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9+Best Free Alternatives to Shopify

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Over 1.7 million merchants use Shopify to sell. This makes it one of the most popular e-commerce solutions in the world. However, there are reasons why you should consider other free alternatives to Shopify. Don't want to deal with commissions on sales, or don't have a big budget? In these cases, you can opt for another alternative to Shopify, one that's better suited to your business or sales site.

The E-commerce platforms platforms offer many options, with varying degrees of functionality, to consider. Thus, this article will help you find the best e-commerce platform by detailing its features, advantages and disadvantages.

Let's get started! 

Lists of the best alternatives to Shopify

  • BigCommerce
  • WooCommerce
  • Dropizi 
  • Squarespace
  • PrestaShop
  • Big Cartel
  • OpenCart
  • Volusion
  • PinnacleCart

Platforms similar to shopify: BigCommerce

Platforms similar to shopify: BigCommerce

BigCommerce is one of the free alternatives to shopify that allows you to create an e commerce website. This ecommerce platform is used by many small and medium businesses. Moreover, it offers a variety of features needed to run a web store.

Pros
 

  • Many management features (cart abandonment and AMP pages)
  • Omnichannel sale
  • In-app payment for Instagram
  • URL customization
  • No domain hosting fees.
  • Supports over 55 payment gateways
  • No invoice for additional transaction fees.

Cons 

  • Customization is not as flexible as Shopify
  • Very expensive themes
  • Fewer templates and integrations than Shopify
  • Editing free themes can be long and difficult
  • Design options and coding of your website are limited

Pricing

BigCommerce offers a 15-day free trial. However, its pricing plans start at $29.95 per month with the monthly plan. Note that the starting plan does not include some features such as product filtering, custom product filtering, price lists and unlimited API calls.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a better alternative to shopify, easy to use, install and very flexible. It is a great open source platform to create an online store. Moreover, it is the most popular e-commerce plugin for WordPress.

Are you considering creating a sales site and wondering if WooCommerce is the best choice for you? Here are some of the pros and cons of using WooCommerce:

Pros
 

  • Free download or installation. 
  • WooCommerce is open source
  • Easy to customize 
  • You can sell anything 
  • Easy website creation 
  • Works on all themes
  • Integration with most of the no extensions

Cons 

  • Domain hosting and SSL certificate for a fee 
  • Need for designer and developer for codes (CSS and HTML)
  • Features requiring more plugins
  • Poor quality of the site speed

Pricing and costs

WooCommerce and WordPress are free software. However, there will always be a fee to launch your WooCommerce store. Since it is a creative software, you will need a WordPress site to use WooCommerce. Therefore, you will have to pay hosting fees.

Although it offers free standard storefront themes, you can also choose to purchase new themes. In fact, the cost of themes usually ranges from $0 to $100 per year. There is also a business management fee charged. If you want advanced shipping options, you have to pay for them.

Payment gateways

The commerce site also offers gateways that allow you to accept online payments securely. There are many options to choose from, such as WooCommerce payments, which have no setup fees or monthly fees. 

However, there is a 2.9% + $0.30 fee for each transaction made in the United States. In addition, for cards used outside the U.S., an additional 1% fee applies. PayPal is another option. There is no monthly fee and charges 2.9% + $0.30 per sale.
If you are using extensions for SEO, communication and security, also consider these costs.

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Free alternatives to shopify: Dropizi 

Dropizi 

Dropizi is an e-commerce platform that presents itself as a compelling alternative to Shopify. It offers easy-to-use website creation tools for novice entrepreneurs. You also benefit from advanced features for experienced online store owners. Dropizi allows you to:

  • Create fully customizable e-commerce sites, 
  • Manage orders and inventory,
  • Make payments online,
  • Benefit from quality customer support. 

Moreover, Dropizi offers competitive and transparent pricing with no hidden fees or commissions on sales. This makes it a better alternative for Shopify.

Pros
 

  • Wide range of site creation features
  • Customer support available in French, 
  • Native integration with suppliers. 
  • Free training is offered, 
  • Offers interesting blog posts.
  • Integration with Aliexpress or BigBuy and others

Cons 

  • Less modules than Shopify
  • Integration with suppliers requires the creation of an account

Pricing 

It's worth noting that Dropizi's pricing remains similar to that of its competitor Shopify. It offers three packages, namely: 

  • STANDARD : 27€ (32,40€ TTC)
  • PRO : 77€ (92,40€ TTC)
  • ADVANCED : 297€ (356,40€ TTC)

Squarespace

Squarespace

Squarespace cannot be ignored when thinking about free alternatives to shopify. This platform is especially one of the best in the market in terms of design and templates. It is also known to be ideal for artists and photographers to showcase their work with the help of its elegant templates.

However, the ecommerce solution offers competitive capabilities that allow you to sell subscriptions, digital and physical products. It also covers the flexibility to handle payments, taxes and settlements. In addition, there are free/paid extensions that you can connect to your ecommerce store.

Pros

  • Variety of professional templates and customization options
  • No transaction fees on Commerce packages
  • Referencing features
  • Full access to the Squarespace Video Studio application
  • Integrated Popups and banners
  • Excellent inventory system
  • Fully integrated e-commerce (inventory, ordering, catalog management, etc.)

Cons 

  • Limited extensions compared to other websites like shopify
  • 3% transaction fee on the business plan.

Pricing

Squarespace's basic trading plan costs $26/month and advanced trading is $40/month.

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PrestaShop

PrestaShop

Another of the best alternatives to Shopify that you may not have heard of is PrestaShop. The good thing is that you can download the open-source code of PrestaShop. Plus, it has its own marketplace called Prestashop Addon, where you can download modules and themes for your store.

This best alternative for open source shopify costs nothing and has no monthly fees or commissions. However, although PrestaShop is free to download, it doesn't mean you won't have any expenses. For example, you will have to pay its hosting partner ($8 to $15) and modules to develop your ecommerce store. On the other hand, it can also be considered as an alternative to WordPress/WooCommerce.

Pros
 

  • Open-source platform
  • Fully RGPD compliant payment solution
  • Customizable currency
  • Easy creation of multiple stores and sub-sites
  • Secure payment

Cons 

  • Add-ons more expensive than other platforms
  • Availability of premium themes
  • Bugs and site slowdowns
  • Small commission fee per transaction 
  • Less templates than WordPress, Shopify, etc.

Pricing

PrestaShop is 100% free to use. However, you may have to consider other expenses such as hosting, add-ons, themes, support, etc.

In addition, you will need a third-party payment processor for payments or a merchant account with PrestaShop payment plan. If you can't find the payment partner you are looking for, you can find it from the add-ons.

Free alternatives to shopify: Big Cartel

Free alternatives to shopify: Big Cartel

Is there anything better than Shopify? Big Cartel can be an excellent choice if you're looking for something better than Shopify. Indeed, this platform allows you to create a creative business and sell artistic items.

However, unlike Shopify, BigCartel was designed for artists, musicians and designers. So it's best for small businesses that sell fewer items. And it doesn't give you an unlimited item option. Plus, it contains predefined templates that you can further customize using HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

Pros

  • Easy to set up and navigate
  • Affordable cms solutions for small arts businesses
  • Intuitive dashboard
  • Ability to sell online and in person
  • Customizable themes with HTML, CSS and JavaScript
  • Possibility to manage your store on mobile
  • Cheaper than Shopify

Cons 

  • Big Cartel is not ideal for department stores
  • Limited number of products to download
  • It's hard to customize your store in detail.
  • The number of product images available for download is very limited
  • Limited functionality compared to other Shopify alternatives

Pricing

BigCartel has a free plan for up to 5 products. The best part is that it allows custom domains on the free plan unlike most platforms. There are two paid plans starting at $9.99 per month. 

OpenCart

OpenCart

OpenCart is one of the best free alternatives to shopify. It is a free open source solution based on PHP. Indeed, it allows you to manage multiple ecommerce sites from a single backend. You will need a hosting service for this, and there are also extensions available for purchase.

Pros
 

  • Load on each server (shared server or VPS)
  • Access to raw files 
  • Easy to modify your storefront and your theme
  • Free to download
  • Numerous integration and expansion possibilities
  • Open source platform

Cons 

  • Difficult to update
  • Some OpenCart extensions are too expensive
  • Requires at least basic coding knowledge
  • Very few themes

Pricing

OpenCart is 100% free to download. However, you should consider additional expenses such as add-ons, hosting, etc. depending on your needs.

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Free alternatives to shopify: Volusion

Volusion

Volusion is another better alternative to shopify. However, it's not as intuitive or advanced. It provides out-of-the-box e-commerce functionality without the need for an app. 

Moreover, it supports a wide range of payment methods such as PayPal, Stripe and Amazon Pay. On the other hand, this platform doesn't have much positive feedback from users. Yet, you can try it with its free trial.

Pros
 

  • Possibility to search by order number
  • No transaction fees
  • CSS Editor
  • SSL included
  • Bar code generator
  • Associated products are ready to use

Cons 

  • Very few themes
  • No add-ons or application markets
  • GMV quota (Gross Merchandise Volume).
  • Limited customization options
  • Lack of integration
  • Limited functionality compared to Shopify 
  • Not an ideal option for medium and large companies
  • Costly e-commerce website templates

Pricing

Volusion has a free trial and its pricing plans start at $29 per month with a monthly payment. Considering that the starting price is more or less the same as Shopify, the platform should expand its features and capabilities to compete withother websites like shopify.

PinnacleCart

PinnacleCart

Another one of the best free alternatives to shopify to consider is PinnacleCart. It is an all-in-one online store solution that you can host with your own server or select your hosted option. Thus, the platform allows you to purchase the perpetual license of PinnacleCart.

The biggest drawback is its price. The hosted option starts at $79.95 per month, which is more expensive than Shopify. However, unlike Shopify, it does not charge a transaction fee.

Pros

  • No transaction fees
  • Ticket and live chat for your website
  • Easy to use for beginners

Cons 

  • It's too expensive for small businesses
  • The standard plan ($79) only covers PayPal and ProPay
  • Lack of model options
  • Limited disk space and bandwidth on the Standard plan

Pricing

PinnacleCart's starting price is $79 per month for the hosted solution, and it has a free trial.

Conclusion 

As you can see, there's no shortage of free alternatives to shopify on the market. The question is: what's better than shopify? To do this, you first need to define your needs, then compare them with the features offered by the platform you choose. If it doesn't meet your needs, you don't need to invest in it. Always choose the platform that meets your unique needs!

Finally, if you want to increase the sales of your store, Minea is an all-in-one tool you should consider. In fact, it is the most comprehensive and widely used social network ad spy tool. It also has an impressive library of thousands of ads, with new ones added every day. 

As far as pricing goes, Minea offers a free trial with no monthly fee, as well as two paid packages. With the latter, you can spy on ads on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and even Snapchat.

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Frequently asked questions 

Is it possible to have a free Shopify store? 

Shopify offers a free 3-day trial period, with no need to provide a credit card. Once the trial period is over, you can choose a package that matches the size and level of development of your business.

Which is better than Shopify?

For many entrepreneurs, WooCommerce is one of the best Shopify alternatives. It's completely free, open-source and, best of all, highly rated when it comes to visitor experience. Some users even claim that it's better than Shopify in many ways.

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