Comparison
Shopemaa vs Shopify
Both give you a hosted store on your own domain. Shopify has the bigger ecosystem. Shopemaa is smaller, costs less to start, pays every sale into your own Stripe account with no commission, and builds in digital products, an embeddable checkout and shoppable links.
Which one fits
It depends on what you sell
Choose Shopemaa if
- You want to start smaller: Starter is €19 a month
- You sell digital products and want files, licences and versions without extra apps
- You want to keep your own Stripe account and pay no platform fee on top
- You also sell on a website you already have, or from a link in your bio
Choose Shopify if
- You need a large market of apps and themes
- You sell in physical shops and want point of sale in the same system
- You expect very high volume or need enterprise checkout customisation
- You want Shop Pay, the checkout many shoppers already use
Shopemaa and Shopify side by side
Facts about Shopify checked on 12 November 2026. Prices exclude VAT.
| Feature | Shopemaa | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | Monthly or yearly plan | Monthly or yearly plan |
| Price | €19 to €399 a month; yearly costs ten months | Basic €32, Grow €92, Advanced €384 a month; about 25% less billed yearly (Belgian prices, which vary by country) |
| Free trial or free plan | 30 days free; no free plan | 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months on most plans |
| Platform fee on each sale | 0% on every plan | 0% with Shopify Payments; 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced with another payment provider |
| Card payments | Paid into your own Stripe account; only Stripe's fees | Shopify Payments, from 2% + €0.25 per online card payment on Basic in Belgium; rates vary by country and plan |
| VAT and sales tax | You are the seller: set VAT per store and file it yourself | You are the seller; Managed Markets can act as merchant of record for international orders where available |
| Physical products | Built in: variants, stock, shipping zones, local pickup | Built in |
| Digital products | Built in: files, licences, versions, a library for buyers | Files with Shopify's free Digital Downloads app; licence keys with third-party apps |
| Your own domain | Every plan; Shopemaa branding removed from Growth | Basic plan and above |
| Checkout on a website you already have | Shopemaa Checkout embed on every plan | Buy Button sales channel |
| Payment links and QR codes | Linkly shoppable links and QR codes on every plan | Through apps and the Starter plan |
| API and webhooks | Storefront API and webhooks from Growth | Storefront API, Hydrogen and webhooks |
| Several currencies | Each store sells in one of 18 currencies; several at once on Scale | Shopify Markets; local-currency prices need Shopify Payments |
| AI | Fumu store assistant on every plan; AI channels with product feeds and an MCP connector from Growth | Sidekick assistant, and selling in AI chats such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Google AI Mode, on every plan |
The main differences
Where Shopemaa and Shopify differ
Fees on each sale
Shopify charges no transaction fee if you use Shopify Payments, and 0.6% to 2% if you use another provider. Shopemaa takes no commission on any plan; only Stripe's own fees apply, on your own Stripe account.
Digital products
In Shopify, file downloads come from the free Digital Downloads app and licence keys from third-party apps. In Shopemaa, files, licences and versions are part of every product, and buyers get a library in their account.
Where you sell
Both have a hosted store and an API. Every Shopemaa plan also includes an embeddable checkout for the website you already have, and Linkly shoppable links with QR codes, all from the same catalogue.
Questions
Shopemaa or Shopify?
Is Shopemaa cheaper than Shopify?
At the entry level, yes: Shopemaa Starter is €19 a month and Shopify Basic is €32 a month on monthly billing in Belgium. Shopify's prices vary by country, and its yearly discount is bigger: about 25%, against two months free on Shopemaa.
Does Shopemaa have an app store like Shopify?
No. Shopemaa builds the main selling tools in: digital products, discounts, abandoned checkout emails, an embeddable checkout, shoppable links and Fumu. Developers get a storefront API and webhooks from Growth. If your store depends on many specialised apps, Shopify will fit better.
Can AI assistants sell my products on both?
Yes. Shopify sells in AI chats such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Google AI Mode on every plan. Shopemaa's AI channels, from Growth, publish product feeds for Google and ChatGPT shopping and give your store its own MCP connector. On Shopemaa, the shopper always pays on your own checkout.
Sources
Facts about Shopify come from its own pages, checked on 12 November 2026. Prices and features change, so check them before you decide. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
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