Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

commercetools vs Swell Commerce

commercetools logo

commercetools

E-Commerce

The Digital Commerce AI Company

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Swell Commerce logo

Swell Commerce

E-Commerce

Headless ecommerce for modern brands

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: commercetools no published pricing: customers cannot see costs, tier details, or feature breakdowns before contacting sales; Swell Commerce each plan carries an annual revenue ceiling, and exceeding it is charged as a percentage of the excess: 2 percent on Starter down to 0.4 percent on Unlimited
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which commercetools and Swell Commerce actually diverge.

Attributes where commercetools and Swell Commerce differ
AttributecommercetoolsSwell Commerce
Starting priceOn request$29/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
FoundedUnknown2019

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 Swell Commerce does not also cover.

Only in Swell Commerce

  • Headless architecture
  • GraphQL & REST APIs
  • Subscription commerce
  • Multi-currency support
  • Inventory management
  • Custom checkout
  • Webhook integrations
  • Developer-friendly SDK

What people use each for

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

commercetools

  • Composable commerce platforms for enterprise retailersnot Swell Commerce
  • B2C and B2B commerce API infrastructurenot Swell Commerce
  • Multi-region commerce operationsnot Swell Commerce

Swell Commerce

  • Running a headless commerce backend with APIs for a custom storefrontnot commercetools
  • Selling subscription products alongside one off purchasesnot commercetools
  • Operating multi currency stores from one commerce backendnot 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

Swell Commerce

  • Each plan carries an annual revenue ceiling, and exceeding it is charged as a percentage of the excess: 2 percent on Starter down to 0.4 percent on Unlimited
  • Starter at $29 a month allows 2 admin users and includes only 100,000 API requests and 1GB of storage per month
  • Additional API requests cost $5 per 100,000 and extra storage $5 per GB
  • Role based permissions and developer support are restricted to the Unlimited plan at $2,250 a month
  • Advanced reports and priced currencies require the Standard plan or higher
  • Published prices are the billed yearly rates, so monthly billing costs more

Pricing, plan by plan

commercetools

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the commercetools review.

Swell Commerce

$29/month
  • Starter$29/month
    • Up to $50K annual revenue
    • Basic reports
    • Up to 5 admin users
  • Basic$79/month
    • Up to $250K annual revenue
    • Most popular plan
    • Basic reports
  • Standard$299/month
    • Up to $1M annual revenue
    • Advanced reports
    • Up to 15 admin users
  • Unlimited$2250/month
    • Up to $5M annual revenue
    • Unlimited scalability and granular control
    • Unlimited admin users

Which should you pick?

Choose commercetools if

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

commercetools review

Choose Swell Commerce if

  • You need headless architecture.
  • You also want graphql & rest apis.
Swell Commerce review

Questions people ask

Is commercetools or Swell Commerce better?
Neither clearly leads. commercetools starts at On request and Swell Commerce at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, commercetools or Swell Commerce?
commercetools starts at On request and Swell Commerce at $29/month.
Does commercetools or Swell Commerce 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 Swell Commerce is typically brought in for.
What can commercetools do that Swell Commerce cannot?
Swell Commerce covers Headless architecture, GraphQL & REST APIs, Subscription commerce, Multi-currency support.

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
Swell Commerce: How much does Swell Commerce cost?

Swell offers four tiers starting at $29 per month for Starter and going up to $2,250 per month for Unlimited. Annual billing provides a 25% discount compared to monthly billing. All prices are in USD.

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
Swell Commerce: What are Swell's revenue tier overages?

Each plan includes a revenue ceiling based on 12-month trailing sales. Starter allows up to $50K with 2% overage, Basic allows $250K with 1.5% overage, Standard allows $1M with 1% overage, and Unlimited allows $5M with 0.4% overage. Custom plans are available for merchants exceeding $10M annually.

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
Share

Related pages

More on commercetools

More on Swell Commerce

Keep looking

Other head to heads