Shopify Alternatives | The Top 7 Competitors Compared

Are you looking for a good Shopify alternative? If that’s the case, you’ve arrived at the right place. While it seems that Shopify includes everything needed to get started, it has many issues too! Many Shopify competitors are just waiting for you to give them a shot.

Even if Shopify is a famous ecommerce website builder, it may not be the best platform for you. The add-on costs are overwhelming, the rigid customization is disappointing, and the content management is troublesome! 

If you want to start your small business, it’s wise to learn about every platform in the market and study its pros and cons.

Let’s look at Shopify’s competitors to see if there are any other options you should consider.

The Top 7 Competitors Compared

Shopify’s main e-commerce competitors are:

1. Shopivana

Shopivana works hard to provide the best services for building an e-Commerce website and acting as a one-stop-shop for its client’s business needs. Shopivana, a platform for creating eCommerce websites, tops the list of Shopify alternatives. 

The best website builder is Shopivana, which makes it easy and affordable to create stunning websites with top-notch results. It guarantees to offer MSMEs and entrepreneurs first-rate services.

PROS:

• Economical: Shopivana is ideal for small businesses because of its low cost. Furthermore, there are ZERO commissions to be paid to the platform. 
• Easy as a Breeze: The website builder allows anyone to create a website without technical experience. 
• Operating System: An app for managing all facets of your business, including orders, clients, marketing, and customer care, is available from this eCommerce website builder.

CONS:

• Restricted Choices: Currently, the platform cannot handle website solutions for businesses specializing in rental services and tour and trip bookings. They do, however, have the same plan.
• Customization Expenses: The platform will charge you more if you require more complex plugins. E.g., 3D printing, iOS, and Android apps.

2. Squarespace

Squarespace, an ecommerce website builder, supports strong ecommerce capabilities. You can build a fantastic store with Squarespace without knowing how to code or having a degree in web design. Get going right away because everything is taken care of for you.

PROS:

• Exemplary Inventory Control: Email alerts for stock levels and bulk product uploads provide strong inventory management.
• Best Template Designs: Magnificent templates virtually eliminate design errors.
• Unlimited Items: Squarespace’s ecommerce plans allow the sale of a total number of products.

CONS:

• Scalability: Insufficient for long-term expansion compared to other builders.
• Scarce Payment Methods: You can only accept payments through Apple Pay, Stripe, and PayPal, thus not much ideal for the Indian market.

3. Square Online

Square Online provides excellent sales features on a simple platform. Square Online and Weebly are two sides of the same coin.

Square Online’s user interface and website platform allow you to set up your store in just a few clicks. Automated tax calculations, shipping options, and email marketing tools are notable sales features.

PROS:

• Clean Dashboard: A neat dashboard makes managing product sales and customer journeys simple.
• Sell for Free: The free plan allows you to do so.
• Perfect for In-Person Sales: Seamlessly integrates with Square’s renowned POS system.

CONS:

• Difficult to Customize: Templates lack creativity and flexibility.
• Poor Selection of Payment Methods: This doesn’t provide customers with as many choices as Shopify or Squarespace.
• Learning Curve: Square Online is still navigating the learning curve.

4. Wix

Wix is an entirely drag-and-drop website builder. Your website can be customized in any way. It’s also quickly becoming one of our favorite online retailers.

Wix eCommerce has an excellent dedicated support team, a team of engineers to handle all technical details for you, and is highly user-friendly. 

PROS:

• Helpful Tools: Internal SEO and design tools can perform labor-intensive tasks for you.
• Easy Drag-and-Drop Builder: You may have a lot of design freedom without touching any code.
• Great Attributes for Small Companies: Get automatic backups, a free custom domain name, and abandoned cart recovery.

CONS:

• Cluttered Editor: Wix is loaded with fantastic tools, but it may be a little intimidating for novices.
• Stock Alerts: There are no email notifications when stock levels are low.
• No Changing Templates: Once your site is online, you cannot change templates.

5. BigCommerce

BigCommerce is the best website builder for expanding your online store. Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce does not require you to install additional third-party apps to add sophisticated features to your website. 

Shopify’s basic plan includes the only feature BigCommerce does not abandon cart recovery.

PROS:

• Built-in Features: You won’t need to rely heavily on third-party apps to get anything done, and their price won’t go up.
• Scalability: Entry-level plans begin at less than $30 per month, and top-tier programs can support businesses like Toyota and Ben & Jerry’s.
• Multi-Channel Integration: It’s simple to sell on many marketplaces while maintaining product organization.

CONS:

• Fewer Apps: BigCommerce has a lot of built-in functionality, so fewer apps are available than with Shopify.
• Not the Most User-Friendly: BigCommerce’s robust platform has a learning curve and some difficulty in customizing your design.
• Complex Terminology: Don’t worry about this; open Google in a separate tab.

6. Volusion

Volusion, a hosted website builder, is designed to help you launch your store. It is hosted for you and contains the resources you need to begin successfully selling products online. 

Volusion’s strongest suit is its robust analytics and data reporting capabilities. Conversions can be tracked, stock levels monitored, and client behavior evaluated.

PROS:

• Powerful Analytics: You can keep tabs on sales, inventory, and conversions.
• Payment Tracking: To keep everything in order, you can personalize invoices, packing slips, and POS receipts.

CONS:

• Difficult to Use: Shopify is easier to get used to than Volusion.
• Limited Phone Support: Not included on the most affordable plan.

7. WooCommerce

The WordPress plugin WooCommerce, which currently powers 29% of all online retailers worldwide, adds ecommerce functionality to WordPress sites.

Because WordPress.org is an open-source platform, you’ll need some coding experience or the money to hire a free website builder to design your dream e-commerce site. 

PROS:

• Free Software: The website administration system for WooCommerce is free. Only the hosting is necessary, and Bluehost offers it for as cheap as $2.95 a month.
• Numerous Apps: Your store will get tons of functionality from countless free and commercial extensions.
• Design Flexibility: Unlike a typical builder, you have more control over page layouts and content items.

CONS:

• Coding Expertise Necessary: WooCommerce is not a website builder. Thus a little more technical expertise is needed.
• Not-Self Hosted: You’ll need to hire a third party to host your website and administer it separately.
• WordPress Specific: WooCommerce is exclusively compatible with WordPress; other CMSs, such as Magento, are not supported.

Conclusion

After reading about the best Shopify alternatives, we hope you will find it easier to create an eCommerce website. You must assess your requirements, business size, and financial constraints to choose the best platform. So, think about your needs rather than selecting a platform based on popularity!