E-Commerce · alternatives
Alternatives to Shopify
24 e-commerce tools sit alongside Shopify in this directory. Below is what separates each from Shopify on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 24
- With a free tier
- 15
- Cheaper to start
- 3
- Shopify starts at
- $24/month
Why people look past Shopify
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Shopify entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for Shopify carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 15 of the 24 alternatives below can be used without paying.
Cost climbs steeply across the tiers
Shopify publishes 4 tiers, from $24/month up to $2300/month. Teams that outgrow the entry plan can find the next rung a large step, the Shopify pricing page breaks each one down.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Free and open-source image editor
- Can be used without paying; Shopify cannot.
- Sold on a open-source model rather than subscription.
Visual storytelling through print-on-demand books and wall art
- Starts $20.009999999999998 a unit cheaper, at $3.99/unit.
- Sold on a usage-based model rather than subscription.
Quality book printing at a reasonable price
- Sold on a usage-based model rather than subscription.
Web-based design and publishing for brand templates
- Can be used without paying; Shopify cannot.
- Starts $14 a month cheaper, at $10/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
Automate and scale your product data with an AI-powered open-source PIM.
- Can be used without paying; Shopify cannot.
- Sold on a open-source model rather than subscription.
- 1 tier to Shopify's 4.
Social resale marketplace with a flat fee on low-value sales and a percentage cut above that
- Can be used without paying; Shopify cannot.
- Sold on a Free to list; tiered seller commission by sale price model rather than subscription.
- 1 tier to Shopify's 4.
Every Shopify alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify (this page) | $24/month | Subscription | 4 | |
| GIMPFree and open-source image editor | Free | Open-source | - | vs Shopify |
| BlurbVisual storytelling through print-on-demand books and wall art | $3.99/unit | Usage-based | 4 | vs Shopify |
| LuluQuality book printing at a reasonable price | On request | Usage-based | - | vs Shopify |
| MarqWeb-based design and publishing for brand templates | Free, then $10/month | Freemium | 4 | vs Shopify |
| UnoPIM | Free | Open-source | 1 | vs Shopify |
| Poshmark | Free | Free to list; tiered seller commission by sale price | 1 | vs Shopify |
| Instacart | Free | Free to download; item markups plus delivery and service fees per order, optional subscription | 2 | vs Shopify |
| Mercari | Free | Free to list; 10 percent seller commission on sale price plus payment processing fee | 1 | vs Shopify |
| Depop | Free | Free to list; percentage plus per-order seller fee, separate payment processing fee | 1 | vs Shopify |
| Temu | Free | Free to browse and use; pay per order, heavy promotional discounting | 1 | vs Shopify |
| Shein | Free | Free to browse and use; pay per order, optional paid loyalty tier | 2 | vs Shopify |
| Wish | Free | Free to browse and use; pay per order | 1 | vs Shopify |
| Amazon Shopping | Free | Free to use; optional Prime subscription for fast shipping and bundled media | 2 | vs Shopify |
| Vinted | Free | Free for sellers, no commission; buyer pays a variable Buyer Protection fee at checkout | 2 | vs Shopify |
| Zendrop | Free, then $49/month | Freemium | 3 | vs Shopify |
| Saleor | Free | Open-source | 4 | vs Shopify |
| CJ Dropshipping | Free | Freemium | - | vs Shopify |
| BackToMe | €25/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Shopify |
| Mollie | £0.3/transaction | Per transaction by payment method | 3 | vs Shopify |
| Klarna | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Shopify |
| Drip | $39/month | Per month by contact count | 3 | vs Shopify |
| Memberful | $49/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Shopify |
| FastSpring | On request | Transaction | 1 | vs Shopify |
| SamCart | $79/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Shopify |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Shopify badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
What you would be giving up
Shopify is most often brought in for running a hosted ecommerce store with payments and fulfilment, selling across online, in person and social channels from one catalogue. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Shopify is broadly right and the question is cost, the Shopify pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the E-Commerce category lists everything the directory holds, and best e-commerce tools ranks them.
Shopify runs on web. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Shopify alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Shopify?
- 24 other e-commerce tools are listed in this directory, led by GIMP, Blurb, Lulu, Marq. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Shopify?
- 15 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: GIMP, Marq, UnoPIM, Poshmark, Instacart.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Shopify?
- Yes. 3 of the alternatives below start under Shopify's $24/month: Blurb at $3.99/unit, Marq at Free, then $10/month, Mollie at £0.3/transaction.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Shopify?
- On the figures on record, 2 things stand out: there is no free tier; cost climbs steeply across the tiers. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Shopify?
- Shopify is most often brought in for running a hosted ecommerce store with payments and fulfilment, selling across online, in person and social channels from one catalogue. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Shopify?
- GIMP, UnoPIM, Saleor are recorded with an open-source licence model.
- How were these Shopify alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, E-Commerce, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Shopify against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Shopify covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every e-commerce tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the E-Commerce category, 24 tools beside Shopify. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.