PrestaShop vs Shopify: Which is the Best eCommerce Platform

Published: 2020-02-25 12:50:01



Every business owner wants an appealing online presence to extend their business reach. This helps them in doing product promotions on an international scale. Do you want to start an eCommerce online store? If yes, then there are a wide variety of tools available that can build websites faster with minimal efforts. And, the two leading options are PrestaShop and Shopify that can create high-performance websites in less time. 

If you are not sure which platform is best for an eCommerce web development, then this write-up will make you decide quicker. Let’s break down the list of differences to find out which one is better. 

<a href="https://www.csschopper.com/blog/prestashop-vs-shopify/">PrestaShop vs Shopify</a>: An Overview

PrestaShop is self-hosted and it is easy to install it on any server. Through this, you will not be bound to a specific web hosting provider. Not only this, it provides numerous features that are essential for setting up an effective eCommerce store. 

While Shopify is a hosted platform that means you have to buy its subscription for utilizing it. Also, it is not possible to set up your online store on any server that you want with this platform. 

Which platform offers cost-effective pricing?

Since PrestaShop is an open-source eCommerce platform, you can install and use it for free. It is highly customizable and you can add any feature on your website without any trouble. But, you have to purchase its hosting service. 

Shopify offers a 14-day free trial period to the users. After this, monthly charges will be applicable. Along with this, other charges for email, transaction fees, designing if you hire Shopify developer will be added too. 

Which platform is easy to use?

Creating a first eCommerce store is a difficult task for many of us. That’s why we give preference to those platforms which are easy to use. Both PrestaShop and Shopify are intuitive platforms. Shopify has an interactive dashboard and drag and drops builder to get started with this platform. 

PrestaShop is a bit complicated as compared to Shopify. But, you will get a lot of options once you login to the dashboard. You have to spend more time in setting up a PrestaShop as most of the tasks will be performed manually. 

Which platform has better theme options? 

PrestaShop offers 4,ooo themes (paid and free versions) to the users to design their website. You can choose whatever they need in accordance with the platform, style, and shop category. 

When it comes to theme options, Shopify is far behind the PrestaShop. It offers 10 free starter templates and 50 premium themes for creating a functional website. These themes are responsive and provide a wonderful user experience across different devices. 

Ending Thoughts

Choosing the right platform is the prerequisite for an <a href="https://www.csschopper.com/ecommerce-website-development.shtml">eCommerce website development</a>. Shopify is an ideal option for small size businesses while PrestaShop is recommended for mid and large-sized businesses. You can choose an eCommerce platform based on the size and requirements of the project.