Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

Shopkeep vs Swell Commerce

Shopkeep logo

Shopkeep

E-Commerce

Cloud-based POS for small businesses

From
$89/month
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: Shopkeep all plans require 24/7 phone and chat support; no tiered support options; 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
  • They diverge on capability: Shopkeep covers Point of sale, Swell Commerce covers Headless architecture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Shopkeep and Swell Commerce differ
AttributeShopkeepSwell Commerce
Starting price$89/month$29/month
PlatformsiPad, WebWeb
Founded20082019

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 Shopkeep

  • Point of sale
  • Payment processing
  • Customer profiles
  • Sales analytics
  • Employee management
  • Mobile POS
  • Reporting

Only in Swell Commerce

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

Both cover

  • Inventory management

What people use each for

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

Shopkeep

No use cases recorded yet. See the Shopkeep review.

Swell Commerce

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

Where each one falls short

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

Shopkeep

  • All plans require 24/7 phone and chat support; no tiered support options
  • Prices vary by business type and industry with additional service fees possible
  • Extra locations and registers incur additional charges beyond base plan cost

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

Shopkeep

$89/month
  • Basic$89/month
    • Retail POS platform
    • 1 register included
    • Integrated Payments 1.5%
  • Core$149/month
    • All Basic features
    • Advanced management tools
    • Business growth support
  • Plus$289/month
    • All Core features
    • Advanced customization
    • Established retail operations support

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 Shopkeep if

  • You need point of sale.
  • You work on iPad, Web.
  • You also want payment processing.
Shopkeep review

Choose Swell Commerce if

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

Questions people ask

Is Shopkeep or Swell Commerce better?
Neither clearly leads. Shopkeep starts at $89/month and Swell Commerce at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Shopkeep or Swell Commerce?
Shopkeep starts at $89/month and Swell Commerce at $29/month.
Does Shopkeep or Swell Commerce run on more platforms?
Shopkeep runs on iPad, Web. Swell Commerce runs on Web.
What can Shopkeep do that Swell Commerce cannot?
Shopkeep covers Point of sale, Payment processing, Customer profiles, Sales analytics. Swell Commerce covers Headless architecture, GraphQL & REST APIs, Subscription commerce, Multi-currency support. Both handle Inventory management.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Shopkeep: What is included in the Lightspeed Retail Basic plan at $89 per month?

The Basic plan includes 1 register, retail POS platform, integrated payments at 1.5% card-present rate, inventory management, Lightspeed Wholesale access, NuORDER Catalog with 5 million+ products, built-in eCommerce, loyalty programs, and 24/7 support.

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
Shopkeep: How much can I save by paying annually instead of monthly?

Shopkeep (Lightspeed Retail) offers up to 18% discount when paying annually instead of month-to-month. All three plans (Basic, Core, Plus) qualify for this annual discount.

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
Shopkeep: What additional costs should I budget beyond the monthly subscription?

Beyond the monthly plan cost, extra locations require additional charges, extra registers incur per-register fees, and hardware (terminals, scanners, iPad devices) have separate costs. Integrated payment processing charges 1.5% per transaction.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Shopkeep

More on Swell Commerce

Keep looking

Other head to heads