Overview
Shopify is a hosted commerce platform from the Canadian company Shopify Inc. Merchants build a storefront from themes, manage products, inventory and orders, and accept payments without running their own servers.
It serves a wide range of merchants, from new sellers to large brands on Shopify Plus. Its app store and APIs extend the core product with marketing, fulfilment and custom storefront options, and the same back office powers in-person point of sale.
Key features
- Online store builderThemes and a visual editor for building and customising storefronts.
- Shopify PaymentsIntegrated payment processing in supported countries, with third-party gateways available.
- Point of saleSell in person using the same products, inventory and customer records.
- App storeThousands of apps for marketing, reviews, subscriptions and operations.
- Multichannel sellingList products on marketplaces and social channels from one admin.
- Headless commerceStorefront API and Hydrogen framework for custom front ends.
Best for
- Merchants who want a reliable store without managing hosting
- Brands selling both online and in physical retail
- Growing businesses that expect to scale up to enterprise volume
Pricing
Free trial. Monthly subscription plans after a free trial, with transaction and payment processing fees that vary by plan and payment method.
| Plan | What you get |
|---|---|
| Basic | Core store features for new businesses. |
| Grow | Additional staff accounts and reporting for growing stores. |
| Advanced | Advanced reporting and lower processing rates. |
| Plus | Enterprise plan with custom checkout options and dedicated support. |
Prices and plan limits change often. Check the official website for current pricing. Last reviewed Oct 3, 2026.
Pros & cons
Pros
- Fully hosted with strong uptime and security handled for you
- Large ecosystem of themes, apps and service partners
- Integrated online and in-person selling
Cons
- App subscriptions can add significantly to monthly costs
- Extra transaction fees apply when not using Shopify Payments
- Less control over the platform than self-hosted alternatives
Shopify alternatives
-
Ecommerce Open source Visit
WooCommerce
Open-source ecommerce plugin that turns WordPress sites into online stores.
-
Ecommerce Usage-based Visit
Gumroad
Simple storefronts for creators selling digital products and memberships.
-
Ecommerce Usage-based Visit
Stripe
Payments infrastructure and APIs for online businesses and platforms.
Try Shopify
Monthly subscription plans after a free trial, with transaction and payment processing fees that vary by plan and payment method.