# Shopify vs Swell

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Shopify

| Attribute | Shopify | Swell |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 83.7 (72% (medium)) | 74.4 (54% (medium)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Shopify is a fully hosted e-commerce platform for building and managing online stores. It provides merchants with payment processing through Shopify Payments, multi-currency support, international market expansion tools, inventory management, and both traditional and headless storefront deployment options. It is indexed under E-commerce Platforms.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","question":"What is Shopify?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Shopify offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans are also available: Shopify Plus and Shopify Enterprise. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","question":"Is Shopify free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Shopify. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","question":"What platforms does Shopify support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Shopify, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","question":"Can Shopify be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 11 integrations for Shopify, including Adyen, Manhattan, Vercel, Hydrogen, Slack, Salesforce, Xero and QuickBooks, plus 3 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","question":"What does Shopify integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 and GDPR for Shopify. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Shopify not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/legal/compliance/reports","question":"What security certifications does Shopify have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Shopify is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","question":"Where is Shopify available?","confidence":0.75}]` | `[{"answer":"Swell is a hosted ecommerce solution providing customizable storefronts, API-first capabilities, flexible checkout options, multi-currency support, and comprehensive merchant tools for managing inventory, orders, payments, and subscriptions. It is indexed under E-commerce Platforms.","source":"https://www.swell.is/pricing","question":"What is Swell?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Swell is a paid product; published pricing starts at $29 per month. It is sold across 5 plans (Starter, Professional, Standard and Advanced). There is no free tier. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.swell.is/pricing","question":"How much does Swell cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Swell. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.swell.is/pricing","question":"What platforms does Swell support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Swell, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.swell.is/pricing","question":"Can Swell be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 9 integrations for Swell, including Klaviyo, ShipStation, PayPal, Braintree, Sezzle, Resend, Omnisend and Shopify, plus 1 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.swell.is/pricing","question":"What does Swell integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Swell is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://www.swell.is/pricing","question":"Where is Swell available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | A comprehensive toolkit that enables entrepreneurs and business owners to create, operate, and expand their online sales channels with integrated management tools. | A SaaS ecommerce platform designed to help merchants quickly establish online stores, manage subscription products, and handle wholesale operations with built-in support for multiple currencies, languages, and payment methods. |
| features.capabilities | `{"headless":true,"free_tier":true,"open_source":false,"b2b_features":true,"platform_type":"hosted_saas","self_hostable":true,"payments_model":"built_in","pci_compliance":true,"pos_omnichannel":true,"transaction_fees":true,"extension_ecosystem":"21,000+ commerce apps available in Shopify App Store","multi_currency_language":true}` | `{"headless":true,"free_tier":true,"open_source":true,"b2b_features":true,"platform_type":"hosted_saas","self_hostable":true,"payments_model":"built_in","pci_compliance":true,"transaction_fees":true,"extension_ecosystem":"Apps and integrations ecosystem with Klaviyo, Omnisend, Resend, and payment prov","multi_currency_language":true}` |
| integrations.count | 21,000 | 10 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Adyen"},{"name":"Manhattan"},{"name":"Vercel"},{"name":"Hydrogen"},{"name":"Slack"},{"name":"Salesforce"},{"name":"Xero"},{"name":"QuickBooks"},{"name":"Shop app"},{"name":"Dropshipping apps"},{"name":"Print-on-demand apps"}]` | `[{"name":"Klaviyo"},{"name":"ShipStation"},{"name":"PayPal"},{"name":"Braintree"},{"name":"Sezzle"},{"name":"Resend"},{"name":"Omnisend"},{"name":"Shopify"},{"name":"Avalara","native":true,"category":"taxes","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Stripe","native":true,"category":"payments"},{"name":"Klarna","native":true,"category":"payments"},{"name":"Apple Pay","native":true,"category":"payments"},{"name":"Google Pay","native":true,"category":"payments"},{"name":"Resolve","native":true,"category":"b2b"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":["GB"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":["GB"],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Shopify","summary":"Monthly subscription with 3.9% payment processing fee (variable by card type and issuer)","commitment":"monthly","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","rate":3.9}],"contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Shopify Plus","summary":"Custom pricing with advanced capabilities","features":["Fully customizable checkout","Unlimited staff accounts","Enhanced automation","Priority support"],"commitment":"monthly","description":"Advanced features for high-growth brands","contactSales":true},{"free":false,"name":"Shopify Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing and terms","features":["Higher platform limits","Deep control and customization","Dedicated account management","Committed service levels"],"description":"Enterprise-scale platform for complex organizations","contactSales":true}],"addOns":[{"name":"Shopify Managed Markets","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","rate":3.5}]},{"name":"Shopify Managed Markets (Shopify Plus)","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","rate":3.25}]},{"name":"Currency conversion","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","rate":1.5}]},{"name":"Duties and import tax calculation","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","rate":0.5}]}],"summary":"Monthly subscription from 3.9% per transaction. Free trial available: 3 months at £1/month.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.shopify.com/international/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-09-04T15:58:49.403Z","billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Starter","summary":"$29/month billed annually","minSeats":2,"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":29,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"of":"sales_over_ceiling","kind":"percentage","rate":2}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"admin_users":"2","annual_sales":"$50k","api_requests":"100k/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Standard","summary":"$299/month","minSeats":15,"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":299,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"of":"sales_over_ceiling","kind":"percentage","rate":1}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"admin_users":"15","annual_sales":"$1m","api_requests":"2m/month"}},{"free":false,"name":"Advanced","summary":"$2,250/month","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":2250,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"of":"sales_over_ceiling","kind":"percentage","rate":0.4}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"admin_users":"Unlimited","annual_sales":"$5m","api_requests":"Unlimited"}},{"free":false,"name":"Custom","summary":"Contact sales for pricing (for merchants over $10M annual sales)","contactSales":true}],"summary":"From $29/month billed annually. Free trial available.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.swell.is/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-09-22T14:45:12.360Z","startingPrice":{"amount":29,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | low | mid |
| pricing.starting_price | - | `{"amount":29,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.9 | 100 |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | - |
| security.gdpr | yes | - |
| security.pci | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |

## Capabilities (E-commerce Platforms)

| Capability | Shopify | Swell |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Platform type | Hosted all-in-one SaaS | Hosted all-in-one SaaS |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Open-source | ✗ | ✓ |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Self-hostable | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Pricing** |  |  |
| Free / open tier | ✓ | ✓ |
| Transaction fees beyond plan | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Payments** |  |  |
| Payments model | Built-in payments | Built-in payments |
| **Architecture** |  |  |
| Headless / API-first storefront | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Compliance** |  |  |
| PCI-DSS compliance provided | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Reach** |  |  |
| Multi-currency / multi-language | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Selling** |  |  |
| B2B / wholesale features | ✓ | ✓ |
| POS / omnichannel | ✓ | - |
| **Extensibility** |  |  |
| App / extension ecosystem size | 21,000+ commerce apps available in Shopify App Store | Apps and integrations ecosystem with Klaviyo, Omnisend, Resend, and payment prov |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T17:44:19.108Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*