I’ve Tested and Reviewed Shopify vs Shopware

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Shopify vs Shopware: Which should you choose? I’ve said many times that Shopify is my favorite ecommerce platform, and that’s still true. It’s a fantastic solution for omnichannel selling, and it’s one of the most flexible platforms out there, thanks to its comprehensive app store.

However, Shopware is a fierce contender. After testing the platform, I was extremely impressed by the incredible themes, the versatility offered, and even Shopware’s new AI and spatial tools.

Here, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about both platforms, to ensure you can make the right decision for your business.

Quick Verdict, Pros and Cons

It’s a tough call, but I’d still give Shopify the trophy here for a couple of reasons. First, Shopware is very expensive, as it’s intended for companies with ultra-advanced ecommerce needs. The cutting-edge AI and 3D capabilities are amazing, but you’ll pay a lot for them.

Secondly, I find Shopify much easier to use overall. You really need a dedicated IT team to master Shopware.

Shopify Pros and Cons

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Omnichannel sales with an included POS
Easy-to-use platform with a smaller learning curve
Lots of flexibility via apps and integrations
Well-designed themes, and convenient editing tools
Integrated AI features and 3D capabilities
Excellent business and inventory management
Cheaper pricing than Shopware.

Cons 👎

Transaction fees for third-party gateways
Fewer unique features

Shopware Pros and Cons

Pros 👍
Cons 👎

Pros 👍

Advanced AI and spatial features
Excellent customer experience and marketing
Great inventory and order management
Enhanced workflow automation
Omnichannel and headless commerce
B2B and B2C selling
Integrations, apps-and add-ons

Cons 👎

Steeper learning curve
More expensive pricing

Shopify vs Shopware: Pricing and Fees

I’ll start by looking at the pricing of both platforms, as that’s one of the biggest areas where the differences between Shopify and Shopware stand out. While Shopify does support enterprise-level customers with Shopify Plus, and offers a lot of the same features as Shopware in that plan (including headless commerce), it supports smaller businesses too.

Shopify Pricing

Shopify offers a variety of fixed-cost monthly subscription plans. If you don’t need a full website, you can choose the Starter plan for $5 per month, although I’d really only recommend that to influencers selling merch online.

The central plans start at $39 per month for Shopify Basic, $105 per month for Shopify, and $399 per month for Shopify Advanced. The more you spend, the more staff accounts and features you’ll get. Shopify Advanced even unlocks extra features within Shopify POS.

Shopify Plus, which starts at $2,300 per month, allows companies to unlock a lot of the extra features they might find on Shopware, such as headless commerce, advanced automation, and additional AI powered tools. Notably, you will have to pay transaction fees on Shopify too, if you choose to use anything other than Shopify Payments.

MORE: Shopify Pricing Guide

Shopware Pricing

Shopware exclusively targets larger companies with unique ecommerce requirements. The platform’s cheapest plan, “Rise”, starts at $600 per month, depending on the functionality you need. Although this is over 10 times the price of Shopify’s cheapest plan, it’s worth noting you get a lot more 3D capabilities, AI tools, and automation options.

Both of Shopware’s other plans are “custom priced”. The “Evolve” plan includes advanced CX features and comprehensive B2C and B2B capabilities. The “Beyond” plan includes all of Shopware’s unique features, as well as advanced customer support.

I couldn’t find a lot of information about transaction fees with Shopware, so that may be something you’ll want to ask about when you contact its sales team.

MORE: Shopware Review

Core Features Winner: Shopify

Although Shopware is a far more advanced ecommerce platform overall, it does have a lot of features in common with Shopify, including support for omnichannel selling, automated workflows, and headless commerce, though most of the advanced features are locked to Shopify Plus.

Website Design and Themes

I’ve always been a big fan of Shopify’s themes. Both the free and premium options look fantastic, and they’re always mobile responsive, and designed to load pages quickly. The editor you’ll use on Shopify might not be as straightforward as the ones on some alternative platforms, like Wix, but it’s pretty simple to start customizing your store.

You also get a built-in blog (coming soon on Shopware), as well as SEO features baked into your store building solution. Shopware also has fantastic themes, that seem to be professionally designed to enhance your brand’s appearance, regardless of what your niche or industry might be.

The visual page builder is pretty easy to use, with drag-and-drop functionality. However, if you want to make more granular changes to your store, you might need to consider working with a developer or designer. The 3D or “spatial” capabilities on Shopware are amazing, but they definitely require a lot more technical knowledge.

These allow you to create augmented reality experiences, 3D images of products, scenes, and immersive elements for metaverse shopping.

Sales Channels and Ecommerce

As mentioned above, both Shopware and Shopify support omnichannel selling. They offer access to unlimited sales channels, allowing you to sell on social media, marketplaces, and even through brick-and-mortar locations.

Interestingly, Shopify has its own POS solution built into the platform (the Lite version is included on most plans). Shopware has an integrated POS too, but it’s powered by Pickware.

I love the fact that both of these platforms allow you to create localized experiences for international customers, with instant language translation. They also both support B2B capabilities, but you’ll need a Shopify Plus plan to access this function with Shopify, and a “custom priced” plan from Shopware to unlock anything beyond “gross/net price display”.

Business Management and Integrations

Shopware and Shopify both offer excellent tools to help you manage all kinds of business functions. I think Shopware’s customer management features are a little more impressive, with built-in cross-selling and social shopping capabilities. You’ll need integrations to access these capabilities with Shopify, which could add to your monthly costs.

Inventory and order management on both platforms is pretty similar. However, Shopware allows you to sell digital products without the need for an app or add-on (That’s not the case with Shopify). Shopify’s inventory management tools and shipping tools are a little easier to use in my opinion.

I also like the fact that Shopify makes it extremely easy to integrate with dropshipping and print on demand platforms. However, Shopware does give you the option to allow customers to “personalize” their products with their name, or an image.

Both companies also offer automatic tax calculation, and shipping calculation options (depending on the plan you choose). They also both integrate with a wide range of third-party platforms. Shopify does have an easier to use app market, however, while Shopware requires you to take an API-first approach to connecting your tools.

Marketing, Reporting and Analytics

Shopify and Shopware both enhance marketing campaigns in various ways. They both allow you to showcase product reviews on your website, host promotions, use gift cards, and create voucher codes. They also both support cross-selling and upselling, although you’ll need an app to use these features on Shopify, whereas it’s built-in on Shopware.

Both platforms are SEO friendly too, however, I think Shopware does a little more to boost your rankings, with rich snippets, canonical tags, and other unique features. I like Shopify’s built-in reporting tools better than the options you get on Shopware, however.

With Shopify, you can easily track everything from inventory numbers, to purchasing trends and cashflow. With Shopware, you’ll need to rely a little more on add-ons and integrations to unlock in-depth customizable reports. On the plus side, some reporting tools are free to add to your store, which means at least you won’t have extra fees to worry about.

AI Capabilities

Here’s where Shopware really has an edge over Shopify, at least for now. Shopify has been investing a lot in AI tools in recent years, with it’s Shopify Magic solution, and Shopify Sidekick. With Magic, you can create unique product pages, edit images, produce content, and even generate FAQ pages.

With Sidekick, you’ll have access to a convenient bot that can guide you through the process of optimizing and improving your store’s performance, or tracking inventory. Shopify is adding more AI features to its platform, but Shopware’s AI tools are a lot more robust.

One of the core features you’ll get on all plans is the “AI Copilot”, which can classify customers, create content for shopping experiences, pick keywords for images, create custom checkout messages, and so much more. Shopware also provides AI search capabilities, text to image creation, AI-enhanced spatial encounters, and scene editors.

MORE: The Ultimate Guide to Shopify Magic

Customer Support

Finally, Shopify wins again in the realm of customer support. Although it can take a while for someone to get back to you depending on a range of factors, you’ll be able to reach out to the team via chat, email, and even on the phone on a 24/7 basis.

There’s also a fantastic online community, and Shopify creates plenty of resources to guide you through building your store.

Shopware’s customer support can be excellent, but it’s not a 24/7 service. If you’re on the Rise plan, you’ll only get support between 9am and 5pm, and it can take up to 8 hours to get a response. You also only get email support.

On more advanced plans, the hours the support team is available will increase, but you’ll need the “Beyond” plan for full 24/7 service, phone support, and personal onboarding. On the plus side, there is a community forum available, and plenty of self-help resources.

Shopify vs Shopware: The Final Verdict

Overall, Shopware is an incredibly impressive platform, perfect for companies that want to build unique and advanced experiences for online customers. It soars ahead of Shopify in terms of AI features, spatial capabilities, and powerful customer management.

However, Shopify is a lot easier to use for beginners, and offers more affordable plans to companies that aren’t at the “Enterprise” level yet. It’s also a more flexible platform in my opinion, making it easier to scale and optimize your store over time.

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