Is Shopify the Right Choice for Serious E-commerce? Shopify’s Potential and Pitfalls: When to Choose It—and When to Look Elsewhere

Attending the first-ever Shopify meetup in Lithuania was an exciting experience! Here are my thoughts on when Shopify is a good choice—and when it might not be.

When it comes to full-scale e-commerce solutions, Shopify still has a long way to go to match the flexibility and power of PrestaShop, for example. Shopify recently introduced country-specific payment methods—a feature PrestaShop has provided for over five years! With PrestaShop (or Sylius), you have genuine autonomy without the additional revenue markup or monthly subscription fees that Shopify enforces.

Consider this: if a Shopify store costs at least €2500 and often requires additional monthly fees and a revenue markup of 0.6-2% to access essential features, wouldn’t investing that in a PrestaShop store make more sense? Even with a cheaper freelance developer or nealy create agency, you can build an almost unique, fully customized solution that doesn’t limit you with extra fees down the line. PrestaShop enables freedom for a business to evolve without depending on expensive monthly apps and plugins, which often add up to hundreds of euros just to achieve essential functionality.

If budget is a concern, it’s even more reason to choose a platform that offers more by default. With PrestaShop, you’re not waiting for critical features to be “released” or paying for monthly apps to add basic capabilities. You’re getting a complete, scalable solution upfront. And yes, it is usually a little bit more expensive if done correctly.

Custom-built solutions on platforms like PrestaShop or Sylius offer flexibility and personalization options that Shopify doesn’t natively support. For instance, one of the most common questions for Lithuanian businesses using Shopify is how to add company fields (B2B registration) to the checkout. With a default installation, this adaptation is straightforward, allowing businesses to tailor the checkout experience without relying on workarounds or additional plugins.

When Shopify claims a 36% improvement in checkout conversion compared to other e-commerce platforms, it’s essential to look at what they’re comparing it to. If it’s a basic WooCommerce (or BigCommerce, who is still using this?) setup—which, let’s face it, isn’t a fully-fledged e-commerce system—the results may be impressive, but it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison.

Shopify is still an evaporating dream for an easy, profitable dropshipping business. With giants like Temu entering the European market, drop shipping has become more challenging than ever. If you’re testing a product for a month or two, Shopify is a fantastic tool—it’s fast, accessible, and simplifies the setup process.

However, Shopify may not be the best fit for those serious about e-commerce who aim for real growth in sales and functionality. Scaling effectively demands flexibility and advanced features, and Shopify’s limitations can hold businesses back. For long-term growth, I’m not convinced Shopify can truly deliver the depth serious e-commerce ventures need. You will definitely outgrow Shopify sooner or later.

Shopify still holds significant potential. It’s a rapidly growing platform, and with the right moves, it could become the WordPress of e-commerce—an accessible, widely adopted solution powered by a thriving ecosystem of third-party developers. As Shopify expands, it can open doors for affordable, custom setups by tapping into global talent pools for theme development and site customization.

It could make Shopify an attractive choice for budget-conscious businesses looking for straightforward e-commerce solutions. If Shopify continues innovating, it might become the go-to platform for accessible, versatile online stores.

You might develop a Shopify store for 700-1500 EUR/shop. Shopify is an excellent solution for your first e-commerce site or quick market-fix cross-check; however, if your business succeeds, you will probably outgrow this e-commerce platform.