Written by Dan Barraclough Updated on 11 January 2022 On this page Shopify alternatives comparison table Why choose a Shopify alternative? 1. Wix: Best for small businesses 2. BigCommerce: Best for medium-to-large businesses 3. Square: Best free alternative 4. Squarespace: Best for creating a beautiful website 5. WooCommerce: Best for WordPress users How to choose a Shopify alternative Expert verdict Expand You’re shopping around for alternatives – we’ve got the solutions you need.Whether you’ve tried and disliked Shopify, or simply fancy an alternative, then you’ve come to the right place. We’ve carried out extensive research into a whole scope of Shopify alternatives, whittling them down to just five.In our research, we hand-tested each platform – including Shopify – and invited everyday users to try them too. We used those findings to score each platform out of five in key areas such as sales tools, design functions, value for money, and help and support. We also developed a customer score, which indicates how likely our participants are to recommend that platform.Below, check out our colour-coded comparison table to see all of these scores – and which of the platforms outperformed or fell below Shopify, and in which areas. Then, read on for detailed reviews of one, informed by our research and testing, including real life examples of businesses using that platform. The top Shopify alternatives comparison 2021Ecommerce platformSales features /5Design functions /5Value for money /5Help & support /5Customer score /5Overall rating /5Price plansShopify4.73.93.04.44.84.7£22 – £219/monthWix3.93.54.24.34.24.6£13 – £22/monthBigCommerce4.64.23.04.53.64.4£22 – £220/monthSquare3.72.64.74.13.54.4£0 – £54/monthSquarespace3.13.94.23.94.34.3£20 – £30/monthWooCommerce4.02.54.35.03.83.8~£15/month KeyGreen – better than ShopifyAmber – close enoughRed – you're better off with Shopify Why choose a Shopify alternative?Shopify is one of the best ecommerce platforms out there, but it’s not for everyone. As you can see from our comparison table above, it doesn’t offer the best value for money, and it could provide stronger design tools and help and support. Shopify’s multitude of features and relatively expensive price plans could also be overkill for building small online stores – to counter this, we’d recommend using Wix or Squarespace.Unlike most of its rivals, Shopify imposes its own transaction fees on top of the regular credit card company fees, unless you use its payment processor, Shopify Payments. Shopify also relies on third-party apps for lots of its functionality (unlike BigCommerce), which can add unnecessary costs to your monthly bill. These are just a few reasons, but read on below as we examine each of the Shopify alternatives in more detail… 1. WixBest Shopify alternative for small businessesPlatformSales featuresDesign functionsValue for moneyHelp and supportCustomer score /5Overall ratingPrice range /monthFree trial?Shopify4.73.93.04.44.84.7£22 – £21914 daysWix3.93.54.24.34.24.6£13 – £2214 daysGiven its creative freedom and drag-and-drop design, Wix is the Shopify alternative for you if you know exactly how you want your storefront to look.A quick note: Wix dropped points in the design functions category because it’s impossible to change templates once you go live, unlike with Shopify. Still, Wix offers a larger selection of templates than Shopify, with 71 of its 500+ templates coming with in-built ecommerce capabilities such as check out buttons.Outscoring Shopify in our value for money research, Wix has far cheaper price plans and offers more comprehensive customer support, making it one of the very best ecommerce platforms for small businesses.Wix used to lack the sales-specific tools to match Shopify, but has somewhat remedied this. For instance, Wix recently adopted expanded multichannel integration (allowing for selling on platforms like Facebook and Instagram) and dropshipping. Pros Much easier than Shopify to design your brand image the way you want Far cheaper price plans than Shopify Offers more comprehensive help and support than Shopify, to ensure you’re never stuck for long Cons Not ideal for building medium to large online stores, unlike Shopify The amount of creative freedom can feel daunting Relies on the Ecwid app in order to match Shopify in the sales tools department Celebs on Sandwiches - Wix customerWix pricingSwipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward PlanBusiness BasicPlanBusiness UnlimitedPlanBusiness VIPPrice£13/month (billed annually)Price£17/month (billed annually)Price£22/month (billed annually)Best ForSmall businesses looking to sell onlineBest ForGrowing businessesBest ForMedium to large businessesKey FeaturesOnline paymentsUnlimited bandwidth20GB storageFree domain for one yearUpload up to 5 hours of video£75 Google Ads voucherSales analyticsKey Features35GB storageUpload up to 10 hours of videoProfessional logoPro ecommerce features such as automated tax salesKey Features50GB storageUnlimited video hoursPriority response on the Wix Answers pageVIP support Wix is ideal for building beautiful, small online stores without costing the earth Start selling on Wix ▶ Read more: Full Wix Review 2. BigCommerceBest Shopify alternative for medium-to-large businessesPlatformSales featuresDesign functionsValue for moneyHelp and supportCustomer score /5Overall ratingPrice range /monthFree trial?Shopify4.73.93.04.44.84.7£22 – £21914 daysBigCommerce4.64.23.04.53.64.4£22 – £22015 daysBigCommerce is the most natural Shopify alternative, suitable for small, medium, and large businesses alike. However, it betters Shopify in two key areas: transaction fees and in-built features.Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce waives its own transaction fees on all of its supported payment processors (of which there are over 65, including Stripe, PayPal, WorldPay, and digital wallets like Apple Pay). Instead, you only pay the regular credit card company fees.BigCommerce also offers everything you need to sell, ship, and advertise as an in-built feature. In contrast, Shopify charges an extra 2% per transaction on its Basic plan (£22 per month), going down to 1% on the Shopify plan (£58 per month).With Shopify, you might need to install third-party apps to get some extra functionality, whether it’s in areas like email marketing or customer reviews. This can see your monthly costs quickly add up.In summary, BigCommerce is slightly better value for money than Shopify and is arguably the best platform for large companies in general. Pros Provides far more in-built features than Shopify, which relies on apps Imposes zero transaction fees on all payment processors, unlike Shopify Offers fantastic multi-channel integration, helping you sell to multiple audiences Cons Doesn’t offer a mobile app to help you manage your store on the go, unlike Shopify Interface isn’t as user-friendly as Shopify’s Skullcandy - BigCommerce customerBigCommerce pricingSwipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward PlanStandardPlanPlusPlanProPrice$29.95/monthPrice$71.95/month (billed annually)Price$269.96/month (billed annually)Best ForStarting a small or medium-sized online storeBest ForGrowing your online storeBest ForScaling your business to new heightsKey FeaturesSell an unlimited number of productsMultichannel sellingCoupon creationReporting toolsKey FeaturesAbandoned cart recovery emailsCustomer loyalty programmesStore credit card payment detailsKey FeaturesFilter products through size and colour variantsDedicated SSL securityGoogle reviews BigCommerce is the best Shopify alternative for fast-growing businesses looking to scale start selling on bigcommerce 3. SquareBest free Shopify alternativePlatformSales featuresDesign functionsValue for moneyHelp and supportCustomer score /5Overall ratingPrice range /monthFree trial?Shopify4.73.93.04.44.84.7£22 – £21914 daysSquare3.72.64.74.13.54.4£0 – £54Free planOffering a generous free plan, which comes with multi-channel integration and the ability to sell unlimited products, Square is one of the best free Shopify alternatives.You should choose Square over Shopify if you want to use one of the best free ecommerce platforms, you don’t mind having a simple website, and you want to be able to build your online store within a couple of hours. Other than that, Square is underwhelming compared to Shopify, especially when you look at the available payment processors. Square only supports one (Square) on the free plan, with PayPal available on the other plans, while Shopify supports over 100 on all plans. Pros Enables you to sell online for free (you only pay 1.9% per transaction) Quicker to build a website than on Shopify Represents good value for money with its combination of strong features and affordable plans Cons Very limited customisation compared to Shopify Large transactions when you don’t use Square’s payment processor Lacks the prompts and supports found on Shopify when designing your store Sheek Studio - Square customerSquare pricingSwipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward PlanFreePlanProfessionalPlanPerformancePlanPremiumPrice£0/monthPrice£9/month (billed annually)Price£19/month (billed annually)Price£54/month (billed annually)Key FeaturesSell unlimited productsInstagram and Pinterest integrationKey FeaturesUse your own domainNo Square branding or adsFree custom domain for one yearKey FeaturesHave customer reviews on your siteRecover lost sales with abandoned cart emailsKey FeaturesSave with lower card transaction feesTransaction Fees1.9% for European cards2.9% for non-European cardsTransaction Fees1.9% for European cards2.9% for non-European cardsTransaction Fees1.9% for European cards2.9% for non-European cardsTransaction Fees1.75% for European cards2.9% for non-European cards Square is the best free Shopify alternative by a long way start selling on square 4. SquarespaceBest Shopify alternative for creating a beautiful websitePlatformSales featuresDesign functionsValue for moneyHelp and supportCustomer score /5Overall ratingPrice range /monthFree trial?Shopify4.73.93.04.44.84.7£22 – £21914 daysSquarespace3.13.94.23.94.34.3£20 – £3014 daysSquarespace is one of the finest Shopify alternatives for creative and cost- conscious users, offering the most professional-looking templates we’ve ever tested, with affordable price plans to boot.In fact, Squarespace is the best value for money platform we tested (outside of Square's free tier), offering price plans ranging from £20 to £30 per month, with the ability to sell digital and service-based products, while offering multi-channel integration via Instagram. This is one of the many reasons why we rate Squarespace as the best platform for selling subscriptions.In contrast to Shopify, though, you may find your business outgrowing Squarespace if you plan to scale quickly. In that case, we’d recommend opting for BigCommerce instead, or installing third-party services onto your Squarespace store, such as Zapier – which connects your apps to automate your repetitive tasks – to help bolster your ecommerce and finance capabilities. Pros Enables you to design an ecommerce store that really stands out The best value for money platform we tested Offers much sleeker templates than Shopify Cons Steeper learning curve than on Shopify Supports only two payment processors (Stripe and PayPal) compared to Shopify’s 100+ options Fiele Fragrances - Squarespace customerSquarespace pricingSwipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward PlanBasic CommercePlanAdvanced CommercePrice£20/month (billed annually)Price£30/month (billed annually)Best ForSMBs looking to sell onlineBest ForMedium-sized ecommerce businessesKey FeaturesPoint of Sale app to help you sell in personSell on InstagramLimited availability labels0% transaction feesKey FeaturesAbandoned cart recoverySell subscriptionsAdvanced shipping features (including a real-time cost calculator) Squarespace is the best Shopify alternative for designing stunning online stores start selling on squarespace ▶ Read more: Full Squarespace Review 5. WooCommerceBest Shopify alternative for WordPress usersPlatformSales featuresDesign functionsValue for moneyHelp and supportCustomer score /5Overall ratingPrice range /monthFree trial?Shopify4.73.93.04.44.84.7£22 -– £21914 daysWooCommerce4.02.54.35.03.83.8~£15.99Free planWooCommerce is a different platform to both Shopify and the other options we've discussed here, as it's a plugin for WordPress rather than an entire online store builder.Whether you opt for the free plan or splurge on the paid tier, WooCommerce won't cost you much itself. However, it's worth noting that any costs will be on top of existing WordPress costs, like hosting or other paid plugins you use for your online store.Obviously if you've already set up a WordPress-based website and are looking to add an ecommerce option, WooCommerce is a great choice. Shopify used to have a WordPress plugin, but has since discontinued it, meaning that WooCommerce is the move for WordPress-based users.WordPress considerations aside, WooCommerce offers both first and third-party payment options, a well-reviewed mobile app, and the ability to integrate with other well-known software, like MailChimp, Yoast, and Google Analytics. Pros No surprise fees, unlike Shopify’s transaction fees and third-party app costs Quickest and easiest ecommerce platform we tested First and third-party payment options Cons No one-on-one expert setup help Hosting is not included in the package Low cost may be offset by additional costs (hosting, maintenance, etc.) Dynamic - WooCommerce customerGoDaddy pricingSwipe right to see more 0 out of 0 backward forward PlanStandard pluginPrice£15.99/monthBest ForSelling through WordPressKey FeaturesWide array of extensionsFirst and third party payment systemsNo sales percentage takenInternational transaction support How to choose a Shopify alternativeAs you can see from our research results and comparison tables, there are some important areas to think about when choosing an alternative to Shopify.You need to consider:The quality of sales toolsTemplate and design flexibilityValue for moneyThe help and support optionsEase of useThe right Shopify alternative for you depends on your budget and skill level, and the amount of time you have spare to build your website. For instance, Wix, Square, and GoDaddy are quick and easy to use, offering affordable price plans as well.At the steeper end of the learning curve are BigCommerce and Squarespace. The former can help you create an ecommerce empire, while the latter gives you the tools and templates to create a web-designer-worthy website. Expert verdictWe’ve shown you the best Shopify alternatives, backed up by our independent research and participant testing. You might already know which one you should pick, but let’s quickly recap what we’ve discussed.The 5 best Shopify alternatives are:BigCommerce – best for medium-to-large businesses.Wix – best for small businesses.Squarespace – best for creating a beautiful website.Square – best free Shopify alternative.WooCommerce – best for WordPress users.BigCommerce is the best Shopify alternative for building medium or large online stores, while Wix is the better option for small businesses. Squarespace has the tools you need to create a stunning website, Square is the best free Shopify alternative, and GoDaddy is the quickest and easiest solution, thanks to its ADI tools. Dan Barraclough Dan’s a Senior Writer at Expert Market, specialising in digital marketing, web design, and photocopiers, amongst other topics.