Shopifyvs
GIMP
GIMP: Free and open-source image editor
Shopify
The most trusted ecommerce platform to start, grow, and scale your business
As of 15 September 2026, Shopify starts at $24/month. Shopify is a cloud-based ecommerce platform that allows entrepreneurs to build and manage their online stores easily. Softwr lists it under E-Commerce. Shopify is made by Shopify Inc, launched in 2006, available on Web.
Overview
What Shopify does
Shopify is a cloud-based ecommerce platform that allows entrepreneurs to build and manage their online stores easily. It provides everything needed to sell online including hosting, payment processing, inventory management, and marketing tools. Shopify powers over 1 million businesses across more than 175 countries.
What people use it for
- Running a hosted ecommerce store with payments and fulfilment
- Selling across online, in person and social channels from one catalogue
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Shopify
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- ShopifyvsBlurb
Blurb: Visual storytelling through print-on-demand books and wall art
- ShopifyvsLulu
Lulu: Quality book printing at a reasonable price
- ShopifyvsMarq
Marq: Web-based design and publishing for brand templates
Pricing
What Shopify costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Basic
$24 /mo
- For solo entrepreneurs
- $32/month on monthly billing
- 2.9% + AED1.00 transaction fee (standard cards)
Grow
$69 /mo
- For small teams
- $92/month on monthly billing
- 2.8% + AED1.00 transaction fee (standard cards)
Advanced
$299 /mo
- For global reach
- $399/month on monthly billing
- 2.7% + AED1.00 transaction fee (standard cards)
Plus
$2,300 /mo
- For complex businesses
- most competitive transaction rates
Capabilities
Features
Hosted ecommerce platform
Payment processing
Inventory management
Order tracking
Marketing automation
Apps and integrations
Multi-channel selling
SSL certificate
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
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.
SourceDoes Shopify offer a free trial?
Yes, Shopify offers 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months without requiring a credit card.
SourceWhat 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.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Shopify
- Company
- Shopify Inc
- Based in
- Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Keep looking
Where to go from Shopify
- Shopify alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Shopify pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Shopify badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All E-Commerce softwareThe full category
- Best E-Commerce softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best E-Commerce software for
Compare Shopify with
- 3dcart
- Saleor
- Klarna
- Bluepark
- Square
- Squarespace Commerce
- Medusa
- Loox
- TikTok Shop
- UnoPIM
- Shopkeep
- Stripe
- Amazon Shopping
- Depop
- Mercari
- Poshmark
- Shein
- Squarespace Commerce
Other E-Commerce software
Buy now pay later and instalment checkout for online and in-store merchants
Pricing on request12 researched notesA UK-based ecommerce platform to design, sell and manage your online store
From £14.99/mo10 researched notesAutomate and scale your product data with an AI-powered open-source PIM.
Free plan14 researched notesAmazon's consumer marketplace app for browsing, buying and tracking orders
Free plan11 researched notesFashion resale marketplace popular with younger sellers, owned by Etsy, with a per-item plus percentage fee
Free plan11 researched notesJapan-founded peer-to-peer resale marketplace with a flat seller commission
Free plan11 researched notesSocial resale marketplace with a flat fee on low-value sales and a percentage cut above that
Free plan11 researched notesUltra-fast-fashion e-commerce app shipping low-cost apparel direct from Chinese manufacturers
Free plan10 researched notes
Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Shopify, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Shopify
Shopify alternatives
What people switch to, and what they give up
Shopify pricing
Every tier, and where the cost actually lands
Compare Shopify
Put it head to head with anything we hold
Shopify badge
Its rating, and an embed for your own site
Best E-Commerce software alternatives
Social resale marketplace with a flat fee on low-value sales and a percentage cut above that
Free to list; tiered seller commission by sale priceUltra-fast-fashion e-commerce app shipping low-cost apparel direct from Chinese manufacturers
Free to browse and use; pay per order, optional paid loyalty tierJapan-founded peer-to-peer resale marketplace with a flat seller commission
Free to list; 10 percent seller commission on sale price plus payment processing feeAmazon's consumer marketplace app for browsing, buying and tracking orders
Free to use; optional Prime subscription for fast shipping and bundled media
Lithuania-founded secondhand fashion marketplace that charges the buyer, not the seller, a platform fee
Free for sellers, no commission; buyer pays a variable Buyer Protection fee at checkout
Ultra-low-cost general merchandise marketplace owned by PDD Holdings, parent of Pinduoduo
Free to browse and use; pay per order, heavy promotional discounting