Softwr

E-Commerce · head to head

Shopkeep vs Spree Commerce

Shopkeep logo

Shopkeep

E-Commerce

Cloud-based POS for small businesses

From
$89/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Spree Commerce logo

Spree Commerce

E-Commerce

Complete open source ecommerce solution

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Spree Commerce has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Shopkeep all plans require 24/7 phone and chat support; no tiered support options; Spree Commerce multi-vendor marketplace, B2B commerce and multi-tenant white label modules are Enterprise Edition only and licensed separately from the open source core
  • They diverge on capability: Shopkeep covers Point of sale, Spree Commerce covers Multi-store support.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Shopkeep and Spree Commerce differ
AttributeShopkeepSpree Commerce
Starting price$89/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsiPad, WebWeb
Founded20082007

Identical on both: 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
  • Inventory management
  • Customer profiles
  • Sales analytics
  • Employee management
  • Mobile POS
  • Reporting

Only in Spree Commerce

  • Multi-store support
  • Multi-currency
  • Multi-language
  • REST API
  • GraphQL support
  • Mobile-ready
  • SEO optimization
  • Flexible taxonomy

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.

Spree Commerce

  • E-commerce platforms with zero platform fees and no vendor lock-innot Shopkeep
  • Self-hosted shopping experiences on AWS, GCP, Azure, or on-premise infrastructurenot Shopkeep
  • Deployments requiring predictable costs that don't scale with revenuenot 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

Spree Commerce

  • Multi-vendor marketplace, B2B commerce and multi-tenant white label modules are Enterprise Edition only and licensed separately from the open source core
  • Enterprise Edition pricing is quoted per customer depending on modules and scale, with no published rate
  • Support with guaranteed response times and a success manager comes only with Enterprise Edition
  • The free Community Edition is self hosted, so hosting, upgrades and Ruby on Rails maintenance are the operator's responsibility

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

Spree Commerce

Free
  • Open SourceFree
    • Full platform access
    • Community support
    • All core features
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Premium support
    • Custom development
    • SLA guarantees

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 Spree Commerce if

  • You need multi-store support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want multi-currency.
Spree Commerce review

Questions people ask

Is Shopkeep or Spree Commerce better?
Neither clearly leads. Shopkeep starts at $89/month and Spree Commerce at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Shopkeep or Spree Commerce?
Spree Commerce has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $89/month for Shopkeep and Free for Spree Commerce.
Does Shopkeep or Spree Commerce run on more platforms?
Shopkeep runs on iPad, Web. Spree Commerce runs on Web.
Can I use Spree Commerce for free?
Yes. Spree Commerce has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Shopkeep starts at $89/month.
What can Shopkeep do that Spree Commerce cannot?
Shopkeep covers Point of sale, Payment processing, Inventory management, Customer profiles. Spree Commerce covers Multi-store support, Multi-currency, Multi-language, REST API.

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
Spree Commerce: Is Spree Commerce free?

Yes, Spree Commerce is free and open source under a BSD 3-Clause license. The core platform has zero platform fees and no GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) cuts or transaction fees, and sandbox access is free without requiring a credit card.

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
Spree Commerce: What is Spree Commerce's pricing model?

Spree Commerce operates as free open-source software. Users self-host on their choice of infrastructure (AWS, GCP, Azure, or on-premise), so costs are based on the hosting infrastructure selected rather than platform subscription fees. An Enterprise Edition is available with optional dedicated support, but specific pricing is not published.

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
Spree Commerce: Are there transaction fees with Spree Commerce?

No, Spree Commerce charges zero transaction fees. Unlike SaaS e-commerce platforms that take a percentage of sales, Spree offers predictable costs that don't scale with revenue, giving merchants full control over their margins.

Source
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