Gambio vs Shopify (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Shopify: it is first in our ranking of online store builders, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 2.4.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Gambio grades higher on the free plan. Shopify grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Gambio
Hosted German shop software with legal texts and fixed monthly plans
Shopify
Hosted commerce platform for online, in-person and social selling
Which one is for you
Pick Gambio if
- Fits if you sell in Germany and want legal texts handled
- Works for small shops that want fixed monthly plans
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you sell a lot on Starter, as it has a 1.5% transaction fee
- Tight if you need a team, as Starter has 1 admin account and 3 need Business
- Watch out: prices are in euros and the page does not say if they include VAT
- Skip it if you sell outside Germany, as its main selling point is German legal cover
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
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAGambioFair | 2.8GPAShopifyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C€29 a month billed annually ($33 monthly) matches the $29 middle of the category, plus a 1.5% transaction fee on Starter. | CBasic is $29 a month on yearly billing ($39 monthly), with your own domain and unlimited products. That's right at this category's middle. Shopify takes no extra cut if you use Shopify Payments, but adds 2% to each sale on Basic if you use another payment provider. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 30-day free trial. The listing does not say whether a card is needed. | DNo free plan, and the trial is just 3 days, though it needs no card. After that it's $1 a month for 3 months, a $3 start rather than a free one. |
| Features | BLegal text safety, themes, payments, marketplaces and multichannel. Nothing in the listing is missing from the job. | AIt covers the whole job: themes, checkout, stock across up to 10 locations, discounted labels, email campaigns, selling at pop-ups from your phone, marketplace and social sync, even listing products in AI chats. More than 13,000 apps cover the rest. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. A hosted shop still means building products, themes and legal pages. | A4.7 from about 42,800 App Store ratings, far more than any other store here. A theme or a written prompt gets the storefront going, and Sidekick answers questions and does jobs in the admin. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with four listed integrations and an API. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Amazon, eBay, Walmart, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Google and YouTube, plus APIs for custom apps. There's no desktop app, which keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | German-market hosted shops | stores selling online, in person and on social |
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: Gambio and Shopify. How we grade
Price against what you get
Gambio starts at about $32.40 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Shopify starts at $29 a month and scores 3.7.
Shopify scores higher and starts $3.40 a month lower. Of the other online store builders on the chart, 4 score higher than Gambio for less, and none scores higher than Shopify for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Gambio also covers templates.
- Shopify also covers email campaigns and shipping labels.
At a glance
| Gambio | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | €29 per month, billed annually (€33 billed monthly) | $29 per month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial | 3-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Gambio GmbH | Shopify |
| Price read from | gambio.com | shopify.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Gambio
- Prices are in euros, and the page does not say whether they include VAT.
- Each plan has a monthly free volume and a transaction fee, higher on cheaper plans (1.5% on Starter).
- The Starter plan has one admin account; three accounts need Business.
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.
Key features
Gambio
- Legal safety
- Gambio says it has been audited and certified several times, and includes customized legal texts with liability assumed, aimed at avoiding warning letters.
- Free themes
- A range of free themes lets you change the shop's design without coding.
- Payments
- Payment processing runs through PayPal and similar providers; each plan lists a free monthly volume and a transaction fee.
- Marketplaces and multichannel
- The plan table lists marketplace and multichannel connections, a Google starter package and API access.
- Integrations and partners
- The vendor describes an ecosystem of over 200 integrations and partners.
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.
Plans
Gambio
Starter€29
per month, billed annually (€33 billed monthly)
1 admin account, basic support, a €500 monthly free volume and a 1.5% transaction fee.
Business€79
per month, billed annually (€89 billed monthly)
3 admin accounts, basic support, a €2,000 monthly free volume and a 0.8% transaction fee.
Professional€149
per month, billed annually (€167 billed monthly)
10 admin accounts, basic support, a €10,000 monthly free volume and a 0.4% transaction fee.
Enterprise€219
per month, billed annually (€245 billed monthly)
Unlimited admin accounts, premium support, a €50,000 monthly free volume and a 0.1% transaction fee.
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.
Ways to pay less
Gambio
- Annual discount
Lower price with annual billing
The pricing table shows a lower monthly rate for yearly billing: Starter at 29 euros against 33 euros billed 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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Gambio or Shopify?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Shopify is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against about $32.40 a month for Gambio. Gambio starts at €29 per month, billed annually (€33 billed monthly), and Shopify starts at $29 per month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Gambio or Shopify?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Gambio nor Shopify has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Gambio and Shopify run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Shopify lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.