However, Wix is not a good long term ecommerce platform if you want to run an online store that scales to 7, 8 or 9 figures.

The main reason to choose Wix vs Shopify is if you want to create a hobby ecommerce store on a major budget and you don’t care about future expansion.

On the surface, Wix provides extremely affordable plans (including a powerful free plan) and a large array of beautiful templates, apps and customizable theme options. In addition, they have a pretty cool design editor that is perfect for newbies.

But that’s about where the advantages end. Overall, Wix is a great platform to create an attractive looking website but that’s about it.

In terms of ecommerce, they are missing many major features that Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Open Cart, Magento and practically every other shopping cart possesses.

For example…

• There is no Amazon FBA support
• There is no abandoned cart recovery
• There are no 1 click upsells
• There is limited SEO support
• There is no support for Klaviyo which is a deal breaker:)

Overall, Wix is only good for hobbyist shops and there’s a reason why it is so inexpensive. In the long run, switching ecommerce platforms is a pain so it pays to start with a solid shopping cart. There are much better alternatives to Shopify than Wix.

Wix’s Overall Rating (5 is the best)

Ease Of Use: 5
Out Of The Box Features: 2
Customer Support: 5
3rd Party Support: 1
Cost: 5
Search Engine Optimization: 4
Flexibility: 1

Shopify Alternative #7: Ecwid

Ecwid (short for ecommerce widget) is an ecommerce platform that allows your online store to be easily embedded onto any website or social platform to sell your products online.

Ecwid is fully hosted which means that you don’t have to worry about any of the tech and you can begin selling online immediately without any technical knowledge required.

The main advantage of Ecwid is that Ecwid is a headless ecommerce solution that allows you to sell on any website. For example, after setting up your Ecwid store, you can easily sync and sell your products on your own website, TikTok, Instagram, Amazon and Ebay at the same time.

Your inventory levels are automatically synced so you’ll never over or under sell your products across the different platforms.

The main disadvantage of Ecwid is the lack of 3rd party developer support. Ecwid is not as popular as Shopify which means that cutting edge plugins and ecommerce software will not be compatible with your Ecwid store.

Click Here To Try Ecwid For Free

Summary

Pros Of Ecwid

• Ecwid is free to use for up to 10 products
• Ecwid is a headless platform that allows you sell across any website or marketplace
• Ecwid is fully hosted and easy to use
• Ecwid is cheaper than Shopify

Cons Of Ecwid

• Poor 3rd party developer support
• Lack of ecommerce features
• Poor payment gateway support
• Poor point of sale features

Ecwid’s Overall Rating (5 is the best)

Ease Of Use: 5
Out Of The Box Features: 2.5
Customer Support: 4
3rd Party Support: 2
Cost: 4
Search Engine Optimization: 3
Flexibility: 3

Click Here To Try Ecwid For Free

Shopify Alternative #8: Squarespace

Squarespace a drag and drop website builder that allows you to create a professional looking website without knowing how to code. They are known for offering the best looking website templates compared to other website building platforms.

Squarespace was originally designed to create beautiful content based websites but they also offer ecommerce functionality that allows you to accept transactions online.

However similar to Wix, Squarespace is not a good long term ecommerce platform if you want to run an online store that scales to 7, 8 or 9 figures.

The only reason to choose Squarespace is if you want to dabble in ecommerce on a budget and your goal is not to create a scalable online store.

Squarespace offers inexpensive plans and a wide array of beautiful templates that allow newbies to create a beautiful looking website. But that’s pretty much Squarespace’s only advantage over Shopify.

In terms of ecommerce, they are missing many major features that Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Open Cart, Magento and practically every other shopping cart possesses.

Squarespace also does not support Klaviyo, the industry-standard email tool, which is a dealbreaker for serious ecommerce email.

Summary

Pros Of Squarespace

• Easy to use
• Build a beautiful looking website without any tech skills
• Gorgeous templates
• Less expensive than Shopify
• Free domain on signup
• Built in email marketing tool

Cons Of Squarespace

• Poor multi-currency support
• Poor point of sale features
• Poor dropshipping features
• Poor 3rd party developer support
• Poor payment gateway support
• Poor Amazon FBA and multi-channel fulfillment support
• Far less ecommerce features than Shopify

Squarespace’s Overall Rating (5 is the best)

Ease Of Use: 5
Out Of The Box Features: 2
Customer Support: 5
3rd Party Support: 1
Cost: 4
Search Engine Optimization: 4
Flexibility: 1

The Best Ecommerce Platform For You

Shopify has many pros and cons, and when choosing from the many ecommerce solutions, the right platform depends on your specific needs. Here is a quick comparison of where each platform fits best:

If you need a fully hosted ecommerce platform, then BigCommerce is a good Shopify alternative if your country is not supported by Shopify Payments, you sell prohibited products, you require multiple variants, or you want to save money.

Click Here To Sign Up For BigCommerce And Get 1 Month Free

Shift4Shop is a good Shopify alternative if you are on a budget (Shift4Shop is 100% free), you live in the United States, you want the most complete feature set out of the box, you want free email marketing, and you are concerned with losing SEO rankings when migrating carts.

Click Here To Sign Up For Shift4Shop For Free

Ecwid is a good Shopify alternative if you are on a budget (Ecwid is free for up to 10 products), you want to sell on many different platforms, you want to embed an online store onto an existing website you own, or you want to sell on social media.

Click Here To Sign Up For Ecwid For Free

If you do not mind hosting your own website and you want infinite flexibility, then either WooCommerce or Open Cart are great platforms to go with.

If you have lots of money to blow on your ecommerce platform and you want the most feature rich shopping cart out there with full control, then Magento is a viable choice.

Whatever you decide, I would only choose Wix or Squarespace if you do not plan on turning your ecommerce store into anything more than a side hustle.

Overall, if you have the budget for Shopify, then Shopify is generally the best long term choice for running an ecommerce store.

Click Here To Sign Up For Shopify For Free

Frequently Asked Questions About Shopify Alternatives

What can I use instead of Shopify?

The best Shopify alternatives are BigCommerce, Shift4Shop, WooCommerce and OpenCart depending on your budget and how tech savvy you are.

Is there a free Shopify?

There is no free version of Shopify. However, Shift4Shop is free for US sellers processing at least $1,000/month through Shift4 Payments, and Ecwid is free for up to 10 products.

Who are Shopify competitors?

Shopify’s main competitors in terms of market share are BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento and Wix. Only the first three are viable alternatives to Shopify for serious online stores.

What is better than Shopify?

The term “better” can mean different things for different people. BigCommerce is as powerful as Shopify but costs less because you will not get nickel-and-dimed with apps. WooCommerce is cheaper and more flexible because you own the source code. Shopify has the best third-party developer support and design themes of the bunch.

Which is better Wix or Shopify?

Shopify is better than Wix hands down. The only thing good about Wix is the price, but your online business will pay for it in the long run. Wix does not have the necessary features or third-party support to run a serious ecommerce business.

Why is Shopify more expensive than it looks?

The $29 plan is barebones, so most stores add six to eight apps that average about $66 a month, totaling $400 to $500 monthly. On top of that, using a third-party payment processor adds a 1% to 2% fee per sale outside the 22 Shopify Payments countries.

Is WooCommerce better than Shopify?

For freedom, ownership, and SEO, yes. WooCommerce lets you sell anything, owns your data, and is the best platform for content and blogging, often at a fraction of Shopify’s cost. The tradeoff is that it is self-hosted and more technical to maintain.

Is Shift4Shop really free?

Yes, if you reside in the US and process at least $1,000 a month through Shift4 Payments. You then get an enterprise-level platform with unlimited products, a blog, SEO tools, loyalty, and free email marketing, with no subscription fee.

Are Wix and Squarespace good for ecommerce?

They are fine for a hobby shop or small side hustle, but they do not scale. They have very few integrations, struggle with large catalogs, and Squarespace does not support Klaviyo, so serious sellers usually outgrow them quickly.

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Related Posts In Ecommerce Platforms

• BigCommerce Review – Pros & Cons And What Sets Them Apart
• BigCommerce Vs Shopify – A Comprehensive Review And Comparison
• Ecwid Review: Pros and Cons, Key Features, Pricing, And More
• WooCommerce Pricing – Is It Really Free And How Much Does It Cost
• Shift4Shop Vs Shopify – Is Shift4Shop A Shopify Killer?

Steve Chou is a highly recognized influencer in the ecommerce space and has taught thousands of students how to effectively sell physical products online over at ProfitableOnlineStore.com. 

His blog, MyWifeQuitHerJob.com, has been featured in Forbes, Inc, The New York Times,  Entrepreneur and MSNBC.  

He's also a contributing author for BigCommerce, Klaviyo, ManyChat, Printful, Privy, CXL, Ecommerce Fuel, GlockApps, Privy, Social Media Examiner, Web Designer Depot, Sumo and other leading business publications.

In addition, he runs a popular ecommerce podcast, My Wife Quit Her Job, which is a top 25 marketing show on all of Apple Podcasts. 

To stay up to date with all of the latest ecommerce trends, Steve runs a 7 figure ecommerce store, BumblebeeLinens.com, with his wife and puts on an annual ecommerce conference called The Sellers Summit.  

Steve carries both a bachelors and a masters degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. Despite majoring in electrical engineering, he spent a good portion of his graduate education studying entrepreneurship and the mechanics of running small businesses.