Shopify Alternative 2026: The best shop systems in comparison

Shopify is one of the most well-known e-commerce platforms worldwide. From small startups to global brands, hundreds of thousands of merchants rely on it because it’s easy to set up, scales quickly, and comes with a massive app ecosystem.

Still, many companies eventually ask themselves: Is there a better Shopify alternative?

Sometimes it’s because they need more advanced B2B features, or because an internal development team wants maximum freedom, or simply because another licensing model seems more attractive.

In this article, you’ll get an overview of the most important Shopify alternatives in 2025. We compare the platforms based on strengths, weaknesses, and target groups and we also show in which scenarios Shopify remains the smarter choice despite strong competition.

Decision Criteria Before Choosing an E-Commerce Platform

Before looking at alternatives in detail, it’s important to understand the criteria you should use to evaluate a platform. Choosing an e-commerce system isn’t purely a technical decision. It affects your cost structure, your speed to market, and ultimately the success of your entire business model.

Many companies fall into two traps: They either chase every feature they can find (“feature FOMO”), or they focus too much on the price and underestimate the ongoing effort required.

A better approach is to set clear priorities:

• What matters most for your business?
• A fast launch?
• International scaling?
• Complex B2B processes?

To make an informed decision, here are the key evaluation criteria, step by step.

1. Implementation effort & time to market

A central factor is how fast you can realistically go live. SaaS solutions like Shopify vs BigCommerce clearly lead here: you can build a functioning shop in just a few weeks, including checkout, payment methods, and base design.

Open-source systems like Magento or PrestaShop are a completely different story. You need to handle hosting, architecture, module selection, frontend development, and security. Projects often take months and require far more internal resources.

The real question is: How important is time-to-market for you?
If you want to generate revenue quickly or test new markets, SaaS is hard to beat. If you have a strong development team and very specific requirements, the extra effort of open-source may pay off in the long run.

2. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)

Open-source systems often appear cheaper at first glance: no monthly fees, full control over hosting. Sounds great. But over 12–36 months, the picture changes.

Beyond license fees, important cost factors include:

• hosting
• maintenance and updates
• integrations and plugins
• app subscriptions
• payment fees
• developer time

With SaaS platforms like Shopify, many of these costs are already included, while they add up quickly on open-source systems.

This is why it’s worth calculating a TCO over three years. In many cases, SaaS ends up cheaper and far more predictable.

3. Scalability & Performance

If your shop grows, the platform must keep up, reliably and without performance drops. SaaS systems like Shopify Plus and BigCommerce offer major advantages here: global CDNs, optimized checkout performance, and stability even during peak events like Black Friday.

Entry-level builders like Wix or Jimdo reach their limits quickly once product catalogs grow or traffic spikes increase. Open-source systems like Magento can handle huge volumes, but only with the right server setup and an experienced DevOps team.

Put simply: If your business is built for growth and you don’t want to manage servers, caching, or performance manually, Shopify is usually the safer choice.

4. B2B features & headless commerce

B2B commerce brings unique requirements: customer-specific pricing, role and permission models, approval workflows, net pricing, and fast reordering. A standard B2C checkout often isn’t enough.

Shopify Plus now offers a strong native B2B suite with company profiles, custom catalogs, and a B2B checkout. Alternatives like Shopware or Commercetools also perform very well in this area but typically require more implementation work.

Headless commerce is a special case: you decouple the frontend and backend so you can power websites, apps, kiosks, or other touchpoints with the same commerce logic. It offers maximum flexibility but is also technically demanding. For many retailers, Shopify’s standard architecture is sufficient. For multi-channel enterprises, headless can be valuable.

5. Internationalization & Taxes

Selling in multiple countries requires more than translations. You need localized taxes, customs settings, legal pages, and local payment methods. This is where many platforms struggle.

Shopify Markets solves most of this out of the box:

• country-specific domains
• automatic tax calculations
• price adjustments
• regional payment options
• tailored checkout settings

Open-source systems require significantly more manual work, often with expensive plugins.

For brands looking to expand internationally with minimal overhead, Shopify is extremely strong. Only highly complex tax or customs workflows may justify a custom open-source setup.

6. Integrations & Ecosystem

No shop runs on its own. You need ERP, CRM, PIM, accounting software, fulfillment tools, and marketing integrations. The key question: Are these integrations already available?

Shopify offers a huge advantage: a massive App Store with thousands of ready-made extensions. Magento or Commercetools give you full flexibility, but integrations usually require more custom development.

Too many plugins can destabilize a shop, so a curated, reliable ecosystem like Shopify’s provides long-term stability.

7. Support, Community & Partner Network

Even the best technology doesn’t help if support is weak. Shopify shines with a global 24/7 support team, a huge partner ecosystem, and an active community. Whether you need a freelancer or an enterprise-level agency, the ecosystem is large and mature.

Platforms like Commercetools or Spryker have strong support as well but are heavily focused on enterprise clients. Website builders like Wix or Jimdo offer basic support but lack specialized agency partners.

If you prefer not to rely on a single agency and want access to a large pool of experts, Shopify has a clear advantage.

Shopify Alternatives at a Glance

1. WooCommerce, the WordPress extension

WooCommerce isn’t a standalone e-commerce platform, it’s a plugin for WordPress. It transforms your existing website into a fully functional online store and is especially attractive for merchants who already work with WordPress or value maximum flexibility and control.

The biggest advantage of WooCommerce is its openness:
The plugin is free, open source, and can be extended with thousands of themes and plugins. Whether you need product filters, subscriptions, memberships, or booking tools, there’s an add-on for almost any feature. This allows you to build a store that fits your business model precisely.

However, this level of freedom comes with responsibility.
Unlike Shopify, WooCommerce requires you to manage hosting, updates, backups, and security yourself. For smaller teams without technical expertise, this can quickly become a burden. Performance and scalability also depend heavily on your hosting environment, an underpowered server will show immediately.

Legal compliance in the German market is another challenge.
While Shopify covers many requirements out of the box, WooCommerce typically needs additional plugins such as "Germanized" or "German Market" to meet GDPR and other regulatory standards.

WooCommerce vs. Shopify:

If you already have a WordPress site and want maximum customization, WooCommerce is an appealing option. You’re free to choose your hosting, payment providers and can theoretically scale almost without limits, provided you invest in a strong developer setup.

Shopify, on the other hand, takes much of the technical workload off your shoulders: hosting, security, and updates run automatically, and the App Store offers vetted extensions with minimal integration effort.

In short: WooCommerce is ideal for experienced WordPress users and tinkerers who want full control. Shopify is the better choice if you’re looking for a stable, low-maintenance solution with predictable costs and that’s exactly what matters most for the majority of merchants in the long run.

2. Magento / Adobe Commerce – the enterprise powerhouse

Magento, now known as Adobe Commerce, is one of the most powerful e-commerce platforms on the market. It’s particularly appealing for large enterprises with highly specific requirements and the willingness to invest heavily in development and operations.

The biggest advantage of Magento is its extreme flexibility. Almost everything can be customized: catalog structures, complex pricing rules, and multi-store setups that allow you to manage multiple brands or countries from one backend. For corporations running several business models in parallel, this is a major asset.

However, that freedom comes at a cost. Magento is complex to set up and requires a strong development team. Updates, security patches, and integrations need to be implemented regularly and none of that is trivial. Infrastructure is another major factor. To run Magento with strong performance, you need powerful servers or a dedicated cloud environment.

There are many specialized agencies in the DACH region that build Magento projects. But costs escalate quickly. In addition to licensing and hosting, development expenses are significant. For smaller businesses, the investment typically doesn’t pay off.

Magento vs. Shopify:

Magento shines when it comes to extreme customization, complex B2B processes, or international multi-store strategies. Shopify, by contrast, focuses on standardized workflows and ease of use.

Rather than developing every building block from scratch, Shopify gives you a stable framework paired with a massive app ecosystem. That means less development effort, faster project timelines, and lower operational risk.

In short: Magento is the right choice for companies that need maximum flexibility and have the resources to manage that level of complexity. For the majority of merchants who want a predictable, future-proof solution, Shopify Plus is the more pragmatic option.

3. Shopware: A strong contender in the DACH region

Shopware is a German e-commerce platform that has become particularly popular in the DACH market. Many mid-sized businesses appreciate its clean interface, active community, and strong alignment with the regulatory and functional needs of the region.

One of Shopware’s standout features is its “Shopping Experiences” (Erlebniswelten). These allow you to build engaging landing pages and content-driven storefronts via drag-and-drop, without involving a developer. For brands that prioritize storytelling, this is a major advantage.

Shopware also offers a dedicated B2B Suite designed specifically for business customers. Features such as customer-specific pricing, budget controls, and approval workflows make it attractive for companies operating in B2B environments.

However, there are limitations. On an international level, Shopware is not as strong as Shopify. While Shopify Markets enables global expansion with taxes, currencies and localization out of the box, Shopware often requires additional modules or custom development to achieve the same functionality.

The partner network is also smaller and more concentrated in the DACH region compared to Shopify’s global ecosystem.

Shopware vs. Shopify:

Shopware is a strong choice for businesses focused on the German-speaking market and for brands that value creative, content-driven experiences.

However, if you plan to expand internationally or need a platform with a global infrastructure, Shopify is the better long-term fit. Its app ecosystem is significantly larger and more diverse, giving you far greater flexibility when it comes to integrations and feature extensions.

In short: Shopware excels with local strengths and dedicated B2B features, while Shopify is the all-rounder that scales internationally and leads in usability, ecosystem depth, and speed of implementation.

4. BigCommerce – the SaaS competitor from the US

BigCommerce, like Shopify, is a cloud-based e-commerce platform. You don’t need to manage hosting or security; instead, you get a fully managed SaaS solution designed for growing businesses. In the US market, BigCommerce is widely adopted and seen as one of Shopify’s closest competitors.

One of BigCommerce’s strengths is that many marketing and sales features come built in. This includes tools like abandoned cart emails, Google AMP pages, and native multichannel connections to Amazon, eBay, and various social platforms.

Another advantage is the freedom to choose your payment providers. Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce does not charge additional fees for using third-party gateways, an important factor for merchants with high transaction volumes.

On the downside, BigCommerce works with a revenue-based pricing model, meaning your monthly fees increase as your business grows. For fast-scaling brands, this can make financial planning more challenging.

The selection of templates and apps is also smaller compared to Shopify, which means you may hit functional limits sooner if you rely on specific extensions or niche integrations.

BigCommerce vs. Shopify:

In many areas, the two platforms are quite similar. Both are user-friendly, scalable, and built on SaaS infrastructure. However, Shopify stands out with a much larger app ecosystem, a stronger global community, and far more flexibility for international expansion. With Shopify Markets, you can sell worldwide without dealing with complex technical setups or heavy customization.

In short: BigCommerce is a solid alternative for businesses primarily serving the US market and looking for strong native features. But if you're thinking internationally, want access to a broad partner ecosystem, and value a highly dynamic, innovation-driven environment, Shopify is the better long-term choice.

5. Commercetools – the API-first solution

Commercetools is one of the most modern e-commerce platforms available today. Built around a strict API-first philosophy and fully cloud-native architecture, the platform targets mid-sized to large companies that need an extremely flexible, future-proof commerce setup and have the developer resources to leverage that freedom.

Its biggest strength is its modular architecture. Instead of a monolithic system, you work with individual microservices that you can combine as needed. Whether product management, cart, checkout, or promotions, each component can be controlled, customized, and scaled independently.

This makes Commercetools particularly suitable for complex, multi-touchpoint environments, such as webshops, mobile apps, marketplace integrations, or even IoT commerce experiences.

The trade-off: Without a strong in-house engineering team, Commercetools is difficult to manage. The platform provides a powerful backend, but the frontend must be built or integrated separately. And ERP, PIM, or CRM integrations typically require significantly more implementation effort than with classic SaaS platforms.

Commercetools vs. Shopify:

When it comes to maximum flexibility and enterprise-grade architectures, Commercetools is hard to beat. Companies with large development teams can build deeply customized commerce environments tailored exactly to their internal processes.

Shopify takes a different approach: a standardized, user-friendly system that you can launch quickly and extend with apps and APIs. With Shopify Headless, you also have the option to decouple the frontend, yet with far less setup complexity than Commercetools requires.

In short: Commercetools is ideal for enterprises with complex IT landscapes and heavy customization needs. Shopify is the pragmatic choice: faster, more cost-effective, and far less risky to operate. For the vast majority of merchants, that makes it the more sustainable option.

6. PrestaShop – the open source option

PrestaShop is an open-source e-commerce platform with a long history in Europe. The software is free to use and can be expanded with a wide range of modules and themes. This makes it appealing to small and mid-sized merchants who want to launch affordably while maintaining full control over their system.

The biggest advantage is the zero-cost base version. If you have your own hosting, you can install PrestaShop without license fees and customize it as needed. Thousands of modules are available in the official marketplace from payments and shipping to SEO tools offering WooCommerce-like flexibility but without relying on WordPress.

However, PrestaShop also comes with challenges. Installation and configuration already require technical know-how, and updates or security patches must be applied manually and regularly.

Another point to consider: Many extensions are paid, and total costs can rise quickly. For growing businesses, the platform can become limiting over time. Scalability and performance depend heavily on the quality of your hosting environment.

PrestaShop vs. Shopify:

PrestaShop is appealing if you want to start with a low budget and have the resources to manage hosting, maintenance, and legal compliance on your own.

Shopify, on the other hand, takes a very different approach: you pay a monthly fee, but in return you get a stable SaaS system that handles the heavy lifting for you hosting, security, updates, and access to a massive app ecosystem.

In short: PrestaShop is an option for tinkerers and technically experienced merchants who want maximum cost control. But for most businesses that value predictability, support, and scalability, Shopify is by far the more stress-free solution.

7. Niche and Website-Builder Solutions

Alongside major platforms like WooCommerce, Magento, or Commercetools, there is a whole category of smaller providers often grouped under “website builders.” These systems combine simple site creation with basic e-commerce features. They’re designed for beginners, freelancers, and creatives who want to launch a shop without technical knowledge.

Wix

Wix is primarily a website builder, extended with e-commerce capabilities. Its drag-and-drop editor allows you to build an appealing site quickly and start selling products almost instantly.

For small shops or hybrid setups (website + shop), Wix is a practical option. But once you need scalability, internationalization, or more complex processes, the platform quickly reaches its limits.

Squarespace

Squarespace follows a similar philosophy but puts a stronger emphasis on design and blogging functionality. It’s a good choice for creatives who want an elegant, unified website-and-shop experience.

For growing merchants, however, the lack of flexibility and advanced integrations becomes a bottleneck.

Jimdo & Weebly

These platforms are classic website builders. They are extremely simple to use and allow absolute beginners to launch a shop within hours.

However, they offer very limited functionality:

• no complex shipping logic
• no B2B features
• no headless capabilities

For ambitious e-commerce projects, they are not suitable.

Ecwid

Ecwid is different from traditional builders because it is not a full e-commerce system. Instead, it attaches a small shop to an existing website whether WordPress, Joomla, or a static page.

For very small merchants with only a few products, this can be a quick solution. But as soon as you need a real shop with growth potential, Ecwid hits obvious limits.

Big Cartel

Big Cartel targets artists and creatives. The platform prioritizes ease of use and aesthetic themes, but is functionally limited. Managing more than a few hundred products becomes difficult.

It works well for side projects or portfolios with integrated selling, but not for professional commerce.

Simvoly & PinnacleCart

Simvoly combines a shop system with a funnel builder, making it suitable for small merchants focused heavily on upselling and marketing campaigns.

PinnacleCart is an on-premise solution that offers maximum independence but comes with high system requirements and sits firmly in a niche.

Website Builders vs. Shopify:

All of these systems have their place especially as low-cost, low-complexity entry points into e-commerce. They make sense if you sell only a handful of products, have no technical background, and don’t plan on international expansion or B2B functionality.

But as soon as you aim to grow, release new features regularly, or enter international markets, these builders become limiting.

This is where the difference becomes clear: Shopify is just as easy and fast to set up, but it scales with you.
From your first product to becoming a global D2C brand, Shopify provides flexibility and long-term growth potential that website builders simply cannot offer.

Comparison table: Shopify alternative

Decision matrix according to use case

 

Conclusion: A Shopify Alternative – or the Proven Classic?

There are plenty of e-commerce platforms that look attractive at first glance: WooCommerce for WordPress enthusiasts, Magento for enterprise-scale operations, Shopware for the DACH market, or builders like Wix for absolute beginners. Each of these systems has its purpose, depending on your budget, use case, and internal resources.

But when you look at all factors together, a clear pattern emerges: for most merchants, Shopify is the most future-proof choice. The platform is fast to launch, grows seamlessly with your business, and offers an ecosystem that is unmatched in size and quality. And with Shopify Plus, you gain access to enterprise-level features capable of handling sophisticated B2B requirements or complex international setups.

The bottom line: If you want long-term success in e-commerce, Shopify is hard to beat.

Your next step with Datora: If you're currently deciding which platform is the best fit for your business, speaking with experienced specialists can make the choice far easier. At Datora, we help companies identify the right solution and build Shopify Plus stores that not only excel technically but also focus on conversion, scalability, and sustainable growth.