Shopify Alternatives

Nearly everyone now associates Shopify with shopping online for a valid purpose. With over a million businesses using it in more than 175 countries, it is one of the most widely used e-commerce websites worldwide. Assessing the top Shopify alternatives and examining the advantages and disadvantages of each e-commerce platform will help us understand why some businessmen have switched from Shopify to BigCommerce. Operating an online store is made possible by the e-commerce programme Shopify. The platform allows you to do many things, such as create a website, manage products, figure out shipping costs, and sell through various channels. You're also exempt from support and maintenance duties because Shopify is a hosted, cloud-based solution. Including its Shopify and Shopify Plus e-commerce services, Shopify offers support for both little and big businesses. Furthermore, even if there isn't a free plan, Shopify does provide Shopify Lite as a choice if you want to add a buy button to an already-existing website or blog.

1. WooCommerce

If you do even a little research on e-commerce software, WooCommerce will come up. By following the WooCommerce tutorial we've developed for you, you may set up your own WooCommerce store. One of the finest Shopify options for many business owners is WooCommerce. It is open-source, totally free to use, and-best of all-receives top marks for measuring visitor satisfaction. Even some users assert that it is in many ways superior to Shopify. Scalability is a little tricky, if you want the more sophisticated features, you'll have to buy the pricier edition. But aside from that, WooCommerce offers everything you could possibly need. An expensive cart can be quickly added to a website. Furthermore, it is responsive, making the creation of websites that are optimised for mobile devices simple. Only the hosting fee needs to be paid. Additionally, unlike Shopify, you simply have to make a one-time purchase to access their advanced services. You should be aware that WooCommerce isn't particularly good at troubleshooting. You can dramatically increase the speed of your WooCommerce website when used in conjunction with trustworthy e-commerce hosting options. To improve the efficiency of your store, you can even combine it with a number of plugins for abandoned carts. You can configure your website so that clients can add more products or recommendations with just one click if you wish to upsell after a sale.

Advantages:

Several elements that ensure maximum creativity are integrated seamlessly with WordPress
One-click upsells after the purchase
Simple to set up
freedom to sell any number of items on your website
access to both expensive extensions and hundreds of free ones

Disadvantages:

No hosting is offered
You'll require technological know-how.
Occasionally clumsy

2. BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a fantastic option if you want a straightforward, no-frills experience and the adaptability of using a drag-and-drop editor when putting up your website. Although there are many beautiful themes on the platform, just seven are available for free in all niches. The premium ones will cost you money, which makes it more customizable than Shopify. However, the load times of BigCommerce are a little slower than those of other sites.

Advantages:

Numerous built-in, drag-and-drop visual editing tools will help you construct a stunning e-commerce store.
No transaction fees and more than 55 secure payment gateways
Multiple-channel sales
There are many free options available, including an Instagram in-app checkout tool.
fully editable URLs and SEO capabilities
suitable for many business models

Disadvantage:

If you are a new user, pricing may seem a little complicated.
A little challenging to install
The speeds fluctuate
Only 5 free themes are available

3. Magento

Magneto may already be recognizable to consumers. In 2011 eBay bought the business, and in 2018 Adobe did the same. This well-known platform is excellent for store owners who have been in business for some time and has a large and well-established community worldwide. It's simple to comprehend why Magento is so well-liked when you consider the costs. It's one of the greatest Shopify alternatives because the pricing is so similar to WooCommerce's. The hosting, the themes, and the plugins must be purchased in addition to the free content management system. However, Magento is essentially a CMS platform that allows you to concentrate on selling all of your products through an open-source ecosystem, which is excellent for companies trying to grow.

Advantages:

250K plus developers and cutting-edge functionality to assist you in creating a stunning and useful e-commerce store
There are numerous safe payment gateway choices to choose from.
Responsive design for your online store
Various add-ons and extensions available through its extensive partner ecosystem
excellent community support

Disadvantages:

To effectively leverage the open-source alternative, coding and technical knowledge are needed
Since it is tough to manage on your own, new users may find it complex
Extremely costly

4. Opencart

OpenCart is a free Shopify substitute with a comparatively up-to-date framework that enables you to build professional-looking websites that you can tailor to your needs. It has a sizable user base and excellent documentation. The vast majority of e-commerce clients often want it to accommodate thousands of add-ons and third-party modules.

Advantages:

Ideal for the majority of e-commerce stores
quite adaptable and supports a variety of payment gateways
Very rapid setup and launch
supports a variety of payment gateways

Disadvantages:

Not as simple to utilise as Shopify
For a layperson, the documentation and support are difficult to understand.
Definitely not the simplest platform to use
Not as many add-ons as Shopify

5. Wix

Wix, which was founded in 2006, offers business solutions that are perfect for e-commerce companies and makes it simple for anyone to design a website. Wix can be a better choice than Shopify if you have little experience and need a very straightforward website builder.

Advantages:

It's simple to launch your store quickly using a drag-and-drop website builder.
A total of 300 variant SKUs are supported, with 6 alternatives per product.
Wix has a comprehensive, searchable Help Centre.
A free domain is included with each of their top-tier e-commerce website plans for a period of one year.

Disadvantages:

You are limited to 50GB of storage capacity unless you have an enterprise plan with bespoke storage space.
Wix does not accept payments with Amazon Payments or Apple Pay.
You'll need to phone or send a support request since there isn't any chat support available right now.
Wix provides so many different website options that aren't focused on e-commerce, making it difficult to search through the app store.

6. Shift4Shop

Shift4Shop has provided SEO-focused e-commerce software since 1997. Therefore, you could favour Shift4Shop over Shopify if you're an SEO enthusiast and significantly rely on organic search.

Advantages:

Several other SEO methods include 301 redirects and Google AMP for items.
Every plan includes a built-in blogging platform.
You can purchase a complete e-commerce platform for extremely tiny stores for less money than Shopify's Basic plan.
More than 100 options for online payments, including global processors.

Disadvantages:

Limited staff users are charged an extra per month for each user.
The store builder has a steep learning curve, making it sometimes challenging to navigate it and locate the tools you require.
Compared to the templates provided by Shopify or BigCommerce, all of the free themes have a pretty similar appearance.

7. Pinnacle Cart

Pinnacle Cart, a shopping cart solution with a strong emphasis on marketing, was established in 2003 and is intended for small to mid-sized businesses. If you're seeking for more control over your shop and more SEO tools as a Shopify alternative, this is an excellent option.

Advantages:

Either choose to host with Pinnacle Cart, or choose to handle hosting independently.
SEO-friendly elements like custom URLs and schema.org tags.
Every package has an unlimited selection of goods and categories.

Disadvantages:

If you decide to host with Pinnacle Cart, you will have to pay more or change to a more expensive plan that gives unlimited bandwidth because the lowest $79.95 plan has limits on bandwidth and storage.
There are versions of Pinnacle Cart, therefore you'll need to manage upgrades.
Since it only integrates with 64 apps, the partner network is quite small.
There are only 12 themes offered by Pinnacle Cart, as opposed to Shopify's extensive collection.

8. Squarespace

Squarespace could be just what you need if you want to launch your online business and have a limited selection of products. The platform offers a great website-building tool and a selection of templates. With a little adjusting, you can create a fantastic online store. Moreover, users should be aware that Squarespace only accepts online payments made through PayPal and Stripe. Additionally, it includes various marketing tools including tracking for Amazon Affiliates, MailChimp, and AdWords.

Advantages:

Perfect for tiny stores
incredibly simple to set up
Impressive themes without the need for coding
gives you the freedom to use your own product photographs and designs while also providing you with a wide range of lovely templates to create an attractive online store.

Disadvantages:

Does not provide integration with the tracking code API to track store visitors.
There is little assistance.
There are few multi-channel functions available.
The speed of website loading could be faster
There are fewer add-ons available than with Shopify.

9. X-Cart

The Qualiteam-created X-Cart is quick, efficient, and comparatively simple to use. It has a tonne of functionality and is marketed as an all-in-one solution for your ecommerce requirements. This robust platform offers an infinite amount of adjustments, and a skilled developer may utilise it without difficulty to build a great store, making it a strong Shopify alternative. But be aware that the company could not provide much assistance if there is a problem. They'll only attribute the problem to your servers, leaving you to deal with the solution entirely on your own.

Advantages:

The virtual server functions really well.
Setup and use are simple.

Disadvantages:

It can be difficult to find developers for X-cart, and they can be quite pricey.
The business has a history of attributing problems to the server.

10. Square Online Store

Several people recommend The Square Online Store as an all-inclusive answer to all e-commerce demands. Square Online Store can be a good alternative to Shopify if it seems overkill for your business ambitions. Although Square's POS systems are its main selling point, company owners have recently started to favour its e-commerce platform as well. You have a free plan with a transaction fee associated with each payment. You get support for an infinite number of products, the ability to use a shopping cart, and more in exchange. Even yet, there are only a few features available, and Square is the solely supported payment processor. You must select their premium plan if you want to utilise PayPal. It's an excellent Shopify substitute for newcomers. Additionally, when your store expands, you'll want to add more options for receiving payments and other e-commerce tools, but that's not possible with the free plan. Your internet business may suffer as a result.

Advantages:

It's really quite simple to set up.
You can sign up for a free plan there.
offers direct interaction with Square

Disadvantages:

Supports just Square unless you pay a significant price to enable PayPal support
Scalability is a challenge.
Depending on the plan you choose, the features change.

11. Weebly

Another practical hosted platform for individuals looking for a free Shopify substitute is Weebly. Weebly's most expensive plan is significantly less expensive than Shopify's Basic Plan despite having fewer features overall than Shopify. Weebly can be the solution you're looking for if you don't want to shell out a lot of cash for an online store that works perfectly. Weebly is a fantastic option that is straightforward to use right out of the box if you want to create a website utilising a straightforward builder.

Advantages:

Affordable
quick and simple beginning
Instantly launch your website
a selection of apps and tools are available.
gives you membership zones and enables team collaboration
Totally free domain
Free test

Disadvantage:

A challenge is scalability.
Don't expect the bells and whistles because it's quite simple.
Unsuitable for stores with significant volume

12. Ecwid

Another excellent Shopify substitute is Ecwid. It functions as an addition that enables you to deliver content on your current websites and social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, WhatsApp, etc. Even a WordPress-based store can be created using their plugin. For user convenience and help with payments and sales, it provides a number of POS tools and payment gateway choices. Another benefit of Ecwid is that you can also sell digital goods using it. Furthermore, it provides alternatives for marketing automation and enables businesses to provide clients with discounts.

Advantages: