Shopify Alternatives: 15 Top Ecommerce Platforms to Consider in 2023
Shopify Alternatives: 15 Top Ecommerce Platforms to Consider in 2023
Shopify is a durable and simple ecommerce system, yet it still pays to explore options to discover the best fit. When investigating Shopify rivals, concentrate on tools for personalizing design, handling inventory, offering across networks, bringing in clients, analyzing data, and perfectly scaling up.
Platforms like BigCommerce, Wix, and Squarespace use fantastic options depending on your particular needs. For maximum control and ownership, WooCommerce is an outstanding open-source option. Evaluate complimentary test alternatives to obtain hands-on with various options. With this overview of the top Shopify alternatives, you can make an educated choice to power a successful online shop customized to your organization.
Why Consider Shopify Alternatives?
Before we dive into the list of top Shopify alternatives, let’s first understand why you may want to consider other ecommerce platforms besides Shopify alternatives:
- Cost – Shopify’s monthly plans start at $29/month for their basic Shopify Lite plan. The standard Shopify plan costs $79/month. For businesses doing significant volume, the higher-tier Shopify plans can get expensive. Other platforms may offer more competitive pricing.
- Features – While Shopify offers a robust feature set, it may not have specific functionalities that are important for your business, like built-in dropshipping automation. Alternative platforms can fill those gaps.
- Scalability – As your business grows, you may outgrow what Shopify’s platform can handle in terms of traffic and order volumes. Alternative solutions may provide more scalability.
- Ownership – With Shopify, you don’t own your store’s data or codebase. The platform is hosted and maintained by Shopify. Some alternatives allow you to self-host or have more control.
- Sell Everywhere – Shopify is focused on selling on your website. Shopify Alternatives may make it easier to expand to other sales channels like online marketplaces, social selling, brick-and-mortar, etc.
Keeping these factors in mind, let’s look at the top alternative ecommerce platforms to Shopify. digital marketing agencies provide different kinds of services including Shopify services.
Shopify alternatives
Top 15 Shopify Alternatives
1. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is one of the most established and robust Shopify competitors. Some key features include:
- Intuitive storefront builder and theme editor
- Built-in blog and CMS
- Multi-channel sales integration on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, eBay
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Product filters and facets
- Coupons and discounts
- Shipping rate calculation
- Cross-border, multi-language support
Pricing starts at $29.95/month for up to 50 products. BigCommerce offers a 15-day free trial.
Key Strengths – Enterprise-level features, thousands of app integrations, great support options
Best For – Higher volume merchants needing advanced functionality
2. Wix
Wix is a popular website builder that also provides robust ecommerce functionality. Features include:
- 500+ customizable templates
- Drag and drop store builder
- Multi-lingual capabilities
- Built-in SEO tools
- Email marketing integration
- Detailed analytics dashboard
Pricing ranges from $14-$49 per month based on features needed.
Key Strengths – Great design flexibility, easy-to-use builder, amazing free plan option
Best For – Smaller online stores with a focus on beautiful design
3. Squarespace
Squarespace is another platform popular for building websites that also have ecommerce capabilities built-in. Features include:
- Award-winning templates
- Integrated payment processing
- Automated shipping rate configuration
- Inventory management
- Coupon creation
- Detailed analytics and reporting
Pricing starts at $12 per month for online stores. Squarespace offers a free trial.
Key Strengths – Very elegant templates, easy to make a beautiful online store
Best For – Anyone wanting an easy-to-use option for low volumes
4. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin that allows you to turn your WordPress site into a full-featured online store. Features include:
- Completely customize site design and functionality
- Access to thousands of themes and plugins
- Numerous payment gateways and shipping options
- Coupons and promotions
- Reports on sales, orders, and stock levels
- SEO capabilities
As an open-source solution, WooCommerce itself is free. You just need WordPress hosting, a theme, and a domain.
Key Strengths – Total design flexibility, scalability, owned codebase
Best For – Merchants who want full control over their online store
5. Shopify Lite
Shopify Lite is Shopify’s pared-down, low-cost version of their ecommerce platform. For just $9 per month, features include:
- Sell on Facebook and Instagram
- Shopify POS for in-person sales
- Accept payments via debit, credit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay
- Shopify Payments fee of 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction
- Basic reporting
Key Strengths – Lowest cost way to access Shopify’s ecosystem
Best For – Entrepreneurs and small businesses selling on social media and in-person
6. Ecwid
Ecwid is a cloud-based e-commerce platform that can be embedded into websites, apps, and social media to sell online. Features include:
- Global multi-channel sales support
- List products for free on Instagram and Facebook
- Unlimited SKUs and bandwidth
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Subscriptions and digital goods
- Mobile POS for markets and pop-up shops
Pricing starts at $15 per month for up to 10 products. They offer a free plan for up to 10 products as well.
Key Strengths – Omnichannel sales, free global plan
Best For – Smaller merchants active on multiple sales channels
7. Volusion
Volusion provides an all-in-one ecommerce solution with built-in tools for SEO, email marketing, order management, and more. Features include:
- Easily customizable store designs
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Built-in blog and content management
- Printful, Amazon, and eBay integration
- Automatic tax calculations
- POS for in-person sales
Pricing starts at $29 per month for up to 100 products.
Key Strengths – Deep integration with shipping, tax, and accounting
Best For – Growing brands that need a single unified platform
8. Shopify Plus
Shopify Plus is Shopify’s enterprise-level solution designed for high-volume merchants. Features include:
- Custom storefront design and development
- Dedicated Shopify Plus account representative
- Scales to support very large catalogs and order volumes
- Advanced reporting and real-time order tracking
- International pricing rules and tax engine
- Integrates with ERP, 3PL, and procurement systems
- Fraud analysis and inventory clustering
Shopify Plus pricing starts at $2000/month and scales up based on requirements.
Key Strengths – Robust and scalable for large brands
Best For – Enterprise merchants doing over $1M in annual sales
9. Magento Commerce
Magento Commerce is a fully customizable enterprise-grade ecommerce platform designed for growth and flexibility. Features include:
- Open-source PHP-based framework
- Support for unlimited products and categories
- Powerful SEO and marketing tools
- Advanced order management and reporting
- Out-of-the-box B2B functionality
- 3rd party integrations and marketplace
- Scales to support huge catalogs and traffic
Pricing starts at around $22,000 per year for the cloud-hosted solution. Self-hosted options are also available.
Key Strengths – Fully scalable and customizable, strong B2B features
Best For – Mid-market and enterprise-level merchants
10. Big Cartel
Big Cartel provides a simpler, low-cost ecommerce solution designed for smaller inventories. Features include:
- Sell up to 300 products
- Easy-to-use store manager
- Built-in blog and custom themes
- Integrates with PayPal, Stripe, and Square
- Sell on Facebook and Instagram
- Abandoned cart emails
- Basic shipping and tax tools
Plans start at $9.99/month with no transaction fees.
Key Strengths – Very easy to use, great for first online store
Best For – artists, crafters, and small startups
11. 3dcart
3dcart is a comprehensive, fully hosted ecommerce platform with advanced features built-in. Features include:
- Hundreds of professional templates
- Built-in CRM and email marketing
- Integrated UPS® and FedEx® Shipping
- Advanced SEO and SEM tools
- POS for retail stores
- Automated order routing, tracking, and fulfillment
- Support for subscriptions and digital goods
Pricing starts at $19/month for up to 25 products. 3dcart offers a free 15-day trial.
Key Strengths – Very robust out of the box, great support network
Best For – Established merchants needing integrated tools
12. BigCommerce Enterprise
BigCommerce Enterprise provides large and enterprise brands with a SaaS ecommerce platform specially designed to support and accelerate growth. Features include:
- Dedicated enterprise support team
- Customizable single-page checkouts
- Advanced promotions, pricing, and merchandising
- Built-in B2B functionality
- Headless readiness and PWA support
- Multi-store management with centralized control
- Enterprise search, navigation, and SEO
- Multi-location inventory management
- Scales to any size catalog, traffic volume, or order peak
Pricing is customized based on specific needs. Designed for mid-market and enterprise.
Key Strengths – Specifically built for large growing brands
Best For – High-growth mid-market & enterprise merchants
13. Shift4Shop
Shift4Shop (formerly 3dcart) offers an advanced, fully customizable ecommerce solution. Features include:
- Drag-and-drop site builder with themes/templates
- Integrated payment processing
- Automated order processing and fulfillment
- CRM, email marketing, and SEO tools
- Advanced shipping and tax engine
- POS and inventory management
- Subscriptions and digital goods
- Mobile-ready with dedicated apps
Plans start at $79/month for up to 2,500 products. Offers free trial.
Key Strengths – Great balance of robust features and ease of use
Best For – Growing SMBs needing enterprise-level tools
14. Shopware
Shopware is an open-source ecommerce platform where the community contributes to the codebase. Features include:
- Modular system to customize via plugins
- Headless and omnichannel capabilities
- Layered navigation and faceted search
- Customizable checkout process
- Built-in blog and CMS
- Visual merchandising tools
- Modern, responsive themes
- Scales from small to enterprise sites
As an open-source platform, Shopware itself is free. They offer cloud hosting starting at $30/month.
Key Strengths – Open source community model, strong European presence
Best For – Developers wanting an open-source solution
15. YoKart
YoKart is a Shopify alternative providing a customizable ecommerce marketplace solution. Features include:
- Multi-vendor marketplace functionality
- Multiple payment gateways and shipping options
- SEO-friendly architecture
- Listing management system
- Vendor commission management
- Responsive themes and templates
- Customer portal and loyalty program
- Escrow payments and dispute management
YoKart starts at $99/month for a cloud-hosted marketplace with support.
Key Strengths – Built specifically as a marketplace platform
Best For – Anyone wanting to start an ecommerce marketplace
This covers 15 of the top Shopify alternatives across a wide spectrum of features, pricing, and models. The best platform depends on your specific business requirements. All of these Shopify competitors provide great ecommerce solutions to power your online store.
Shopify alternatives
Key Features to Look for in a Shopify Alternative
When researching Shopify alternatives, keep these key checklist features in mind as you compare options:
- Design and Customization – Look for attractive themes and the ability to customize design.
- Product & Inventory Management – Options to manage product catalog, inventory, and shipping rates.
- Omnichannel Sales – Support for your sales channels – online store, POS, mobile, marketplaces.
- Promotions & Discounts – Coupon codes, automated promotions, pricing rules.
- Payment Processing – Flexible payment gateway options to accept payments.
- Security – SSL certification, data protection, uptime guarantee.
- Customer Service – Look for responsive support options and documentation.
- SEO & Marketing – SEO optimization and built-in tools to attract customers.
- Analytics & Reporting – Sales data, and traffic analytics to monitor performance.
- Scalability – Ability to handle growth in orders, customers, and traffic.
Keep your specific business needs and priorities in mind as you evaluate platforms against these criteria. Selecting the best Shopify alternative for your needs will enable you to create a high-converting, user-friendly online store to sell your products and grow your ecommerce business.
Shopify alternatives
FAQ About Shopify Alternatives
What is the best free alternative to Shopify?
Some of the best free Shopify alternatives include WooCommerce, Ecwid, and Shopify Lite.
WooCommerce is an open-source WordPress plugin that lets you build an online store on WordPress. With WooCommerce, the platform itself is free – you just need web hosting and a theme.
Ecwid offers a free plan for up to 10 products. You can add Ecwid to your website, apps, and social platforms.
Shopify Lite is Shopify’s free app that lets you add buy buttons to Facebook and Instagram, process orders, and sell in person. It costs $9 per month with no transaction fees.
What is the cheapest alternative to Shopify?
Some of the cheapest Shopify alternatives include:
- Shopify Lite ($9/month)
- Ecwid (Free plan available)
- Squarespace ($12/month)
- Big Cartel ($9.99/month)
- WooCommerce (Free, just pay for hosting)
These platforms offer lower-cost monthly plans making them more budget-friendly Shopify alternatives, especially for new ecommerce businesses. They allow you to get started with basic ecommerce functionality without high costs.
Can you easily switch from Shopify to another platform?
It is possible to switch from Shopify alternative to another ecommerce platform, but it does involve some manual work. Shopify does not allow you to directly export all your products and data.
You would need to manually recreate your website design, import your product catalog, and migrate customer transaction history and other key data. Some platforms like BigCommerce offer tools to help streamline migrating from Shopify. For others, you may need developer help.
So while it is certainly possible, switching ecommerce platforms requires carefully recreating your store on the new solution.
Does Shopify offer a free trial?
Shopify does not currently offer a standard free trial of their core ecommerce plans. However, Shopify does offer the following free options:
- Shopify Lite app – Free to install app for selling on Facebook and Instagram. $9/month subscription.
- Shopify POS app – Free app for accepting in-person payments with Shopify POS. Requires Shopify plan.
- Shopify Buy Button – Free embeddable buy button for your website. No monthly fees, just transaction fees.
- Shopify Markets – Free temporary online pop-up shop builder.
So Shopify does offer some free trial options, but not a free trial of their standard online store subscriptions. Many Shopify alternative platforms offer standard 14-15 day free trials though.
Can you use Shopify for free?
There is no completely free Shopify plan to build an online store. However, Shopify does offer some free solutions:
- Shopify Lite app to sell on social free
- Shopify POS app for in-person sales
- Shopify Buy Button to add a buy button to your site
- Build a temporary store with Shopify Markets
While you can’t create a full-functioning online store in Shopify for free, you can access their ecosystem risk-free using their free tools. To get full Shopify store capabilities, you need to sign up for a paid subscription starting at $29/month.
Conclusion
Shopify is a robust and easy-to-use ecommerce system, but it still pays to discover options to locate the very best fit. When investigating Shopify competitors, focus on devices for personalizing layout, handling supply, marketing throughout channels, bringing in customers, assessing data, and perfectly scaling up. Systems like BigCommerce, Wix, and Squarespace provide excellent Shopify alternatives relying on your particular demands. For maximum control and ownership, WooCommerce is a superb open-source option. Evaluate free test options to get hands-on with various remedies. With this overview of the top Shopify options, you can make an enlightened option to power a successful online shop tailored to your service.
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