Free Alternatives to Shopify 2019

When one might think of setting up an online e-commerce store or a website, only one name comes to everyone’s mind; and that is “Shopify”. Agreed with you, as Shopify offers a wide range of features and characteristics, it provides ease to set up a website or e-commerce platform, it has wide range of tools for your new website and e-commerce store, a large number of plugins are available on its app store for you to customize and personalize your websites experience, but there are some drawbacks to Shopify too, such as:

It requires additional transaction fees; unless you choose to process payments directly through Shopify’s in-house service, be ready to pay up to 2% for every transaction.

It isn’t liquid; Shopify’s custom template markup language isn’t the most straightforward syntax out there.

Its advanced features like real-time shipping rates, the ability to accept gift cards are only available in the higher-tier plans. The platform locks many advanced features behind a pay-wall. So if you need extra functionality, your monthly bill may get bloated out of proportion.

Complicated SEO tools; rigid URL structures and a WordPress plugin that uses iFrames don’t quite translate into the best possible ranking performance, especially limiting large sites, where Information Architecture is essential. And you can’t customize your checkout page.

Shopify works in its own way, explained here. Hence, exploring viable Shopify alternatives for creating and managing your online store is a smart idea. We will take you through some of the most interesting alternatives that you could choose if you wish to try something different and unique:

BigCommerce (www.bigcommerce.com)

The wide range of comprehensive features that it offers makes BigCommerce a Shopify alternative. When you want a smooth, no-sweat experience and the flexibility of a drag-and-drop editor, BigCommerce may be just the perfect tool. It’s a well-known provider offering a full cycle solution for your website. This hosted e-commerce platform is a one-stop depositary of solutions that will help you to construct your online store without any hassles. Its themes are downright stunning, but there are only seven free themes across all industries. So be ready to cash out for premium themes if you want more than the free minimum. Multi-channel selling is streamlined with BigCommerce since you can manage your stores on Amazon, eBay, Facebook, and Pinterest from BigCommerce.

Your inventory syncs across the shops, so that you never oversell. Apart from all these, the support team is available 24/7 to provide assistance on live chat, phone or email. So, you do not have to worry if you get stuck at any point in time. You can pick the standard plan, which you can avail at $ 29.95 per month.

Volusion (www.volusion.com)

Volusion is another system, providing more or less the same kinds of plans and prices that you will enjoy with Shopify alternatives ranging from $ 15 per month to $ 135 per month. Volusion plans are based on the number of add-ons and plugins you can connect to your online store. It also beats Shopify in additional transaction fees since it charges none.

The features include a one-page checkout and embedded eBay integration available as a standalone premium addon. And the other features provided comprise responsive themes, etc. So this is the reason why it is one of the best alternatives to Shopify. Do keep in mind that Volusion requires some coding skills to set up your e-store backend, so new store owners would have to cash out and hire a developer. It also has the slowest loading times among other such platforms.

LemonStand (www.lemonstand.com)

LemonStand is an excellent fit for medium-to-large businesses. All of its plans include its core features of the main variable is the number of monthly orders allowed per each subscription. It is versatile and highly-customizable but comes with a steep learning curve. Unless you can code, you are going to need a developer. The automation and other standard features that Lemon Stand offers are applauded. These features have helped store owners win awards at trade shows and several start-ups to be appreciated across the web.

The pricing policy is comprehensive of all the features that it offers, which makes it the best Shopify alternatives. But you might find it a little struggle while accepting orders as you can only accept 75 orders for a month at the $ 19 per month starter plan. The plan price ranges from $ 19 to $ 399 per month.

3Dcart (www.3dcart.com)

3dcart is a cloud-hosted shopping cart platform that comes jam-packed with robust features paired with flexible prices. The platform provides an unlimited product storage option, which makes it a highly scalable platform for growing businesses. And security is rock-solid, too. It has all the features of online shopping cart services while it exhibits some extra features. These features comprise the affiliate marketing program creation, drop shipping support and others. This is charged at par with the average rates running currently in the industry. Prices range from $ 19 to $ 229 per month, which buy you basic SEO tools, abandoned cart email, coupons, subscriptions, personalized products, drop shipping, tracking, Facebook sync, and a wealth of other bells and whistles.

Magento (www.magento.com)

Magento is another one of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and would be the best Shopify alternatives. It is an open-source platform, which means that it might not be a full-service e-commerce builder, such as the BigCommerce or Shopify. Magento is ideal for mid-sized to large businesses that have in-house programmers and the resources to tweak the platform to their needs. The platform allows for advanced customizations as long as you know your coding cause the technical side of Magento is a bit difficult to interpret, so if you are not an expert with the technical side, then it would be ideal if you could get help from a developer.

A perfect Magento user is a well-established business looking for complete control over its shop features and security, and ready to invest in it. Apart from all these, the support team is available 24/7 to provide assistance on live chat, phone or email. So, you do not have to worry if you get stuck at any point in time. And the cherry on the cake is that the Magento Community Edition is available for free download.

These are some of the Shopify alternatives that you can think of if you want to try something apart from Shopify. If you have any questions, or can think of any other best recommendation for Shopify alternatives, feel free to post them in the comments below.