8 top Shopify alternatives for your ecommerce business

From jewelry shops to wall art, apparel, handmade goods, and more, Shopify is a top-rated ecommerce platform for creating an online store.

While the rich ecommerce features and functionality that Shopify provides are beneficial for many businesses, it also presents some limitations to this crowd.

High membership costs and transaction fees are known to send small businesses running for the hills. Limited (but still awesome for new companies) customization and templates leave little to the imagination for an online storefront, regardless of niche or customer base.

There are flaws to the platform, so it's no surprise why online store owners are searching for a Shopify alternative for selling their products.

Fortunately, several Shopify alternatives are worth considering to elevate your online store, drive sales, and increase profits. The right platform for your business depends on a few factors, including your budget, business goals, your needs as a seller, and more.

• Shopify alternatives are available as online sellers outgrow the platform and need something more robust, customizable, and flexible.

• Growing small businesses and established companies require different features, tools, and add-ons, meaning Shopify is not a one-size-fits-all solution for any company.

• Wix, Squarespace, and BigCommerce are the most appealing ecommerce platforms for new businesses and those who are looking to scale up in the near future.

There's a reason Shopify is one of the top ecommerce platforms used by businesses of all sizes. However, Shopify alternatives exist, meaning small businesses require other features and support to run their stores successfully.

Keep reading if Shopify isn't functioning as you want for your online store. This section will highlight the best Shopify alternatives that are feature-rich, sales-driven, and easy to start using right away.

Wix is an ecommerce platform that provides businesses with the features to create an online store through simple drag-and-drop tools. Wix offers hundreds of apps, add-ons, and plugins that can empower sellers to grow their online store with little coding knowledge or expertise.

If you're creating your own online store, Wix is a great place to start. Wix is better than Shopify for many sellers because it's more affordable with similar features, including multi-channel selling, SEO, reports, and analytics.

Key features

Here are the key ecommerce features and selling points that make Wix a viable alternative to Shopify:

• Drag and drop website builder to create a custom experience

• Excellent customer support

• Free domain with some plans

• Ready to use templates

• Integrates with many third-party payment gateways

• Easy to implement your branding

• Built-in SEO tools and marketing features

Pricing

The business and ecommerce plans for Wix include the following:

• Business VIP: $59/ month

• Business Unlimited: $32/month

• Business Basic: $27/ month

Features associated with Wix (depending on your plan) include a custom domain name, storage, various payment gateways, custom reports, and more.

Squarespace is undoubtedly the best Shopify alternative for sellers looking to provide an elevated visual experience for their customers. Squarespace is an ecommerce website builder and hosting platform that offers dropshipping integrations and SEO tools on every plan.

Sellers don't need an in-depth knowledge of ecommerce platforms to create a successful ecommerce store on Squarespace; they've made it simple to get started, and it's a more affordable Shopify alternative for new and small businesses.

Key features

• Wide variety of templates and themes to choose from

• Excellent website builder with free themes

• PayPal and Stripe payment gateways

• Marketing features include MailChimp, Google Adwords, and Amazon affiliate tracking

• Free domain name for the first year of membership

Pricing

• Business Plan: $23/ month

• Basic Commerce Plan: $27/ month

• Advanced Commerce: $49/ month

The Business plan on Squarespace charges 3% transaction fees, while the upper-tier plans do not. The more expensive plans offer merchandising and advanced features like related products, waitlists, and re-stock alerts.

BigCommerce is one of the most popular ecommerce platforms available, and many sellers choose it as a Shopify alternative as their stores grow, and they need more functionality and support.

If you have an established online store and are seeking one of the best Shopify alternatives to scale and expand, BigCommerce is a worthy competitor.

Key features

These are the key features and selling points that make BigCommerce a viable Shopify alternative, particularly for larger businesses with an online store:

• Drag and drop editor to create a stunning website

• Streamlined multi-channel selling

• Content marketing features and other marketing tools to drive traffic

• Hosted ecommerce platform and 24/7 customer support

• Multiple currencies for global inclusivity

• Impressive inventory management

Pricing

• Standard: $29/ month

• Plus: $79/ month

• Pro $299/ month

BigCommerce does not charge additional transaction fees when you use the leading payment gateways.

If your online store sells physical and digital products, WooCommerce may be the right alternative to Shopify for your business. It's one of the best free alternatives you can find, and here's why.

WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin that can be added to your existing website, making it easy to create an ecommerce store without all the coding and backend knowledge.

Key features

• Open-source ecommerce platform where you pay only for your own hosting

• Simple WordPress integration

• 140 payment gateways

• No monthly fees to use

• Other plugins and add-ons can be helpful

Pricing

Businesses don't pay monthly fees to access a WooCommerce store, but they will be charged transaction fees. These fees start at 2.9% and are $0.30 per transaction.

Magento is now known as Adobe Commerce and remains one of the best Shopify alternatives on the market today.

For shop owners ready to have complete control over their online store, from the backend and coding to the marketing and merchandising, Adobe Commerce is a feature-rich Shopify alternative that will take your business to new levels.

It is worth mentioning that this Shopify alternative requires complete programming by you or someone on your team. If that's no big deal for your business, then Magento is a solid choice for top Shopify alternatives.

Key features

• The community plan is completely free

• Drag and drop tools to create compelling content

• SEO tools and marketing features to drive conversions

• Multi-channel selling functionality

• Vast selection of payment gateways

• Support forums for guidance and resources

• Advanced features and customization options

• Inventory management

• Web service API

Pricing

Downloading Adobe Commerce (Magento) is free, but you must pay for web hosting.

Ecwid is a Shopify alternative ecommerce widget that integrates into an existing website to create a powerful, immersive online storefront.

Shopify competitors strive to make things easier for sellers, and Ecwid excels at offering ecommerce solutions that don't require a company to completely rebuild everything they've already done.

Key features

• Drag and drop website builder

• Integrates with WordPress, Blogger, and Tumblr

• Digital products, store management

• Inventory management

• Live chat support whenever you need it

• Unlimited products for top-tier plan

Pricing

• Venture: $14.08/ month

• Business: $29.08/ month

• Unlimited: $82.50/ month

Ecwid does offer a free plan to start selling online, and then companies can scale up as they need more from their membership. Unlike Shopify, Ecwid does not charge transaction fees, making it one of the most affordable alternatives to Shopify on this list.

If you are searching for other Shopify alternatives that are budget-friendly, Shift4Shop is an appealing choice for small businesses that have just launched an online store and are getting acclimated.

Shift4Shop is a shopping cart ecommerce platform that offers an impressive amount of ecommerce functionality for a much more affordable price tag. Not all companies are ready to spend thousands each month on an ecommerce platform, and that's where Shift4Shop comes in.

Key features

• Free plan just by signing up

• Unlimited products and unlimited bandwidth

• Supports over 70 payment gateways

• Web design services are in-house

• 100 free themes and templates

• AI-driven fraud protection

• Migration assistance with your current ecommerce platform

Pricing

Unlimited, enterprise-grade plan for $0, as long as you process a minimum of $500 monthly payments. No additional transaction fees are charged on Shift4Shop.

Shopify exists to help businesses build and utilize an ecommerce store to sell their products, plain and simple. If you are already a pro at running your ecommerce store and want to gain some freedom and flexibility, setting up a custom website to run an online store is a wise investment in your business.

While Shopify makes it easy to get an online business off the ground, many companies want control of their store's creative process, functionality, design, and hosting. That's where a custom-built website comes in handy.

Whether you build the website yourself or hire an expert to create one for you, there's a feeling of freedom that comes with having your own website that many companies prefer over following a template and coloring within the lines within Shopify.

Here are some of the main advantages of setting up your own ecommerce store rather than selling on Shopify.

Advantages of using a website to sell vs. Shopify

• Design your website from scratch, exactly how you want it to look

• Add in extra features as you see fit

• Upsell and cross-sell customers on various channels

• Offer various payment methods

• Provide shopping cart security

• Hire a web developer to create all the customization you want

Costs associated with your own website

• Hiring a developer to build the site unless you can do it yourself

• Purchasing a domain name and paying for web hosting (like GoDaddy)

• Purchasing a responsive theme for your store design and website

• Ecommerce extensions and plugins to make the shop function properly

• Manual updates and maintenance

• Payment processor fees

• SSL certificate

Gelato's API

If you are selling digital products, you'll need to partner with a print on demand supplier to fulfill and ship your orders worldwide. Gelato offers a seamless API integration that can easily connect with any online business or website.

You can sell your digital products directly from your website; after the purchase, we'll handle the rest. From order fulfillment to shipping the products to your customers, we'll focus on these aspects so you can get back to doing what you love. It's that easy!

There are many ecommerce software options out there, and if Shopify isn't helping you achieve your financial goals, it may be time to move on.

When deciding to jump ship and find Shopify alternatives that are better suited for you, it's essential to consider your company's budget, needs, and goals to make the right decision for your store's future.

If your online store is connected to an ecommerce platform, you'll be happy to hear that Gelato's API seamlessly integrates with the most popular names in the game, including Shopify, Etsy, WooCommerce, Wix, and many more.

Selling digital products is not for the faint of heart, and we're here to support you every step of the way. Establishing a competitive ecommerce store can only be done with a reliable, sustainable print on demand partner in your corner, and Gelato is happy to take the reins. Get started with print on demand today.

Shopify competitors that most resemble the platform's functionality and capabilities are Wix, BigCommerce, and Squarespace.

These Shopify alternatives have very similar features, templates, add-ons, and customer support with their unique spin on ecommerce functionality. If you're browsing for the closest option to Shopify for your ecommerce business, one of these is your best bet.

If you're open to free, open-source platforms or plugins, we highly recommend WooCommerce or Ecwid for a great user experience and impressive customizations.

hopify is such a popular ecommerce platform because of its versatility, features, add-ons, and customer support. These benefits appeal to many users and companies, from small to medium-sized businesses and those who have just launched their online stores.

Non-technical online sellers who want to utilize the powerful ecommerce features without learning to code or troubleshoot are best suited for Shopify and its many use cases.