Shopify alternatives: best no-code options for small business (2026)

This guide is for business owners comparing Shopify against other store builders, either because Shopify's plan and transaction fees are adding up or because they want a store bundled with a chatbot and CRM instead of paying for separate tools. Below: what to check before switching, what MaviBot offers as a Shopify alternative, and how to move a product catalog over.

Quick answer: the best Shopify alternatives fall into two groups: general-purpose store builders with lower base fees (Wix, Squarespace, BigCommerce), and no-code platforms that bundle the store with a CRM and an optional AI chatbot, such as MaviBot. Which one fits depends on whether you need extra tools beyond the storefront itself.

Why businesses look for a Shopify alternative

Shopify's own pricing page lists three self-serve plans: Basic at $39/month, Grow at $105/month, and Advanced at $399/month (billed monthly, cheaper on annual billing), plus card processing rates from 1.6% to 1.9% + $0.30 depending on the plan, with extra fees for third-party payment providers. Most of the cost increase between plans comes from features many small stores don't need yet, like advanced reporting or more staff accounts, while the transaction fees apply no matter which plan you're on.

That's the main reason businesses start comparing alternatives: not because Shopify doesn't work, but because the total cost (subscription plus transaction fees plus paid apps for chat, CRM, or marketing) adds up faster than the base plan suggests.

What to look for in a Shopify alternative

Can you move your existing products over, or do you have to recreate every listing by hand? Does the platform support the payment methods your actual customers use, especially outside the US and EU? Chat support, CRM, and email marketing are often separate paid apps on general-purpose builders, so check what's bundled and what costs extra. And some platforms charge a cut of every sale on top of the subscription, while others don't.

Best free Shopify alternatives in 2026

Most "free" store builders actually mean a free tier with limits (product count, transaction fees, or a branded subdomain), not a fully free store forever. When comparing free tiers, the questions that matter are: how many products can you list, is there a transaction fee on top of your payment processor's fee, and can you use your own domain. Read the current terms directly on each platform before committing, since free-tier limits change often.

Wix is the only one on this list with a genuinely free tier for building a store, though it comes with ads and a Wix subdomain. The rest, including MaviBot, use a free trial instead of a permanent free plan. Worth noting for MaviBot specifically: the store, CRM, and messenger channels are included at $39/mo, the same price as Shopify Basic. The AI chatbot is a separate upgrade starting at $59/mo, not something you're paying for by default.

Each platform tends to fit a different priority. Wix works well if the budget is the main constraint and the ads on the free tier aren't a dealbreaker. Squarespace leans toward design-first stores, portfolios and small catalogs where the storefront's look matters as much as the checkout. BigCommerce scales further without adding a percentage cut on card payments, which matters once order volume grows, though the new fee on non-embedded gateways is worth checking against your payment setup. Shopify's advantage is its app ecosystem: thousands of third-party apps cover almost anything a store might need, at the cost of paying for each one separately. MaviBot's angle is different from all four: instead of a storefront you extend with apps, the CRM is already part of the $39 base subscription, and the AI chatbot is a single upgrade rather than a separate app to shop for and connect.

Who shouldn't switch from Shopify

Switching platforms isn't free, even when the destination is cheaper. A few situations where staying on Shopify makes more sense:

Stores already running on Shopify Plus, with custom checkout logic or a large catalog built around Shopify-specific apps, would lose more from rebuilding than they'd save on subscription cost. The same goes for stores that depend on a specific Shopify app with no equivalent elsewhere. Print-on-demand integrations and some accounting or tax tools are common examples. Shopify's theme marketplace is also larger and has been around longer, so a store that needs a very specific, highly customized look built by a Shopify theme developer may not find an exact match among MaviBot's pre-built themes.

MaviBot as a Shopify alternative: store, chatbot, and CRM in one

MaviBot's online store is built inside the same platform as its chatbot and CRM, not as a separate product. According to MaviBot's documentation (updated February 2026), setting up a store means creating a site, choosing "Online Store" as the site type, and building product cards with a title, one or more images, a description, current and old price (for showing discounts), an SKU number, stock quantity, and custom characteristics. Products can be grouped into color-coded categories.

Design is a separate step from the product data. The theme gallery includes dozens of pre-built storefront themes across different styles and niches, along with a custom theme option for building one from scratch. Some themes are generated by AI based on the type of business, for example a barbershop or a photography studio, with layout and copy already adapted to that niche. The storefront itself includes standard shopping features like a product search bar, category filters, and a price range filter.

The store side has moved fast recently. As of August 2026, MaviBot improved how variable and grouped products display in the admin panel (useful for products that come in multiple sizes or colors), added the ability to edit an order after it's already been created instead of canceling and recreating it, introduced units of measurement for products, and added product dimensions with shipping cost calculated based on those dimensions rather than a flat rate.

On the payment side, MaviBot's documentation lists integrations including Stripe, Mercado Pago, Iyzico, PayTR, EBANX, Garanti BBVA, Prodamus, Robokassa, Paynow, Paytabs, Fondy, Wayforpay, WalletOne, Allpay, Bepaid, and Telr, covering markets (Latin America, Turkey, the Gulf, Eastern Europe) that general-purpose store builders often support only through third-party apps.

A standalone storefront can't do this part: the same store hands off to MaviBot's AI assistant for customer questions across WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, and a website widget, with orders and conversations landing in the same CRM. On Shopify, that combination usually means the store plan plus a separate chat app plus a separate CRM subscription.

In practice, that looks like this: a customer messages the store's WhatsApp number asking whether a product is in stock. The AI assistant checks the product catalog and answers with the current price and stock quantity pulled from the same product cards shown on the storefront. If the customer wants to buy, the assistant sends a payment link tied to the order, and once payment is confirmed, the sale shows up in the same CRM record as the conversation. A follow-up question a day later picks up where the chat left off instead of starting over.

How to move your store from Shopify to MaviBot

There are two ways to end up with a working MaviBot store, depending on whether you want to reuse your exact Shopify catalog or just want a store live quickly. MaviBot can generate a store with AI in about 10 minutes, product structure, categories, and basic pages included, and you edit it from there rather than building each page from a blank template. If you'd rather bring over your existing product data as is, the CSV route below does that.

This is a catalog transfer, not a one-click sync, based on MaviBot's documented import process:

1. Export your product catalog from Shopify as a CSV file (Shopify supports this from its admin panel).
2. Create your store in MaviBot by going to Sites, clicking "Create," and selecting "Online Store."
3. Import the CSV in the category settings, then map each column from your file (product name, price, SKU, and so on) to the matching MaviBot product field.
4. Review the imported product cards, add categories and images where needed, and check pricing and stock quantities before publishing.

Keep in mind this moves your product listings, not your existing customer accounts, order history, or installed apps. Budget time to reconnect payment methods and rebuild any custom storefront design separately.

Shopify alternative comparison: price and features

Bottom line: MaviBot's Business plan matches Shopify Basic on price and adds a CRM Shopify doesn't include. The AI plan costs $20/mo more and adds the multilingual chatbot, which on Shopify would mean paying for a separate chat app on top of the subscription.

FAQ

Is there a free alternative to Shopify?

Several store builders offer a free tier, but it usually comes with limits on product count, a branded subdomain, or a transaction fee on top of your payment processor's cut. Check the current terms on each platform, since free-tier limits change.

What are alternatives to Shopify?

General-purpose options include Wix, Squarespace, and BigCommerce. Platforms that bundle the store with a chatbot and CRM, like MaviBot, are a separate category worth considering if you're paying for those tools separately anyway.

What is the best alternative to Shopify?

It depends on what you need beyond a storefront. If you only need to sell products, a general-purpose builder may be cheaper. If you also want a chatbot and CRM in the same subscription, a bundled platform like MaviBot removes the need to pay for and connect three separate tools.

Why do brands look for Shopify alternatives?

Mainly cost. Shopify's subscription plus card transaction fees plus paid apps for chat, CRM, or marketing can add up to more than the base plan price suggests, especially once a store outgrows the entry-level Basic plan.

Try MaviBot as your Shopify alternative

You don't need to commit to find out if it fits. Start a free 3-day trial with full access, generate a store with AI or import a sample of your product catalog by CSV, and connect one payment method to see how it works before deciding. The Business plan starts at $39 a month, matching Shopify Basic, or $59 a month with the multilingual AI chatbot included.