Printify + your favorite platform = more sales!
Shopify is not your only option – especially if you want better flexibility, pricing, or Printify support. From eCommerce-first platforms to versatile website builders, Shopify alternatives offer serious value for small businesses and print-on-demand sellers.
This guide compares key features of the best Shopify alternatives, so you can find the right fit for your store.
Why Shopify merchants look for alternatives
Many entrepreneurs start looking elsewhere when hidden costs, feature restrictions, or global selling limitations hold them back. Here’s what pushes Shopify store owners to look for Shopify competitors.
Expensive add-ons inflate the real cost
Shopify’s base plans range from $29 to $299 (when paid yearly), but essential features often require third-party apps, each with its own monthly fee.
Need better SEO? Upsells? Custom product options? There’s an app for that – and a charge to match. These apps can also slow down your site, hurting SEO and user experience.
Advanced tools like POS Pro cost an extra $89/month, and Shopify Plus, which has a built-in POS integration, starts at $2,300/month.
Learn more in our full breakdown of Shopify pricing and features.
Global selling isn’t seamless
International selling with Shopify has major drawbacks:
- Shopify Payments isn’t available everywhere, and using other gateways adds fees
- Multi-currency only works with Shopify Payments
- Defining country-specific products requires the Advanced plan
- GDPR compliance requires third-party apps
For global sellers, these barriers increase complexity, cost, and setup time, especially for POD and Shopify dropshipping.
Customization is rigid
Many Shopify merchants say Shopify makes customization harder than it should be.
You’re limited to just three option types per product (size, color, and material), which isn’t enough for personalized or complex items.
There’s no native support for custom fields like textboxes or image uploads. Want to offer custom quotes, monograms, or user-submitted art? You’ll need technical expertise from developers, additional apps, or complex workarounds (metafields, theme code, etc.).
Limited Shopify marketing, SEO, and reporting
Shopify SEO covers the basics, but advanced control is locked behind code or costly apps.
You can’t edit your sitemap, there are no fully customizable URLs, and structured data (like product variants) requires editing tools, manual theme edits, or plugins to be fully SEO-optimized.
By default, Google sees the product’s name, price, and description, but may miss key variant details unless optimized manually.
Shopify’s email marketing tools have limited features – no support for advanced segmentation, automation, or branded design. Most sellers end up using third-party apps to run successful campaigns.
Reporting is another pain. Only the Advanced plan offers custom reports and deeper insights like profit margins or cohort analytics. Lower plans limit you to basic dashboards and templated reports.
Learn how to optimize your Shopify image sizes and improve your store SEO.
Blogging capabilities fall short
If content marketing is a big part of your strategy, Shopify’s blog features may feel limiting.
You can publish posts, add tags, and schedule content. But you can’t easily add CTAs, rich media layouts (like image galleries or columns), or social sharing buttons that let readers post your content directly to platforms like Facebook or Pinterest. These elements typically require editing your theme or installing third-party apps.
This lack of flexibility affects SEO and reduce engagement, especially if you rely on blog posts to attract and convert visitors. Other platforms like WooCommerce and Squarespace offer more flexible blogging tools, making them better suited for content-driven brands.
Looking for options? Check Printify integrations and expand your possibilities to sell online.
Best Shopify alternatives
If you think Shopify isn’t the best option for your store, check out these amazing 7 alternatives.
1. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is an eCommerce website that gives small businesses plenty of built-in tools, eliminating the need for dozens of costly apps. It’s built for growing POD stores that need built-in SEO, multi-currency, and shipping tools.
Customization
BigCommerce features a drag-and-drop Page Builder for you to edit content like images, banners, and product lists without coding.
Choose from 12 free themes or more than 130 paid themes ($150-$400), all mobile-responsive. Editing the layout is simple, but styling options are limited compared to a website like Shopify.
Features
Built-in essentials: Unlimited products, real-time shipping rates, multi-currency support, and integrations with Amazon, eBay, Facebook, and Pinterest.
No transaction fees: Accepts Stripe, PayPal (via Braintree), Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Amazon Pay at no extra cost.
SEO-friendly setup: Includes editable robots.txt, clean URLs, an XML sitemap, and a global Content Delivery Network (CDN) – a system that speeds up your site by loading it from nearby servers.
Reporting tiers: The Standard plan includes basic reports, the Plus plan adds abandoned-cart recovery, and the Pro plan unlocks advanced analytics.
Transparent pricing: Four plans starting at $29/month (billed annually), with auto-upgrades after reaching annual sales limits.
Pricing
There are four pricing plans (lower pricing with annual billing):
- Standard: $29/month (or $39); goal for ~$50k/year sales
- Plus: $79/month (or $105)
- Pro: $299/month (or $399)
- Enterprise: Custom pricing for high-volume sellers
The Standard plan offers the best value among the Shopify alternatives. The price tag for the Plus and Pro plans can be too steep for medium and small business owners without adding many features.
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Powerful built-in features – fewer third-party apps needed. | Expensive paid themes that are more outdated than competitors. |
| Unlimited products, real-time shipping rates, multiple currencies, and a global CDN. | Site speed varies depending on the theme. |
| All major payment methods with no additional transaction fees. | Email marketing and subscription features still require third-party apps. |
| Built-in SEO tools like editable sitemaps, clean URLs, and fast load times. | Abandoned-cart recovery is only available on the Plus plan and higher. |
| A drag-and-drop Page Builder to customize your store without any coding. |
Want to compare more closely? Check our BigCommerce vs Shopify article.
2. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin that transforms any WordPress site into a full online store. It gives entrepreneurs complete control, extensive customization options, and advanced functionality.
But it needs more hands-on maintenance, making it best suited for tech-savvy users with WordPress websites ready to expand.
Customization
As an open-source tool, WooCommerce offers entire store customization that sites like Shopify simply can’t match.
To tweak your site choose from thousands of free and premium themes, like SEO tools, page speed, and content editing options. While the free access works for the initial setup, most sellers will need to invest in paid tools to unlock advanced features.
Check out our favorite best free and paid themes for WooCommerce.
Features
Core functionality: Dropshipping and POD integration, digital downloads, inventory tracking, order management, and shipping automation.
Built‑in payments: WooPayments works in 38 countries and supports over 135 currencies with no monthly fee – just transaction costs.
Extended payment options: 30+ additional payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal are available through extensions.
Community support: Help is mainly WordPress community and developer forum-based, while paid theme/plugin support depends on the vendor.
Learn how to set up WooCommerce and compare WooCommerce vs Shopify.
Pricing
The pricing depends on the add-ons you choose:
- Plugin cost: Free
- Hosting: Typically $3-$15/month (shared) or $20-$100+/month (VPS/cloud), depending on traffic and performance needs
- Domain name: $10-$20/year
- Theme: Free themes available, premium themes cost $30-$200/year or a one-time license
- Extensions/plugins: Optional add-ons range widely
Shipping and subscriptions: $49-$279/year
Booking, carts, email tools: $99-$249/year
Email marketing and security plugins: $10-$200+/year
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Unlike Shopify, WooCommerce offers unlimited flexibility. | Setup requires technical skills and ongoing maintenance. |
| WooPayments supports 38 countries and 135+ currencies, no setup fees or extensions needed. | You must manage hosting, security, backups, and performance yourself. |
| A huge ecosystem of themes and plugins to add almost any feature. | Costly premium themes/plugins. |
| Massive community support for instant updates and help. | Steep learning curve. |
| Full control over SEO, design, and store workflow. |
3. PrestaShop
PrestaShop is a great Shopify alternative for sellers who want full control and zero software fees. It’s self-hosted, so you manage setup and updates, but gain complete ownership and deep customization.
PrestaShop suits experienced online store owners or those with developer help, looking to scale their eCommerce business.
Customization
Being open-source and self-hosted, PrestaShop is highly customizable. Use its tools to build your online store from scratch or adapt an existing website (if it’s PHP-based).
The eCommerce platform includes 25K+ modules (add-ons for SEO, shipping, or payment processing) and thousands of themes ($70-$843). Templates vary in website creation capabilities, so advanced features require a premium theme and usually developer support.
Features
Payment processing: Supports PayPal, Stripe, Amazon Pay, Google Pay, and hundreds of other gateways via modules. You must obtain Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) yourself through your host – not included in PrestaShop.
Marketing tools: Mailchimp integration, discount options, coupons, affiliate tools, and special offer modules.
SEO and visibility: Hundreds of SEO modules (~$30-$550), built-in options for metadata and URLs.
Multilingual support: Available in 65+ languages, with translation tools for core features and content.
Community and help: Backed by a community of 500K+ users, with optional paid assistance through Business Care.
Pricing
Classic (self-hosted):
- Core software: Free
- Hosting: $1-$30/month
- Domain: $10-$20/year
- Premium themes: $150+
- Paid modules: $60-$500+ depending on your needs
Alternatively, there’s PrestaShop hosting:
- $29/month (or $24/month with annual billing, excluding VAT) for software and hosting combined
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Open-source platform gives you full control and store ownership. | Requires technical skills for setup, hosting, updates, and modules. |
| Large library of modules and themes for extensive customization. | Premium themes and extensions come with added costs. |
| Includes multilingual support, SEO tools, and marketing integrations. | Design flexibility is limited compared to Shopify’s themes. |
| An active community for peer support and shared resources. | Official support is limited unless you pay for Business Care. |
| Free plan available. |
4. Wix
Wix is an eCommerce website builder with a user-friendly interface, making it one of the easiest ways to launch an eCommerce store without technical know-how. It handles hosting, security, and design with a streamlined setup similar to Shopify, but more flexible and affordable.
If you want to start an online store fast without hiring a developer, Wix is a solid choice.
Customization
Build your online business with the standard Wix Editor or AI-powered ADI (now replaced by AI Tools). The Editor gives full creative control, while ADI offers speed and mobile app support.
Wix lets you manage multiple storefronts with separate sites or shop pages under one account. You get hundreds of polished templates, but can’t switch them later. Wix’s eCommerce solutions include mobile optimization and mobile apps to track online sales on the go.
Features
eCommerce solutions: Sell unlimited products, manage orders, and recover abandoned carts on all Business plans. Dropshipping and Print in Demand apps integrate easily via the Wix App Market.
Mobile apps: Wix Owner (iOS/Android) lets you manage sales, inventory, orders, and chat with customers on the go.
Payment options: Supports Stripe, PayPal, manual payments, and Wix Payments with no Wix transaction fees. Automated tax tools are available on higher-tier plans, but multi-currency checkout isn’t supported.
App integrations: Use the Wix App Market to add tools for shipping, reviews, marketing, automation, and more.
Marketing and SEO: The built-in SEO Wiz helps with page titles, meta tags, and structure. The Ascend toolkit unlocks email marketing and ad management, with full access through paid plans.
Pricing
- Light: $17/month
- Core: $29/month
- Business: $39/month
- Business Elite: $159/month
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Fast, code-free setup with flexible design options. | Mobile versions can lag with complex layouts on shared hosting. |
| Easy to use and upkeep. | Advanced eCommerce features (multi‑currency, tax tools) are available only with higher-tier plans. |
| Smooth integration with POD and dropshipping. | The template is locked once selected. |
| Built-in tools and thousands of apps. | SEO depth and email marketing may need extra apps or upgrades. |
| Mobile control through the Wix Owner app. | Limited checkout page customization and backend workflow flexibility. |
5. Squarespace
Squarespace is an all-in-one, fully hosted eCommerce website builder that offers a clean, cohesive experience. It’s an ideal Shopify alternative for small to mid-sized businesses wanting a strong, on-brand online store without managing code or servers.
Squarespace prioritizes quality over quantity. While it has fewer apps than other Shopify competitors, every built-in feature works consistently and looks polished.
Customization
Squarespace’s template-based editor makes it easy to build a professional storefront that looks great on desktop, tablet, and mobile. It’s a bit less intuitive website builder than Wix, but you get more design control once you learn the layout.
Compared to companies like Shopify, Squarespace has fewer advanced plugins, but offers beautiful templates and built-in marketing features.
Each template allows strong theme customization, though you’ll need to commit – templates can’t be changed after launch. Test as many as you like through the 14-day free trial before publishing your online store.
Features
eCommerce functionality: Selling is available with a Business or Commerce plan, which includes a free domain. You can list unlimited products and variants, though inventory tools are basic.
Payments and POS: Squarespace supports Stripe, PayPal, and Square. Commerce plans have no transaction fees, while the Business plan charges 3%. POS is available via Square, but only in the U.S.
Extensions and integrations: A small library of curated extensions covers shipping, inventory, marketing, and accounting. All require separate subscriptions.
SEO and marketing tools: Includes customizable metadata, clean URLs, a free Smart SEO extension, email campaigns, Mailchimp integration, customer segmentation, and promotional pop-ups.
Content and social features: Offers a solid blogging platform with scheduling, AMP, and commenting. Social tools include an Apple-only video editor and the Unfold app for Instagram content.
Pricing
There are four Squarespace eCommerce plans:
- Basic: $25/month
- Core: $36/month
- Plus: $56/month
- Advanced: $139/month
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Professional, cohesive designs that display beautifully on all devices. | No native multi‑currency checkout or Google Pay support. |
| Solid built-in blogging with comments, scheduling, and SEO-friendly templates. | Limited inventory and shipping tools without extensions. |
| No transaction fees on the Commerce plans. | Abandoned-cart recovery only available via the Advanced plan. |
| Built-in marketing tools like email campaigns, pop-ups, and segmentation. | POS is only available in the US via Square Online integration. |
| Reliable hosting, SSL encryption, and 24/7 support. | Site speed may lag if heavily customized. |
6. Magento (Adobe Commerce)
Magento (now Adobe Commerce) is an eCommerce platform built for ambitious businesses. Magento lets you choose between self-hosting for free (open-source) or a paid fully-managed experience (hosted/SaaS).
It’s best suited for tech-savvy entrepreneurs, growing stores, and B2B sellers who need full control, complex functionality, and enterprise-grade scalability.
Customization
Magento offers near-unlimited customization because you host it yourself or use Adobe’s managed option. Tweak every part of your store – from checkout workflows to admin dashboards – using thousands of extensions and custom themes.
It supports multi-store setups, multilingual sites, and complex catalogs. However, most changes require developer expertise and server maintenance.
Features
Advanced marketing and personalization: Includes promotions, coupons, content staging, and powerful rule-based upsells. Adobe Commerce adds AI-powered recommendations, advanced segmentation, and detailed analytics.
Extensions ecosystem: Access thousands of modules for SEO, performance, payment gateways, ERPs, etc., plus a strong community and Adobe-certified partners.
High performance and multi-store support: Scales to millions of SKUs, supports headless setups, multi-currency/language stores, and can be optimized with Elasticsearch, caching, and CDN.
Pricing
The pricing depends on your needs:
- Magento Open Source: Free
- Adobe Commerce On‑Premise: License starts at $22K/year
- Adobe Commerce Cloud: Starting from $40K/year, scaling up to $190K-$200K+, depending on Gross Merchandise Volume
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Ultra-flexible platform for custom layouts, pricing rules, and workflows. | Requires technical support and developer resources to set up and maintain. |
| Scales effortlessly from B2C to enterprise with full multi-store and global support. | High costs for Adobe Commerce license and managed hosting. |
| Built-in AI personalization and advanced marketing features. | Heavy Magento workloads need a strong hosting infrastructure. |
| Multi-currency and language support, optimized for performance and SEO. | Community support can be limited; professional help often required. |
7. Ecwid
Ecwid is an eCommerce platform for sellers who want to add online shopping functionality to what they already have – without rebuilding their entire online store. Instead of creating a full storefront, Ecwid lets you embed a store into your existing site, blog, or social media platforms.
It’s ideal for individuals and small businesses looking for a fast, affordable way to start selling online with minimal disruption.
Customization
Ecwid offers a quick start with its Instant Site, a mobile-friendly, one-page storefront you can launch immediately – even on the free plan. Paid plans unlock more customization features, including multi-page layouts and advanced design controls.
No coding is required for Instant Site, but users with design experience can apply custom CSS and JavaScript on higher-tier plans to match their brand or expand store functionality. For more complex needs, Ecwid also connects you with vetted developers through its Ecwid Experts program.
Features
Cross-channel selling: Add your store to websites, blogs, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and marketplaces (via third-party tools).
Easy to use on the go: Use the Ecwid mobile app (iOS/Android) to track orders, edit products, and manage inventory anywhere.
Flexible payments: Accept payments through 70+ gateways like Stripe, PayPal, and Square – with no extra Ecwid transaction fees.
Built-in marketing: Run discounts, launch Google Shopping campaigns, and recover abandoned carts (available from the Business plan).
Pricing
Ecwid offers 4 pricing plans:
- Starter: $5/month
- Venture: $30/month
- Business: $55/month
- Unlimited: $130/month
Pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Simple to embed into existing websites, blogs, or social profiles with no migration required. | The Free plan is limited to 5 products and lacks necessary marketing tools. |
| Affordable pricing with no additional transaction fees, even on the free plan. | Advanced eCommerce features (e.g., abandoned carts, product filters) are locked behind higher plans. |
| Supports multichannel sales through social media, marketplaces, and external sites. | SEO tools are basic compared to larger platforms like Shopify or BigCommerce. |
| Includes mobile app for store management, inventory, and fulfillment. | Marketplace integrations (Amazon, eBay) require third-party apps and extra setup. |
| Flexible design control with CSS/JS access and developer support on higher tiers. | POS capabilities and full customization options are only available on the Unlimited plan. |
Are there any free Shopify alternatives?
Yes – WooCommerce, PrestaShop, and Ecwid all offer free plans or open-source versions. WooCommerce and PrestaShop require hosting and setup, but give complete control. Ecwid’s free plan is the fastest way to start selling online, though it’s limited to 5 products. Each option suits sellers who are looking for a free eCommerce platform.
Perhaps you don’t need another platform, but ideas on what to sell on your Shopify store. Check our blog for inspiration – from the best Shopify clothing stores to innovative concepts, like offering Spotify merch in your store.
FAQ
BigCommerce is best for growing stores that want built-in features without extra apps. WooCommerce and PrestaShop offer full control but require setup. Wix and Squarespace are easier for beginners focused on design. Ecwid is perfect if you already have a website and want to add selling. Magento is ideal for large businesses needing custom workflows and scalability.
Shopify’s biggest competitor is WooCommerce. It powers a lot of online stores, offers full customization, and integrates seamlessly with WordPress.
Some direct competitors to Shopify Plus are:
These plans offer customized solutions for large companies, available by quote through email or phone support.
Choose what suits you best
Shopify alternatives don’t have one clear winner – the best one for you depends on your goals, coding knowledge, growth plans, and how deep of a customization you want.
- Choose BigCommerce if you want built-in features and scalability without dozens of third-party apps.
- Go with WooCommerce or PrestaShop for full control and lower long-term costs, as long as you’re comfortable handling setup and hosting.
- Try Wix or Squarespace if you’re a small business owner or creator who values simplicity, design, and fast setup.
