On this page
What's the best Shopify alternative for growing brands?
You're probably in one of two camps: either you're looking for the best Shopify alternatives because the platform hasn't met your expectations, or you're comparing ecommerce platforms before committing to one. Either way, the choice isn't easy. Your business model, sales terms, channels, operational needs, and plans for growth all influence which platform is the right fit.
In this guide, we'll compare Shopify and Merchant Tech, two ecommerce platforms built for small and medium-sized businesses. We'll look at where each one excels, who they serve best, and which option makes the most sense for your store.
What Shopify Does Well
The App Ecosystem Is Unmatched
Shopify's App Store has over 20,000 apps. In theory, that means there's an app for every problem and a competitive developer landscape that generates better quality solutions for merchants. From loyalty programs to local delivery route planning to apps that place a sticky "add to cart" button on your screen, there's a huge range of options to choose from. Most ecommerce platforms don't have such an expansive and hyper commerce-focused third-party app store.
For some challenges, a merchant's only practical option is moving to a higher Shopify tier, either because no app solves the problem or because the needed capability is locked behind an upgrade. Shopify Plus, for example, unlocks native features like unlimited wholesale catalogs and full checkout customization.
Merchants with unique or complex operational requirements must determine whether custom apps and integrations can support them, or whether they need to make the costly jump to Shopify Plus.
Developer Resources and Talent Pool
Shopify has an enormous developer community. Because Liquid (Shopify's templating language) is widely used and well documented, merchants can readily find developers to build or customize storefronts. Shopify also offers strong API documentation and an extensive network of Partners, agencies, and freelancers.
If you anticipate needing significant custom development work, Shopify's developer bench is an asset. But it will cost you.
Brand Recognition and Merchant Trust
When Shopify launched, it helped make ecommerce accessible to non-developers at scale. It remains widely regarded as a fast, stable way to launch an online store and is a familiar, trusted platform among investors, partners, payment processors, and enterprise procurement teams. In some B2B contexts, buyers may even prefer or require merchants to operate on Shopify.
The Downsides of Shopify
It Gets Expensive Quickly
Shopify can look affordable at first glance. But the plan price is only the starting point. Once you add payment processing, transaction surcharges, and any apps your store needs, the monthly cost can skyrocket.
The more your business grows, the more likely you are to pay for features outside your base plan, or move to a much more expensive tier to get the capabilities you need.
Shopify's plans (verified June 29, 2026):
| Plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39/month | $29/month |
| Grow | $105/month | $79/month |
| Advanced | $399/month | $299/month |
| Plus | From $2,300/month | - |
Payment processing fees (when using Shopify Payments):
- Basic: 2.9% + 30¢ per online transaction
- Grow: 2.7% + 30¢
- Advanced: 2.5% + 30¢
These are standard card rates for consumer cards. Premium card types (Amex, certain rewards cards) trigger higher rates.
Third-party processor surcharge - if you use PayPal, Stripe, or any processor other than Shopify Payments, Shopify charges an additional fee on top of that processor's fees:
- Basic: +2% per transaction
- Grow: +1%
- Advanced: +0.6%
For a store doing $15,000/month in revenue through a third-party processor on the Basic plan, that 2% surcharge is $300/month - $3,600 per year - to use a payment processor other than Shopify's own.
App costs compound on top of this. Most operational stores run 5–10 paid apps. Reviews, subscriptions, shipping management, advanced page building, and wholesale pricing aren't always included in Shopify's base plans. Across a mid-tier Shopify plan, app costs alone can run $200–400/month.
A realistic mid-tier Shopify merchant on the Grow plan with a moderate app stack using Shopify Payments can expect to spend $350–550/month before factoring in payment processing volume. A scaling merchant on Advanced with a full commercial app stack can easily exceed $1,000–1,400/month in platform costs.
This may be fine for established stores, but it can create significant overhead for smaller ones.
Dependency on the App Ecosystem
While the app store is a strength in some regards, it can also be a weakness. Having to unlock the features you need through multiple "one trick pony" apps can increase monthly costs, slow down your site, and require sharing store data with third-party app servers.
Lack of Customization
Shopify's easy starting framework comes with a price: you're operating inside someone else's system. Your theme defines the boundaries of your storefront, apps determine how gaps are patched, and Shopify's pricing tiers decide which capabilities you're allowed to access.
You can customize the platform, but only within the areas Shopify chooses to expose. This can leave growing businesses trapped between adapting their operations to fit Shopify's limitations and continually investing in ways to work around them. What begins as a convenient, ready-made storefront can gradually become a complicated network of apps, Liquid code, and technical dependencies that's costly and difficult to maintain.
What Merchant Tech Is and Who It's Built For
Merchant Tech was built as an alternative to app-dependent ecommerce platforms, giving small businesses one place to sell, operate, and grow without unnecessary technical complexity or financial overhead.
Every feature is built in and included for $79/month.
That price includes: Website building and hosting, order fulfillment, built-in product subscriptions, B2B and wholesale functionality, product reviews, flexible configurations and bundles, digital products, and sales tax compliance - natively, without apps to manage or pay for.
On fees: Merchant Tech charges a CC transaction fee starting at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. That's the only fee. There are no apps charging their own transaction fees on top, no third-party processor surcharge, no tiered platform penalties. What you see is what you pay.
On migration: Switching to Merchant Tech is handled for you, free of charge. An in-house developer (not a third-party partner) provides a full white-glove service to ensure your store is migrated with zero downtime and no lost sales (or data). Plus, your migration can be completed in as little as one day.
What it doesn't have: Shopify's 20,000-app ecosystem or the same pool of developers and agencies. It may not be the right fit for merchants whose operations depend on a Shopify-specific developer or agency.
Merchant Tech takes a different approach: All features are built directly into the platform rather than added through third-party apps, with the exception of email marketing (plugins for Klaviyo and Mailchimp). That means tools work together naturally within a single interface. There's less software to learn, fewer integrations to manage, and no additional app subscriptions or app-level transaction fees to absorb.
Who it's built for: This model is especially well suited to small businesses that can't afford to devote significant time or money to continually building, maintaining, and expanding an app-based setup. But simplicity does not come at the expense of growth. In fact, it gives smaller merchants a stronger foundation from which to scale, making it easier to expand into new sales channels, reach more customers, and grow their online business using the tools already built in.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Swipe to see more →
| Shopify Basic | Shopify Grow | Shopify Advanced | Merchant Tech | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $39/mo (or $29/mo annual) | $105/mo (or $79/mo annual) | $399/mo (or $299/mo annual) | $79/mo |
| CC transaction fees | From 2.9% + 30¢ | From 2.7% + 30¢ | From 2.5% + 30¢ | From 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Third-party processor surcharge | +2% per transaction | +1% per transaction | +0.6% per transaction | None |
| Fee stacking | Yes - apps can add their own transaction fees on top | Yes | Yes | No |
| Hosting included | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Sales tax compliance | Limited - automated tax calculation; fees after $100K sales threshold | Limited | Limited | Included |
| App ecosystem | 20,000+ apps | 20,000+ apps | 20,000+ apps | None |
| Migration support | DIY or pay an agency | DIY or pay an agency | DIY or pay an agency | White-glove, free, zero downtime |
| Who it's for | Solo owners and straightforward stores | Growing stores with small teams | Higher-volume brands selling internationally | Small businesses (solo or teams) wanting all-in-one simplicity and more growth opportunities right away |
Who Should Choose Shopify
Choose Shopify if…
You have unusual operational requirements best served by a specific tool or integration built specifically for the Shopify ecosystem.
You prefer choosing from a large marketplace of third-party apps and are comfortable managing multiple vendors and fees.
You rely on a Shopify-specialized agency or developer for ongoing custom work and want to remain within that ecosystem.
Who Should Choose Merchant Tech
Choose Merchant Tech if…
Your store has multiple sales channels like subscriptions, retail, and wholesale and you'd rather pay for one $79 monthly platform fee instead of paying separate app bills on top of a base plan.
Shopify's app fees are wearing on you. If you're paying app subscriptions, app-level transaction fees, or third-party payment surcharges, Merchant Tech's single platform fee directly addresses the problem.
You want migration handled for you. If the hassle of leaving Shopify is the main thing keeping you there, our white-glove migration removes that barrier with zero downtime and no lost orders. Some migrations take less than a day, depending on the size and complexity of the store.
FAQ
Is Merchant Tech really cheaper than Shopify?
For merchants paying for multiple apps or upgrading their Shopify plan to access the functionality they need, often yes. Shopify Basic starts at $29 per month, but the total can also include payment processing, paid apps, and additional transaction fees when using a third-party payment provider. Merchant Tech costs $79 per month and includes hosting, maintenance, subscriptions, digital products, unlimited B2B wholesale customers, product bundles, website customization, shipping tools, and order management. Payment-processing fees still apply, but as a one-time (not a stacked) fee. The most accurate comparison is to add up your current Shopify plan and app costs, then compare that total with Merchant Tech's single platform fee.
Does Merchant Tech charge transaction fees?
Standard credit-card processing starts at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and may vary by card type, but Merchant Tech does not charge an additional platform transaction fee. Unlike Shopify Basic, which charges an additional 2% when merchants use a third-party payment provider, Merchant Tech does not add a processor surcharge or separate per-order fees for native features such as subscriptions.
Can I switch from Shopify to Merchant Tech without losing my SEO rankings?
Yes, with proper handling. Merchant Tech's managed migration is designed to preserve your existing SEO foundation, including page titles, meta descriptions, canonical settings, blog content, redirects, robots.txt rules, and sitemap coverage. New 301 redirects are also created for any URLs that change. No platform can guarantee that rankings will never fluctuate during a migration, but the process is handled specifically to protect search visibility and avoid the common technical mistakes that cause preventable SEO losses.
What ecommerce platform is best for small businesses selling subscriptions?
The best platform is one that handles recurring orders, customer changes, inventory forecasting, flexible configurations, and merchant controls for paused subscriptions and shipping costs. Shopify offers a free first-party Shopify Subscriptions app, but merchants needing more advanced functionality may turn to paid third-party apps that add monthly or per-order fees. Merchant Tech includes advanced subscription management in its $79 monthly platform fee, with no separate subscription-app or per-order subscription charge, making it a strong fit for teams that want subscriptions to work natively with the rest of their store. Standard payment-processing fees still apply.
Does Shopify stack transaction fees on top of app fees?
In some cases, yes. When a merchant uses a third-party payment provider (not Shopify Payments) that provider charges its processing fee and Shopify may add a separate transaction fee based on the merchant's plan. Some apps may also charge per-order fees, creating three potential layers of cost on the same sale. Merchant Tech doesn't add separate transaction fees. Standard credit-card processing starts at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and may vary by card type.
How long does migration from Shopify to Merchant Tech take?
Most migrations are completed in less than a day. Migration is included and fully managed by a dedicated specialist, who handles the data transfer, URL redirects, and store configuration with zero downtime and no lost orders. For the full process overview, see merchant.tech/switch-from-shopify.
Kate Maruyama: Kate is a Senior Editor at Merchant Tech where she oversees content that helps merchants understand platform tools, optimize their online stores, and grow their businesses.
