Shopify vs Shopify Plus | 5 Key Differences You Need To Know
Shopify is the best ecommerce platform on the market today. It’s designed to help people build their own, scalable online store with hundreds of built-in features, and tons of apps. You can sell products directly on your website, and across multiple marketplaces and social media.
Shopify is a popular ecommerce platform that helps you build your own online store, without needing any tech skills.
Shopify powers over 800,000 businesses and came top in our own in-depth research, outperforming all its competitors. However, it’s not for everyone. That’s why this review dives into Shopify’s sales features, ease of use, prices, design, marketing tools, and more, to help you decide if it’s really right for you.
If you’re in a rush, look below for an at a glance overview of the most important things you should know about Shopify. Read on for more details, as we take you on an in-depth journey through the platform… starting with the question, what the heck actually is Shopify?
Shopify At A Glance
Is It Love At First Sight?
Does Shopify make your heart beat faster, and stir up ecommerce butterflies in your stomach? We know the feeling. Get to know Shopify better by exploring its website.
Shopify Pros & Cons
Pros
Received the highest score for features and customer satisfaction
Brilliant inventory system to help you manage your store
Sell across multiple channels, including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and eBay
Cons
The only platform to enforce its own transaction fee, unless you use Shopify Payments
Content doesn’t automatically reformat when you switch themes
Apps can quickly add up as you add extra features to your store
What Is Shopify?
Shopify is a dedicated ecommerce website builder that helps people build their very own online store.
It really is as easy as that – you don’t need mad tech skills, you don’t need a bottomless budget, and you don’t need to hire anyone to make your dream a reality. This makes Shopify a quick and affordable way of creating your online store.
You could start building today, if you wanted to!
Who Can Use Shopify?
Anyone can use Shopify, whether you’re a first-time seller, or a multi-million dollar business like Harry’s Razors (yep, Harry’s Razors is just one of Shopify’s satisfied customers). All you need is an idea, something to sell, and an internet connection, and you could have an online store live in no time.
With over 1,200 apps, specialised features such as inventory tracking and shipping tools, and a range of price plans, Shopify is a powerful platform to choose. It can be used by any sized store, and is extremely scalable.
How Did We Test It? And What Were the Results?
There’s a lot of hype around Shopify, but we wanted to get to the truth behind the marketing.
We put our world-class methodology to good use, and went digging into Shopify’s designs, sales tools, marketing features, SEO capabilities, and more. As well as testing it ourselves, we even went one step further, asking non-tech experts to try it out and tell us what they thought.
We analysed all the results, compared Shopify with other platforms we’ve tested, looked at its strengths and its flaws, and calculated scores for each key area – all so we can give you the most accurate and helpful information about this online store builder.
Straight away, we can tell you that Shopify did extremely well in our testing, scoring 4.7 out of 5 stars overall.
In fact, it outperformed all its competitors, which is why we recommend it as the best all-around ecommerce builder on the market. But nobody is perfect – carry on reading our Shopify review to find out why it did so well, where it fell down, and most importantly, if it’s the right choice for you.
How Easy Is Shopify to Use?
Quick Answer: Easy peasy! You won’t get a site live in five minutes, but Shopify manages to combine powerful ecommerce tools with an easy to use editor. Its interface is clean and simple, and 88% of our users said they’d recommend Shopify to a friend. Still, we always recommend trying it for yourself before deciding!
The first thing you should look at when trying out a builder is how easy it is to use, especially when building an online store. Ecommerce builders often struggle to combine power with ease of use, but Shopify has excelled in this crucial area.
Shopify has a clean, clear, and simple interface that makes setting up your store a breeze, even for total beginners.
Don’t get us wrong – you won’t have your site live in five minutes, because Shopify still packs a serious amount of power into its backend. However, it manages to make its editor smooth and simple to use, which we applaud (loudly).
Shopify’s dashboard provides a gentle slope into designing your own ecommerce website.
And it’s not just us who enjoyed Shopify’s interface. After testing it ourselves, we got everyday people to build their own store using Shopify, and score how easy (or difficult) they found certain tasks.
The results were generally positive.
People loved how Shopify helped during the set-up process with questions and prompts, and found it easy to get started. But don’t just take our word for it – here are a couple of quotes from our users:
“It was so good, really easy. It was just very user friendly. It guided you through the important areas, the most being the inventory. The questions at the beginning, adding a product, subtle prompts – everything was just very clear.”
“All in all, it was a really easy approach to creating an online store. I had complete control over how and what I want placed within my site, with the benefit of being able to change anything as and when I wanted.”
Of course, the reviews weren’t all glowing – you deserve both sides of the picture, so here’s some quotes from users who weren’t quite so impressed with Shopify:
“I think Shopify could just shout out a little more, when you are in the storefront page, where certain widgets are – and how to add certain features, too. Maybe just better storefront onboarding – I just felt alone, and a little lost.”
“At times, there is a lack of clarity for a novice ecommerce website creator. Some of the terminology was inconsistent or went over my head. For a do-it-yourself website builder, maybe clearer, easier to understand terms wouldn’t go amiss.”
Overall, though, users scored Shopify extremely well for ease of use – in fact, it came out of testing with a grand total of four out of five stars!
We crunched the numbers to put this into context – on average, people found Shopify 21% easier to use than BigCommerce (Shopify’s main competitor), and 12% easier to use than Wix eCommerce, which is famous for its beginner-friendly editor.
And that’s not all – after testing, we asked users how likely they would be to recommend Shopify, and the answer was positive across the board. 88% of people said they would recommend Shopify to a friend.
The good news is, Shopify has a free trial, so you can try it out yourself to see if it’s the right builder for you. As our user quotes show, trying out Shopify is the only way to know if you’ll find it fantastic or frustrating – find out for yourself if you’ll be a fan!
If you try out Shopify and find it’s not for you, we’ve got your back. Check out the definitive list of the Best Shopify Alternatives to find your perfect match.
Looking for something in particular? Check out our Ecommerce Website Builder Comparison Chart, where you can compare top builders’ scores, including ease of use!
Shopify Pricing – Is It Good Value for Money?
Quick Answer: It’s fairly good, but value for money is where Shopify scored the lowest in our research. Its price plans are very reasonable, with scalable choices, and essential features included even on the lowest core plan. However, Shopify lost marks due to its reliance on apps, and the transaction fees it imposes on third-party payment gateways.
Shopify has a number of plans, so you can choose one that best suits your needs and budget.
First of all, Shopify provides a 14-day free trial – you don’t need to enter any payment details, so there’s no risk, and no pressure to sign up. You’ll just need an email, and you can test out Shopify totally cost-free for two weeks.
Shopify Pricing Summary
Shopify Lite: $9 per month – lets you add ecommerce to a Facebook page or existing website. 2% transaction fee, unless you use Shopify Payments.
Basic Shopify: $29 per month – cheapest plan to build your own store; provides all the essentials for a new online store. 2% transaction fee, unless you use Shopify Payments.
Shopify: $79 per month – for growing businesses; includes features such as gift card creation. 1% transaction fee, unless you use Shopify Payments.
Advanced Shopify: $299 per month – for big businesses wanting to scale up; includes advanced reports and third-party calculated shipping rates. 0.5% transaction fee, unless you use Shopify Payments.
Shopify Plus: custom pricing – for large-scale, enterprise level businesses with huge budgets. No set pricing – instead, you request a custom quote.
Shopify Pricing: Core Plans
Shopify’s three main plans are Basic Shopify, Shopify, and Advanced Shopify. These are the core plans that let you create your very own online store. They all provide you with unlimited products, abandoned cart recovery, discount code creation, and multichannel integration.
These are the three plans you should look at if you’re setting up a regular online store. We’ll go into more detail on each of Shopify’s plans below, then explore transaction fees and Shopify’s in-house payment gateway, Shopify Payments.
Shopify Lite: $9 per month
Basic Shopify: $29 per month
Shopify: $79 per month
Advanced Shopify: $299 per month
Shopify Plus: Custom Pricing
How to Save Money With Shopify
All Shopify’s prices are for a month-by-month subscription. So, if you signed up to the Basic Shopify plan, you’d be paying $29 per month for as long as you stay on that plan.
If you have a long-term vision for your store, then you can save money by signing up to an annual plan instead. You save 10% by signing up to an annual subscription, and 20% by choosing a two year plan!
|
Shopify Pricing Plans |
Monthly ($/month) |
1-Year ($/month) |
Savings (%) |
2-Years ($/month) |
Savings (%) |
|
Shopify Basic |
$29.00 |
$26.10 |
10% |
$23.20 |
20% |
|
Shopify |
$79.00 |
$71.10 |
10% |
$63.20 |
20% |
|
Advanced Shopify |
$299.00 |
$269.10 |
10% |
$239.20 |
20% |
You’ll need to pay the annual or two-year cost upfront as a lump sum, but in the long-term, you’d be spending less than if you stayed on the monthly plan.
Shopify Payments and Transaction Fees
You’ll have noticed that we mention you get charged transaction fees unless you choose to use Shopify Payments.
What is Shopify Payments?
Shopify Payments is Shopify’s in-house payment gateway. Think of it like PayPal, Stripe, or Square – it processes your store’s payments, and accepts most major payment methods. The idea is that using Shopify Payments is less hassle than connecting a third-party payment provider (such as PayPal), and streamlines your store by keeping everything in-house.
The main incentive to use Shopify Payments is that it’s the only way to remove Shopify’s transaction fees. It’s also the only way to support multiple currencies on your store, so if you’re selling internationally, it’s your best choice.
Which Plan is Best? – Our Recommendation
If you already have a website and you just want to sell a few products on the side, then Shopify Lite is the best place to start. However, if you want an actual online store, start off with the Basic Shopify plan for $29 per month. For everything you get included in the plan, it’s a reasonable monthly price!
Remember, Shopify gives you 14 days to try out its platform for free, so make sure to make use of that before signing up.
Have You Spotted Your Perfect Plan?
Shopify has a range of plans, so take the time to browse them before choosing. We recommend the Basic Shopify plan for most new sellers.
Discover more information about Shopify’s plans and prices in our detailed Shopify Pricing Review
Not sure if you need Shopify Plus? Learn more in our Shopify Plus Review
How Good Are Shopify’s Themes?
Quick Answer: Great! They’re all professionally designed, mobile responsive, come crammed with features, and even give you different styles to choose from. There are only 10 free themes, however, which is the main drawback. The rest cost between $140 and $180, so choose carefully. Shopify came third for design in our research, scoring 3.7 stars out of 5!
Shopify has 10 free themes and 64 premium themes, ranging in price from $140 to $180 each.
Shopify’s themes are professionally designed and built to make your store look great from day one.
All themes are mobile responsive, meaning they’ll automatically reformat to fit mobile and tablet screens. People are 62% less likely to buy from you again if they have a bad mobile experience with your site, so this feature is vitally important.
Good to know: We strongly recommend installing the G AMP app – rated an impressive 5/5 by fellow Shopify users – to ensure that your pages don’t just look great on mobile, but they load quickly, too. AMP stands for Accelerated Mobile Pages. AMPs use stripped-back html code to stay as ‘light’ as possible – think of them like a diet version of your regular pages. A faster experience will make your users happy, and boost your chances of ranking well with Google. Remember: a one second delay in page response is thought to mean a 7% reduction in conversions!
These are great features, and are important for creating a successful store that will satisfy your customers. But we know what you’re really thinking: do the themes actually look any good?
The short answer is, yes!
Like What You See?
Shopify has 10 free themes and 64 premium themes available, all of which are mobile responsive.
Shopify’s themes are professionally designed and look clean, stylish, and appealing. You can browse themes by industry, from art and photography to electronics, furniture, and beyond. You can also view by popularity, price, or collection, such as “minimalist,” “fun and lively,” or “great for small inventories.”
Themes come with different styles, so you can choose the one that best matches your brand. Below, you can see an example of how different styles can change the look of your theme – this variety means you’ll always find the right tone for your brand.
This free theme, called Brooklyn, comes in two different styles. This is the preview of the “classic” style, which includes natural colors and modern, sophisticated fonts.
Here you can see the same theme, Brooklyn, in the “playful” style, which comes with a more vibrant color scheme and fun, uncomplicated fonts.
The best part is, Shopify’s themes come packed with great features. All themes include:
Customisable content sections on the home page
- SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
- Drop-down navigation support
- Free theme updates
- Mobile-friendly design
- Social media icons
- Built-in styles and colour palettes
- Free stock photos by Burst
Good to Know… Certain themes come with multiple language options, meaning you can easily switch to a different language. Not all themes provide this, so check before you choose. The languages currently available are: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Brazilian Portuguese.
While picking a theme is obviously about finding one that looks great, it’s also about finding one that supports your store’s needs.
Each theme also comes with its own specific features. We highly recommend taking a look at these, as it’s a great way of deciding whether a theme is right for you:
These features come with the premium theme called Context, which is a sleek and clean theme that comes in three different styles.
Look out for features you need, such as product quick view or live search. You can add extra apps (something we’ll cover a little later on), but choosing a theme with your favourite features built-in makes your life easier from day one!
Seen Enough?
Did Shopify’s designs dazzle you? See more stunning choices in Shopify’s theme library.
Yes! Pick My Perfect Shopify Theme Now
Customising Shopify Themes
Shopify’s themes may look great already, but you’ll want to make yours totally your own. To do that, you’ll need to customise your theme by adding your own products, rewriting text, replacing images, and creating new pages.
Customisation happens in two places: visual customisation takes place through the editing interface, while edits to your products are managed in your dashboard.
Think of it like fixing up a car. The outside is where you paint, wash, smooth, buff, and polish to make it look beautiful. The engine is where you tinker, replace parts, and get hands on with tools to make sure the car is powerful and runs smoothly.
The editing interface of your Shopify store is where you look after your store’s design. Here, you align your images, edit text, and feature your logo. The dashboard is where you add products, create discount codes, manage shipping, and more. This is also where you can change your theme if you want to redesign your storefront.
We recommend you start off by adding products, and then style your storefront. Because Shopify is a store builder, its themes naturally revolve around products – so it can be difficult to design your page without any products to feature!
Good to know: Need some help building and customising your website’s pages? We recommend downloading the DragDropr app to make the process a whole lot quicker and easier. Drag & Drop seamlessly integrates with Shopify to allow you to create, change, and edit 50+ landing pages and 200+ content blocks (such as product videos and contact forms) using a simple drag-and-drop editor, without having to do a single bit of manual coding. All of its content is mobile responsive, meaning it will look great across all devices.
Further Information
Is it worth investing in a premium theme or even ask for help from a Shopify expert? Find out in our Shopify Themes and Shopify Experts Review
How Powerful Are Shopify’s Sales Features?
Quick Answer: Pretty powerful! In fact, it was our top performer in this area, scoring 4.7/5 in testing. Shopify packs each store with tons of useful tools designed to make running your store easier, from shipping to tax calculation. The main thing to watch out for is that it’s fairly reliant on apps (for example, selling digital goods and drop-shipping), so make sure your costs don’t creep up.
Shopify came top in our research for its sales tools and features – you won’t find better with any other ecommerce builder. It gives you all the essentials you need, from analytics and abandoned cart recovery to tons of payment gateways and multi-channel integration.
Shopify’s Sales Tools and Features
- Apps
- Shipping
- Dropshipping
- Abandoned cart recovery
- Product management
- Payment options
- Multi-channel integration
- Digital selling
- Tax
- POS
We’re going to cover all of these offerings in more detail next, but as you can see, there are a lot – so, to make things easier, simply click the plus icon for the features you want to read about!
- Apps
- Shipping
- Dropshipping
- Abandoned Cart Recovery
- Product Management
- Payment Options
- Multi-channel Integration
- Digital Selling
- Tax
- POS
Did you know that Shopify recently green lit CBD sales through its platform? Learn more in our guide on How to Sell CBD Online
Shopify's sales features are proven to boost ecommerce performance.
Does Shopify Have the Power You Need?
Shopify outperformed all its competitors when it came to sales features – see the full list to find out why.
Sounds Good! Show Me Shopify’s Features
Will Shopify’s SEO and Marketing Tools Help You Get Found?
Quick Answer: Yes, they will. Shopify has an extensive range of SEO tools that will be more than satisfactory for most stores. It also has blog specific SEO, although its blogging tools aren’t quite so impressive. For email marketing, you can choose between built-in tools or third party apps.
There’s no point setting up an online store if nobody is ever going to see it. For your business to succeed, your store needs customers – and lots of them!
That’s where SEO comes in. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation, and is the process of maximising your site’s chances of getting found in Google’s search results.
Shopify has a good range of SEO tools at your disposal. It doesn’t provide every trick in the book, but most essential areas are covered, from header code to custom URLs. When you add products, Shopify even prompts you with SEO best practices.
The main thing missing from Shopify’s SEO set is keyword support – if you need this feature, check out Shopify’s rival BigCommerce instead.
SEO is vital for getting found in search results, increasing traffic to your site, and generating more sales. However, it isn’t the only way for your store to get noticed. Click the drop-down sections below to find out what else Shopify has to offer, and see if it’s good enough to get your store the attention it deserves…
- Reporting Tools
- Blogging
- Email Marketing
- Multilingual Options
Have You Got Something to Shout About?
Shopify has a great range of marketing tools to grow your business. Try it out free and see if Shopify’s right for you.
Yes! Get Me Started On Shopify
8
Support and Security: Is Shopify Safe to Use?
Quick Answer: Yes – Shopify comes with built-in security, complies with all the necessary regulations, and even updates your site for you to keep everything running safely. You can add apps for extra peace of mind, but always make sure to create regular backups of your site.
Security
Shopify stores are automatically secure – unlike platforms such as WordPress, you’re not responsible for sorting out your site’s security. Instead, Shopify handles protection against cyber threats, runs updates, and meets the compliance requirements for handling online transactions.
This makes your life as an online seller much easier than if you had to manage all of these things yourself!
To find out more about Shopify’s security, simply click on the headings below for a drop-down explanation of each area.
SSL Security
PCI Compliance
Backups
Support
If you need support, you’ve got it. Shopify provides help via various channels, so you can choose whichever works best for you. Shopify provides:
24/7 phone support
Social media support
24/7 live chat support
Community forum
Email support
Help center
Video tutorials
Advanced specialist support
The Shopify Help Center has a wealth of information, and you can contact Shopify directly if you need more specific answers to problems.
The Shopify Plus plan provides advanced specialist support, giving you your own dedicated support agent. You don’t have to pay big bucks for great support though – 24/7 help is available on even the cheapest price plan.
9
Shopify Case Study... and Shopify Alternatives
We reached out to Francis Holmer, founder of RippedKit, to get an insight into his experience of using Shopify to create and grow his online business.
RippedKit was founded by Francis Holmer, who chose Shopify mainly for its features and easy to use interface.
Why did you choose Shopify?
I switched to Shopify from Cratejoy which is a subscription-focused ecommerce platform. I moved because Shopify has more features and a cleaner and better-developed user interface. Plus because it’s such a popular platform it has lots of apps available which I used to upgrade my store.
What’s your favorite Shopify feature?
Their app store has a huge selection of ‘plug and play’ apps which makes it very easy to add store features without having coding knowledge. You can use this to create a store which competes with bigger brands in terms of features.
How does Shopify support your business?
It is a well-maintained platform that provides everything I need for website management, updates, pricing, order fulfilment, customer communication etc.
Is there anything you don’t like about Shopify?
A lot of the Shopify apps have monthly fees and it can be all too easy to lose track of how many apps you’re paying for and still using, which can create unnecessary costs.
Would you recommend Shopify to anyone else wanting to sell online?
Yes, absolutely.
What was your favorite moment of building your business on Shopify?
Using a Shopify app called Shogun (a drag and drop website builder) to design a nice-looking website despite having no website coding skills.
Thanks, Francis!
As you can see, Shopify was the perfect builder for this business. But we know that each business is different, so if Shopify isn’t ticking your boxes, we’ve put together a list of the best Shopify alternatives for you to explore. Take a look at the image below for an at a glance look at the top alternatives, or check out the list below for more details.
Top Shopify Alternatives
Here you can see the key facts of Shopify's top alternatives - read on below for more details!
1. BigCommerce
Shopify’s main rival, BigCommerce is designed to help large and fast-growing stores fulfil their potential. BigCommerce has the most in-house features of any ecommerce builder, meaning you won’t have to rely on apps like you do with Shopify. It has great SEO and fantastic multi-channel selling, but it’s not as easy to use as Shopify.
Further Information
Read our BigCommerce Review for full details on this top Shopify competitor.
Torn? Read our BigCommerce vs Shopify comparison to see these builders go head to head.
2. Volusion
It didn’t perform as impressively in our research, but Volusion does come with great analytics tools and payment gateways, and with very similar pricing to Shopify. It doesn’t have any blogging tools, however, so bear this in mind when choosing.
Further Information
Read our Volusion Review to find out more about its features, pricing, and more.
Check out our Volusion vs Shopify comparison for a side by side look at both builders.
3. WooCommerce
A more technical choice, WooCommerce is a self-hosted platform where you create a store using WordPress. This makes it a powerful and flexible option, with better tools for complex stores. It’s also more challenging and less beginner-friendly.
Further Information
Discover if WooCommerce is right for you in our WooCommerce vs Shopify comparison.
4. Wix eCommerce
A website builder first and foremost, Wix has ecommerce plans starting from $20 per month (paid annually), making it a more budget friendly option. It’s got some great sales tools, and is ideal for small stores that put branding first.
Further Information
Could Wix be the perfect choice for your store? Find out in our Wix eCommerce Review.
Not sure about the differences between Wix and Shopify? We reveal all in our Wix vs Shopify comparison.
5. Squarespace
Another website builder that offers ecommerce functionality, Squarespace is built for creatives. Its designs are the best on the market, and will really make your products shine.
Further Information
Find out what Squaresapce has to offer in our Squarespace Ecommerce Review.
Decide what’s best for your store with our in-depth Shopify vs Squarespace comparison.
10
Shopify Review: The Verdict
Shopify is the ecommerce builder we recommend the most – it outperformed all other ecommerce platforms in our research, and has something for everyone. With a massive app store, a range of price plans, and an impressive suite of features, it’s an extremely scalable platform.
Shopify shines the most in its sales features, ease of use, and customer satisfaction scores, making it a great choice for both beginners and serious sellers.
Bear in mind that you’ll most likely need to rely on apps for some functions, and that this can increase your monthly price. This is Shopify’s main drawback, while at the same time giving you the freedom to customize and grow your store at your own pace.
Overall, Shopify has earned its title as the best all-around ecommerce website builder on the market. But there’s only one way to know if it’s the best choice for you, and that’s by trying it out yourself!
Jump on Shopify’s 14-day free trial, and see if you agree with our verdict. Your dreams of selling online are within reach, so get going… then come back and let us know how you got on!
Are You Ready to Try Shopify?
Shopify won the title of best ecommerce builder, but will it win your vote? Try it free for 14 days and see if you agree!