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

Pick Fourthwall if

• Fits if you are a creator who sells merch to a following and wants memberships beside it
• Works for streamers who want a free shop to start

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to run courses or a community, as the listing shows a shop
• Watch out: fees of 5% on digital products on the free plan, 5% on memberships, and 2.9% + $0.30 on US card payments
• Watch out: catalog products carry a flat per-item fee taken from your selling price
• Tight if you stay free: the 5 GB limit on digital products and the 5% fee

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

Fourthwall

• Fees: 5% on digital products on the free plan, 5% on memberships, and 2.9% + $0.30 on US card payments, with other rates for PayPal and other methods.
• Products from the catalog carry a flat per-item fee taken from your selling price.
• The Pro plan saves $48 a year when paid yearly, compared with monthly.

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.

Fourthwall

Custom products

Designs products from a catalog that includes apparel, mugs and jewelry, with the company handling manufacturing and shipping.

Shop builder

Builds a branded shop with themes and a custom domain.

Digital products

Sells files with hosting and delivery handled for you.

Memberships

Offers members-only video, images, polls, Discord access and private RSS feeds.

Promotions

Runs discounts, promo codes and free giveaways.

Social shopping

Shows products on YouTube Merch Shelf, Instagram and Facebook Shopping, and TikTok Shopping.

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.

Fourthwall

• Free$0

  No monthly fee. 5% flat fee on digital products (5 GB limit) and on memberships, plus 2.9% + $0.30 card processing on US cards.

• Pro$15

  per month

  $120 of shop credit a year, a free .store domain, unlimited team members, no fee on digital products and 100 GB of storage.

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.

Fourthwall

• Annual discount

  Save $48 a year on Pro

  The pricing page says paying yearly for Pro saves $48 compared with paying monthly.

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.