Shopify review

Shopify ranks first because it gives a new merchant a complete store from day one and leaves plenty of room to grow. The Basic plan includes a full online store with themes, unlimited products, Shopify's own checkout, abandoned checkout recovery, discount codes, gift cards, email campaigns and 24/7 live chat support. Sidekick, Shopify's AI assistant, can help draft a store from a prompt, and the same admin handles sales on social channels, marketplaces and AI chats. When you start selling at markets or in a shop, a phone or card reader covers in-person payments, and POS Pro is an add-on per location. The trade-offs are cost creep and lock-in to Shopify Payments: using another payment provider adds a 2% transaction fee on Basic, and many stores add paid apps. Live third-party shipping rates only arrive on the Advanced plan. Because the pricing page showed local currency to us, confirm the USD plan price on Shopify's US site before you sign up.

Who it is for

First-time merchants who want a store that can grow into multichannel, in-person and international selling without changing platform.

Price

See vendor pricing (USD check pending).

US price check pending. See the vendor pricing page.

Key features

• Online store with themes, unlimited products and Shopify's own checkout
• Sidekick AI assistant and a prompt-based store builder
• Selling on social channels, marketplaces and AI chats from one admin
• In-person sales with a phone or card reader, plus a POS Pro add-on for shops
• Email campaigns, abandoned checkout recovery, discount codes and gift cards

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Basic plan covers unlimited products, 24/7 support and abandoned checkout recovery
• Strength: Largest app ecosystem on this list through the Shopify App Store
• Strength: Built-in sales tax calculation, local currencies and Shopify Markets for later expansion
• Weakness: A 2% third-party transaction fee applies if you do not use Shopify Payments
• Weakness: Live third-party shipping rates start on the Advanced plan
• Weakness: USD plan prices were not shown to us at check time, so confirm them on the US page

Key facts

• Plans: Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus
• Trial: 3 days free, then a reduced rate for 3 months
• Third-party payment fee: 2% on Basic
• Support: 24/7 live chat

Where it ranks

Shopify is No. 1 in our Best Ecommerce Platforms for Small Business verdict.