8 Best Shopify Alternatives in 2026 (Tested, Real Fees Compared)
Tired of Shopify fees? I tested 8 alternatives in 2026 on what matters, real monthly price and transaction cut: WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Squarespace and more.
The best Shopify alternative in 2026 for most stores is WooCommerce, free, open-source, and zero platform fees forever, so you keep more of every sale. BigCommerce is the upgrade for high-volume stores with no fees on approved gateways. Squarespace wins on design, Sellfy on digital products, and Shift4Shop is free for US sellers who process $500+ a month through Shift4 Payments.
On this page
- TL;DR
- What should you check before picking a Shopify alternative?
- The 8 Shopify alternatives at a glance
- Which Shopify alternatives work for most stores?
- What if you only need a store for one specific job?
- Did Shopify actually raise fees in 2026?
- Which Shopify alternative should you pick?
- Which mistakes cost sellers when leaving Shopify?
- The honest final take
- Common questions
Shopify raised fees again in 2026.
But here is the honest version the recycled lists get wrong: the hike that made headlines was not the one that hits most sellers.
Shopify Plus jumped about 25% (to $2,500 a month), and international currency-conversion fees got more expensive from April. That is real. But the standard 2.9% + 30¢ card rate did not rise, and "Basic went from $29 to $39" is just the monthly price versus the annual one, not a hidden increase.
The real problem was never a single hike. It is the per-sale fees that quietly compound.
A cut of every transaction. An extra 2% if you use your own payment gateway on Basic. It adds up to real money once you are doing volume, and it never stops. That is why sellers leave.
So I tested the 8 alternatives, paid for the plans, and compared the fees that actually matter. Here they are.
What should you check before picking a Shopify alternative?
Two things: whether the platform is a full Shopify replacement at all, and what its "zero fees" claim actually requires. Get those right and every option here beats Shopify on the thing that matters, you stop paying a percentage of every sale to the platform. Over a year at volume, that is the whole game.
One: half of these are not full Shopify replacements. Ecwid embeds a store into a site you already have. Sellfy is for digital products. Square Online is for a shop with a physical register. Match the tool to what you actually sell, not just to "not-Shopify".
Two: "zero transaction fees" now has fine print. Even the platforms famous for it are adding conditions, BigCommerce introduced a fee in 2026 for using a non-approved gateway. Always read what "0%" actually requires.
The 8 Shopify alternatives at a glance
Every price is US, off the official page, checked when I last updated this. The transaction-fee column is where the real money hides.
| Platform | Real 2026 price | Platform fee | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| WooCommerce | Free (+ hosting) | 0% ever | Lowest long-term cost |
| BigCommerce | Core $39/mo | 0%* on approved gateways | High-volume stores |
| Squarespace | Core $23/mo | 0% (Core+) | Design-forward sellers |
| Wix eCommerce | Core $29/mo | 0% | Drag-and-drop with AI |
| Ecwid | Starter $5/mo | 0% | Adding a store to any site |
| Square Online | Free $0/mo | 0% (pay card rate) | Brick-and-mortar going online |
| Sellfy | Starter $29/mo | 0% | Digital-only sellers |
| Shift4Shop | Free (US, $500+/mo) | 0% | US sellers on Shift4 Payments |
Now the honest breakdown of each.
Which Shopify alternatives work for most stores?
Four of them: WooCommerce for the lowest long-term cost, BigCommerce for high-volume stores, Squarespace for design, and Wix eCommerce for beginners. These can replace Shopify outright for a general store, the picks after them are specialists. Here is each one, with its real 2026 price and the honest catch.
Method 1
WooCommerce
Best for: Most stores that want the lowest long-term cost
WooCommerce is the answer when you are tired of paying Shopify a cut of every sale, forever.
It is a free, open-source WordPress plugin owned by Automattic. By store count, WooCommerce powers around 33% of the world's ecommerce sites (more than Shopify's ~20%), though Shopify still leads on total sales volume.
The pull is simple: zero platform fees, zero transaction fees beyond what Stripe or PayPal charges. You keep 100% of what is left after standard processing. No per-sale platform cut, no gateway penalty.
The honest catch: free plugin does not mean free store. A real WooCommerce store costs hosting (~$10 to $45/mo), a theme ($0 to $100), and a few plugins. Realistic first year is a few hundred dollars for a hands-on owner, still far below what Shopify's per-sale fees cost at volume. And you manage the updates yourself.
Verdict: the best long-term-cost alternative by a distance, and you own everything. Ideal if you (or someone you trust) is comfortable with WordPress.
Get WooCommerce →Method 2
BigCommerce
Best for: High-volume stores that want no per-sale platform fee
BigCommerce is the upgrade for stores doing real volume that are done paying Shopify's per-sale cut.
BigCommerce renamed its plans in June 2026: Core $39/mo ($29 annual), Growth $105/mo ($79 annual), Scale $399/mo ($299 annual), and a custom Enterprise tier. The long-standing draw is no platform transaction fee if you stay on an approved gateway, no Shopify-style per-sale penalty. Its native B2B features (price lists, quotes, NET terms) also beat Shopify, where each is a paid app.
The honest catch, and a genuinely new one: the June 2026 update added an "Open Payment Provider Fee" (2% on Core, 1% on Growth, 0.6% on Scale) if you use a gateway outside their approved list, so "zero fees" is now conditional on your processor. And annual GMV caps auto-bump you up a tier fast (Core now caps at $30K).
Verdict: the strongest pick for a growing store that wants to escape per-sale fees, as long as you use an approved gateway. Read the GMV caps before you commit.
See BigCommerce →Method 3
Squarespace Commerce
Best for: Design-forward sellers who want it to look expensive
Squarespace is what you pick when the store has to look as good as the products.
Squarespace's templates have won design awards for over a decade, and the ecommerce output looks premium out of the box. The current 2026 plans are Basic $16/mo, Core $23/mo, Plus $39/mo, Advanced $99/mo (annual). The sweet spot is Core at $23, it drops the transaction fee to 0% (Basic still charges 2%) and unlocks subscriptions, gift cards and abandoned-cart recovery.
The honest catch: it is more opinionated than Shopify, you work within Squarespace's design system, and its app ecosystem is smaller. Standard payment-processing fees still apply on top on every plan. It is a website-with-a-store, not a heavy-duty commerce engine.
Verdict: the best pick when design is the priority and your catalog is modest. Start on Core to skip the transaction fee.
See Squarespace →Method 4
Wix eCommerce
Best for: Beginners who want drag-and-drop with AI
Wix eCommerce is the easiest on-ramp if you have never built a store before.
Wix's drag-and-drop editor is genuinely the friendliest way to build a store by hand, and its AI builder can generate a first draft for you. The 2026 plans are Light $17, Core $29, Business $39, Business Elite $159 (annual). Note: online selling starts at Core ($29), the cheaper Light plan does not include ecommerce at all.
The honest catch: the app marketplace is smaller than Shopify's, and Wix's real weakness is lock-in, you cannot export your site to another platform, so if you outgrow it, you rebuild. (That is also why it is worth reading our Wix alternatives guide before you commit.)
Verdict: the most beginner-friendly store builder here. Just know that its convenience comes with the same lock-in that makes people leave Wix in the first place.
See Wix eCommerce →What if you only need a store for one specific job?
Then skip the full platforms. Ecwid embeds a store into a site you already have, Square Online gives a physical shop a free storefront that syncs with its register, Sellfy is built for digital products, and Shift4Shop is free for US sellers who commit to Shift4 Payments. Match the specialist to the job.
Method 5
Ecwid
Best for: Adding a store to a site you already have
Ecwid is the one you pick when you do not want to migrate at all.
Ecwid's genuine differentiator is that it embeds into any existing site. Drop a snippet on your WordPress, Wix or Squarespace site, or onto Instagram and Facebook, and you have a store, no platform migration. Pricing is Starter $5/mo, Venture $29/mo, Business $49/mo, Unlimited $119/mo (annual), with zero transaction fees on every plan and Lightspeed POS for in-person selling.
The honest catch, and a 2026 change to note: Ecwid removed its free plan in the March 2026 restructure, the cheapest tier is now Starter at $5. And it is not a full website, you need an existing site to embed it into (or accept its basic standalone storefront).
Verdict: the smartest pick if you already have a site and just want to bolt a store onto it. Cheap, and no migration pain.
See Ecwid →Method 6
Square Online
Best for: Brick-and-mortar shops going online
Square Online is the answer when you already ring up sales at a physical register.
If you run Square for in-person payments, Square Online is the natural online extension, one catalog and one inventory across your register and your website. The Free plan is genuinely usable (not a trial), with a 3.3% + 30¢ online card rate. Paid tiers are Plus $49/mo and Premium $149/mo, which lower the online rate to 2.9% + 30¢. In-person card rates step down by tier (2.6% / 2.5% / 2.4%).
The honest catch: the free plan's online processing rate (3.3%) is higher than most, you are trading a monthly fee for a per-sale one. And it shines for brick-and-mortar, if you are online-only, WooCommerce or BigCommerce gives you more control.
Verdict: the lowest-friction way for a physical shop to get online, and the free plan means zero risk to try. Built for Square users first.
See Square Online →Method 7
Sellfy
Best for: Selling digital products and downloads
Sellfy is built for digital products from day one, not bolted on after.
Sellfy bakes in what digital sellers actually need: PDF stamping (it prints the buyer's email on every page to fight piracy), subscriptions, and print-on-demand, all native. On Shopify you would buy three or four apps for the same. Pricing is Starter $29/mo ($22 annual, up to $10K/yr in sales), Business $79/mo ($59 annual, up to $50K), Premium $159/mo ($119 annual, up to $200K), with 0% platform fees on every tier.
The honest catch: annual sales caps force tier upgrades as you grow, and it is genuinely not built for large physical-product catalogs. It shines on digital, struggles on inventory-heavy stores.
Verdict: the cleanest digital-first store on this list. If you sell ebooks, courses, presets or software, start here, or compare the wider field in our platforms to sell digital products guide.
See Sellfy →Method 8
Shift4Shop
Best for: US sellers who can commit to Shift4 Payments
Shift4Shop is the most underrated platform here, because for the right seller it is genuinely free.
Shift4Shop's End-to-End plan is free ($0/month) for US merchants who process $500+ a month through Shift4 Payments. That is a full-featured store, product management, themes, SEO tools, for no platform fee, as long as you meet the condition. If you were going to use a card processor anyway, this turns the platform cost to zero.
The honest catch: the "free" comes with strings. You must be US-based, use Shift4 Payments as your processor (2.9% + 30¢), and clear $500/month in processing, drop below and a monthly fee applies. Shift4Shop has also quietly de-emphasised the free plan in its own marketing, so read the current terms before committing. There are paid bring-your-own-processor plans if you do not qualify.
Verdict: unbeatable value for a US seller who can commit to Shift4 Payments and hits the volume. Just go in clear on the conditions, not an unconditional "free".
See Shift4Shop →Did Shopify actually raise fees in 2026?
Partly. Shopify Plus rose about 25% to $2,500 a month and currency-conversion fees got dearer from April, but the standard 2.9% + 30¢ card rate did not move. The real cost was never one hike, it is the per-sale fees that always compounded. Here is the split, so you know exactly what you are leaving.
What genuinely rose in 2026: Shopify Plus went up ~25% (to $2,500/mo), the Plus external-gateway fee nudged to 0.20%, and international currency-conversion fees got more expensive from April. If you are on Plus or sell heavily overseas, that is a real increase.
What did not rise (but still adds up): the standard 2.9% + 30¢ card rate, the +1% on international cards, and the third-party gateway penalty (2% Basic / 1% Grow / ~0.6% Advanced) if you use a processor other than Shopify Payments. None of these are new, they are just the fees that quietly compound on every order.
The takeaway: for a small store, Shopify did not suddenly get more expensive in 2026. It was always taking a slice of every sale. The alternatives above are how you keep that slice.
Which Shopify alternative should you pick?
WooCommerce for most stores, BigCommerce at volume, Squarespace for design, Wix for beginners, Ecwid to bolt onto an existing site, Square Online for a physical shop, Sellfy for digital products, and Shift4Shop for qualifying US sellers. The shortcut in one list:
- Want the lowest long-term cost and full ownership? WooCommerce.
- High-volume store, want no per-sale platform fee? BigCommerce (on an approved gateway).
- Design matters most? Squarespace, start on Core for 0% fees.
- Total beginner who wants drag-and-drop? Wix eCommerce.
- Already have a website? Ecwid, embed a store into it.
- Run a physical shop? Square Online, free, and it syncs your register.
- Selling digital products? Sellfy.
- US seller who can commit to Shift4 Payments? Shift4Shop, free if you qualify.
The honest through-line: the platform matters less than the fee math on your actual volume. Run your monthly sales through each one's real rates before you move. That is the number that decides it.
Which mistakes cost sellers when leaving Shopify?
Five: migrating products without a full export, breaking your URLs, skipping the fee math, losing your reviews, and switching during your busy season. Every one of them is avoidable, and every one costs real sales when it is not. Do these right before you cancel anything.
- Migrating products without a plan. Export your full catalog, images, variants and descriptions before you cancel anything. Rebuilding a 500-product store by hand is a nightmare.
- Breaking your URLs. Your product and collection URLs carry your Google rankings. Map the old ones to the new ones and 301-redirect anything that changes.
- Forgetting the fee math. The cheapest monthly plan is not always the cheapest store. Add the transaction fees at your real volume, that is the number that matters.
- Losing your reviews. Product reviews are social proof you cannot rebuild. Export them and import them into the new platform, or you start from zero stars.
- Switching during your busy season. Never migrate in the run-up to a sales peak. Move in a quiet period, test every checkout path, then go live.
The honest final take
The platforms are closer than they look. What separates them is fit, and fees.
For most stores leaving Shopify, WooCommerce keeps the most money in your pocket and gives you full ownership. Doing real volume? BigCommerce. Design-led? Squarespace. Digital products? Sellfy. Already have a site? Ecwid. And a US seller who can commit to Shift4 Payments gets a full store free with Shift4Shop.
Whatever you pick, run your real monthly sales through its actual fee rates first. The winner is almost always the one that stops taking a slice of every order.
Setting up the move? Pair your store with the best cheap web hosting for a WooCommerce build, compare the best Wix alternatives if design is your priority, and if you sell downloads, see the best platforms to sell digital products.
Pick one today. Every month you wait is another month of paying for every sale twice.
Common questions
What is the best Shopify alternative in 2026?
WooCommerce, for most stores. It is a free WordPress plugin with zero platform or transaction fees, so you only pay your payment processor. BigCommerce is the pick for high-volume stores, Squarespace for design, Sellfy for digital products, and Ecwid if you just want to add a store to an existing site.
Is there a free Shopify alternative?
Yes. WooCommerce is free (you pay only for hosting and a processor). Square Online has a genuinely free plan. And Shift4Shop is free for US sellers who process $500+ a month through Shift4 Payments. Ecwid dropped its free plan in March 2026, so its cheapest is now $5 a month.
Is WooCommerce really cheaper than Shopify?
Over time, yes, for most stores. WooCommerce charges no platform or per-sale fees, where Shopify takes a cut on every transaction (plus extra if you use an outside gateway). WooCommerce is not free to run, though, budget roughly $10 to $45 a month for hosting plus a few plugins. The savings come from never paying a percentage of your sales to the platform.
Did Shopify actually raise fees in 2026?
Partly. In 2026 Shopify raised Shopify Plus about 25% (to $2,500 a month) and made international currency-conversion fees more expensive from April. But the standard 2.9% + 30¢ card rate did not rise, and Basic being "$39" is just the monthly price versus $29 billed annually. The real cost is the per-sale fees that always compounded.
Which Shopify alternative is best for digital products?
Sellfy. It is built for digital from day one, with PDF stamping, subscriptions and print-on-demand native, and 0% platform fees. On Shopify you would buy several apps for the same features. For a broader marketplace of options, see our guide to selling digital products.
Can I sell online without Shopify at all?
Absolutely. WooCommerce turns any WordPress site into a store, Ecwid embeds a store into a site you already have, and Square Online gives brick-and-mortar shops a free storefront that syncs with their register. You are not locked into one platform, and most of these let you keep more of each sale.
SEO Specialist and product builder with 10+ years in search. The notes come from the work, not the theory.