9 Shopify Alternatives To Build Your E-Commerce Store

When people talk about building an online store, Shopify is often their go-to choice. But, maybe you want more control over store customization, SEO, and payment options, and are finding Shopify’s features to be a bit restrictive for your needs. 

The good thing is that there are several Shopify alternatives that might be a better fit for your e-commerce store. Here are 9 of them!

1. WooCommerce

Price: Free to use
Best for: People who already have a WordPress website and want to turn it into an e-commerce store

WooCommerce is an open-source WordPress-powered e-commerce plug-in that lets you turn your WordPress website or blog into an online store. It’s completely customizable, making it a great e-commerce builder for start-ups development — especially those who want full control over site design, functionality, and SEO without using any code. So, if you work with WordPress and want to convert your website into a reselling store, WooCommerce is a great Shopify alternative. 

While the plugin itself is free to use, you do need to buy hosting, take care of security yourself, and pay if you want to use any additional premium plug-ins. There’s also a slight learning curve and the tiny fact that WooCommerce works only with WordPress. 

👉 Read a detailed review of Shopify vs. WooCommerce

2. Wix

Price: Starts at $17/ month, with a limited free plan
Best for: Beginners who want to build a simple online store

Not tech-savvy and looking for an easy, no-code e-commerce builder? Wix might be your guy! It comes with a drag-and-drop editor, 900+ free website templates, and advanced design features that let you customize your online store without writing a single line of code. There’s also an AI website builder that’ll do the job for you!

All of Wix’s paid plans come with a custom domain (free for a year), reliable hosting, fully-managed site security, mobile optimization to make your store easy to browse on mobiles, and built-in SEO tools to enhance discoverability.  

3. BigCommerce

Price: Starts at $39/ month
Best for: For multi-channel sellers who want to scale their store

Whether you’re a small-scale or enterprise-level online seller, if you’re looking to scale your e-commerce store, BigCommerce might be the platform for you. It provides a robust set of features — practically everything you might need to grow your store. This includes a mobile-friendly website, a mobile app, analytics, real-time shipping prices, and 55 payment gateways with zero additional fees! 

BigCommerce is built for multi-channel sellers and for those who want to merge their brick-and-mortar stores with online selling. 

4. Sellfy

Price: Starts at $29/ month
Best for: Small-businesses

Whether you sell digital products and subscriptions, merchandise, or resell thrifted items, Sellfy is a great choice — especially if you want to keep your online selling business small. You can get your own customized store up and running in just 5 minutes! 

This Shopify alternative boasts in-built print-on-demand, email marketing, affiliate marketing, and upselling features. You can also upload “buy now” buttons to social media platforms. Overall, a pretty simple way to get your own e-commerce store. 

5. Shift4Shop

Price: Starts at $39/ month
Best for: For sellers looking for a budget-friendly option

Want a feature-rich e-commerce store builder for an affordable price? Shift4Shop might be a match made in heaven for your business. This simple and straightforward Shopify alternative offers a lot of features built-in, reducing your need for third-party integrations. Not to mention the fact that you get all these enterprise-level features for the cost of a basic t-shirt!

Shift4Shop has 100+ free themes to get you started along with a full suite of SEO tools, product and order management, as well as social media + email marketing. Want to customize your store? You can do that, too!

There’s also fraud protection, multi-channel e-commerce integration, real-time shipping prices, website security, and free domain included with the plan. The best part? US-based sellers can use Shift4Shop for free if you use Shift4 Payments and get at least $1,000 in revenue through your store per month!

6. Squarespace

Price: Starts at $36/ month if you want to sell
Best for: Creative sellers who want a visually stunning store

If you’re a creative — such as an artist or blogger — who wants a website to showcase your creativity and sell some products, then Squarespace might be a great choice for you as it’s known for its eye-catching visuals. You can also easily create a blog or a gallery, combining online selling while maintaining your own creative brand.

The drag-and-drop website builder + the free templates make creating your online store very easy. You can also check for domain availability and get Squarespace’s AI to build your store for you. The built-in SEO and marketing tools help you grow your store. This Shopify competitor also automatically adds your store design and color palette to your emails, helping you maintain a consistent brand! 

7. PinnacleCart

Price: Contact them
Best for: Small- to medium-sized businesses who want a customizable solution

PinnacleCart offers just one plan which includes everything you might need to create and grow your online store. You can use one of this platform’s templates, or simply use its easy “point and click” design to build your storefront (which can be completely customized to fit your brand style). 

It integrates with leading payment processors and charges you zero fees for transactions! If you accept payments using the platform’s very own PruPay, you can use all of its features for free! You also get advanced store management features, marketing tools, and support for multi-channel selling!

8. PrestaShop

Price: Free to download and use, with paid versions available
Best for: Tech-savvy sellers who want full customization and control over their shop

Whether you’re a hobbyist seller who wants a simple store, or an enterprise-level e-commerce business, PrestaShop offers solutions for all. It gives you full control over your online store, letting you customize every single aspect of it. 

This Shopify competitor supports several payment gateways and multiple languages and currencies to help you sell globally. However, keep in mind that you need to pay for your hosting, domain, and site security. 

9. Big Cartel

Price: Starts from $0
Best for: Beginners or hobbyist sellers

If you’re a creator looking to start selling some merch online, or are a hobbyist who only needs a simple store, Big Cartel might work well for you. It’s very easy to create your store for free using one of the customizable designs and start selling. If you do scale up a bit, you can access more features via the paid plans. 

If you’re a US-based seller, Big Cartel takes away the headache of calculating sales tax and remittance fees. If you want to supercharge your store with more features, you can use one of the apps that integrate with this e-commerce store builder. Very easy and beginner-friendly!

Some parting words: No matter which Shopify alternative you go for, make sure that it aligns well with your business.

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