Shopify is a commerce platform that bundles hosting, checkout, payments and a storefront builder into one subscription, with plans running from a self-serve Basic tier to a custom-quoted Plus tier. What decides whether it suits you is how much of the stack you want in one place, since checkout and payment processing are built in and the price moves from a flat monthly fee to a multi-year enterprise contract at the top end.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is made by Shopify Inc, a Canadian company based in Ottawa. It is a complete commerce platform rather than a tool that plugs into another one, providing hosting, checkout, payments and a storefront builder together. Because Shopify is the platform other apps build on top of, it operates the Shopify App Store that those apps list in, rather than having a listing of its own.
What you can build with Shopify
Shopify's website builder includes a drag-and-drop editor for building pages and switching layouts, plus AI-assisted page generation through Sidekick that can turn a store idea into a design. Merchants choose from more than 200 pre-built themes or build one from scratch. Full theme code access is available through Liquid, HTML, CSS and JavaScript for anyone who wants to edit templates directly.
Hosting and checkout are both included: every store runs on Shopify's own servers and uses its built-in checkout, which also processes payments. No plan includes a built-in A/B testing feature for pages or the storefront. Merchants can source products to sell through dropshipping or print-on-demand apps, and Shopify Markets adds multi-currency, multi-region selling from a single store. An app store of more than 13,000 third-party apps extends the platform further.
Integrations and setup
Shopify runs in a browser and also has iOS and Android apps for managing a store. A full Admin API, in both GraphQL and REST, is documented on Shopify's developer site, and API data access is itself tiered: Basic plan apps get limited access, while Grow and above get full access. Shopify also supports webhooks for near real-time updates on store events.
Shopify pricing: what each plan gives
Basic costs $39 a month, or $29 a month billed yearly. Grow costs $105 a month, or $79 a month billed yearly. Advanced costs $399 a month, or $299 a month billed yearly. Plus starts at $2,300 a month, with no yearly rate published. Basic gives a full-featured online store with unlimited products and up to 10 inventory locations, though additional staff accounts only start on Grow. Pricing is a flat monthly or yearly subscription rather than usage-metered, though card processing rates and staff and location limits change by tier.
There is no free plan, only a 3-day free trial followed by a discounted introductory rate for 3 months rather than the full listed price. There is no setup or implementation fee on the self-serve plans. Basic, Grow and Advanced can be cancelled or changed at any time; Plus is available on a 1 or 3-year contract term.
Privacy and security
Shopify holds SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 reports for its service, is certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, and provides GDPR and CCPA guidance for merchants. Support runs through live chat and community access on every plan, with enhanced live chat on Advanced and priority 24/7 phone support on Plus.
Who Shopify suits
Shopify suits merchants who want checkout, hosting, payments and a storefront builder in a single subscription rather than assembling one from separate vendors. It also suits anyone who wants to sell across multiple currencies and regions from one store, or who wants full code access to a theme through Liquid, HTML, CSS and JavaScript.
It suits less well anyone looking for a free plan, since Shopify offers only a short trial followed by a discounted rate, or anyone who wants built-in A/B testing for pages, which is not part of any tier. Plus is a multi-year contract commitment rather than a plan that can be cancelled anytime, unlike the tiers below it.
How Shopify compares
Shopify scores 8.5 out of 10 among the AI store and page builders we rate. These three do the same job and are the closest to it, compared on what each vendor publishes.
Runner AI
Shopify is a flat subscription starting at $39 a month with its own checkout, hosting and app marketplace built in. Runner AI starts cheaper at $25 a month, but every plan also carries a declining per-sale fee on top, from 3.5% down to 1%, so the price grows with your revenue. Shopify lets you edit theme code directly; Runner AI is chat and prompt driven instead, with no code editor for merchants.
Pick Runner AI if you want a lower entry price and are fine giving up a cut of sales.
Pick Shopify if you want a flat subscription and direct code access.
GemPages
Shopify is the store platform itself: hosting, checkout and payments are built in, starting at $39 a month with no free plan. GemPages is a page builder that runs on top of a Shopify store, with a free plan and paid tiers from $29 a month, but it has no checkout or hosting of its own and cannot cover more than one store per subscription. Shopify also finds products to sell; GemPages does not.
Pick GemPages if you already run a Shopify store and just want a page builder with built-in A/B testing.
Pick Shopify if you need the actual storefront, checkout and hosting, not just page design.
Pagepilot
Shopify runs the whole store, checkout and hosting included, from $39 a month with no free plan. Pagepilot is a page builder for an existing Shopify store, also from $39 a month, with a free plan on its Shopify App Store listing and a built-in dropshipping product finder that Shopify does not have. Pagepilot has no checkout or hosting of its own and only ships 8 page templates against Shopify's 200.
Pick Pagepilot if you want built-in product sourcing for dropshipping on top of your store.
Pick Shopify if you need the storefront, checkout and hosting themselves, not add-on pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Shopify cost?
Basic costs $39 a month ($29 a month billed yearly), Grow costs $105 a month ($79 a month billed yearly), and Advanced costs $399 a month ($299 a month billed yearly). Plus starts at $2,300 a month with pricing quoted separately. There is no free plan, only a 3-day free trial.
Which store platforms does Shopify work with?
Shopify is the platform itself rather than a tool that plugs into another one. It provides hosting, checkout, payments and the storefront builder together, and runs on the web with iOS and Android apps for managing a store.
Does Shopify include A/B testing?
No. None of Shopify's plans include a built-in A/B testing feature for pages or the storefront.
Is Shopify PCI compliant and GDPR ready?
Yes. Shopify is certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant, holds SOC 2 Type II and SOC 3 reports, and provides GDPR and CCPA guidance for merchants.
