Shopify vs Custom Development: Which to choose for your e-commerce?

You’re ready to launch your online store. The million-dollar question: Shopify or custom development?

I’ve worked with both options and the answer isn’t black or white. It depends on your specific situation.

In this guide I’ll tell you the unfiltered truth about each option.

TL;DR (Quick answer)

Use Shopify if:

• It’s your first online store
• Limited budget (<$5,000)
• You want to be online fast (1-2 weeks)
• You sell standard physical products
• You don’t have a technical team

Use custom development if:

• You need very specific functionalities
• Flexible budget (>$10,000)
• You have a technical team or budget to maintain it
• You sell complex services or digital products
• You need advanced integrations

Now, let’s get into detail.

Shopify: The plug & play solution

What is Shopify?

Shopify is an all-in-one platform for creating online stores. It’s like the “WordPress of e-commerce” but much more focused.

Advantages of Shopify

1. Launch speed

• You can have your store running in days
• Professional templates ready to use
• You don’t need a programmer (though it helps)

2. All-inclusive

• Hosting: Already included, no worrying about servers
• Payment gateway: Stripe, PayPal, integrated
• SSL/Security: Automatic
• Global CDN: Your store loads fast worldwide

3. Support and updates

• 24/7 support via chat, email, phone
• Automatic security updates
• No risk of your site breaking from an update

4. App ecosystem

• Thousands of plugins for everything
• Marketing, email, inventory, shipping, etc.
• Many apps have a free plan

5. Designed to sell

• Optimized checkout (very important)
• Abandoned cart recovery
• Basic SEO included
• Integrated analytics

Disadvantages of Shopify

1. Recurring costs

Basic plan: $39/month
Shopify plan: $105/month
Advanced plan: $399/month
+ Transaction fee: 2-2.9% (if not using Shopify Payments)
+ Apps: $0-$300/month
+ Premium template: $150-$350 (one-time)

Estimated annual cost: $800-$5,000+

2. Customization limitations

• You’re tied to what Shopify allows
• Advanced customizations require Liquid (their language)
• Some things simply can’t be done

3. Platform dependency

• If Shopify has problems, your store does too
• If they raise prices, you pay or migrate (difficult)
• You’re not the “owner” of the code

4. Transaction fees

• If you don’t use Shopify Payments (not available in all countries)
• 2% extra per sale
• At high volume, it hurts

5. Less control over data

• Your data is on Shopify
• Exporting customers is possible but limited
• Basic analytics (you can use Google Analytics)

Custom Development: Total control

What is custom development?

Creating your store from scratch (or semi-scratch) using frameworks like:

• WooCommerce (WordPress)
• Next.js + Stripe
• Laravel
• Shopify Hydrogen (custom development on Shopify)

Advantages of custom development

1. Absolute control

• Design exactly what you want
• No technical limitations
• Extreme optimization possible

2. Long-term costs

• No monthly payments to platform
• No transaction fees (only gateways)
• Scalable without increasing costs

3. Total flexibility

• Integrations with any system
• Custom workflows
• Unique business models

4. Code ownership

• It’s 100% yours
• You can migrate whenever you want
• You can modify it freely

5. Optimized performance

• You can achieve speeds impossible on Shopify
• Total control over cache, CDN, optimizations

Disadvantages of custom development

1. High initial cost

Basic WooCommerce: $2,000-$5,000
Advanced WooCommerce: $5,000-$15,000
Custom from scratch: $10,000-$50,000+
Shopify Hydrogen: $15,000-$40,000+

2. Development time

• Minimum 4-8 weeks
• Complex projects: 3-6 months
• Additional testing and debugging

3. Continuous maintenance

• You need a developer for changes
• Manual security updates
• Separate hosting and domain
• Backup and monitoring

Maintenance cost: $200-$1,000/month

4. Technical responsibility

• If something breaks, it’s your problem
• You need technical knowledge or hire someone
• No 24/7 support included

5. Learning curve

• More complex to manage
• Training necessary
• Possible technical issues

Side-by-side comparison

Real use cases

When to choose Shopify

Case 1: First clothing store

• Products: 50-200 garments
• Budget: $1,500
• Timeline: 2 weeks
• Solution: Shopify with premium template
• Cost: $1,200 setup + $75/month

Case 2: Dropshipping

• No physical inventory
• Product testing
• Want to start fast
• Solution: Shopify + Oberlo
• Cost: $500 setup + $39/month + apps

Case 3: Local crafts

• 30-50 unique products
• No technical team
• Instagram sales
• Solution: Shopify Lite ($9/month) + buy button
• Cost: $200 setup + $9/month

When to choose Custom

Case 1: Multi-vendor marketplace

• Platform with multiple sellers
• Custom commissions
• Complex dashboard
• Solution: Custom with Laravel
• Cost: $25,000-$40,000

Case 2: Complex subscriptions

• Subscription plans with unique logic
• Custom automatic billing
• ERP integrations
• Solution: Next.js + Stripe
• Cost: $15,000-$25,000

Case 3: B2B e-commerce

• Prices per customer
• Purchase orders
• Integration with internal system
• Solution: Custom WooCommerce
• Cost: $8,000-$15,000

The middle option: Shopify with custom development

There’s a middle ground: Shopify as backend + custom frontend development.

Shopify Hydrogen:

• Use Shopify for administration and payments
• Totally custom frontend
• Best of both worlds (but expensive)

Cost: $15,000-$30,000 + $105/month Shopify

Ideal for:

• Medium/large companies
• Need unique design
• Want to avoid backend complexity

How to make the decision

Ask yourself these questions:

1. What’s your real budget?

• Less than $5,000 → Shopify
• $5,000-$15,000 → Custom or Shopify custom
• More than $15,000 → Advanced custom

2. How urgent is the launch?

• 1-2 weeks → Shopify
• 1-2 months → Basic custom
• 3+ months → Advanced custom

3. Do you have a technical team?

• No → Shopify
• Yes, but small → Shopify or WooCommerce
• Yes, dedicated → Custom

4. How unique is your business model?

• Standard (simple products) → Shopify
• Semi-complex (variants, options) → Shopify with apps
• Very specific (unique logic) → Custom

5. What sales volume do you expect?

• <$10k/month → Shopify
• $10k-$50k/month → Both work
• +$50k/month → Evaluate commissions (custom may be better)

My recommendation

For 90% of new stores: Shopify.

Why?

• Validate your idea fast
• Invest in marketing, not development
• When you reach $50k/month, migrating makes sense

Start with Shopify, migrate to custom if:

• Commissions exceed the cost of maintaining custom
• Limitations prevent you from growing
• You need functionalities impossible on Shopify

Start with custom if:

• Your business model doesn’t fit Shopify
• You have budget (+$10k)
• You have or can hire a technical team

Conclusion

There’s no universal “correct” answer. Shopify is excellent to start, custom gives total control.

My practical advice:

1. Start with Shopify if it’s your first e-commerce
2. Focus on sales, not technology
3. When you consistently bill +$30k/month, evaluate migrating
4. If you need something very specific from the start, custom

Need help deciding? Tell me about your project and I’ll honestly tell you what suits you best. Sometimes Shopify is the answer, sometimes custom, sometimes a hybrid.