Shopify
Build and scale your online store without writing code.
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Book free discovery call →Quick summary of Shopify
Shopify is the dominant e-commerce platform for selling physical products online, founded in 2006 by Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake in Ottawa. Powers over 4 million stores worldwide including Allbirds, Gymshark, Heinz, and countless DTC brands. Core features: customisable storefront themes, Shop Pay checkout (best-in-class conversion), inventory management across multiple locations, multi-channel selling (TikTok, Instagram, Amazon), Shopify POS for physical retail, shipping integrations, tax automation, an app store with 8,000+ apps, and Shopify Plus for high-volume stores. Best for direct-to-consumer brands, retailers, and any business selling physical goods online. Pricing: Starter $5/month, Basic $29/month, Shopify $79/month, Advanced $299/month, Plus $2,300+/month. Transaction fees apply (2.4-2.9% via Shopify Payments, additional 0.5-2% on external processors). Direct competitors: WooCommerce (WordPress-based, self-hosted), BigCommerce (similar SaaS, fewer apps), Squarespace Commerce (content-first), Wix Stores (simpler), Webflow Ecommerce (designer-focused), Medusa.js (open-source headless). Not suitable for digital products or SaaS subscriptions — use Lemon Squeezy or Paddle for those. Shopify wins on ecosystem depth and Shop Pay conversion.
⏱ 30-second verdict
- Default for physical product e-commerce, ecosystem is enormous
- Shop Pay checkout converts dramatically better than custom flows
- Transaction fees on non-Shopify-Payments processors are aggressive
About
Shopify is an all-in-one e-commerce platform that lets you create online stores, manage inventory, process payments, and handle shipping. It offers customizable themes, a drag-and-drop editor, built-in SEO tools, and integrations with major sales channels like Amazon, Instagram, and TikTok.
🎯 Why it's useful
Perfect for founders launching a DTC brand or testing product ideas quickly—you can go from zero to accepting payments in a single afternoon without hiring a developer.
💜 Our take
It's the gold standard for e-commerce for a reason. The app ecosystem is massive, and it scales with you from side hustle to serious business.
How indie founders use Shopify
Direct-to-consumer brand
Sell your physical products online with a custom-branded storefront. Theme + Shop Pay + basic shipping integration covers 95% of new DTC brands.
Multi-channel commerce
Sell on your site, TikTok Shop, Instagram, Amazon, all from one backend. Shopify syncs inventory across channels automatically.
Physical retail POS
Shopify POS handles in-store sales with the same inventory and customer data as online. Useful for hybrid online + physical brands.
Subscription products
Recurring subscriptions for consumables (coffee, vitamins, beauty) via apps like Recharge or Bold Subscriptions. Real ARR motion for physical brands.
Shopify is the e-commerce platform you'll use if you're selling physical products online. Full stop. The alternatives (WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix) all technically work, but for any indie founder shipping a product, Shopify is the default and nobody really argues otherwise anymore. The product is mature in a way few SaaS platforms are. Storefront customisation, checkout (Shop Pay is genuinely the best checkout experience in e-commerce), inventory management, multi-channel selling (sell on TikTok, Instagram, Amazon, your own site, all from one backend), shipping integrations, tax handling, even a built-in POS for physical retail. The app store has 8,000+ apps for anything Shopify doesn't do natively. For founders selling digital products or SaaS, Shopify is the wrong tool. Use Lemon Squeezy or Paddle or just plain Stripe. Shopify is built around physical products with inventory, shipping, and SKUs. Trying to bend it into a SaaS billing platform is fighting the model. The pricing tiers are reasonable for what you get. Basic at $29/month covers most starter stores. Shopify at $79/month adds gift cards, professional reports, and shipping discount tiers. Advanced at $299/month adds calculated shipping rates, advanced reports, and lower payment fees. Plus is custom (typically $2,000+/month) for high-volume stores. The controversy worth knowing: Shopify Payments (their default payment processor) charges 0.6%-2% on top of the credit card fees if you use Shop Pay. If you bring your own payment processor (Stripe, PayPal), Shopify charges an additional 0.5%-2% transaction fee as 'cost of doing business not through us.' For high-volume stores this is real money and the lock-in is real. The alternatives in 2026: Shopify is dominant but not unchallenged. Wix has improved a lot. Squarespace Commerce is decent for content-heavy stores. BigCommerce is the serious enterprise alternative. Open-source: Medusa.js is the new entrant getting traction. My take: if you're selling physical products, just use Shopify. The ecosystem (themes, apps, payment processing, fulfilment integrations) is so deep that fighting it costs more than the platform fees. If you're selling digital products or services, look elsewhere. The fees on non-Shopify-Payments transactions are aggressive enough that they shape your stack choices.
Pricing
Starter
- ✓Sell via social + messaging only
- ✓No full storefront
- ✓Shop Pay checkout
- ✓For testing/social commerce
Basic
- ✓Full online store
- ✓Up to 1,000 inventory locations
- ✓10 staff accounts
- ✓2.9% + 30¢ card fees (Shopify Payments)
Shopify
- ✓Gift cards + professional reports
- ✓5 staff accounts
- ✓Shipping discount tiers
- ✓2.6% + 30¢ card fees
Advanced
- ✓Calculated shipping
- ✓Advanced reports
- ✓15 staff accounts
- ✓2.4% + 30¢ card fees
Plus
- ✓For high-volume stores
- ✓Custom checkout (Shopify Functions)
- ✓Wholesale + B2B features
- ✓Multi-store dashboard
Basic $39/mo · Shopify $105/mo · Advanced $399/mo · 3-day free trial
Frequently asked questions
Is Shopify free?
No. The cheapest plan is $5/month (Starter, social-only no storefront). Basic at $29/month is the real entry point for a full store. There's a 3-day free trial, then $1/month for the first 3 months on Basic during promos.
Shopify vs WooCommerce, which should I pick?
Shopify if you want it to just work — paid SaaS with fewer technical decisions. WooCommerce if you want full control, self-hosting, and your own WordPress stack. Shopify wins for most founders; WooCommerce wins for technical folks with specific customisation needs and WordPress preference.
Does Shopify charge transaction fees?
Yes. Card processing is 2.4-2.9% + 30¢ via Shopify Payments. If you use an external processor (Stripe, PayPal), Shopify adds an additional 0.5-2% transaction fee on top of the processor's own fees. For high-volume stores, this incentivises using Shopify Payments — by design.
Can I sell digital products on Shopify?
You can but it's not the right tool. Shopify is built around physical products with inventory and shipping. For digital products (eBooks, courses, software licenses, subscriptions), use Lemon Squeezy, Gumroad, Paddle, or plain Stripe Checkout. They handle digital delivery and tax better.
Shopify vs BigCommerce?
Shopify wins on ecosystem (themes, apps, brand recognition). BigCommerce wins on built-in features (more included without paid apps) and lower platform fees. For most indie founders, Shopify's app ecosystem makes the slight extra cost worth it. BigCommerce is competitive for high-volume stores wanting to minimise add-on bills.
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