Cratejoy vs Shopify (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Cratejoy if

• Fits if you sell subscription boxes and want a marketplace plus your own site
• Works for new box sellers who want recurring billing without custom development

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you sell a lot, since each order adds 1.25% plus $0.10 on every plan
• Not for you if you sell one-off products, as the plans are built for recurring boxes
• Skip it if you want a trial, because none is listed
• Watch out: marketplace orders and renewals carry a 15% referral fee, and monthly billing costs more on every plan

Pick Shopify if

• Fits if you sell online and at markets or pop-ups and want one stock count for both
• Works for sellers who'll use Shopify Payments and its discounted shipping labels

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you want your own payment provider, as Basic adds 2% to each of those sales
• Not for you if you want a few weeks to try it, since the free trial is 3 days
• Tight if you run a shop counter, as POS Pro is $89 a month per location
• Watch out: syncing more than 50 marketplace orders a month costs 1%, up to $99 a month
• Watch out: the next steps up are Grow at $79 and Advanced at $299, and Plus needs a 1- or 3-year term

Cratejoy

• Every plan adds a transaction fee of 1.25% + $0.10 on top of the monthly price.
• Marketplace orders and renewals carry a 15% referral fee, which applies to Essentials and Advanced too.
• The plans are built for recurring boxes; the vendor does not position them for general one-off product stores.
• Prices shown are the yearly-billed rate; paying monthly costs more on every plan.

Shopify

• Using a payment provider other than Shopify Payments adds a fee of 2% per sale on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus.
• The free trial lasts 3 days; Basic, Grow and Advanced then cost $1 a month for 3 months before the regular price.
• POS Pro for physical shops costs $89 a month per location, and syncing more than 50 marketplace orders a month costs 1%, up to $99 a month.
• Plus is sold only on a 1- or 3-year term, starting at $2,300 a month on the 3-year term.

Cratejoy

Subscription renewals and shipping

Advanced rebilling and shipping features and built-in customer management tools aimed at recurring boxes.

Marketplace listing

Sellers list on Cratejoy's consumer Marketplace, which the vendor says draws about 4 million monthly page views.

Your own website

Essentials and Advanced include a custom site built on responsive templates, with app integrations and an API.

Checkout and currencies

Secure checkout supporting 138 currencies, with fraud protection included.

Dunning and tax

Advanced adds advanced dunning for failed payments and a native TaxJar integration.

Seller support

Support by live chat and email, with priority support included on Advanced.

Shopify

Store builder and themes

Build the storefront from a theme (Shopify lists more than 200) or from a written prompt, with hosting, SSL and a custom domain on every plan and no cap on products.

Checkout and Shopify Payments

Shopify's own checkout and payment processing are built in, with fraud analysis, local currencies and local payment methods where Shopify Payments is offered.

Inventory, orders and shipping

Track stock across up to 10 locations (200 on Plus), buy and print discounted shipping labels, with live third-party carrier rates included from Advanced up.

Selling in person and on other channels

Sell at pop-ups from the mobile app or a card reader, and sync products to marketplaces and social channels. A separate $0 Agentic plan lists products in AI chats.

Marketing email and automations

Email campaigns, customer segments, abandoned checkout recovery, discount codes and gift cards come with every plan; SMS campaigns are paid per send.

Sidekick AI assistant and apps

Sidekick answers questions and takes actions in the admin, and the Shopify App Store lists more than 13,000 apps for features the core plans lack.

Cratejoy

• Marketplace Only$24.99

  per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)

  A listing on the Cratejoy Marketplace plus subscription tools. Adds 1.25% + $0.10 per transaction and a 15% referral fee on every order and renewal.

• Essentials$59

  per month, billed annually ($79 billed monthly)

  Your own custom website and themes plus a Marketplace listing. Adds 1.25% + $0.10 per order; Marketplace orders also carry the 15% referral fee.

• Advanced$159

  per month, billed annually ($199 billed monthly)

  Everything in Essentials, plus native TaxJar integration, advanced dunning, a referral app and priority support. Same transaction and referral fees.

Shopify

• Basic$29

  per month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly)

  For solo sellers: online and in-person sales, card rates from 2.9% + 30¢ online, and a 2% fee on sales taken through another payment provider.

• Grow$79

  per month, billed yearly ($105 billed monthly)

  Up to 5 staff accounts, card rates from 2.7% + 30¢ online and a 1% fee on sales through other payment providers.

• Advanced$299

  per month, billed yearly ($399 billed monthly)

  Up to 15 staff accounts, live third-party shipping rates, card rates from 2.5% + 30¢ and a 0.6% fee with other payment providers.

• Plus$2,300

  per month and up, billed yearly on a 3-year term

  On a 1- or 3-year term: unlimited staff, a fully customizable checkout, card rates from 2.25% + 30¢ and a 0.2% fee with other providers.

Cratejoy

• Annual discount

  Lower rate for yearly billing

  The pricing page shows each plan cheaper when paid yearly: $24.99 vs $29, $59 vs $79 and $159 vs $199 per month.

Shopify

• Annual discount

  Pay yearly to save about 25%

  Basic costs $29 a month billed yearly against $39 billed monthly, Grow $79 against $105, and Advanced $299 against $399.

• Other savings

  $1 a month for the first 3 months

  After the 3-day free trial, the Basic, Grow and Advanced plans cost $1 a month for the first 3 months, then the regular price.