12 Shopify Alternatives that are Better (Free or Paid) in 2022 -
Shopify is an extremely popular e-commerce platform used by millions of retailers. But a few drawbacks cause people to stay away on the platform. Many merchants churn due to the expensive monthly subscription, especially when their store isn't yet profitable. Many leave because other costs like app purchases creep up and eat the profits. And some find the site to be too complex, particularly for those who are new to the site. Therefore, even though Shopify may be an excellent option for certain types of customers but it's a great suggestion to explore other Shopify alternatives to ensure you've selected the correct ecommerce platform that meets your requirements as a business owner. Let's take a closer look at some Shopify competitors.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is an ecommerce platform that specializes in selling physical products. Whether you dropship or wholesale or wholesale, there are Shopify software that allows you to find products to sell through your store, in order to become an online retailer the within the same day. Shopify has ecommerce options, such as web hosting, a free subdomain domain as well as over 100 payment gateways, unlimitable products, and more. There's not a plan for free and only a 14-day trial trial. This means that this project could cost a lot in the beginning.
4 Reasons to Use Shopify Alternatives to Shopify
1. Find a cheaper alternative
In their standard pricing structures, Shopify's affordable plan is its Basic plan, which starts at just $29 per month. But, Shopify also offers a 9-month subscription, but it doesn't come with an online store. You'll need to sell products via social media, a third-party website, or some other way. Unfortunately, Shopify doesn't offer an inexpensive plan for businesses that aren't making any money. Because of the costs associated with themes, monthly subscriptions, apps, and marketing it is a lot of money into starting out, but there is the nil chance of success if you choose the right product or niche to market. However, nobody can build brands as huge like Kylie Cosmetics or Fashion Nova. So, alternatives to Shopify can be a great choice to those seeking a less expensive strategy.
2. In order to make a bigger revenue
One reason why people might consider Shopify alternatives is that they can earn greater profits when selling online. In addition to your monthly payment, you have monthly charges for apps, as well as transactions fees of 2.9% + 30 cents with the basic plan. Depending on where you source your goods, you could have to pay for delivery, costs for the product as well as the app subscription. This is before you can begin marketing your items. Since there are many charges paid before you've made your first few dollars, it could eat away at your margins. Therefore, you decide to start marketing, which comes with an expense for marketing that is higher as compared to other methods of marketing , to generate results. But ads don't always convert profitably. You'll need trials and errors, market fit, and experience to run a successful ecommerce store. This can be a huge burden for novices who just want to make some additional money on the side. It's not impossible to succeed however, some platforms require too many upfront charges, which may hurt someone financially.
3. For a simpler platform
Shopify has drag-and-drop functionality that makes it quite simple for novices. However, building a website isn't the hardest aspect of operating an online store. The process of marketing your merchandise is perhaps the most difficult part of being the owner of an online store. The number of ecommerce options a platform provides is always an advantage, but the marketing features have a significant impact. Having a way to connect with your customers more efficiently and faster is the thing that many ecommerce platforms fail to account for. However, it is possible to find an solution that also acts as a marketplace so that buyers visit your site instead of you performing all the heavy lifting. If you are a store owner looking for a good marketing platform for their business, a Shopify option could work well.
4. For easing your stress
To writing numerous product descriptions, to issues with the transfer of information from one platform to the next, to a lack of a high-quality CMS (CMS), to the excessive cost, there are several reasons to search at an alternative to Shopify alternative. An ecommerce store is not simply a web-based store; it's a company. The simpler it is to manage your company rather than just making it and then letting it go, the more likely they select the option that works best for them. Shopify provides customer service to all its merchants, but for some people they don't have enough support for them to generate revenue.
12 Shopify Alternatives That are superior (Free + Paid)
1.
You can take the sale from any place. Therefore, if you'd like to market through social media platforms, your blog, or another website, you can. 's checkout is optimized for conversions, so you will see better conversions on your store. Furthermore, when buyers place orders from your store, they'll be provided with an Instant Download. It's time to put an end to lengthy waiting times for shipping.
securely hosts your content files They'll be able to download your file after they've been on your download page after purchase. And, unlike those big ecommerce platforms, you won't need to wait until you receive your money. Instead, you can earn income through PayPal or Stripe instantly.
2. BigCommerce
The Shopify options similar to BigCommerce can also be used for building an online store. BigCommerce offers a range of features, such as web hosting. The biggest advantage BigCommerce has over Shopify is that there are zero transaction charges in their pricing plans. BigCommerce allows you to add more than 600 variations on every item, while Shopify can only allow 100 variations per product. BigCommerce has a more trial time as compared to Shopify so that you can investigate the platform as well as build your online store. BigCommerce is also equipped with larger drag-and-drop function that lets you build your website with any element easily. BigCommmerce also has more free themes and paid themes than Shopify does, making this one of those Shopify alternatives to look into.
3. WooCommerce
Shopify alternatives such as WooCommerce are ideal for those looking to build an online store with maximum flexibility for customization. If you're determined to create an ecommerce business, WooCommerce is an open-source platform, making it accessible for use at no cost. Additionally, it's a WordPress plugin. If you've been planning to build out your website to have an enormous blog to increase organic traffic this is the best Shopify option to accomplish it. It is necessary to purchase the web hosting you use but. However, this also means that you have the freedom of making your own. WooCommerce is among the most popular Shopify competitors as it has more than 3 million customers compared to Shopify's green bags.
4. Etsy
If you're looking for marketing features, Etsy is one of the Shopify alternatives to check out. Etsy is an online marketplace in which people are able to buy and sell items. Even though you don't have an online store, customers will discover you by searching through Etsy and it's a good choice to those who struggle with marketing. It doesn't require a subscription to be paid monthly however this doesn't mean Etsy has no fees. You'll need to pay the listing fee of $0.20 for every added product and an additional 6.5% transaction fee. In addition, you'll need to pay payment processing fees dependent on your chosen payment service. In the event that you do not have to dish out much for marketing costs, it's a worthy Shopify alternative for those selling physical items.
5. PinnacleCart
Like Shopify, PinnacleCart offers a free plan for users with a salary of up to $250,000. It is possible to add more than five accounts for admin on this free plan too. The e-commerce platform comes with more than 400 features for ecommerce that allow you to personalize and build your store to suit your needs. The platform offers no transaction charges for all their plans. The Shopify alternative plans like this provide the ability to generate QR codes, a testimonials feature, a wishlist for customers as well as gift message for orders. And you don't need to install an app in order to include these features in your online store.
6. Wix
Wix is one of the very few Shopify alternatives that offer advertising vouchers as part of their monthly subscription so that you can run your online store while focusing on what matters: getting sales. It is possible to run subscription-based services on the Wix account, making it one of the top features online retailers can add to their online stores. The e-commerce company you run can allow you to install more than 250 items while dropshipping with Modalyst. Beyond sales of products, ecommerce services like Wix allow the creation of your own websites, businesses that are freelance, and even selling tickets to occasions. Restaurants frequently utilize Wix since it lets them take customers to place orders online for food. Hotels can also make reservations via Wix also. This goes beyond just building your online store.
7. PrestaShop
Another Shopify alternative, which uses an open source e-commerce platform is PrestaShop. Because it's an open-source, self-hosted solution, it's free to use for online shops. However, there are costs for running business stores, even with ecommerce options such as PrestaShop. Nevertheless, this platform is simple to use and allows store customization. You can edit all sources files, but Shopify's Shopify editing your theme's code can make your online business ineligible for future upgrades. PrestaShop offers over 2,000 templates on their website, whereas Shopify has just 100 templates.
8. Elementor
The ecommerce solution Elementor is a Shopify alternative to consider. With over 300 professionally designed templates, you'll be able to have a stunning web-based business. The Shopify alternative also allows users to edit your website in a responsive manner which means you can alter your website's appearance from seven devices at once. It also allows live editing of your site for fast fixes. Plus, with auto-save the website will not need to manually update your site when you change something on it. Additionally, in contrast to Shopify it is possible to build multiple pages, such as landing pages, pop-up templates, blocks, information pages, and much more using distinct design elements.
9. Square
The Shopify alternatives to point-of-sale systems include the only one that is Square. Square is popular for local eateries, brick and mortar businesses, and smaller retailers. If you're using the Square application to manage your business, it's absolutely totally free. You'll only need to pay 2.65 per swipe. Unlike Shopify which is a service, you are able to buy a register to the physical location for the cashiers at your shop to put in orders. Companies that earn more than $250,000 annually can even get discounts on running their POS system via Square.
10. Squarespace
Alternatives to Shopify like Squarespace allow you to create more features for the online shop you have created. Squarespace is more blog-friendly as compared to Shopify for those looking to integrate blogs in their online store. There are also many more templates for free on Squarespace in comparison to Shopify and give you more choice for a theme. The Shopify option also lets users to create more variations per product, up to 250, versus Shopify's 100. Additionally, you can get your domain name for free with your annual purchase of the Squarespace plan.
11. Poshmark
Poshmark is an ecommerce platform which allows you to offer your products to their customers. If you're in search of Shopify alternatives that have their own marketplace, Poshmark is a great choice, mainly when you are selling brand name clothing and cosmetics. Retailers who are brick and mortar or online that have excess inventory may use Poshmark to market their goods with lower prices. This ecommerce platform even has Posh Stories, where you can promote your items using videos and images via their application. So while you won't own your own store online on Poshmark but you will be able to communicate with the Poshmark customer base.
12. WordPress
Shopify alternatives like WordPress permit e-commerce capabilities through using plug-ins. However, if you're looking to launch an online shop like an Amazon affiliate site, WordPress could be a good option. The greatest content management system that you can find on the internet is WordPress. Many people use WordPress to build a website even though they may not be specialized in the e-commerce aspect however, there are a variety of methods to do this. As an example that there are more WordPress themes than any other ecommerce platform since it's by far the most popular. The Shopify alternative is open-source and lets you customize your site in any way to create a unique online shop. While Shopify has more than 1,000,000 customers, WordPress manages over 455 million sites.
FAQ
Are there any free alternatives to Shopify?
Yes! is a free alternative to Shopify. Sign up to's Free Forever plan, where there is only a five% transaction fee when you make a sale. On the Free Forever plan, you'll have access to all of 's features that allow you to design your store online in the manner you like.
Which are the Shopify's biggest competitors?
The primary competitors of Shopify include digital items, Square for point-of-sale solutions, Etsy for marketplace sellers and BigCommerce and WooCommerce for physical goods.
Is Shopify worth it?
It depends. Shopify can be a great e-commerce option for some, but beginners often find too many costs associated with creating a business using Shopify. Examples include alternatives that have a free plan for a monthly subscription with all the tools needed to build your online shop.