10 Best Shopify Alternatives: Best eCommerce Platforms to Try

Shopify is an excellent ecommerce platform. There is no dispute about that. However, there are a ton of fantastic Shopify alternatives that are equally worthy of your consideration. Whether it’s the cost, the requirement for particular capabilities, or a platform that’s more appropriate for your company’s requirements, investigating other options can result in superior solutions. There are many Shopify competitors in 2025 that provide both free and premium solutions to assist you in making an informed decision

We’ll go over the best Shopify alternatives for companies of all sizes in this article. There is something for everyone on this list, from platforms with affordable options to those with configurable features. These choices offer feature-rich and reasonably priced solutions, regardless of your company’s stage of development.

Are you prepared to choose the best eCommerce platform for your business? Discover the top options and how they can advance your development by reading on.

What is the Shopify Platform?

Shopify is a platform designed to make it simple for companies of all sizes to launch, manage, and grow their sales. It provides a straightforward method for setting up an internet store and selling your goods in many locations. What Shopify provides is as follows:

Creating an Online Store

You may create and modify your own online store with the help of Shopify. There are many various styles to pick from, or if you know how to use a computer, you can even create your own design.

Selling Everywhere

In addition to your website, you can sell your goods on social media and other online marketplaces. Shopify has connections to numerous retail locations. They even have a unique cash register system that allows you to sell products in person.

Running Your Business

Shopify assists you with every aspect of managing your company. You may monitor your inventory, add new items, accept payments, monitor the effectiveness of your advertisements, and place orders.

Growing with You

Shopify offers many plans for you based on the size of your company. You can select a larger package with more features and options as your company expands.

To put it plainly, Shopify removes the difficult aspects of creating an online store and provides all the tools you need to grow and improve your company.

Why You Should Try Shopify Competitors?

Shopify is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and it is unable to meet certain complex needs.

You might be annoyed by the unnecessary cost of purchasing a second platform if you already pay for a CMS, like WordPress. Additionally, if you’re an artist, you might have to pay for features you don’t need or want to learn how to utilize.

Thankfully, other companies cover the voids created by industry titans like Shopify. If you give some of them a try, you might discover that the option works better for you than Shopify.

Among the frequent problems with Shopify are:

Extra Transaction Charges

Be prepared to pay up to 2% for each transaction unless you decide to use Shopify’s in-house service to process payments directly.

Liquid

Shopify’s markup language for custom templates isn’t the easiest to understand.

Advanced Features

The higher-tier plans are the only ones that offer real-time shipping prices and gift card acceptance. Many of the platform’s more sophisticated features are protected under a paywall. Therefore, if you require additional capability, your monthly payment can become excessively high.

SEO Tools

For huge sites where information architecture is crucial, rigid URL architectures and WordPress plugins that use iFrames don’t quite transfer into the best ranking performance. Additionally, your checkout page cannot be customized. However, you can still use a Shopify site to rank #1.

Following extensive investigation, we have compiled a list of some of the most well-liked free and premium Shopify alternatives available.

Check out our list of the best Shopify alternatives to find the e-commerce platform that works for you!

Best Shopify Alternatives At a Glance

Platform	Best For	Features	Pricing
1. Wix	Beginners, Small Businesses	Drag-and-drop builder, customizable templates, eCommerce tools, SEO	$16/month (Website), $27/month (eCommerce)
2. Squarespace	Creative Professionals, Portfolios	Stylish templates, built-in SEO, blogging tools, eCommerce	$16/month (Personal), $23/month (Business)
3. GoDaddy	Quick Website Launch, Small Businesses	AI-powered builder, marketing tools, online store	$10.99/month (Basic), $20.99/month (Commerce)
4. WooCommerce	WordPress Users, Custom eCommerce	Open-source, flexible, thousands of plugins, scalable	Free (Hosting costs extra)
5. Square	Small Retail Businesses, POS Integration	Built-in payment processing, easy setup, no monthly fee	Free (Transaction fees apply)
6. Hostinger	Budget-friendly Websites, Startups	Affordable hosting, AI tools, drag-and-drop builder	$2.99/month (Basic Website), $3.99/month (e-Commerce)
7. BigCommerce	Large eCommerce Stores, Scalability	Multi-channel selling, advanced SEO, no transaction fees	$39/month (Standard Plan)
8. Ecwid	Adding eCommerce to Any Website	Integrates with existing sites, multi-channel selling	Free plan available; Paid starts at $14.08/month
9. Sellfy	Digital Products, Creators	Sell digital/physical products, subscriptions, print-on-demand	$29/month (Starter)
10. Volusion	Mid-Sized eCommerce, Inventory Management	Built-in analytics, inventory tracking, SEO tools	$35/month (Personal)

10 Best Shopify Alternatives

We have compiled Shopify competitors, which are alternatives to Shopify. The functionality and costs of these platforms vary. To assist you in selecting the best option for your online business, we’ve included information on features and costs for each alternative, including free apps like Shopify. Let’s examine the top ten Shopify substitutes for Shopify online stores so you can select the best one for your online store:

1. Wix 

Wix is a potentially more affordable and adaptable choice to think about. Wix is similar to Squarespace in that it prioritizes content over the full range of eCommerce options offered by Shopify. However, Wix is a wonderful option if you have little to no experience with web design and want to create a rich, captivating website. 

Wix recently added artificial intelligence (AI) to the site-building process, which aids by recommending the ideal default pages and applications for your requirements. Additionally, you may utilize the word generator to produce product descriptions and launch your website faster. 

You may simply customize hundreds of industry-relevant themes with the tool’s drag-and-drop editing feature to add your own unique visual identity to your website. Similar to Squarespace, Wix is a wonderful option for content producers who want to display their portfolios. However, Wix’s blogging capabilities are what set it apart. With its intuitive UI and integrated SEO capabilities, Wix makes it simple to create blog entries that have a higher chance of being seen by readers. Wix is also quite good at newsletters, which you can send to up to 200 subscribers each month for free.

When it comes to online sales, Shopify is undoubtedly superior, especially if you’re considering doing business abroad. Wix only offers POS (point-of-sale) functionality within the United States, and it has limited support for international delivery. Additionally, Shopify works well with more tools than Wix, which has a somewhat smaller selection of eCommerce connectors. However, Wix is unquestionably a platform worth taking into consideration if your objective is to push content to readers. 

Pros

• Numerous self-learning tutorials and a drag-and-drop editor
• Rich features
• 100+ templates with a unique design
• Numerous third-party payment gateways are compatible
• Wix-branded free plans

Cons

• Traffic and bandwidth restrictions 
• Limited apps vs Shopify
• SEO

Wix pricing: Free plan available; paid plans start at $17/month.

2. Squarespace

If you want to create a fantastic website but eCommerce isn’t your main focus, you might not need all of Shopify’s features. And when all you truly need is a cheeseburger, there’s no reason to order a Double Double Animal Style. 

A specialized website builder like Squarespace can help with this. For professionals like artists, bloggers, and others that depend on having an eye-catching presence to connect with their audience, Squarespace is a fantastic option. With its extensive collection of dynamic layouts, product display options, and picture and editing capabilities, Squarespace makes it simple to create a visually appealing website, whether or not eCommerce is included.

Pros

• Lots of dynamic templates
• Built-in photo editing tools
• More affordalble than Shopify

Cons

• Limited SEO and eCommerce features than Shopify

Squarespace Pricing: No free plan; paid plans from $16/month for a custom domain, templates, and Squarespace AI.

3. GoDaddy 

When it comes to sales features, GoDaddy isn’t the ideal option because, in contrast to Shopify, their website development comes first. You can only sell up to 5,000 products, and it only offers one e-commerce plan.

Its incredible marketing package, GoDaddy Studio, is what distinguishes it from Shopify and other builders on this list. With 100,000 emails each month, GoDaddy offers its users a complete creative content studio to generate branded films and advertisements for social media and email marketing campaigns. Even while you might not be able to sell as many goods, GoDaddy gives you the resources to effectively market them.

GoDaddy’s creative tools may not be enough for you if you enjoy designing your own websites. Anyone can create an online store with GoDaddy thanks to the editor’s extreme simplification, but it also reduces your options. Similar to Wix, GoDaddy offers an ADI service that creates a personal website for you; but, if you select one of their templates, it may appear antiquated and a little boring.

The fastest construction experience we’ve experienced is GoDaddy, which is a perk of this more straightforward builder. In less than five minutes, our testers successfully launched a GoDaddy website! GoDaddy might be a good option if you need an online store for an appointment-based business but lack the time to understand Shopify’s sales tools.

Pros

• The quickest method for creating an online business
• Provider of the best value for money
• Numerous branded marketing materials can be produced with GoDaddy Studio.

Cons

• Bad template selections
• Limited resources for creativity
• Our research’s lowest score for sales features

GoDaddy’s Pricing: GoDaddy’s pricing offers one e-commerce plan at $20.99 per month, billed annually.

4. WooCommerce

WooCommerce is one of the best e-commerce platforms for WordPress enthusiasts. It is an open-source, free platform with high visitor experience ratings.

Scaling could be a little challenging, and you might need to purchase the advanced feature if you want all the bells and whistles. Nevertheless, you may create a website that can readily compete with pricey carts with its free package.

You can create a mobile-friendly website with WooCommerce and just pay for the hosting with a little modification. You can choose the extensions you require from WooCommerce’s Product Bundles, which are available for $49 if your budget permits additional benefits.

With the stylish WooCommerce Freshdesk ($79) plugin, you can integrate a ticketing system to offer customer service to your customers straight from your store. various things considered, the platform provides a vast array of plugins of various sizes that work especially well with WordPress.

WooCommerce offers premium add-ons for a one-time fee or in annual subscriptions, in contrast to Shopify, which is based on monthly subscriptions.

However, troubleshooting is its weakest part because WooCommerce won’t make it simple for you. If there is a problem with your store, WooCommerce will blame it on your hosting or a plugin, but your hosting company and plugin developer will probably blame the theme. Shopify doesn’t do this; they just solve your problems without adding extraneous features.

Pros

• No additional transaction fees
• Free plans available
• Easy to set up and use
• Seamless WordPress integration
• Post purchase/1-Click upsells available

Cons

• No hosting
• Requires tech skills
• Can be slow
• Blame game with theme design/hosting

WooCommerce Pricing: Free for standard functionality on a self-hosted WordPress site. Your payment gateway will determine your transaction fees. A few hosted versions of WooCommerce are available, such as Woo Express, which costs $39 per month, and WordPress.com’s Commerce package, which costs $70 per month.

5. Square

It’s possible that the “e” in “eCommerce” doesn’t really mean much to your company. You should absolutely think about using Square to help you manage your sales if you’re more interested in face-to-face interactions. 

Square offers you a user-friendly point-of-sale system that can accept payments even when you’re not online. Additionally, you will have access to a Tap to Pay option and card readers. Make customer profiles and add them to newsletters and loyalty programs. Indeed, Square allows customers to locate you online before they do so in person by supporting an eCommerce website.

Shopify’s eCommerce tools are going to be more comprehensive than Square’s if you’re not running a physical store or pop-up shop.

It’s also crucial to remember that Square charges extra for features like payroll processing, advanced marketing tools, sales analytics, and the loyalty program. 

Nevertheless, Square offers free access to the main functionality and is a fantastic choice if a sizable percentage of your sales take place offline rather than online.

Pros

• The Weebly site builder is still functional.
• Connects to Square’s point-of-sale platform

Cons

Restricted themes and customization options

Square Pricing: There is a free plan and subscription plans starting at $29/month for advanced eCommerce functionality, website designs, and more customization.

6. Hostinger

Similar to GoDaddy, Hostinger prioritizes website development over e-commerce. Although it lacks Shopify’s scalability and sales feature quality, its AI technologies make it much easier to use and hassle-free, and it can definitely run a modest online store.

When it comes to adopting AI, Hostinger has really jumped right in. Hostinger includes an AI Website Builder, AI Logo Maker, AI Text Generation, and AI Heat Map, whereas Shopify uses Shopify Magic to create product descriptions. You can spend more time on the business aspect of your online store by using any of these tools to help spread out the work of creating a website.

In terms of sales, large enterprise stores like Shopify are not a good fit for Hostinger. Even as a small business, you may only sell 500 things, which is a very little number. Our testers did observe, nevertheless, that it was relatively easy to add products to Hostinger. All things considered, we would suggest Hostinger to consumers on a tight budget who are looking for a straightforward online store for a limited selection of goods, such as bespoke metalwork or knitted items.

Pros

• Most affordable beginning price
• AI-powered tools for simple, hands-off construction
• Excellent for tiny internet shops with a limited selection of goods

Cons

• Minimal personalization
• No market for apps
• Only 500 goods can be sold

Hostinger Price: For a 48-month period, Hostinger’s prices range from $2.99 to $3.99; however, in order to sell online, you must have the $3.99 Business Website Builder plan. The only compelling reason to pick it over Shopify is because it has the lowest starting pricing on this list.

7. BigCommerce

BigCommerce’s sales tools are what set it apart; they are equally as extensive as those offered by Squarespace or Wix. All options will support your growth by providing you with everything you need to start selling, as well as multiple storefronts, infinite products, and file storage.

Multiple shipping options, comprehensive reporting capabilities, abandoned cart features, and multi-channel connectivity are some of its most striking sales features. Additionally, BigCommerce offers more payment alternatives than our top five builders, making it an excellent solution for companies looking to offer a wide range of options to their clients.

Unlike Shopify, which heavily relies on third-party apps, BigCommerce offers an app store, but the majority of its key features are integrated into the builder. 

These programs can get expensive very quickly, and you may end up spending much more than the original membership cost. Because it’s less likely that you’ll need to purchase additional apps to obtain the features you desire, BigCommerce could save you money.

Additionally, BigCommerce doesn’t impose transaction fees on any of its plans, unlike Shopify, which will ultimately save you a significant amount of money.

BigCommerce offers 12 free website design templates, which is comparable to Shopify’s 13. But Shopify’s free layouts seem well-thought-out, whereas BigCommerce’s are more generic, thus its premium alternatives seem essential for a visually appealing website.

Shopify and BigCommerce both make use of a section-based editor. Compared to Shopify, BigCommerce’s web page builder is easier to use, but it gives you far less formatting options.

Pros

• 15-day free trial
• No transaction fees
• Impressive scalable sales features

Cons

• No free domain option
• No autosave option
• Blogging features are very limited

BigCommerce Pricing: Both Shopify and BigCommerce offer three basic plans with the same monthly costs.

8. Ecwid

With Ecwid by Lightspeed, you may enter the eCommerce market without having to commit a lot of money or time up front. 

In terms of design and startup, it is quick, simple, and adaptable. You have the option of creating your own website from scratch or integrating it directly with your current one. Additionally, there is no issue if you simply cannot live without design templates that you obtained online. The majority of CMS platforms, including WordPress, are compatible with Ecwid. You therefore have the freedom to use your site for purposes other than eCommerce if necessary. 

Your Ecwid site must be hosted independently, just like WooCommerce. Similar to WooCommerce, Ecwid offers a free base package, but for extra features like social media integration and payment processing, a premium plan is needed (starting at $15/month for their Venture Plan). There can be less expensive options to take into account, depending on the degree of functionality you desire. 

However, Ecwid is a good option if you want to launch your eCommerce business quickly and with little to no long-term commitment.

Pros

• A good free plan for novices wishing to get a feel for things 
• Reasonably priced paid plans 

Cons

• Some functionalities lack Shopify’s level of polish.

Ecwid Pricing: $19/month for professional features; free for basic capabilities. Payment gateways determine transaction fees.

9. Sellfy

Sellfy is an online store designed to sell digital goods. For artists that offer music, video courses, or illustrations, it’s fantastic. Similar to Shopify, it is a cloud-based system that charges a monthly subscription fee in addition to additional costs for processing credit cards. 

Additionally, Sellfy provides a rudimentary solution for embedding products and buy buttons onto a current website, much like Shopify does with their Lite plan that includes buy buttons. No credit card is needed, and there is a 14-day free trial available. The monthly price range is $29 to $159 ($22 to $119 on a yearly plan). This makes it one of the less expensive Shopify substitutes.

Pros

• Simple to use; you can start using it in five minutes or less.
• Sell both physical and digital goods.
• You save time with automated payments and product downloads.
• Contains all the tools required to run your online business.
• Numerous alternatives for integration
• If you already have a Wix website, it comes with a Wix app to make selling downloads simple.

Cons

• Only compatible with PayPal and Stripe as payment processors; Limited design possibilities; only allows you to alter your logo and colors.
• Too costly considering the features provided

Sellfy Pricing: offers three pricing plans. No transaction fees and a 14-day free trial are available.

10. Volusion

With more than 200,000 businesses using it, the British-born Volusion is a dependable substitute for Shopify. This cloud-based shopping cart is well-liked by solopreneurs with minimal technical expertise and small businesses. You don’t have to be concerned about hosting or integrating required apps with Volusion.

The amount of plugins and add-ons you can integrate with your online store determines the Volusion plans. Because it costs no additional transaction fees, it also outperforms Shopify in this regard.

One-page checkout and an integrated eBay integration, which may be purchased separately as a premium addon, are among the features.

Volusion excels in design because all of its packages include access to its vast template library.

In addition, if you use more bandwidth than your plan allows, your monthly payment may increase. Tipping over the limit might result in charges of up to $7/GB.

Volusion offers a number of great features, like the ability to create a “Add to Cart” link, gift certificates, and the ability to select categories and subcategories for items in your shop. The plans range in price from $35 to $299 per month. You may run your store while on the go with its mobile app.

Here, Volusion outperforms Shopify in terms of features and value.  Remember that Volusion needs some coding knowledge to set up the backend of your e-commerce, thus inexperienced store owners would need to employ a developer. Among the platforms on the list, it also has the slowest loading times.

Pros:

• Simple to use
• Infinite product choices
• No extra costs for transactions
• Free high-quality themes
• A good mobile application
• Several payment processors

Cons:

• Features of rival hosted solutions are lagging behind
• The slowest of the top e-commerce marketing solutions
• Limit on monthly bandwidth
• Absence of Pinterest and PLA integration
• Need knowledge of coding
• Inadequate product search capabilities

Volusion Pricing: Volusion prices range from $35 to $299 per month, and the plans bundle a host of cool features.

What to Look for When Choosing a Shopify Alternative?

Finding a platform that complements your e-commerce workflow and offers your clients a positive online experience is the most crucial factor to consider when looking for a Shopify substitute. Try asking yourself these questions. 

Where am I Selling?

You need a Shopify alternative that enables customers to pay using their local currencies if you intend to sell in several nations. If you have a physical store as well, you’ll need a platform that accepts offline payments, like Shopify’s integrated point-of-sale feature, so you can handle both online and offline transactions from one location.

What Other Tools Do I Use for E-Commerce?

Additionally, you need an e-commerce platform that works well with the other tools you use for your business, such as web hosting and SEO tools. In this manner, you can avoid having to completely alter your system. 

You might use a platform like WooCommerce, for instance, if you currently use Dash to store your visual assets. This way, you can still drag and drop your product images into your listings with ease. 

What about Hosting?

Because Shopify provides managed hosting, you don’t have to worry about any of the technical details of running an e-commerce website. With a platform like WooCommerce, for instance, that isn’t the case. 

Determine whether you have the resources or knowledge necessary to handle hosting in-house, on top of your daily shop operations. Or if you would want to sign up for a more costly platform that relieves you of this task.

Are There Any Hidden Costs?

The majority of e-commerce platforms feature extra charges, such as transaction fees or add-ons, in addition to the standard subscription rates. For instance, BigCommerce first appears to be inexpensive. However, the majority of its plans only offer basic functionality; in order to create a fully working store, you will need to pay for add-ons.

Therefore, don’t get sucked into low-cost pricing schemes. Examine the details to find out how much you’ll really be spending on transaction fees, extra integration subscriptions, and other expenses.

How Large is My Inventory?

You need a platform that can manage huge product counts without experiencing performance problems if you have a sizable inventory or intend to grow. For instance, stores with more than 200 products in their inventory find OpenCart to be less effective. 

A platform with comprehensive catalog management functions, such as a product tagging system, inventory data management, and SEO tools for improving your product categories and descriptions, is also necessary if you have a sizable inventory. 

In light of this, let’s examine a few Shopify substitutes for expanding online retailers. 

What is The Best Alternative for Shopify?

Think about where your company is now and where you want it to go in the future while looking at Shopify alternatives. Are you merely trying to find an all-purpose tool for creating websites that will draw in visitors? Do you want to showcase a blog or other visual content as a creative? Will you be making sales in person? Perhaps you already have a WordPress-based website or a high-traffic sales model. One of the platforms we’ve highlighted here can be helpful in any circumstance. 

Final Words

This is our overall guide to the best Shopify alternatives. Every platform on our list offers a free trial, so you can decide which is ideal for you without taking any risks. To determine which Shopify competition is ideal for you, we strongly advise signing up for a free trial—or two!

However, Wix is our personal pick because it’s very beginner-friendly and provides the best value for the money. Furthermore, it has all the e-commerce functionality an online store could require.

Frequently Asked Questions