Shopify vs X-Cart (2026): which should you pick?

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

Pick X-Cart if

• Fits if you sell auto parts and want fitment search built in
• Works for distributors that need parts-catalog feeds and sales channels

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you sell anything other than auto parts or powersports, since no general plan is priced
• Pricey if your yearly sales are small: it's $499 a month flat
• Watch out: stores above $1M in yearly sales or needing custom work cost more
• Tight if you want to try first, because there's no free plan or trial

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.

X-Cart

• The pricing page covers only the Automotive package; no general-purpose store plan is priced there.
• The $499 fee applies below $1M in yearly sales with standard features; larger stores or custom work cost more.
• No free plan or trial is listed, and setup starts with a demo booking.

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.

X-Cart

Fitment search

Year, make and model lookup and VIN decoding show shoppers only the parts that fit their vehicle; a My Garage list saves their vehicles.

Automotive catalog data

Pulls catalog and fitment data from sources named on the page, including SEMA Data, AutoSync and the ASAP Network.

Distributor integrations

Connects several warehouse distributors, routes orders to the one with stock and syncs inventory hourly.

Sales channels

Connects to Amazon and eBay Motors so listed parts, stock and orders can be managed from the X-Cart dashboard.

Payments and tax

Accepts payments through 120+ processors, including PayPal, Stripe and Authorize.net, and connects to Avalara or TaxJar.

Onboarding and support

Four one-hour onboarding calls come with the subscription, and the page lists Premium Support as included at no extra charge.

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.

X-Cart

• Automotive$499

  per month and up, billed monthly

  Flat fee for stores under $1M in yearly sales using standard features; higher volume or customization costs more.

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.

X-Cart

No public discounts listed.