Shopify Alternatives for Stores That Need More Control
Transaction fees and limited customisation push your store into a box. Five platforms with more freedom for growing businesses.
At MG Software we recommend WooCommerce for entrepreneurs who want maximum control and no platform fees. BigCommerce is our suggestion for stores seeking a SaaS experience without transaction fees. For teams with development capacity, Medusa.js offers the most modern headless architecture available. We help you determine which platform best fits your growth ambitions and technical capabilities.
Why do people look for alternatives to Shopify is the largest hosted e-commerce platform in the world with over 4 million active stores across more than 175 countries. The platform provides an all-in-one solution: hosting, SSL, themes, payment processing via Shopify Payments, app integrations and customer support. The Basic plan starts at $39 per month, the Shopify plan costs $105 per month and Advanced runs at $399. Shopify Plus for enterprise starts around $2,300 per month. The platform is simple to use and makes it possible to launch a store within a day, which makes it popular among both beginners and established brands.?
Despite its popularity, store owners seek alternatives for several reasons. Shopify charges transaction fees of 0.5% to 2% when using an external payment provider instead of Shopify Payments. Monthly subscription costs and app fees add up quickly: many essential features require paid apps. Checkout customisation options are limited on plans below Plus. The Liquid template system has a learning curve and restricts design flexibility compared to open-source alternatives. Data ownership is a concern: when leaving, you must export everything and rebuild on a different platform.
Best alternatives
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is the most popular open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress, powering over 36% of all online stores worldwide. The core plugin is free and provides product management, shopping cart, checkout and basic reporting. You pay for hosting, a theme and optional premium extensions. WooCommerce excels in regions with diverse local payment requirements thanks to its extensive gateway integrations. The full WordPress plugin library is available for SEO, email marketing and more functionality.
Pros
- +No monthly platform fees and zero transaction fees charged by the platform itself
- +Full source code access with unlimited customisation possibilities through WordPress and PHP
- +The largest plugin ecosystem in the world with thousands of free and premium extensions
- +Extensive payment gateway support with over 100 providers including all major local methods
Cons
- -You manage hosting, SSL, backups, security patches and plugin updates yourself
- -Performance requires optimisation: large catalogues need caching and powerful hosting
- -Plugin and theme quality varies significantly, which can create stability and compatibility issues
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a SaaS e-commerce platform that competes directly with Shopify but distinguishes itself through zero transaction fees on all plans. The Standard plan starts at $29 per month and includes unlimited products, staff accounts and storage. BigCommerce features built-in multi-channel selling via Amazon, eBay and social media without requiring additional apps. Native B2B functionality with customer-specific pricing and quote requests makes the platform particularly suitable for wholesale and business customers.
Pros
- +Zero transaction fees on every plan regardless of which payment provider you choose to use
- +More built-in features than Shopify: multi-channel, B2B and unlimited product variants as standard
- +Stronger SEO capabilities with customisable URL structures and automatic canonical tag management
- +No revenue limits on the Basic plan: grow without being forced to upgrade until the Plus tier
Cons
- -Smaller theme and app ecosystem than Shopify with fewer specialised third-party integrations
- -The admin interface is functional but less polished and intuitive than the Shopify dashboard
- -Annual revenue thresholds on Standard ($50,000) and Plus ($180,000) plans force plan upgrades
Magento Open Source
Magento Open Source (Adobe Commerce Community) is a free, self-hosted e-commerce platform with enterprise-grade capabilities. It offers comprehensive product management with unlimited attributes, multi-store configuration from a single installation, advanced catalogue pricing rules and a powerful REST and GraphQL API. The platform runs on PHP with MySQL and requires Elasticsearch for search functionality. The extension ecosystem on the Adobe Marketplace contains over 3,500 modules for payments, shipping, marketing and analytics.
Pros
- +Completely free and open-source with unlimited customisation possibilities at the code level
- +Multi-store management from a single installation: multiple brands, languages and currencies in one dashboard
- +The most powerful product catalogue management with unlimited attributes and configurable products
- +Large extension ecosystem with over 3,500 modules on the Adobe Commerce Marketplace
Cons
- -High hosting costs: minimum $100 per month for acceptable performance on specialised servers
- -Complex installation and maintenance requiring an experienced developer for updates and security
- -Page load times are slower than Shopify without extensive Varnish and Redis caching configuration
Medusa.js
Medusa.js is an open-source headless commerce engine built with Node.js and TypeScript. It provides a modular architecture with independent modules for products, orders, payments, inventory and customer management. Medusa fully separates the backend from the frontend, allowing you to build the storefront with Next.js, Remix or any other framework. The community edition is free and Medusa Cloud offers a managed option. The project has accumulated over 25,000 GitHub stars and is growing rapidly as a modern alternative to traditional platforms.
Pros
- +Fully open-source and free with a modular Node.js architecture and TypeScript support throughout
- +Headless architecture provides complete freedom to build the storefront with any modern framework
- +Built-in multi-region support with different currencies, tax rates and shipping options per region
- +Active community with over 25,000 GitHub stars and a fast development and release cycle
Cons
- -Requires a development team for storefront implementation and custom integration work
- -Younger ecosystem with fewer ready-made plugins and integrations than Shopify or WooCommerce
- -No visual admin builder: the dashboard is functional but simpler than Shopify's polished interface
Squarespace
Squarespace is a website builder with integrated e-commerce that excels in design and visual presentation. The Commerce Basic plan costs $33 per month and Commerce Advanced $65 per month. Squarespace provides a drag-and-drop editor with professionally designed templates particularly suited for fashion, art, food and lifestyle brands. The platform includes built-in analytics, email campaigns, SEO tools and social media integration. E-commerce features cover product management, inventory tracking, gift cards and subscriptions.
Pros
- +The most beautiful default templates of any e-commerce platform, ideal for visually-driven brands
- +All-in-one platform with website, blog, e-commerce, analytics and email marketing built in
- +Simple drag-and-drop editor requiring no technical knowledge for professional-looking stores
- +No transaction fees on the Commerce Advanced plan when using Squarespace Payments
Cons
- -Significantly fewer e-commerce features and integrations compared to Shopify or WooCommerce
- -Limited scalability: not suitable for large catalogues with thousands of products and variants
- -Fewer payment providers available: Stripe and PayPal as primary options with limited local methods
Comparison at a glance
WooCommerce provides the most freedom and zero platform fees for WordPress users. BigCommerce delivers a comparable SaaS experience to Shopify without transaction fees and with stronger B2B features. Magento Open Source is the most powerful platform for complex catalogues with full source code access. Medusa.js offers the most modern headless architecture for development teams. Squarespace excels in design for visually-driven brands with simple product ranges.
What to consider when switching?
- Importance of zero transaction fees versus the convenience of a fully managed platform
- Need for design flexibility and source code access versus a simple drag-and-drop experience
- Size of your product catalogue and the complexity of product variants and configurations
- Technical capacity within your team to manage a self-hosted or headless platform
- Budget for monthly subscription costs, apps and potential development hours
Which alternative does MG Software recommend?
At MG Software we recommend WooCommerce for entrepreneurs who want maximum control and no platform fees. BigCommerce is our suggestion for stores seeking a SaaS experience without transaction fees. For teams with development capacity, Medusa.js offers the most modern headless architecture available. We help you determine which platform best fits your growth ambitions and technical capabilities.
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