Ecommerce Software

Best Shopify Alternatives: Our TOP 7 Recommendations

Author
Janis von Bleichert
Last update
14. Feb 2023
Ad disclaimer: For links on this page, EXPERTE.com may earn a commission from the provider. This supports our work and has no influence on our editorial rating.

There are lots of ways to create a digital presence for your business. Beginner-friendly ecommerce platforms help anybody, even those without a lick of programming or web design knowledge, to quickly and easily build an online store. All you have to do is figure out which service is best for your business. But don't worry, we're here to help.

Top Ecommerce Platforms 2024
Sponsored
from $22.00
per month
Wix
from $29.95
per month
BigCommerce
from $29.00
per month
Shopify
from $19.50
per month
IONOS
show all

The first reaction to having so many choices is to select the most well-known option. If everybody else is using it, it must be good, right?

In the world of ecommerce platforms, Shopify is probably the most popular, thanks to its user-friendly dashboard, numerous features, and suitability for a variety of different stores and projects. Here at EXPERTE.com, we have no problem designating it as one of the best all-around packages on the market, but, that doesn't mean that it's perfect or right for everyone. We were disappointed by its slow support and limited customization options.

Below, we'd like to introduce you to our Top 7 alternatives to Shopify.

1.

Wix Stores - Our Winner

Best Overall 2024
Wix eCommerce
Wix eCommerce
(92,328 )
Wix has built a shop solution on the foundation of its powerful website builder. The result: a beginner-friendly platform with strong personalization and ecommerce features, which is best-suited for smaller shops.
500+ design templates
powerful editor
beginner-friendly interface
supports lots of sales channels
can't switch templates
9.1
excellent
Number of Products
unlimited
Transaction Fee
0 %
Sales Channels
7+
Payment Options
5+
Wix Business Basic
 $22.00
monthly price
Visit Website*
14 day free trial

If you're a regular reader of our reviews, you know that Wix has done quite well in our rankings. Its site builder impressed us with its numerous features and user-friendliness, and its ecommerce platform is our top alternative to Shopify.

Wix Stores, built around the same software as Wix, is a highly-functional ecommerce platform that allows pretty much anyone to design a digital storefront with true drag and drop flexibility. No coding knowledge is required and users can look forward to sensible product management, as well as a variety of options, including support for dropshipping, multichannel sales, and multiple language localizations.

Wix Stores combines Wix's excellent site builder with powerful sales tools.

Of course, there were a few things we didn't like about Wix Stores. All subscriptions have strict storage limits (unlike the other providers from our sample), and selling in multiple currencies is only possible with a third-party add-on.

Still, at the end of the day, Wix offers the best package in our view and was our top ecommerce platform pick.

  • Powerful builder offering considerable design freedom

  • Extremely user-friendly and geared towards beginners

  • Supports dropshipping, multi-channel sales, and POS

Review
9.1
excellent
Visit Website*
Check Review
Personalizing Your Store
10 / 10
Product Management
9.4 / 10
Configuration & Usage
9.4 / 10
Generating Sales
9.4 / 10
Marketing & Analytics
8.6 / 10
Support
8.0 / 10
2.

BigCommerce - For Big Ecommerce Projects

BigCommerce
BigCommerce
(2,005 )
BigCommerce boasts well-designed product and inventory management features, solid marketing and analytics capabilities, and support for many sales channels. Possibly too complex for smaller shops, it's ideal for larger ecommerce projects.
many features 'out of the box'
up to 600 variants per product
no product limits
supports multiple currencies
too complicated for smaller shops
8.7
good
Number of Products
unlimited
Transaction Fee
0 %
Sales Channels
7+
Payment Options
6+
BigCommerce Standard
 $29.95
monthly price
Visit Website*
Start Free Trial

BigCommerce does pretty much everything right. It provides seemingly endless product management options and allows users to create as many product variations as they'd like. In particular, the platform scores owing to its powerful marketing capabilities, like its excellent discount and sales options.

You want to dropship, sell your goods on multiple channels, or in different currencies? All possible and easy with BigCommerce.

  • Intuitive usage concept and clear dashboard

  • Excellent product management with unlimited variants

  • Tons of marketing features, including detailed discount settings

Review
8.7
good
Visit Website*
Check Review
Marketing & Analytics
9.4 / 10
Support
9.4 / 10
Product Management
9.4 / 10
Generating Sales
9.4 / 10
Configuration & Usage
8.0 / 10
Personalizing Your Store
6.6 / 10
3.

1&1 IONOS's eCommerce Website Builder - Reliable Across the Board

IONOS eCommerce
IONOS eCommerce
(37,581 )
Using its powerful website builder as a starting point, IONOS' ecommerce platform adds a solid set of sales features that should cover all the needs of smaller shops and websites with sales pages.
powerful editor for customization
affordable first-year prices
intuitive inventory management
limited marketing features
smaller app store
8.6
good
Number of Products
500 - ∞
Transaction Fee
0 %
Sales Channels
5+
Payment Options
7+
IONOS Starter
 $19.50
monthly price
Visit Website*
First Month Free

The Internet is international and so are our top picks for ecommerce platforms. Having already started in Israel, and then jumped over to Texas, we make our way to Germany. 1&1 IONOS's eCommerce Website Builder uses its own site builder, combined with a wide range of ecommerce features, resulting in a well-rounded and highly versatile tool. Thanks to its drag and drop functionality, the platform also affords a good amount of design freedom.

With 1&1 IONOS you'll get a first-class ecommerce platform with which you can customize your store, as well as extensive options for managing and selling your products. In the event that you encounter a problem, top-notch support is never far away.

1&1 IONOS's eCommerce Website Builder allows store owners to sell different variations of their products.

1&1 IONOS's eCommerce Website Builder didn't place higher in our rankings owing to a few small issues. For example, you can only use email marketing if you integrate external software, while its discount options weren't up to our standards.

We also were disappointed that it isn't possible to try the software out, unlike most of 1&1 IONOS's competitors.

  • Powerful editor

  • Fast support and personal advisers

  • Multilingual websites

Review
8.6
good
Visit Website*
Check Review
Personalizing Your Store
9.4 / 10
Product Management
9.4 / 10
Generating Sales
9.4 / 10
Support
8.6 / 10
Marketing & Analytics
7.4 / 10
Configuration & Usage
7.4 / 10

Additional Alternatives

If the three above weren't appealing, you might be interested in some of the other ecommerce platforms we reviewed. You can check them out here:

Best Overall 2024
Wix eCommerce
Wix eCommerce
(92,328 )
Wix has built a shop solution on the foundation of its powerful website builder. The result: a beginner-friendly platform with strong personalization and ecommerce features, which is best-suited for smaller shops.
500+ design templates
powerful editor
beginner-friendly interface
supports lots of sales channels
can't switch templates
9.1
excellent
Number of Products
unlimited
Transaction Fee
0 %
Sales Channels
7+
Payment Options
5+
Wix Business Basic
 $22.00
monthly price
Visit Website*
14 day free trial
BigCommerce
BigCommerce
(2,005 )
BigCommerce boasts well-designed product and inventory management features, solid marketing and analytics capabilities, and support for many sales channels. Possibly too complex for smaller shops, it's ideal for larger ecommerce projects.
many features 'out of the box'
up to 600 variants per product
no product limits
supports multiple currencies
too complicated for smaller shops
8.7
good
Number of Products
unlimited
Transaction Fee
0 %
Sales Channels
7+
Payment Options
6+
BigCommerce Standard
 $29.95
monthly price
Visit Website*
Start Free Trial
IONOS eCommerce
IONOS eCommerce
(37,581 )
Using its powerful website builder as a starting point, IONOS' ecommerce platform adds a solid set of sales features that should cover all the needs of smaller shops and websites with sales pages.
powerful editor for customization
affordable first-year prices
intuitive inventory management
limited marketing features
smaller app store
8.6
good
Number of Products
500 - ∞
Transaction Fee
0 %
Sales Channels
5+
Payment Options
7+
IONOS Starter
 $19.50
monthly price
Visit Website*
First Month Free
Ecwid
Ecwid
(9,646 )
Ecwid works best as a plugin for other platforms: it can easily be integrated into a CMS, a website builder, or a social media site, and streamlines the sales process across these and other channels. The free tier is a nice extra.
free tier for tiny shops
easy to integrate with other platforms
no transaction fees
limited personalization
many features behind paywalls
7.9
good
Number of Products
5 - ∞
Transaction Fee
0 %
Sales Channels
7+
Payment Options
4+
Ecwid Free
 $0.00
monthly price
Visit Website*
Sign up for free
Volusion
Volusion
(491 )
Volusion offers a powerful ecommerce platform with impressive marketing and analytics features. Sadly, the user interface is more complicated than it needs to be, and there aren't as many ways to customize your site as with other solutions.
great analytics capabilities
many marketing & discount features
many sales channels (dropshipping, POS..)
complicated user interface
limited customization
7.7
good
Number of Products
100 - ∞
Transaction Fee
0 %
Sales Channels
4+
Payment Options
3+
Volusion Personal
 $31.50
monthly price
Visit Website*
14 day free trial
Sellfy
Sellfy
(164 )
Sellfy has tailored its offering to the ecommerce needs of creatives, which makes the platform ideal for selling digital products and subscriptions. It's not the best option for selling physical products, however.
great platform to sell digital products
supports sale of subsriptions
print-on-demand feature
not enough customization
limited sales features
7.5
good
Number of Products
unlimited
Transaction Fee
0 %
Sales Channels
1
Payment Options
2+
Sellfy Starter
 $19.00
monthly price
Visit Website*
14 day free trial
Jimdo Online Store
Jimdo Online Store
(40,798 )
With its two editors for beginners and intermediate users, Jimdo makes creating a shop easy. But neither editor strikes the perfect balance of usability, features, and customization, which is why Jimdo is mainly suited for smaller projects.
AI-powered editor for beginners
much lower prices than competitors
no sale of digital products
both editors lacking in features
editors not clearly explained
7.1
good
Number of Products
50 - ∞
Transaction Fee
0 %
Sales Channels
1
Payment Options
2+
Jimdo Business
 $16.00
monthly price
Visit Website*

Conclusion

You no longer need to be a programmer or web designer to create an online store: With the right ecommerce platform, anyone can bring their business into the 21st century. Of course, you'll still have to choose the platform that meets your needs and requirements.

There are plenty of good reasons why Shopify is one of the most popular store builders, however, it isn't perfect. If customizing your digital business is important to you, better options definitely exist. Since nearly every solution from our sample offers a free trial version, why not try some of them out? To help you decide which to start with, we suggest taking a look at our comprehensive evaluation.

Top Ecommerce Platforms 2024
Sponsored
from $22.00
per month
Wix
from $29.95
per month
BigCommerce
from $29.00
per month
Shopify
from $19.50
per month
IONOS
show all
Janis von Bleichert studied business informatics at the TU Munich and computer science at the TU Berlin, Germany. He has been self-employed since 2006 and is the founder of EXPERTE.com. He writes about hosting, software and IT security.
* Ad disclaimer: For links marked with an asterisk, EXPERTE.com may earn a commission from the provider. The commission has no influence on our editorial rating.
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