commercetools vs Shopware (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Shopware grades higher than commercetools: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 12, 2026 · graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
commercetools grades higher on value for money. Shopware grades higher on the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
commercetools
API-first headless commerce platform for large retailers
Free trial
Shopware
Open-source commerce platform for B2B and B2C stores
Free plan · from €600/mo
Which one is for you
Pick commercetools if
- Fits if you're an enterprise with engineers replatforming a large multi-market shop
- Works for B2B sellers who need buyer roles, quotes and approval flows
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a store builder, as there is no built-in storefront editor
- Skip it if you want a price before talking to sales, since none is published
- Watch out: premium support, advanced B2B APIs, checkout and extra regions are add-ons
- Skip it if you are a small shop that just wants to sell, as this is built for engineering teams
Pick Shopware if
- Fits if you have developers or an agency and want to own the code for a B2B or B2C store
- Works for sellers who start on the free Community Edition and move to a paid plan later
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want hosted support, because Rise starts at EUR 600 a month
- Skip it if you have no developer or partner, as self-hosted stores pay for hosting and implementation separately
- Watch out: plan prices depend on sales volume, so the listed euro figures are only a starting point
- Watch out: linked shops past EUR 1 million in gross sales over 365 days need a paid plan for the Shopware Account
- Watch out: SaaS and PaaS plans go through sales; instant booking is for self-hosted stores only
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAcommercetoolsFair | 2.4GPAShopwareFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published. The pricing page sends buyers to sales and says pricing is order-based, so there is nothing to set against the category's $29 to $49 a month. | DRise, the first paid plan with support and AI content tools, starts at EUR 600 a month, against $29 in the middle of online-store builders. Evolve, with B2B quotes and approvals, is EUR 2,400. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 60-day free trial with no credit card that doesn't convert automatically. There is no free plan, and the trial excludes InStore, Frontend and agentic features. | BThe Community Edition has no platform licence fee and includes the page builder and order management. You host it yourself, and Rise has a 30-day free trial. |
| Features | CCatalog, cart, order, pricing and promotion APIs, B2C and B2B models and a Merchant Center. There's no storefront theme editor, so a front end has to be built or bought. | BPage builder, B2B tools, an extensions marketplace, AI content tools, multi-language and SEO. Multi-location inventory sits on the custom Beyond plan. |
| Ease of use | DNo store rating on record. Using it means engineers assembling APIs into a storefront, not a merchant clicking through a builder. | CNo store rating on record. Choosing hosting, partners and extensions is part of the work, and self-hosted stores need developers. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb admin and a managed runtime for custom integrations, with MCP servers for AI agents. Not a store builder you can use from a phone or desktop app. | BWeb only, but with an extensions marketplace and integrations such as Nosto and Shopware Payments, and SaaS, PaaS or self-hosted options. |
| Best for | enterprise headless commerce APIs | B2B and B2C stores run on open-source Shopware |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: commercetools and Shopware. How we grade
Where they differ
- Shopware is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
In commonWebPublic APIAI featuresOnline store
At a glance
| commercetools | Shopware | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | Not published | €600 per month, excl. VAT (Rise plan) |
| Free plan | None | Community Edition: no platform license fee, with a visual page builder, product and order management and community support. |
| Free trial | 60-day free trial, no credit card, does not convert automatically. | Rise plan: first 30 days free. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | commercetools GmbH | Shopware |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | shopware.com |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
commercetools
- No prices are published; the pricing page sends buyers to sales and says pricing is order-based rather than based on sales volume.
- There is no built-in storefront theme editor; a team has to build or buy the front end, and Frontend is a separate product.
- Premium Support, advanced B2B APIs, checkout, HIPAA compliance and extra regions are listed as add-ons.
- The 60-day trial covers the core commerce APIs and Merchant Center, but not InStore, Frontend or agentic capabilities.
Shopware
- Plan prices are set by sales volume (GMV) and other factors; the listed euro prices are the starting point.
- Shopware Account and Store access needs a paid plan once linked shops pass €1 million in gross sales over 365 days.
- Self-hosted stores pay for hosting and implementation separately; PaaS pricing depends on infrastructure needs.
- Instant Rise booking in the account is for self-hosted stores only; SaaS and PaaS go through sales.
Key features
commercetools
- Headless commerce APIs
- Each capability, such as catalog, cart and order management, inventory, promotions and pricing, is exposed as its own versioned API that teams assemble into a custom storefront.
- B2C, B2B and hybrid models
- The page lists B2C, B2B, D2C, marketplaces and subscriptions as supported models. Business units, buyer roles, approval flows and quotes are sold as an Advanced B2B APIs add-on.
- Merchant Center
- A business tool for managing catalog and orders, included in the 60-day trial next to the APIs, with preloaded B2C or B2B sample data.
- Connect hosting
- Connect is a managed runtime for deploying custom integrations and back-office applications inside a commercetools environment, with templates to start from.
- AI and agent commerce
- AI Hub and AgenticLift are products for selling through ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot, and the platform exposes MCP servers for agents. The trial excludes agentic capabilities.
- InStore point of sale
- A separate product that gives store staff the same catalog, cart and orders that serve the online shop. It is not part of the free trial.
Shopware
- Visual page builder
- Drag-and-drop Shopping Experiences let non-developers build and change store layouts. The page builder is included in the free Community Edition.
- Choice of hosting
- A store can run on Shopware SaaS (hosting and updates included), on Shopware PaaS with more room for custom code, or be self-hosted.
- B2B tools
- Quotes and purchasing approvals arrive with Evolve; customer-specific pricing from external systems and Digital Sales Rooms with Beyond.
- Extensions and Nexus
- Apps and plugins come from the Shopware Store. Nexus connects other systems and runs workflows, with a free monthly execution allowance per shop.
- AI tools
- Rise adds AI-assisted product content and translation. Shopware Intelligence+ includes a Copilot that carries out multi-step tasks in the store.
- Multi-language and SEO
- Storefronts can be offered in several languages, with built-in management of meta tags, canonical URLs, breadcrumbs and structured data.
Plans
commercetools
Pricing could not be confirmed. See commercetools.com.
Shopware
Community Edition€0
Open-source core with source access. You choose hosting and implementation partners; community support only.
Rise€600
per month and up, excl. VAT
Adds AI-assisted content creation, product customization, returns management and direct Shopware support. First 30 days free.
Evolve€2,400
per month and up, excl. VAT
Adds B2B quotes and purchasing approvals, advanced product search, customer-group content and phone support.
BeyondCustom
Adds customer-specific pricing, multi-location inventory, Digital Sales Rooms and 24/7 priority support. Sold through sales.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, commercetools or Shopware?
As of Nov 12, 2026, commercetools has no price we could confirm, and Shopware starts at €600 per month, excl. VAT (Rise plan).
Which has a free plan, commercetools or Shopware?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Shopware has a free plan. commercetools does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.