Three families of alternatives exist. Turnkey platforms, shopping carts grafted onto an existing site, and custom storefronts.
Your sales volume and your specific constraints determine the answer. Under $31,000 CAD in monthly sales, Shopify often remains the simplest option.
| The essentials in three points |
|---|
| Shopify's cost isn't shown in the subscription. It's shown in the percentage taken from each sale. Using another payment provider costs 2% more on the Basic plan. This surcharge is added to card fees. Alternatives fall into three families, from simplest to most flexible: turnkey, grafted, custom. |
What pushes merchants to look elsewhere
Rarely the advertised price. The Quebec merchants who consult us almost always cite the same three reasons.
- The bill grows with sales, with no visible benefit.
- A specific feature is missing, and no app covers it properly.
- The store must communicate with inventory management software or an existing inventory system.
The third reason comes up most often among manufacturers and distributors. Their inventory lives elsewhere, and the store must align with it.
A fourth reason sometimes comes up, and that one doesn't justify leaving. Finding a high bill while your store is doing well is a bad sign.
A platform that takes a percentage gets expensive because you're selling. That's the best problem a business can have.
The real cost of Shopify, commissions included
The amount shown each month doesn't tell the whole story. Each sale adds a percentage, and that's what weighs when volume picks up.
| Plan | Monthly subscription | Online card fees | If other payment provider |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $37 CAD | 2.8% + 30¢ | + 2% |
| Grow | $99 CAD | 2.6% + 30¢ | + 1% |
| Advanced | $389 CAD | 2.4% + 30¢ | + 0.6 % |
| Plus | Starting at $3,400 CAD | 2.15 % + 30 ¢ | + 0.2 % |
Rates listed on Shopify's Canadian website, on annual billing. The physical store checkout adds $119 CAD per month.
| The detail that costs dearly |
|---|
| Card fees, around 2.8 %, are found with all payment providers. Nothing unusual. The 2 % surcharge is different: Shopify charges it if you don't use its own payment solution. At $10,000 CAD in monthly sales, this surcharge alone represents $2,400 CAD per year. |
Three families of alternatives, three logics
Comparisons often line up fifteen tools without distinguishing them. Grouping options by logic sheds more light on the decision.
All-in-one platforms follow Shopify's model. Wix, Squarespace or BigCommerce host everything and charge a monthly subscription.
Bolt-on shopping carts are sales modules added to an existing website. Snipcart, a Canadian solution, charges 2 % per transaction without a redesign.
The custom-built boutique is based on code you own. It requires an upfront investment, then escapes percentages and caps.
Each family targets a distinct profile. Turnkey solutions work for simple catalogs, grafted carts for already well-ranked sites.
Custom solutions are designed for retailers whose internal logic goes beyond sales. Product configurator, client-based pricing, multi-warehouse inventory are examples.
| Questions to ask first |
|---|
| Who collects the money, and when do you receive it? What data can you export when you leave? Does the supplier invoice in Canadian or US dollars? The answer to this question changes your bill by about 40%. |
What the Quebec context changes
International comparisons ignore these points, yet they carry significant weight here.Four local constraints deserve your attention.
Interac payment dominates Canadian habits. Shopify charges 15¢ per in-person transaction, no percentage, which remains advantageous.
Taxes are calculated at two levels, federal and provincial. Any solution you choose must handle Quebec sales tax correctly.
Bill 25 governs the personal information of your clients. Your provider must indicate where this data is hosted.
Law 96 requires French on your transactional site, meaning your online store. Verify that the platform manages both languages at no additional cost.
| ⚠️ The classic pitfall |
|---|
| A platform billed in US dollars costs approximately 40% more once converted. Always compare offers in the same currency, over twelve months. Also verify that data hosting complies with your obligations to your Quebec clients. |
At what volume does custom become profitable
The calculation comes down to dollars, not opinions. Here are the thresholds based on current Shopify pricing.
| Monthly Sales | Most economical | Estimated monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| Under $31,000 CAD | Basic Plan | $93 to $905 CAD |
| From $31,000 to $145,000 CAD | Grow plan | $905 to $3,870 CAD |
| Over $145,000 CAD | Advanced plan | $3,870 CAD and up |
| High volume and specific needs | Custom store | Initial investment, no percentage |
These amountscombine the subscription and fees per card, excluding apps. A store with $50,000 CAD in sales pays close to $17,000 CAD per year.
This is the level where the question deserves serious consideration. A custom developmentpays for itself over two to three years.
| A concrete example |
|---|
| A Quebec distributor sells $50,000 CAD per month and uses their own payment provider. On the Basic plan, they pay $1,437 CAD in monthly fees, plus $1,000 CAD in supplement. Over a year, that's close to $29,000 CAD. That's $12,000 CAD more than with Shopify's payment solution. |
Switch platforms without losing sales
A store migrates differently than a brochure website.Three elements require special attention before the switch.
- Product sheets and their URLs, which need to be redirected one by one.
- Customer accounts and their order history.
- Active subscriptions, if any, which don't always transfer.
Plan fora period where both systems coexist. Your customers should never encounter a missing product page during the transfer.
Timing is as important as the method. Migrate a store during slow periods, never as the holidays or a campaign approach.
Keep your old data accessible too for a few months. Warranty claims and returns often involve older orders.
| Key takeaways |
|---|
| Below $31,000 CAD in monthly sales, switching platforms is rarely justified by price alone. The extra 2% on external payment processors is the cost most often overlooked. A missing feature or inventory to reconnect weighs more heavily than a subscription difference. The switch must be prepared product by product, otherwise sales drop on transfer day. |
Does your store deserve better? Let's look at your numbers together →
What merchants ask us
Is there a free alternative to Shopify?
WooCommerce installs with no licensing fees on a WordPress site. You still need to pay for the server, plugins, and site maintenance.
Can you keep your current site and add a store to it?
It's the principle of grafted carts. You keep your site and add online sales, for a percentage per transaction.
What volume justifies a custom-built store?
The order of magnitude is around around 50,000 CAD in monthly sales. Below that, percentages cost less than custom development.
Does changing platforms hurt your SEO?
Not if each product page is redirected to its new address. Time-consuming to prepare, this work remains the most profitable part of the migration.
Is Shopify still suitable for a small business?
At startup, it remains hard to beat for a small store. Its limitations appear with volume, not at the beginning.
Are card fees specific to Shopify?
No, every payment provider charges them. What sets Shopify apart is the surcharge applied when you choose another one.
