Shopify vs Swell
No clear leader: Shopify (83.4) and Swell (81.6) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.
Capabilities
Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for e-commerce platforms. “-” means undocumented, not absent.
What each one is
The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.
Shopify
Shopify is a commerce platform designed for businesses of all sizes to create storefronts, manage inventory, process payments, and sell across multiple channels online and in person. It provides pre-built themes, customizable experiences, and integrations with thousands of apps to support independent sellers through to global enterprises.
Swell
A SaaS ecommerce platform enabling retailers to build storefronts and manage subscriptions, digital products, and physical goods through a visual dashboard and flexible APIs.
Pricing
List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.
Shopify
Free 3-day trial, then 3 months for £1/month. Plans from £19/month (Basic) to £1,800+/month (Plus, enterprise). Annual and 3-year commitments available.
- Basic£19/month (billed yearly)
- World's best checkout
- Online store
- Unlimited products
- In-person selling
- Multiple sales channels
- +1 more
- Grow£49/month (billed yearly)
- World's best checkout
- Online store
- Unlimited products
- In-person selling
- Multiple sales channels
- +1 more
- Advanced£259/month (billed yearly)
- World's best checkout
- Online store
- Unlimited products
- In-person selling
- Multiple sales channels
- +1 more
- PlusContact sales
- Unlimited retail locations
- 20x admin API rate limits
- 300+ hours technical launch support
- Dedicated technical account managers
Swell
From $29/month billed yearly. Free tier and trial available. Usage-based API request and data storage overages.
- Starter$29/month billed yearly
- Basic reports
- Email & chat support
- Basic$79/month billed yearly
- Basic reports
- Email & chat support
- Standard$299/month billed yearly
- Advanced reports
- Priority support
- Role-based permissions
- International price lists
- Unlimited$2250/month billed yearly
- Advanced reports
- Priority support
- Developer support
- Role-based permissions
- CustomContact sales
Platform & deployment
Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.
Integrations
What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.
Shopify
- Adyen
- Manhattan
- Vercel
- Hydrogen
- Slack
- Salesforce
- Xero
- QuickBooks
- Shop app
- Dropshipping apps
- Print-on-demand apps
Swell
- Klaviyo
- ShipStation
- PayPal
- Braintree
- Sezzle
- Resend
- Omnisend
- Shopify
Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.