PrestaShop vs Shopify
We give PrestaShop a 2.4 GPA and Shopify a 2.8, out of 4.0. PrestaShop 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.
PrestaShop
Open-source ecommerce software, free to self-host or sold hosted
Shopify
Hosted commerce platform for online, in-person and social selling
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAPrestaShopFair | 2.8GPAShopifyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CClassic is free, but you pay for hosting, a domain and any paid modules, and the listing has no figure for those. So we go on Hosted: €24 a month on yearly billing, in euros and before VAT (€29 monthly). That's the ordinary middle, and no PrestaShop fee on sales is listed. | 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 | BThe Classic software is free to download with unlimited products, and one person could run a shop on it for years. Hosting isn't free, though, and the 14-day Hosted trial takes payment details at sign-up. | 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, which is a cheap start rather than a free one. |
| Features | CCheckout in 20 currencies across 190 countries, Google and social ads, eShip labels, Klaviyo email and proper SEO controls cover the basics. Past that you're adding from 3,200+ themes and modules, and the paid ones cost extra. | AThe whole job and then some: 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. Hosted takes the server off your hands, but PrestaShop says installing and customizing a store takes some technical knowledge, and the free Classic route means running your own server. | 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 only, but with PayPal, Stripe, Klarna, Klaviyo, Google, Facebook, Instagram and Hostinger, 3,200+ themes and modules, and open code you can change freely. No phone or desktop app. | 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 | custom stores you own, especially in Europe | 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: PrestaShop and Shopify. How we grade
Price against what you get
PrestaShop starts at about $26.89 a month and scores 2.3 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 $2.11 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other online store builders on the chart, 2 score higher than PrestaShop 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
- PrestaShop starts at €24 per month excl. VAT, billed annually (Hosted; €29 billed monthly). Shopify starts at $29 per month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly).
- PrestaShop has a free plan. Shopify does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Shopify lists iOS and Android apps.
- PrestaShop is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Shopify also covers email campaigns, inventory and shipping labels.
At a glance
| PrestaShop | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | €24 per month excl. VAT, billed annually (Hosted; €29 billed monthly) | $29 per month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | Classic: the open-source PrestaShop software, free to download and run on your own hosting, with unlimited products. Hosting, a domain and paid modules cost extra. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of Hosted; payment details are taken at sign-up | 3-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | PrestaShop | Shopify |
| Price read from | prestashop.com | shopify.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
PrestaShop
- Developers and agencies building custom stores for clients
- European sellers who want open-source software with VAT and GDPR tools
- Merchants who want to own their store's code and data
Shopify
- Brands that sell online and in person from one stock count
- Growing stores that want to add staff and channels without moving platforms
- Sellers who will use Shopify Payments and its shipping discounts
Worth knowing
PrestaShop
- Classic is free to download, but hosting, a domain and any paid modules or themes cost extra; the offers page gives no figures for those costs.
- PrestaShop says installing and customizing a store takes some technical knowledge, especially to set it up on a server.
- Hosted is priced in euros excluding VAT, and its legal tools are built around European rules such as GDPR.
- Paid technical support is sold separately, from €90 for an hour of analysis and up to four hours of work.
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
PrestaShop
- Open-source store software
- Download PrestaShop free, install it on your own server and change any part of it, with unlimited physical and virtual products and product packs.
- PrestaShop Checkout with PayPal
- Take payments in 20 currencies across 190 countries, including PayPal installments, with Stripe, Klarna and other payment providers also offered.
- Google, Facebook and Instagram ads
- PrestaShop Marketing runs automated ads on Google networks, and PrestaShop Social syncs the catalog with Facebook and Instagram.
- Shipping and marketing automation
- eShip for PrestaShop prints labels and handles shipments, and PrestaShop Automation connects Klaviyo for targeted email campaigns.
- Marketplace and SEO tools
- Add from more than 3,200 themes and modules in the PrestaShop Marketplace, and manage custom URLs, meta tags, canonical URLs and redirects.
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
PrestaShop
Classic€0
Open-source PrestaShop 9 that you download and host yourself, with PrestaShop Checkout, ad tools, shipping and the Marketplace built in.
Hosted€24
per month excl. VAT, billed annually (€29 billed monthly)
Installed and hosted by PrestaShop, with automatic VAT calculation, GDPR and cookie tools, and support by email, chat or phone 6 days a week.
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
PrestaShop
- Annual discount
Hosted billed annually saves 17%
The Hosted offer costs €290 a year excluding VAT, shown as €24 a month, against €29 a month without commitment.
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.
