e-commerce changes so quickly, the platform you choose can make or break your growth. Shopify has been a favorite of both new and experienced merchants for a long time because it is easy to use, has a huge library of apps, and provides reliable hosting. But in 2025, there are a lot of great alternatives to Amazon. Each one has its own benefits, such as more customization options, lower prices, and tools that are specifically made for digital products or business-to-business transactions. This guide goes over the top 10 Shopify alternatives you should think about this year. It gives you information on prices, features that make them stand out, and the best ways to use them. You will be able to find a platform that fits your needs, whether you want to start a side business or run a large-scale catalog for your business.
Why Should You Look at Shopify Alternatives?
Before we talk about our top picks, let’s look at some of the most common reasons merchants want to switch:
- Shopify charges up to 2% per order if you don’t use Shopify Payments. This can cut into sellers’ profit margins if they sell a lot of items.
- Customization Limits: Shopify’s theme editor is well done, but for truly unique designs or workflows, you may need to use advanced Liquid coding or expensive third-party apps.
- Catalog Complexity: Shopify’s SKU and option limits can be hard to get around for stores with a lot of products, subscription plans, or a lot of different versions of the same product.
- Specialized Needs: People who sell digital downloads, do headless commerce, offer wholesale prices to businesses, or need built-in management of multiple storefronts often need features that aren’t built into Shopify.
- Platform Ownership: Self-hosted or open-source solutions give you full control over hosting, data, and performance tuning, which makes them great for tech-savvy teams.
Things You Should Look for in 2025
To make sure your store will still be around in the future, look for these features in any e-commerce platform:
- Scalability and Performance: Can it handle large catalogs, spikes in traffic, and a lot of orders at once?
- Customization and Themes: Does it let you design with drag-and-drop? Does it give you access to the code?
- Multiple Channels and Market Integration: Amazon, eBay, Instagram, and TikTok Shop built-in connectors make omnichannel growth easier.
- Payment Flexibility: Look for gateways that accept a lot of different currencies, low or no transaction fees, and a lot of them.
- Developer Tools and APIs: Strong REST/GraphQL APIs, webhooks, and SDKs let you make your own apps and automate tasks.
- Built-in SEO and marketing tools, like email campaigns, blog engines, and full control over SEO, help you get new customers and keep the ones you already have.
- B2B and Wholesale Support: Businesses that sell to other businesses need net terms, customized quotes, and tiered pricing.
- Digital and Subscription Sales: If you sell downloads, courses, or products that you buy again and again, make sure that the software has built-in DRM, license key delivery, and subscription management.
- Security and Compliance: PCI DSS compliance, SSL certificates, and GDPR/CCPA readiness should be standard.
- Support and Community: Live chat and phone support available 24/7, and an active community of developers and users can help you solve problems quickly.
1. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a direct competitor to Shopify. It combines the ease of use of SaaS with enterprise features. Its flexible APIs and lack of transaction fees make it a great choice for brands that want to grow.
Important Things
- Lots of products, space for files, and staff accounts
- Selling in multiple currencies and having B2B tools built in
- Controls for advanced SEO (custom robots.txt, automatic sitemaps)
- Headless shopping with Stencil or the “Storefront API”
Pricing
- Standard: $39 a month
- Plus: $105 a month
- Pro: $399 a month
- Enterprise: Custom quote
Pros and Cons
- Pros: No transaction fees; robust out-of-the-box features
- Cons: Not as many free themes as Shopify; steeper learning curve for customizations
Best For
Growing mid-market and enterprise stores that need advanced SEO, B2B, or multi-storefront features.
2. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin that turns any WordPress site into a fully functional store. It provides the best ecosystems for themes and plugins.
Important Things
- WordPress gives you full control over any theme or code
- Thousands of add-ons for payment, shipping, and marketing
- No limits on product types and categories
- Choose between self-hosted or managed WordPress hosting.
Cost
- The core plugin is free.
- $5–$50 a month for hosting (varies by provider).
- Each premium extension costs $30 to $300.
Pros and Cons
- Pros: It’s easy to change things, there’s a huge community, and you don’t have to stick to one platform.
- Cons: It needs hosting and security management, and there may be plugin conflicts.
Best For
Brands that are content-driven and already use WordPress or people who want full control over their store and data.
3. Adobe Commerce (Magento)
Adobe Commerce, which used to be called Magento, is a powerful open-source platform designed for complex B2C and B2B business experiences.
Important Things
- Built-in support for multiple stores and languages
- More advanced personalization and customer segmentation
- Headless APIs and PWA Studio let you make your own front ends.
- Quotes, order lists, and company accounts are all part of the integrated B2B suite.
Costs
- Open Source Edition is free (self-hosted).
- Adobe Commerce Cloud costs about $22,000 a year to use.
Pros and Cons
- Pros: It’s easy to change anything, can handle millions of SKUs, and is strong for B2B right out of the box.
- Cons: It costs a lot to set up and keep up, and you need experienced developers to do it.
Best For
Big businesses or brands that are growing quickly and have complicated catalogs and B2B workflows.
4. PrestaShop
PrestaShop is a popular open-source shopping cart in Europe. It lets you choose which features you need and only pay for them.
Important Things
- Over 3,000 modules for marketing, logistics, payments, and more
- Available in more than one language and currency right out of the box
- Theme engine based on Composer and backend powered by Symfony
- Official connectors let you connect to the marketplace.
Costs
- Core software is free.
- Hosting and Modules: $3 to $50 a month plus module fees.
Pros and Cons
- Pros: Low entry cost, flexible module architecture, and strong localization in the EU.
- Cons: The quality of the module ecosystem varies, and you have to host and maintain your own security.
Best For
Sellers in Europe and other countries who want a light core with paid add-ons that they can choose to use.
5. Wix eCommerce
Wix is best known as a website builder, but its ecommerce plans have grown into a good choice for small businesses that want something easy to use.
Key Features
- Easy-to-use drag-and-drop store editor
- There are more than 800 designer templates with ecommerce sections.
- Email marketing and social selling are built right in.
- Wix App Market lets you connect business apps.
Costs
- Business Basic costs $27 a month.
- $32 a month for Business Unlimited.
- Business VIP: $59 a month.
Pros and Cons
- Pros: You don’t have to know how to code; it comes with hosting, SSL, and backups.
- Cons: It’s hard to make the catalogs bigger, and you can’t switch platforms.
Best For
Small to medium-sized creative, lifestyle, or service businesses that need to set up quickly.
6. Squarespace Business
Squarespace has award-winning design templates and good e-commerce features, making it perfect for brands that care a lot about how their products look.
Key Features
- Beautiful themes that work well on phones
- Blogs, portfolios, and appointment booking are all built in.
- Lost cart recovery and gift cards
- Built-in dashboard for analytics
Costs
- $27 a month for basic commerce.
- Advanced Commerce costs $49 a month.
Pros and Cons
- Pros: Good design, simple site management, and an all-in-one platform.
- Cons: Not as many payment gateways and not as many advanced customization options.
Best For
Boutiques, artists, and small brands that care about how things look and how they tell their story.
7. Shift4Shop
For merchants who use Shift4Shop, the full set of features, including payment processing, is included at no extra cost.
Key Points
- Unlimited staff accounts and products
- Shift4 payment gateway built in with no platform fees
- It has a blog, email marketing, and coupons all built in.
- Support for REST API and webhook
Costs
- Basic price: $29 a month.
- Plus: $79 a month.
- Pro: $229 a month.
- Pro Plus costs $379 a month.
Pros and Cons
- Pros: Plans that cover everything for free; powerful marketing tools.
- Cons: Themes and UI look and feel old, and you need to know how to code to change them.
Best For
Merchants who want to process payments and use a full set of tools at a price they can budget for.
8. Ecwid
Ecwid’s “add-to-anywhere” model lets you add a storefront to a website, blog, or social media page that you already have.
Important Things
- A small store widget that can be added with a plugin or JS snippet
- Inventory sync in real time across multiple sites
- You can sell things on eBay, Amazon, Facebook, and Instagram.
- Point-of-sale tools for sales in person
Costs
- Price: Free for up to five items.
- $15 a month for Venture.
- $35 a month for business.
- $99 a month for unlimited.
Pros and Cons
- Pros: Quick to embed; doesn’t change your main site; great free tier.
- Cons: The storefront can’t be changed much, and advanced features are locked behind a plan.
Best For
Businesses that already have a website and want to try ecommerce.
9. Sellfy
Sellfy focuses on digital and print-on-demand products and makes it easy to manage licenses and check out.
Important Things
- File delivery, license keys, and subscriptions are all built in.
- For print goods without having to worry about inventory, POD integration.
- Buy buttons that are built in or full storefronts.
- Features for affiliate marketing and coupons.
Pricing
- Prices: $29 a month to start.
- Business: $69 a month.
- Premium: $199 per month.
Pros and Cons
- Pros: Designed for digital artists; easy to set up; no coding needed.
- Cons: Limits to digital/POD; not as many advanced store features.
Best For
Digital artists, podcasters, designers, and writers who sell content for download or subscription.
10. Dukaan
Dukaan comes from South Asia and has quickly become the one-stop shop for business owners who want to open a D2C store in less than one minute.
Important Things
- Instant storefront with themes that are already made
- WhatsApp and sales processes that start with social media
- Order management and shipping built right into the app
- Support for subscriptions and delivery of license keys
Pricing
- Starting price: $14.99 a month.
- Growth: $29.99 a month.
- Pro: It costs $49.99 a month.
Pros and Cons
- Pros: Fast setup, mobile-first design, and built-in social shopping are all pros.
- Cons: You can’t make a lot of changes; it works best for small catalogs.
Best For
Brick-and-mortar stores and solopreneurs who want to quickly move their business online, especially in emerging markets.
Conclusion
To choose the best e commerce platform in 2025, you will need to match the strengths of each solution with the needs of your business. There is a Shopify alternative for every situation, such as the all-around power of BigCommerce, the laser-focused digital toolkit of Sellfy, and the instant-launch simplicity of Dukaan. Figure out what’s most important to you transaction costs, level of customization, B2B workflows, or digital sales and use free trials to try out your top choices. You can give great shopping experiences, grow with confidence, and stay ahead in a competitive market if you have the right platform in place.
FAQs
What criteria should I use to choose between Shopify alternatives?
Think about the total cost (monthly, transaction, and extensions), the level of customization (themes vs. code access), the built-in marketing tools, the payment options, and the quality of the support.
Q: Do open-source platforms like WooCommerce save you money?
Since the core software is free, they can be. Plus, there are costs like hosting, security, SSL certificates, paid plugins, and developer fees that can add up.
Which platform is the best for selling digital goods?
Sellfy is great at managing subscriptions and delivering digital goods. You could also use WooCommerce with the right add-ons or Ecwid’s digital add-ons.
Q: How hard is it to move from Shopify?
Most platforms have apps or services that can help you move. Moving a simple store with a few items and standard themes can be done in a few days. Moving a complex catalog with custom apps could take weeks.
Q: Is there a platform that doesn’t charge any fees for transactions?
Extra fees are not charged for BigCommerce, Shift4Shop (with Shift4 processing), and sometimes Volusion with certain plans. Always check the gateway fees on their own.
Q: What are the pros of headless commerce?
Headless setups separate the frontend and backend, letting you use modern frontend frameworks like React and Vue. This also makes page loads faster and ensures consistency across all channels.
Q: How important is support seven days a week?
Important for stores that do a lot of business or ship goods to other countries. If you have customers in different time zones, pick a platform that has live chat or phone support that is open all the time.
