Shopify is the right answer for most people starting a store, and the wrong one for a few specific situations. Here are the alternatives worth considering, the case each one wins, and a full comparison for every one of them.
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Pick by situation
- You already run WordPress, or want to own everything — WooCommerce. Free software, your data, your maintenance.
- You publish to win customers — WordPress with WooCommerce, or WordPress alongside a Shopify store.
- You want more built in and fewer apps — BigCommerce, if its sales caps fit your size.
- The website is the product and the shop is a section — Wix.
- Design and content lead — Squarespace, on Core or above.
- You make things and have no audience yet — Etsy, for its traffic.
- You sell products people already search for — Amazon, for its reach.
What they all have in common
On standard US cards, most of them charge what Shopify Basic charges: 2.9% + 30¢. The real differences are elsewhere — platform fees on cheap plans, sales caps, marketplace commissions, maintenance you take on yourself, and who owns the customer. Each comparison above puts those side by side with the figures read from each platform’s own documentation.
When Shopify is still the answer
If none of the situations above describes you — you want to sell, soon, without running anything — the alternatives mostly trade convenience for a saving you will pay back in time. Our Shopify review covers what you get, and is Shopify worth it runs the numbers for your size.
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