commercetools vs Shopify 2024 Comparison: Which Is Better?

When picking an eCommerce platform, scalability is an absolute non-skip if you aim for long-term business growth. And that's exactly why the face-off between commercetools vs Shopify is fiercer than ever. Between these two popular eCommerce solutions, which one actually has the power and flexibility to take your store to higher and higher levels?

No worries; we're here to address the question for you! This article will explore the two options in terms of:

• Pricing structure
• Ease of use
• Scalability
• eCommerce features
• Design & Customization
• Integration & Ecosystem
• SEO & Marketing
• Security
• Customer support

Ready to find your perfect eCommerce match? Let's jump in!

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commercetools vs Shopify: Which One is For You?

Although this commercetools vs Shopify comparison seems like a tough call, Shopify is still the ultimate winner. Its first three plans (Basic, Shopify, and Advanced) are accessible, feature-packed solutions that cater to small and medium businesses. Meanwhile, Shopify Plus offers tailor-made scalability solutions for larger enterprises. As you can see, there's something for almost every business size and budget!

How about commercetools? Sure, we do agree that its almost endless array of customization and integration options is definitely a huge plus point over Shopify. Nevertheless, to maximize all that potential, you'll need advanced coding know-how or a very generous budget, and that's clearly not something everyone can afford.

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About commercetools vs Shopify: A Quick Overview

We know you can't wait to explore key differences between commercetools vs Shopify. But first, let's have a quick look at each platform, along with their main pros and cons:

What is Shopify?

In simple terms, Shopify is a fully hosted eCommerce platform that lets newcomers jump straight into store setups through straightforward subscriptions. There's no need to worry about any hosting hiccups since Shopify's servers already take care of it all in the first place.

Due to this easy start and a wealth of built-in features, Shopify's popularity quickly surges, with over 8.6 million websites using it as of our writing.

What is commercetools?

Unlike Shopify, commercetools is an API-driven platform that focuses on composable commerce. Specifically, users are allowed to manage each store component independently as separate services, which opens the door to nearly unlimited customization!

Nevertheless, this impressive flexibility does come with quite a learning curve, so it's unsurprising that only about 2,900 websites are using commercetools at the moment.

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commercetools vs Shopify: Break Down The 9 Key Differences

Now, here comes the moment we think you must have been waiting for: the Shopify vs commercetools showdown!

Over the past six months, our team has put both platforms to rigorous testing and even set up two trial clothing stores to explore their core features. You won’t want to miss what we discovered:

Pricing structure (Shopify wins)

When planning a new business for the long haul, the upfront budget should obviously be the first thing on your mind. How much will it cost to get started? What's the long-term, ongoing fee going to look like? To help you answer all these questions, we will analyze the pricing structure in our commercetools vs Shopify comparison:

Shopify pricing structure

So far, Shopify has offered four main plans: Basic, Shopify, Advanced, and Shopify Plus.

Except for the Shopify Plus (which requires personalized quotes, starting from $2300/month for a 3-year contract), you know exactly how much you will pay for each plan. It's also easy to see how they level up as your business does!

To give you an even clearer picture, we have compiled a quick table that sums up the core offerings of all four plans as below:

commercetools pricing structure

Unlike Shopify, commercetools doesn't provide any neat price list for you to browse.

Instead, you'll need to assess your business needs and then contact commercetools for a personalized quote (which usually starts around $40,000 a year). All the solutions available are tailored based on specific industries, business models, user cases, and roles, as seen in the table here:

Ease of use (Shopify wins)

Another extremely crucial factor to consider when picking between commercetools vs Shopify is the ease of use. After all, nobody wants to spend hours wrestling with the settings and menus!

As mentioned, our team has spent months setting up our first store on each platform, and here's what we discovered so far:

Shopify ease of use

As mentioned earlier, Shopify’s popularity really boils down to how easy it is for users to get started. All it takes is a quick account setup (you can even use your existing Facebook, Apple, or Google login for this), and Shopify will open up the dashboard for you right away!

Better yet, Shopify's interface is a breeze across all pricing plans. There's a clean, intuitive left-side menu right on the dashboard, where you'll find essentials like Orders, Products, Customers, Discounts, and more.

Once clicking on a particular category, you are met with clear sub-sections that flow smoothly from top to bottom, left to right. Navigating them all is refreshingly quick even if you are a complete beginner; no fuss, no confusing steps!

commercetools ease of use

Unlike with Shopify, getting started with commercetools is not as straightforward. Right from the jump, you’ll need to set up a new Client API and work through a series of configurations just to access the platform!

Once you’re past that setup and land on the dashboard, you will see two main sections: Page Folders (for managing content paths) and Page Versions (for setting up page layouts). The left-side menu also provides easy access to front-end components, API codes, and team projects — everything you need for a successful long-term business!

That said, we must say commercetools doesn't offer as many preset options or menu sub-sections as Shopify.

Instead, the platform leans more toward heavy self-customization through API and coding (we will touch more on this issue later in our article). Sure, such an API-driven structure is no big deal for technical experts. But for those with little to no coding experience, the lack of built-in customization settings can end up being a real sticking point.

Scalability (commercetools wins)

Your business might start small at the moment, but it will likely grow in the future! That's all the more reason to factor in the scalability (or how well the platform keeps up with your business) when choosing between commercetools vs Shopify:

Shopify scalability

As mentioned earlier, Shopify's plans offer a solid progression in features across its Basic, Shopify, and Advanced tiers, each designed to support your business as it scales over time.

Take, for instance, the number of staff accounts. You have none on the Basic plan, while the Shopify and Advanced plans offer up to 5 and 15, respectively. Likewise, for businesses expanding internationally, both Basic and Shopify plans let you sell in only three markets; Advanced, on the other hand, unlocks additional markets at $59 per each one.

And what if your business is outgrowing all of these tiers? Enters Shopify Plus, the ultimate upgrade that gives you unlimited staff accounts, 50 markets, 200 inventory locations, and a wealth of custom features!

Not to mention, there's the Shopify App Store, an entire marketplace of third-party apps that allow you to personalize your store even further. Just remember to double-check the compatibility between these apps and plugins to keep your store running more smoothly.

commercetools scalability

We must say scalability is definitely one of the standout reasons behind commercetools' popularity.

As discussed, this platform is built around a strong API and coding foundation, which gives you complete freedom to adapt and expand your store as it grows. There's no limit on the number of APIs you can use; all are flexible and open to negotiation.

And that's not all. What sets commercetools far apart from its competitors is the microservices-based (composable commerce) architecture.

Specifically, unlike a traditional monolithic system (where features are tightly connected), commercetools breaks down all functions into separate operating services to give you even more flexibility. Long story short, if you want to scale up your product catalog or update a particular feature, feel free to do it however you like without disrupting any other areas of the store!

eCommerce features (A tie)

Now, let's move on to arguably the most crucial part of this face-off: eCommerce features. The purpose of your entire site-building process is to sell, after all!

To give you a clearer view of how commercetools vs Shopify stack up in this area, we've divided this criterion into three key categories. Let's take a closer look:

Checkout and payments

Regarding payments, Shopify truly stands out with an impressive lineup of over 100 partners and payment providers. On top of that, it even offers Shopify Payments, a fully integrated payment gateway exclusive to Shopify users.

Once you sign up for Shopify Payments, you won't have to deal with any extra fees for native options like Shop Pay, or even manual methods like cash on delivery. For more information, check out our Shopify Payments review.

Plus, the checkout process is another big win for Shopify. You have the freedom to toggle between traditional three-page setups and one-page checkouts right from Shopify Admin, with plenty of customization options like:

• Adding fields for addresses
• Adjusting delivery instructions
• Organizing billing summaries
• Integrating forms.

On the other hand, commercetools partners with only about 15 payment service providers (though popular names like PayPal and Stripe are still included).

And while the checkout process is highly customizable — perhaps even more so than Shopify's — it does require a lot of API knowledge and coding skills to achieve a tailored experience.

Simply put, if you're comfortable with code, commercetools opens the door to endless checkout possibilities. But for beginners, it would be better to opt for commercetools alternatives like Shopify instead.

Inventory & Order Management

Just like with payment options, Shopify impresses with its robust, built-in inventory management tools that come standard across all plans (Shopify Plus included). You can track and adjust quantities, manage supplier transfers, and even import and export inventory via CSV files.

And what if you still need advanced functionality? No problem; the Shopify App Store has a suite of inventory-focused apps to choose from. For instance, we have Stocky (offering real-time tracking), Thrive by Shopventory (to handle automated purchase orders), and ShipHero (which assists with demand forecasting).

Quite the contrary, commercetools once again leans on its composable commerce model and requires APIs for inventory management. Sure, this approach is technically challenging, but it will grant you granular control down to the smallest detail. You will be able to set unique identifiers for each product variant, schedule automatedrestocks, and even configure restock frequencies, along with many other unique capabilities!

Omnichannel experiences

Inventory and product management aside, how about the omnichannel performance?

Surprisingly, we must say Shopify is very lacking in this regard in all its three fixed plans (Basic, Shopify, and Advanced). Only when signing up for Shopify Plus, you can access its Omnichannel Commerce solution, which supports integrations with over 20 channels like Amazon, eBay, Facebook, and Instagram.

On the other hand, commercetools is a true star here thanks to its composable commerce structure. This flexible framework allows you to mix and match different components without disrupting the system, meaning you may integrate seamlessly with practically UNLIMITED channels! The platform's extensive library of APIs only makes the entire process even easier and ensures you can sell everywhere your audience is.

Design & Customization (Shopify wins)

Scalability aside, design freedom is another important criterion to keep in mind if you want to bring a unique, personalized experience that truly aligns with the brand vision! Let's see how commercetools vs Shopify perform in this area:

Shopify design and customization

For now, Shopify offers about 220+ themes in its store (with options continually growing as Shopify updates its collection!).

Among these, 13 are free, while the rest range from $100 to $500. There are also 20 themes exclusive to Shopify Plus that feature two advanced options:

• Combined listing: Showcasing multiple product variants on one page
• Quantity-based pricing: Enabling automatic discounts for bulk purchases

So basically, Shopify's theme store has something for every preference and budget!

Even better, customizing these themes is refreshingly user-friendly. With the intuitive, ready-to-use theme editor, you can easily adjust headings, fonts, images, backgrounds, and layout blocks to suit your brand's look and feel. And if you want to go beyond these built-in settings for even more personal tweaks, Shopify offers you 100% freedom to add your own HTML, CSS, and Liquid code.

commercetools design and customization

On the other hand, the design and customization process with commercetools is a bit different. Here, you have to rely on APIs and coding languages (Java, PHP, or TypeScript) to build your store's front end.

Of course, the platform does offer basic B2C and B2B templates (called Store Launchpads), but they never provide the same ready-to-use functionality you'll find with Shopify themes. In fact, even with these templates, you must still set up the full development environment and work with command-line tools to register your front-end components.

Integration & Ecosystem (Shopify wins)

Our previous sections have discussed the customization options that commercetools vs Shopify offer out of the box. But what about their third-party apps and integrations? After experimenting with both platforms ourselves, here are our findings:

Shopify apps and integration

As of this writing, the Shopify App Store boasts over 13,000 apps that cover everything you could imagine in business management, from polished shop designs and inventory management to marketing tools! Most apps are only priced between $20 and $50 per month on average. Plus, since they are all created by trusted brands and official Shopify partners, security is one less thing to worry about.

And if you're just getting started and unsure which app to install, Shopify's dashboard has you covered! Feel free to explore sections like “Popular with app merchants” and “Trending this month” to see what's working for other store owners. Not to mention, each app also has a dedicated review section, so you can always gauge real user experiences before committing.

commercetools apps and integration

How about commercetools? For now, the platform offers an Integration Marketplace featuring about 125 vendors spanning various fields. Cases in point are AI-driven tools, specialized marketing solutions, and advanced product search functionalities, to name a few.

Nevertheless, keep in mind that not all vendors work directly within commercetools. In fact, some require you to contact their teams (rather than commercetools') to arrange integration, and that's why the setup can be a bit more hands-on and less flexible! It also means you cannot just install or uninstall integrations immediately with a quick click (like Shopify). Hence, you should remember to consider each addition carefully right from the start.

SEO & Marketing (Shopify wins)

Let's say you have poured your time and effort into the store setups, detail configuration, product catalog, and payment settings. But that's only the first step; now, you have to make sure your store gets seen by the public! That's where the SEO and marketing features of commercetools vs Shopify come in:

Shopify SEO & Marketing

From our own experience, Shopify shines best in customizable forms and email templates. You can shape and modify them to match your brand style without fuss!

The platform also offers tools for automated email sequences to ensure you keep customers engaged at every touchpoint, whether it's a warm welcome email, a post-purchase thank-you note, or some nudges for abandoned carts. You can easily stay connected with your shoppers all the time without too much manual work.

On the SEO front, Shopify also covers and automatically handles the basics out of the box, such as sitemaps and duplicate content prevention. And don't forget that if you're looking for even more features than these, the Shopify App Store is basically a goldmine of add-ons.

commercetools SEO & Marketing

How about commercetools? Since its release, the platform has been recognized for its headless architecture, meaning the front end and back end are separated to give you complete freedom over the customer-facing experience. This setup contributes significantly to faster loading speed, which we all know is a big plus for SEO.

However, aside from this core advantage, commercetools doesn't come with any pre-packaged SEO or marketing tools. Instead, it leaves the door open for you to build out your own SEO/marketing features or integrate with social platforms as you see fit.

Security (commercetools wins)

Given the skyrocketing growth of eCommerce, online stores are storing more customer data than ever, which is clearly a huge opportunity for hackers on the prowl! Security, therefore, is a non-skip criterion when choosing between commercetools vs Shopify:

Shopify security

So far, Shopify has been holding a Level 1 PCI DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) compliance and securing data with elite security protocols. The platform also has SOC (Service Organization Control) 2 Type II and SOC 3 certifications regarding data privacy and protection.

Unfortunately, despite all this, weak security gaps still exist. Shopify's immense popularity makes it a common target for criminals, after all, and it has already experienced two massive data breaches affecting 180,000 customers in 2024 alone! Long story short, while Shopify's security defenses are relatively strong, you must still take extra steps to keep your stores locked down.

commercetools security

So far, commercetools has been relying on two of the most secure cloud giants (Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services) to anchor its security protocols.

All cloud traffic here is safeguarded by pre-configured Web Application Firewall (WAF) rules, and access to the internal networks is 100% encrypted using AES-256-bit keys. Even better, since the firewall setup is scalable, commercetools can centralize security management across multiple touchpoints for you.

Of course, at the end of the day, you must add your own layers of protection to cover all bases. Still, the fact that no major data breaches have been reported so far indicates you can trust commercetools to work out in the long term.

Customer support (Shopify wins)

Last but not least, let's discuss customer support. Both commercetools vs Shopify offer options to address this, albeit in slightly different approaches:

Shopify customer support

Once you sign up for any Shopify plan, you're in safe hands with 24/7 support, though the level of access varies by plan:

• Basic and Shopify plans: Basic chat support
• Advanced plan: Enhanced chat support
• Shopify Plus: Priority phone consultation

Direct support aside, the Shopify Help Center offers detailed documentation to guide you through setup and beyond. There's also an active Community Forum where you can connect with other experienced users for advice!

Even better, for Shopify Plus subscribers, Shopify introduces exclusive access to Shopify Academy, with diverse crash courses and tutorials to help you explore the platform's potential to the fullest.

commercetools customer support

As for commercetools, we must say its documentation is impressively thorough. Of course, you still need some basic API knowledge beforehand, but these clear, step-by-step guides definitely make it much easier to build and scale your store in the long term.

On the other hand, the platform falls a bit short when it comes to direct assistance. To access phone support, you must fill out a request form, wait your turn, and hope the timing works out – not exactly ideal when you're facing a crunch-time crisis!

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commercetools vs Shopify: FAQs

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Final Words

Our article has highlighted all the key differences between commercetools vs Shopify. Overall, although commercetools is an excellent scalability solution due to its composable commerce structure, Shopify still pulls ahead with its user-friendly interface and comprehensive app store!

Considering making the switch to Shopify as soon as possible to unlock all these benefits? Now's the perfect time, and LitExtension is here to guide you through the process! With over 12 years of experience and 300,000+ successful store migrations, we will ensure your Shopify migration is smooth, stress-free, and downright pleasant.

For more information, check out our Shopify guides and join our Facebook Community.