Every ecommerce project starts with the same conversation: Shopify or custom? Both are valid. The right choice depends on your business model, brand ambitions, and unit economics.
When Shopify wins
Shopify is the correct answer for most stores under $5M ARR.
Pick Shopify when:
- You sell physical products with standard fulfilment
- Your business model fits the Shopify data model (products, variants, orders)
- You want fastest time-to-market
- Your team doesn't have engineering capacity to maintain custom infrastructure
- Standard payment flows work for you
Shopify handles: hosting, PCI compliance, payment processing, order management, inventory, tax, shipping, refunds, abandoned carts, email marketing integration. All of it. Reliably. For $79–$399/month.
When custom wins
Custom is the correct answer for:
- Business models that don't fit standard commerce (subscription with configuration, made-to-order products with complex specs, wholesale + retail with different pricing tiers)
- Brands where the shopping experience IS the product (luxury, fashion editorial, niche communities)
- Multi-brand groups needing shared inventory but different storefronts
- International operations with complex tax + currency requirements Shopify can't handle
- Businesses over ~$10M ARR where Shopify's transaction fees + platform limitations start to bite
When headless commerce wins
Headless commerce = Shopify's backend + custom frontend. Best of both worlds. But not free.
Pick headless when:
- You want Shopify's operational backbone (inventory, orders, tax, PCI)
- You want custom frontend for brand experience (Next.js, Astro, Nuxt)
- Your team can maintain both sides
- SEO and Core Web Vitals matter and stock Shopify themes can't get you there
Headless is roughly 2–3× the initial cost of stock Shopify but delivers materially better performance, brand control, and long-term flexibility.
Cost comparison
Stock Shopify (standard theme, minor customisation):
- Build: $3,000–$8,000
- Monthly: $79 (Basic) to $399 (Advanced)
- Transaction fees: 2.9% + 30¢ (Stripe or Shopify Payments)
- Total 3-year cost: ~$15,000
Headless Shopify (custom Next.js/Astro frontend + Shopify backend):
- Build: $15,000–$40,000
- Monthly: $399 (Advanced Shopify) + hosting ~$50–$200
- Transaction fees: 2.9% + 30¢
- Total 3-year cost: ~$40,000
Fully custom (Medusa, Saleor, custom):
- Build: $30,000–$100,000+
- Monthly: hosting $200–$1,500, third-party services $100–$500
- Payment processing: direct Stripe rates
- Total 3-year cost: ~$60,000+
- No transaction fees to platform
The scale-up trigger
If you're on stock Shopify and hitting these numbers, it's time to look at headless or custom:
- Revenue over $5M annually
- More than 50,000 monthly visitors
- Core Web Vitals failing on Shopify theme
- Conversion rate below 1.5% (theme constraints hurting UX)
- Custom pricing/discount logic you keep working around
Migration considerations
Moving OFF Shopify is a real project. Products, customers, orders, redirects, SEO all need careful migration. Budget $10,000–$30,000 for a proper platform migration.
Moving ON to Shopify from a legacy platform is usually easier because Shopify's data model is standard.
What we ship for clients
- Under $1M ARR, standard products: Stock Shopify with a customised theme. $5,000–$10,000 build.
- $1M–$10M ARR, brand-forward: Headless Shopify with Next.js or Astro frontend. $20,000–$40,000 build.
- Over $10M ARR or non-standard business model: Fully custom on Medusa/Saleor. $50,000+ build.
If you're not sure which bracket you're in, that's the first conversation we have in a discovery call. Book one if it's worth 30 minutes to save six months of wrong platform.