Print & Publishing · head to head
Shopify vs Lulu
Shopify
Print & Publishing
The most trusted ecommerce platform to start, grow, and scale your business
- From
- $29/month
- Rated
- -
Lulu
Print & Publishing
Quality book printing at a reasonable price
- From
- On request
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: 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; Lulu production requires 3-5 business days before shipping, with the first printing day starting only after the order is placed
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Shopify and Lulu actually diverge.
Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Print & 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 Shopify
- Hosted ecommerce platform
- Payment processing
- Inventory management
- Order tracking
- Marketing automation
- Apps and integrations
- Multi-channel selling
- SSL certificate
Only in Lulu
Nothing recorded that Shopify does not also cover.
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Shopify
- Running a hosted ecommerce store with payments and fulfilmentnot Lulu
- Selling across online, in person and social channels from one cataloguenot Lulu
Lulu
No use cases recorded yet. See the Lulu review.
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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
Lulu
- Production requires 3-5 business days before shipping, with the first printing day starting only after the order is placed
Pricing, plan by plan
Shopify
$29/month- Starter$5/month
- Buy Button & Sales Channel
- Abandoned checkout recovery
- Basic reporting
- Basic$29/month
- Online store
- Up to 2 staff accounts
- Basic reports
- Standard$79/month
- Professional reports
- Gift cards
- Up to 15 staff accounts
Lulu
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Lulu review.
Which should you pick?
Choose Lulu if
Nothing in the data separates Lulu from Shopify on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Questions people ask
- Is Shopify or Lulu better?
- Neither clearly leads. Shopify starts at $29/month and Lulu at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Shopify or Lulu?
- Shopify starts at $29/month and Lulu at On request.
- Does Shopify or Lulu run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is Shopify best used for?
- Shopify is most often used for running a hosted ecommerce store with payments and fulfilment, selling across online, in person and social channels from one catalogue. Of those, running a hosted ecommerce store with payments and fulfilment and selling across online, in person and social channels from one catalogue are not what Lulu is typically brought in for.
- What can Shopify do that Lulu cannot?
- Shopify covers Hosted ecommerce platform, Payment processing, Inventory management, Order tracking.