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Publishing · head to head

Pressbooks vs Shopify

Pressbooks logo

Pressbooks

Publishing

Open source book production built on WordPress, and the default tool for open textbooks

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Shopify logo

Shopify

Publishing

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

From
$24/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Pressbooks has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Pressbooks self-hosting is free in licence terms only; it requires WordPress multisite administration, upgrades and backups, which is a real staff cost most institutions underestimate.; 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
  • They diverge on capability: Pressbooks covers Single source, three outputs, Shopify covers Hosted ecommerce platform.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Pressbooks and Shopify actually diverge.

Attributes where Pressbooks and Shopify differ
AttributePressbooksShopify
Starting priceFree$24/month
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Self-hostedWeb
FoundedUnknown2006

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Publishing).

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 Pressbooks

  • Single source, three outputs
  • Cloning and adaptation
  • H5P interactive content
  • LMS integration
  • Open source under the GPL
  • Accessibility tooling

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.

Pressbooks

  • A university library replacing a commercial textbook by adapting an existing open textbook rather than commissioning a new onenot Shopify
  • A course team that wants readings delivered inside Canvas or Moodle with embedded exercises rather than as a static PDFnot Shopify
  • A research institute publishing reports that must exist as a web page, an EPUB and a printable document without maintaining three filesnot Shopify
  • A consortium standardising open textbook production across several institutions with a shared catalogue of adaptable titlesnot Shopify

Shopify

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

Where each one falls short

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

Pressbooks

  • Self-hosting is free in licence terms only; it requires WordPress multisite administration, upgrades and backups, which is a real staff cost most institutions underestimate.
  • Professional print PDF output depends on a commercial rendering engine that is licensed separately, so the genuinely free self-hosted route produces web and EPUB output but not press-quality print.
  • Design control is limited to the supplied themes unless someone writes custom CSS, so books tend to look recognisably like Pressbooks books.
  • There is no distribution, no ISBN service and no retail channel, so it produces files and web pages but plays no part in selling anything.
  • The editing experience inherits WordPress conventions, and authors working on long or heavily structured manuscripts find it slower than a dedicated writing application.

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

Pressbooks

Free
  • PressbooksFree
    • GPL licensed, self-hostable with no software fee
    • WordPress multisite administration is your responsibility
    • Print PDF export depends on a separately licensed rendering engine

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 Pressbooks if

  • You need single source, three outputs.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Self-hosted.
  • You also want cloning and adaptation.
Pressbooks review

Choose Shopify if

  • You need hosted ecommerce platform.
  • You also want payment processing.
Shopify review

Questions people ask

Is Pressbooks or Shopify better?
Neither clearly leads. Pressbooks starts at Free and Shopify at $24/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Pressbooks or Shopify?
Pressbooks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Pressbooks and $24/month for Shopify.
Does Pressbooks or Shopify run on more platforms?
Pressbooks runs on Web, Self-hosted. Shopify runs on Web.
Can I use Pressbooks for free?
Yes. Pressbooks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Shopify starts at $24/month.
What is Pressbooks best used for?
Pressbooks is most often used for a university library replacing a commercial textbook by adapting an existing open textbook rather than commissioning a new one, a course team that wants readings delivered inside canvas or moodle with embedded exercises rather than as a static pdf, a research institute publishing reports that must exist as a web page, an epub and a printable document without maintaining three files, a consortium standardising open textbook production across several institutions with a shared catalogue of adaptable titles. Of those, a university library replacing a commercial textbook by adapting an existing open textbook rather than commissioning a new one and a course team that wants readings delivered inside canvas or moodle with embedded exercises rather than as a static pdf are not what Shopify is typically brought in for.
What can Pressbooks do that Shopify cannot?
Pressbooks covers Single source, three outputs, Cloning and adaptation, H5P interactive content, LMS integration. Shopify covers Hosted ecommerce platform, Payment processing, Inventory management, Order tracking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Pressbooks: Is Pressbooks really free?

The software is GPL licensed and free to self-host. The hosted service is priced, and professional print PDF output requires a commercially licensed renderer, so budget accordingly.

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
Pressbooks: Can I sell a book made in Pressbooks?

You can sell the EPUB or the printed book through any distributor, but Pressbooks itself provides no ISBN, no storefront and no distribution.

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
Pressbooks: Why do universities use it for open textbooks?

Because an openly licensed book can be cloned into another institution network and adapted for a different course, which turns a finished textbook into a starting point rather than a fixed artefact.

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.

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