Is commercetools or Shopify better?

Neither clearly leads. commercetools starts at On request and Shopify at $24/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, commercetools or Shopify?

commercetools starts at On request and Shopify at $24/month.

Does commercetools or Shopify run on more platforms?

Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

What is commercetools best used for?

commercetools is most often used for composable commerce platforms for enterprise retailers, b2c and b2b commerce api infrastructure, multi-region commerce operations. Of those, composable commerce platforms for enterprise retailers and b2c and b2b commerce api infrastructure are not what Shopify is typically brought in for.

What can commercetools do that Shopify cannot?

Shopify covers Hosted ecommerce platform, Payment processing, Inventory management, Order tracking.

E-Commerce · head to head

commercetools vs Shopify

commercetools

E-Commerce

The Digital Commerce AI Company

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Shopify

E-Commerce

The most trusted ecommerce platform to start, grow, and scale your business

From: $24/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: commercetools no published pricing: customers cannot see costs, tier details, or feature breakdowns before contacting sales; Shopify using any payment provider other than Shopify Payments adds a transaction fee on top of the card rate, at 2% on Basic falling to 0.2% on Plus
Prices and features above were last checked on 15 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which commercetools and Shopify actually diverge.

Attributes where commercetools and Shopify differ
Attribute	commercetools	Shopify
Starting price	On request	$24/month
Pricing model	quote	subscription
Founded	Unknown	2006

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in commercetools

Nothing recorded that Shopify does not also cover.

Only in Shopify

Hosted ecommerce platform
Payment processing
Inventory management
Order tracking
Marketing automation
Apps and integrations
Multi-channel selling
SSL certificate

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

commercetools

Composable commerce platforms for enterprise retailersnot Shopify
B2C and B2B commerce API infrastructurenot Shopify
Multi-region commerce operationsnot Shopify

Shopify

Running a hosted ecommerce store with payments and fulfilmentnot commercetools
Selling across online, in person and social channels from one cataloguenot commercetools

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

commercetools

No published pricing: customers cannot see costs, tier details, or feature breakdowns before contacting sales
Order-based pricing opacity: described as 'transparent' but actual fee structure per order is undisclosed
Free trial time-gate: 60-day trial does not reveal production pricing for ongoing operations
Marketplace distribution unclear: availability on Google Cloud and AWS Marketplaces implies pricing varies by channel without transparency

Shopify

Using any payment provider other than Shopify Payments adds a transaction fee on top of the card rate, at 2% on Basic falling to 0.2% on Plus
That fee makes the cheapest plan the most expensive place to use an outside processor, which is the opposite of how plans usually work
Card rates also improve with the plan, from 2.9% on Basic to 2.7% on Advanced
Amex is charged at a higher rate than other cards on every plan below Plus
Plus starts at $2,300 a month
The advertised lower monthly prices require paying a year up front

Pricing, plan by plan

commercetools

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the commercetools review.

Shopify

$24/month

Basic$24/month
- For solo entrepreneurs
- $32/month on monthly billing
- 2.9% + AED1.00 transaction fee (standard cards)
Grow$69/month
- For small teams
- $92/month on monthly billing
- 2.8% + AED1.00 transaction fee (standard cards)
Advanced$299/month
- For global reach
- $399/month on monthly billing
- 2.7% + AED1.00 transaction fee (standard cards)
Plus$2300/month
- For complex businesses
- most competitive transaction rates

Which should you pick?

Choose commercetools if

Nothing in the data separates commercetools from Shopify on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

commercetools review

Choose Shopify if

You need hosted ecommerce platform.
You also want payment processing.

Shopify review

Questions people ask

Is commercetools or Shopify better?: Neither clearly leads. commercetools starts at On request and Shopify at $24/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, commercetools or Shopify?: commercetools starts at On request and Shopify at $24/month.
Does commercetools or Shopify run on more platforms?: Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is commercetools best used for?: commercetools is most often used for composable commerce platforms for enterprise retailers, b2c and b2b commerce api infrastructure, multi-region commerce operations. Of those, composable commerce platforms for enterprise retailers and b2c and b2b commerce api infrastructure are not what Shopify is typically brought in for.
What can commercetools do that Shopify cannot?: Shopify covers Hosted ecommerce platform, Payment processing, Inventory management, Order tracking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

commercetools: Does commercetools publish pricing online?

No. Pricing is not published on their website. Customers must contact sales, start a free 60-day trial, or purchase through Google Cloud or AWS Marketplaces to discuss pricing.

Source

Shopify: How much does Shopify cost?

Shopify's Basic tier is $24/month (or $32/month monthly), Grow is $69/month (or $92/month monthly), Advanced is $299/month (or $399/month monthly), and Plus starts at $2,300/month. Annual subscriptions include 25% discount versus monthly billing.

Source

commercetools: What is the pricing model for commercetools?

commercetools uses order-based pricing (not Gross Merchandise Value dependent) described as 'transparent and growth-friendly' with 'no hidden fees or penalties for scaling,' but exact per-order costs are disclosed only through sales consultation.

Source

Shopify: Does Shopify offer a free trial?

Yes, Shopify offers 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months without requiring a credit card.

Source

commercetools: Does commercetools offer a free trial?

Yes. A 60-day free trial includes full access to production-ready infrastructure, APIs, tools, and preloaded sample B2C/B2B data, with the option to move MVP to production without setup costs.

Source

Shopify: What payment processing fees does Shopify charge?

Transaction rates vary by plan: Basic charges 2.9% + AED1.00 (standard cards), Grow charges 2.8% + AED1.00, Advanced charges 2.7% + AED1.00, and Plus offers the most competitive rates. American Express charges 0.1% higher across all plans.

Source

commercetools vs Shopify

commercetools

Shopify

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in commercetools

Only in Shopify

What people use each for

commercetools

Shopify

Where each one falls short

commercetools

Shopify

Pricing, plan by plan

commercetools

Shopify

Which should you pick?

Choose commercetools if

Choose Shopify if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on commercetools

More on Shopify

Keep looking

Other head to heads