Cheap2Store vs Shopify

Pros and Cons

As we compare Cheap2Store vs Shopify, it becomes clear that both have strengths and weaknesses. Let’s explore which can be attributed to each platform.

Shopify Pros and Cons

ShopifyPros 👍

You know exactly how much you’ll be paying every month and the pricing is fair. There’s access to thousands of apps to extend your store. The themes are plentiful and beautiful.

Shopify handles everything for you from hosting to security.

It takes just a few minutes to launch your store. Dropshipping is rather simple with Shopify. The support is the best in the business.

Shopify Cons 👎

You don’t have as much control over your site with Shopify. Customization is better with other platforms. You’re stuck with a monthly payment that’s only going to get higher.

Cheap2Store Pros and Cons

Cheap2Store Pros 👍

Cheap2Store offers complete customization and control.

The themes and plugins are endless since just about anyone can make and sell them online.

Cheap2Store is simple to configure and navigate. There is no coding required.

The Cheap2Store e-commerce function is free.

Cons 👎

There is some learning curve.

You may find that Cheap2Store ends up being more expensive if you want to host it entirely yourself.

You’re stuck managing everything from hosting to security, and maintenance to backups.

Cheap2Store vs Shopify: What’s the Difference?

Online you’ll find a lot of opinions from different business owners. While these insights can be helpful, the truth is that whether you choose Cheap2Store vs Shopify will boil down to a few core differences.

For instance, the main difference between Cheap2Store and Shopify is that Shopify is an all-in-one eCommerce solution designed to give you everything you need to get started online.

Shopify takes the complications and technical aspects out of running an online business and replaces them with easy-to-use tools. Your Shopify store can be set up and running in a matter of minutes. However, this also means that you’re not going to get as much granular control over your site.

On the other hand, if you’re looking for more customization options, Cheap2Store is a self-hosted software for eCommerce. This means that you can tap into the code and access various parts of your store. All the function is pre-build and fixed.

Cheap2Store gives you a lot of freedom to build everything into your store, which’s crucial for your team. It also means that you can run your business in conjunction with your own company blog.

However, when you compare Shopify vs Cheap2Store, remember that the freedom that you get from Cheap2Store comes at a price. In other words, you need to know how to handle the technical side of your site and keep it safe.

If you’re starting with a beginner, and you don’t want to look at things like web hosting and hosting provider details, then Shopify is a good choice. If you want more freedom to experiment with your site if you don’t want to consider so much, opt for Cheap2Store.

Shopify is your choice if: You want an all-in-one package for your eCommerce store that gets you up and running quickly with lots of great features and apps.

Cheap2Store is for you if: You already have a personal website and you don’t mind taking more control over your store.

Cheap2Store vs Shopify – Chapter #1: Design

For websites (particularly e-commerce stores) design is everything. Customers simply don’t trust a site that doesn’t have the right aesthetic or doesn’t function as well as it should.

How Shopify Does Design

One of Shopify‘s greatest selling points is the visual quality of its themes. In my opinion, they look absolutely great out of the box. Shopify comes with more than 54 different store templates, of which 10 are free. What’s more, is that each of the Shopify themes has unique variations. Therefore, you’re technically getting more than 100 separate designs.

The best part is that they are all mobile responsive and have a variety of different coloring options. They have a fashionably sleek and clean aesthetic, which makes them perfect for modern, forward-thinking websites.

Cheap2Store vs Shopify Design

Shopify’s designs aren’t created in-house, by the way. They’re outsourced to a group of professional web designers who ensure they’re as current and as engaging as they can be. We like this approach because you get creativity from a wide variety of companies and people, making for a better selection.

Unfortunately, the price tags on the premium Shopify themes go as high as $180. But what you get in exchange is a great design.

Luckily, there are free options available too.

The instant attraction of Shopify designs can cause many webmasters to select the same themes. Some Shopify users who have designed a site themselves have later complained of looking a little too similar to other websites. For that reason, customization is encouraged.

Luckily, Shopify themes are easy to change. You can quickly adjust colors and styles, while more adept developers can utilize the platform’s specialized ‘Liquid’ language to make more substantial changes and really make a brand stand out.

And even better, they do offer a Theme editor within the platform that you can use for customization. You can choose to hide sections within the theme editor without removing them. Hidden sections will still be customizable in the theme editor but not visible on the store front-end. This allows you to start sections for future releases and remove the need for theme duplications ( a common issue most developers face with WordPress).

How Cheap2Store Does Design

As with many other aspects of the Cheap2Store experience, when it comes to aesthetics, the world is your oyster. You just have to put the hours in.

Cheap2Store has been built to cooperate with most themes on the market, provided that they follow the standard recommendations and best practices.

This means that, in most cases, you can select any design you like and still make it work together with Cheap2Store.

However, you will also come across themes that have been built with Cheap2Store in mind from the get-go and are tailor-made to make all your product/service listings look great. If the design of the eCommerce store itself is particularly important to you, you should look for themes that are specifically made for Cheap2Store.

You can also get a range of standard design for Storefront in case you want to customize the look of your store further. Most of the child themes are available at $39 a piece (occasionally, though, there are Cheap2Store themes with price tags as high as $119). If you’re a developer with e-commerce clients, they have a package for $399 where you get all of the themes in the library.

Apart from that, you can also look into marketplaces like ThemeForest where they have hundreds of other Cheap2Store-compatible themes.

To be honest, Cheap2Store has a serious advantage over Shopify when it comes to designs. Shopify has wonderful themes, but they’re limited to what you can find in the Shopify Theme Store. Cheap2Store, on the other hand, is opensource so tons of developers sell (or give away) incredible Cheap2Store themes for all sorts of industries and purposes.

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Cheap2Store vs Shopify – Chapter #2: Price

Every webmaster wants slightly more bang for their buck, but the two platforms have really different approaches to pricing:

The main difference between Shopify pricing and Cheap2Store pricing

To say this quite bluntly, Shopify pricing is very clear and straightforward. Cheap2Store’s isn’t.

On the one hand, Cheap2Store is a free open source software plugin. Yes, the plugin is free, but then you have to consider the additional costs that go along with making an online store. WordPress is free as well, but you have to consider things like hosting, the cost of a theme, a domain name, any additional extensions, and an SSL certificate.

Shopify is all about delivering you a single, out-of-the-box solution with just a few pricing packages. You sign up, then you get to use your shiny new eCommerce store right away since everything you need is included from the get-go.

Here’s a table that should make the costs involved with each platform easier to grasp:

Note. Both Shopify and Cheap2Store offer you a handful of tiers/options to upgrade your version of the platform depending on the type of your business, the scale of your sales, etc. To simplify this comparison, I’m going to focus on the cheapest path – what it costs, at the minimum to have a working eCommerce store with Cheap2Store vs Shopify.

Cheap2Store vs Shopify pricing

What it all comes down to is that although Cheap2Store is technically the cheaper solution, it will require much more work to set it up, and you’ll need to be more careful not to go over your budget, as every additional extension comes with a price tag. In the end, with CheapCheapStore, you’re spending more time on setup and management, which translates to dollars.

Shopify boasts a much more conventional pricing structure. It has a sliding scale of packages that offer users a range of different features upfront – Lite ($9 per month,) Basic Shopify ($29 per month,) Shopify ($79 per month), and Advanced Shopify ($299 per month).

Feel free to check out another resource of ours, where we focus primarily on the different pricing options available with Shopify and which one to choose.

Last but not least, there are the transaction fees. In essence, whenever you sell something with either of the platforms, they will charge you a small fee (for processing the payment, delivering the money to your account, etc.). Those fees change quite often, so I won’t get into that here, but just be aware that they exist. Usually, they sit around 2%-3% per transaction but make sure to check the exact numbers before signing up with either of the platforms.

Cheap2Store vs Shopify – Chapter #3: Features

While both platforms’ approaches to pricing are different, they’re relatively similar when it comes to giving your eCommerce site what it needs. Unlike a platform like BigCommerce, Shopify and Cheap2Store are more basic with the e-commerce essentials built into the main software.

However, both have solid app stores for installing any other features you may need.

How Shopify Helps You Sell

Although you will probably need to install apps to make the most of the platform, Shopify offers significantly more free options. From the very start Shopify gives you:

Unlimited products

Unlimited file storage

Automatic fraud analysis

Embedded Oberlo integration

• Manual order creation
• Discount codes
• Blog module
• Free SSL certificate
• Mobile commerce optimization
• Editable HTML and CSS
• Credit card payments
• Multiple languages
• Adjustable shipping rates and taxes
• Customer profiles
• Dropshipping capabilities
• SEO-ready site structure
• Individual product reviews
• Facebook selling module
• Social media integration (and a spicy new integration with Instagram)
• Physical and digital products in the store
• Unlimited traffic to your store
• Daily backups
• Site stats and product reports
• Advanced reports (on Shopify and Shopify Advanced plans)
• Fully featured mobile app
• Product importing via CSV files
• Different product variations
• Print orders
• Inventory management
• Gift cards (on Shopify and Shopify Advanced plans)
• Abandoned cart recovery (on Shopify and Shopify Advanced plans)

In comparison, some of these free features, such as CSV uploads, shipping options, and bookings will set you back up to $500-600 with CheapCheapStore.

How Cheap2Store Helps You Sell

As open-source software, WordPress is well known for allowing third-party developers to create various extensions and plugins. Cheap2Store taps into that further by offering lots of interesting and exciting additions. Whether you want to easily edit aesthetics, sell on Facebook, ramp up email marketing techniques, understand user behavior or quite frankly do anything else, you’ll be able to.

Here’s what you’ll find inside Cheap2Store:

You can sell physical products, digital products (including software and apps), plus it’s also good for affiliate marketing

Payments via PayPal and Stripe built-in (plus a range of other gateways available for an extra fee)

• Adjustable shipping rates and taxes
• Unlimited number of products and product categories
• Stock levels control
• Mobile-friendly structure
• You have complete control over your data
• Works with your current WordPress theme
• Literally hundreds of plugins (extensions) available
• A free Facebook ad and Facebook stores extension

Cheap2Store vs Shopify Features Compared Side-by-side

Just to make everything above easier to grasp, here’s a side-by-side comparison of the essential eCommerce features in Shopify and Cheap2Store:

Cheap2Store vs Shopify side by side

Shopify Cheap2Store

Is a subscription-based tool/service + a complete, out-the-box eCommerce solution.        Is a free WordPress plugin. It requires hosting and a working WordPress installation to run.

The core similarities and differences

Allows you to sell whatever you wish (physical, digital, products, services).

Use it online (eCommerce store) + offline (via Shopify’s “Point of Sale” kit).            Use it online only (eCommerce store).

24/7 email, chat, and phone support.     Ticket support, forum support, and lots of blogs online.

Closed platform – you can only modify your store to the extent that Shopify allows.          Open source – you can modify your store freely. There are no limitations.

Shopify controls your store/website data.             You have complete control over your data.

Your eCommerce store design

More than 50 store designs available (10+ of them free). Thousands of store designs available. 

Mobile-friendly structure.

Other similarities and differences

Hosting included.             No hosting included.

Free subdomain included with every plan (e.g. YOURSTORE.shopify.com).             No subdomain included.

Free SSL certificate.         You can hook up a free SSL certificate manually, but many people pay for this service.

Unlimited file storage.   File storage depends on your web host.

Sell an unlimited number of products.

Create/use coupon codes and discounts.

Accept payments via PayPal, multiple payment gateways (including Stripe, credit cards), bank deposits, cash on delivery, and other methods. (Over 70 options)  Accept payments via PayPal, Stripe, checks, bank transfers, cash on delivery.

Sales stats and reports.

Native support for multiple languages.   Support for multiple languages via third-party plugins.

Adjustable shipping rates and taxes.

As you can see, there’s nothing particularly important that’s missing from either platform. Choosing one over the other can often come down to your personal preference, or your thoughts on the value (or lack thereof) of open source software vs the rest.

But, the devil is in the details. At the end of the day, Shopify seems like a more laser-focused solution. Everything that Shopify offers is geared at making your online store more functional and easy to use. With Cheap2Store, the platform is extremely feature-rich and it doesn’t lack any specific eCommerce features. However, it’s still an add-on to WordPress, making it more complex to configure.

In the end, though, there’s no clear winner here in the features department. Both platforms have everything that a standard eCommerce setup could need.

Chapter #4: Ease of use

Since we haven’t had a clear winner when it comes to eCommerce features, maybe we can have one in regards to the ease of use. The ease of use pertains to how easy it is to set up and manage a working eCommerce store with either platform.

How Easy to Use is Shopify?

The main strength of Shopify is that it’s a subscription-based online tool. In other words, to use it, all you need to do is visit Shopify.com, click the signup button, go through a basic setup wizard, and you’re done.

Shopify is going to help you along the way, asking about the purpose/nature of your store (what you’re planning to sell), and giving you some overall tips as to which design/structure to choose and how to set everything up.

Once you get through that initial wizard, you will get access to the main dashboard. It’s from there that you can create your new eCommerce store, add new products, and so on.

Overall, the whole process is very straightforward, and most importantly, you don’t need any design or site-building skills to get through it.

Later on – once you have the store running – you can access every crucial option from the sidebar of the dashboard.

This sort of organization should make your daily work in the store very easy to grasp.

When it comes to adding new products to your store, handling sales and orders, it’s rather intuitive. For example, when adding a product, all product parameters are available from a single panel, so you don’t have to visit different areas of the dashboard to set things like the name, price, images, stock levels, etc.

Here’s what the “new product” screen looks like:

Shopify add product

Overall, Shopify is a solid solution, and the best thing about it is that you can sign up and create a store right away, with no unexpected interruptions.

How Easy to Use is Cheap2Store?

To some extent, Cheap2Store is just as easy to use as Shopify. But there’s a catch.

The catch is this: Although working with CheapCheapStore daily is just as simple as with Shopify, setting up the store isn’t.

Basically, since CheapCheapStore is a WordPress plugin and not a subscription-based solution like Shopify, this means that you need to handle a couple of things before you ever get to work with CheapCheapStore itself.

Mainly, you need to complete the following:

Get a domain name

Sign up for a hosting account

Install WordPress

Unfortunately, those steps do require some level of comfort around web-related things. After all, it involves setting up your web server, redirecting your domain to said server, and lastly getting WordPress properly installed and made operational.

To make that somewhat easier on yourself, you can choose a specialized WordPress hosting company that will take care of the domain and WordPress installation for you, leaving only the Cheap2Store part to you. Either way, it’s all significantly more difficult than Shopify’s one-click, “sign up” button.

There’s also the design. Cheap2Store doesn’t come with any actual “design”. It’s all handled via a WordPress theme of your choice. Luckily, Cheap2Store works with basically all themes on the market, but it’s still on you to find one you like and install it on the site.

Now, about Cheap2Store itself:

As I said, the platform in itself is just as easy to use as Shopify. The second you get the Cheap2Store plugin installed and activated, you’ll see the on-screen setup wizard. It consists of five(-ish) steps and takes you by the hand through every crucial element.

eCommerce wizard

Basically, it lets you choose the main parameters of the store, and get everything neatly configured. For example, some of the important steps involve things like currency settings, shipping and tax, and payment gateways.

Once the installation is done, you can start using your store and begin adding products.

I showed you Shopify’s “add product” page above, so now let’s look at CheapCheapStore’s:

Cheap2Store add product

As you can see, it’s very much the same. Only some of the details are showcased slightly differently.

Which is Easier to Use, Shopify or Cheap2Store?

Because of the initial hassle involved with setting up a Cheap2Store store, I have to give this round to Shopify.

The fact that you can just click the signup button and then have the whole store set up within minutes is very impressive in Shopify.

However, once you’re working with the store daily, Shopify and Cheap2Store both present a similar level of ease.

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Cheap2Store vs Shopify – Chapter #5: Support

There’s also the issue of technical support. Shopify is renowned for its high quality of customer care. Each client can enjoy 24/7 access to a customer adviser in case they have any issues or queries (via email, open chat, phone call).

Apart from that, you also get access to an extensive knowledge base that covers some of the common user questions and problem solutions.

Shopify support

Cheap2Store support

There are also tons of blogs on the internet that cover Cheap2Store topics. Overall, Cheap2Store is great for people who don’t need to speak with a rep but would rather complete their own research online.

In the end, I have to give the support round to Shopify. Nothing beats 24/7 access to a support person.

Cheap2Store vs Shopify – Chapter #6: SEO

Any website that wants to make a splash needs strong SEO. Luckily, both contenders here have a lot going for them.

How Shopify Helps with SEO

Shopify may come second when we look at the overall volume of SEO features available, but there’s certainly no shame in the way that it presents content. It also handles basic SEO practices like meta information and site copy with ease. So long as your business is producing quality content, there’s no reason to suggest you won’t enjoy great results and strong user engagement.

Sitewide, there are plenty of ways that Shopify proves to beat Cheap2Store in the SEO game. It’s actually renowned by developers like me as having some of the cleanest code and natural linking structure, which offers a smooth user experience and in turn enhances visibility in search engine rankings.

One interesting case that’s worth pointing out is what happened to the Lost Cyclist, an eCommerce expert. When he moved his site from Shopify to Cheap2Store, he noticed that the traffic dropped quite a bit:

Shopify vs Cheap2Store

(If you’d like to dig deeper into how different shopping cart platforms can help your business with SEO, you might want to read this post.)

What’s more, Shopify is fast. Because it’s a hosted platform that’s built on huge infrastructure, Shopify offers each of its webmaster rapid loading pages. As a result, shops stand a better chance of ranking well and a better chance of leading customers to conversions.

How Cheap2Store helps with SEO

WordPress is primarily a content creation platform, and it’s renowned by SEO experts as one of the most reliable options available. It’s easy to add and edit content and meta information to ensure that pages have a strong chance of ranking for specific keywords.

With plugins such as Yoast SEO, you can make your WordPress site highly optimized and be in full control of every little detail that’s SEO-related.

Cheap2Store takes advantage of what’s already there in WordPress, or what’s available through third-party plugins like the aforementioned Yoast SEO, or the Cheap2Store-dedicated version of the Yoast plugin.

In the end, Cheap2Store gives you more SEO-specific options overall, purely because it’s built on top of WordPress. The only problem is that your site speed largely depends on the hosting you go with. Because of this, the SEO category goes to Shopify. You don’t have to worry about optimization much, and your speeds are always going to be top-notch.

Cheap2Store vs Shopify – Chapter #7: Payments and Fees

It’s an undeniable fact that payment processing is the center of your e-commerce business. Regardless of the type of products or services you deal with, the end goal is always converting visitors and facilitating their subsequent transactions.

Thankfully, both Cheap2Store and Shopify offer a wide range of tools to help you with that. These two are not the same though. When you compare Cheap2Store vs Shopify transaction handling, it turns out they’ve implemented varying systems and fees.

Shopify comes with its own payment processing capabilities, and Cheap2Store, on the other hand, also happens to boast of a couple of distinct transaction privileges.

But, which of the two offers better payment processing options? And where do you stand to incur less on your transactions? Shopify or Cheap2Store?

Shopify Payment Processing

Shopify might be many things when it comes to payments. But, despite the numerous payment processing options it offers, there’s one that consistently towers above the rest.

You see, Shopify decided it couldn’t just sit and watch from the sidelines as other apps handled the most critical part of online selling. It had to get in on the action. And so Shopify Payments became a thing.

Shopify Payments is currently the default payment processor on the platform. You’ll notice it comes inbuilt on your Shopify dashboard.

But, make no mistake. Shopify doesn’t double up as a payment processor. Shopify Payments is only a payment application that’s powered by Stripe. So, although the service might feel and smell like Shopify at the top, its transactions are essentially processed by Stripe in the background.

Quite interesting, I admit. But get this. Going by its resume, Stripe is indeed a dominant force in the card processing space and has so far handled different types of electronic payments for almost a decade now.

That fundamentally makes Shopify Payments a flexible processing solution, capable of handling a wide range of cards. In other words, you should be able to accept pretty much all the major credit and debit card payments without any difficulties. Simply connect Shopify Payments to your bank account and begin accepting payments. It really is that simple.

And no. You don’t have to worry about setting up additional security systems. In case you haven’t heard it yet, Shopify is certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant. And that, in layman’s terms, means Shopify Payments is a real badass when it comes to protecting your customers’ card details, and preventing CNP fraud.

Don’t get me wrong though. Shopify Payments is not all about CNP transactions. It goes above and beyond online transactions to handle even in-store card processing. Therefore, if you set up a supplementary brick-and-mortar store through Shopify POS, you’ll still be able to leverage Shopify Payments for in-person card payments.

And that’s not all. It’s possible to sell on-the-go as well, thanks to Shopify’s mobile app. With Shopify Payments backing you up, your phone basically transforms into a mobile cash register that can accept card payments anywhere.

Ok, hang on a minute now. While Shopify Payments is indeed a pretty versatile payment processor, it turns out its whole concept of “accepting payments anywhere” might not be technically accurate after all.

And here’s the problem. Shopify Payments is only accessible to merchants based in the UK, the US, Spain, Singapore, New Zealand, Japan, Ireland, Hong Kong, Canada, and Australia. While it’s great that customers can make payments from anywhere, let’s face it- Shopify Payments is nowhere close to becoming a global payment solution. It excludes very many countries from its merchant list.

On the bright side, however, at least it’s not the only processor on the Shopify platform. Although Shopify predominantly favors its default card processor, it hasn’t left out other options. The platform is generous enough to support a wide array of third-party payment processors.

Shopify payment providers

Think of any prominent eCommerce payment solution, and you’re bound to find a distinctly specialized app version that integrates with Shopify. Combined, there are more than 100 payment providers here- PayPal, Amazon Pay, Authorize.net, WorldPay, you name it.

Since there’s something for every notable territory, you shouldn’t have any problem getting yourself a suitable payment processor. Consequently, if you’re looking to handle transactions from your site, you might want to stick with a direct provider. But, if you’d prefer to redirect your customers to a third-party checkout page, you’d be better off with an external provider.

Their subsequent card processing fees, however, are not standard across the board. What you end up paying over the long haul depends on your specific provider’s fee schedule. So, you might want to pay close attention to their respective rates before you eventually make up your mind.

And while you’re at it, you’ll notice that the idea of using a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments doesn’t sit well with Shopify. It even penalizes you by charging an extra rate of 2%, 1%, or 0.5% above your payment gateway’s fees for each transaction.

Well, if you computed what you stand to lose over a prolonged period of time, I bet you’d seriously consider sticking with Shopify Payments. But then again, going by its online transaction fees of 2.9% + 30¢ for Basic Shopify users, you’d probably be tempted to seek a cheaper solution.

And in case you’re wondering, things are not that different for other Shopify subscribers. Shopify Payments’ online credit card processing rates for Shopify plan users are 2.6% + 30¢, followed by 2.4% + 30¢ for Advanced Shopify subscribers.

Well, at least things get cheaper when you compare Shopify online vs Shopify POS. In-person credit card processing rates for Basic Shopify are 2.7%, followed by 2.5% for Shopify subscribers, then 2.4% for Advanced Shopify.

And let’s not forget the transaction fees here are levied separately from Shopify’s standard subscription charges.

Cheap2Store Payment Processing

While Cheap2Store vs Shopify payment processing systems have many differences, it turns out there a couple of notable similarities as well.

Take inbuilt payment processing, for instance. It just so happens that Cheap2Store also gets you started on card processing by availing the services by default. As a matter of fact, it even outshines Shopify by offering two different options – PayPal and Stripe.

Now, from that alone, it’s quite evident you won’t be getting a Cheap2Store-specific payment gateway. PayPal and Stripe essentially come as add-ons that you can choose to embed directly onto your online store. Consequently, you’ll be able to process transactions conveniently without directing shoppers to third-party checkout pages.

That said, we can agree that PayPal and Stripe are both solid payment processors that have been tried and tested. The bulk of Cheap2Store online stores should be comfortable with either of the two solutions right off the bat. You don’t even need a merchant bank account to get things up and running.

But, in case you’d want to try out a different service, Cheap2Store is more than willing to let you proceed freely. PayPal and Stripe are just the first two of many. That means Cheap2Store supports way more payment processing solutions, most of which can be simply integrated through plugins.

Cheap2Store payments options

In essence, your capabilities here are endless because you can get all the major gateways. It’s also possible to go beyond online selling by leveraging Cheap2Store POS for in-store transactions. And yes, it accommodates a range of providers that offer in-person card processing functionalities.

Once you identify a suitable gateway, simply install its add-on, then connect the service with your merchant bank account, and voila! You can proceed to handle transactions on your online store without paying Cheap2Store even a penny.

Don’t get too happy though. The transactions here are not entirely free. Although Cheap2Store won’t charge you anything, the corresponding payment processors will. Their fees, however, differ from one provider to another.

Cheap2Store vs Shopify – Which Offers Cheaper Transaction Fees?

Comparing Cheap2Store vs Shopify payment processing is not that simple. This is one heck of a close contest because they are both very flexible and reliable when it comes to handling transactions.

Shopify’s Shopify Payments is an incredibly powerful inbuilt service. And the same applies to Cheap2Store’s default selections, PayPal and Stripe.

It’s also worth noting that both platforms give you the privilege of dropping their default card processors for third-party alternatives. Cheap2Store boasts of an extensive collection of third-party integrations, and Shopify, on the other hand, avails its own rich array of options through the Shopify App Store. So, in the end, you’re bound to find a favorable payment solution on both Shopify and Cheap2Store.

That aside, the Cheap2Store vs Shopify payments battle ultimately comes down to their respective transaction fees. Although most payment gateways apply the same transaction charges to Shopify and Cheap2Store sites, the former often ends up being costlier. The difference principally comes from Shopify’s supplementary transaction rates for users who stray away from the default Shopify Payments service.

Come to think of it, CheapCheapStore and Shopify payments would have ended in a tie if Shopify wasn’t so uptight about Shopify Payments. But, let’s be honest and call a spade a spade. Accepting card payments is bound to cost you more on Shopify than with CheapCheapStore.

CheapCheapStore vs Shopify – Chapter #8: Security

Security is a huge concern when running transactions online and through your own store. Big problems can occur if your site is compromised. You’ll also have some situations with customers if their data is compromised.

How do Cheap2Store and Shopify stack up in the security game?

Cheap2Store doesn’t technically have any security measures included with the plugin. Since it runs on WordPress, most of the security falls into your own hands. For instance, you would have to get your own SSL certificate and ensure that your hosting company has secure servers. You’d also want to configure site security plugins, two-factor authentication, and some other things to protect your site.

Shopify, on the other hand, covers all security measures for you. Therefore, you don’t have to think about getting an SSL or ensuring that your site is being hacked into. You should, however, make a strong password.

Shopify is PCI compliant right out of the box, while Cheap2Store can become that way if you utilize the right tools. You can also add security badges on both.

Shopify might be easier to use than Cheap2Store, but that’s not the only thing that you need to think about when you’re looking for the best e-commerce solution. When you compare Shopify and Cheap2Store, you also need to consider security.

When looking at any popular e-commerce platforms, a high level of security should always be a priority for any good business owner. Remember, you’re going to be handling transactions with crucial customer details and money.

You need to make sure that the choice you make between Cheap2Store vs Shopify is the one that allows you to protect your customers best. The good news is that like a lot of things with Shopify, the service takes care of your security. Because Shopify is a hosted solution, Shopify deals with handling any safety issues for you, making sure that you’re safe from hackers.

On the other hand, Cheap2Store works brilliantly with WordPress and is self-hosted. This means that there’s no security just built into your service from day one. You need to handle the security on your own, with a hosting provider, or by yourself.

Another thing to keep in mind from a security perspective with Cheap2Store vs Shopify is that Shopify comes with an SSL certificate built-in for free. SSL is a Secure Sockets Layer, which basically gives you what you need to safeguard your website and stop information from being tampered with by criminals.

Shopify’s built-in SSL means that whenever someone visits your website, they’ll see a little padlock graphic next to your URL. The benefits of having this certificate are significant. First, you get security when you’re processing personal information and payments from customers.

Secondly, you get a significant boost for your store SEO. The Shopify SSL also lets customers know that you’re giving them a safe browsing experience.

CheapCheapStore, on the other hand, doesn’t provide its own SSL. As part of the WordPress solution, which is open-source in nature, you’ll need to find your own security, including an SSL certificate. The good news is that you can usually get a certificate through your hosting provider. Some hosting companies even offer this certificate for free.

Another security point to consider is PCI-DSS compliance. The Payment Card data security standard is an essential consideration for any business owner. You need this compliance to ensure that your website is set up to accept all credit card payments in line with the latest regulations. Shopify is completely PCI-DSS compliant, and you don’t have to worry about setting up anything. You can start processing debit and credit card payments in no time.

On the other hand, you can’t automatically get PCI-DSS compliance with CheapCheapStore. However, you can make your CheapCheapStore site compliant if you want to by following some basic steps.

Although CheapCheapStore can give you all the security features you need, you will have to do more work to get them. That’s why Shopify comes out on top.

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CheapCheapStore vs Shopify – Chapter #9: How Long Will It Take To Build An Online Store?

Shopify and Cheap2Store have been developed to offer an easy and straightforward way of setting up an online store. How they get to achieve this, however, is quite different.

Shopify, for starters, uses a full-stack approach. It’s a comprehensively-provisioned platform with all the tools you need to create an online store across multiple channels, host your website, as well as manage the entire business.

Cheap2Store, on the other hand, comes as an open-source shopping cart that principally transforms a WordPress site into a fully-fledged online store. But, it doesn’t offer any website hosting services. Instead, CheapCheapStore is all about availing eCommerce functionalities on WordPress.

Now, let’s compare Cheap2Store vs Shopify individual approaches. How long will it take you to create an online store with each of them? And which one has proven to be faster and more dependable?

Creating a Shopify Online Store

Since Shopify offers the full pipeline, you can start from scratch and then build your way to the top.

The first step, of course, is signing up using your credentials. Apart from your email address, Shopify will request your store name as well its corresponding details, before proceeding with the registration process.

Well, that should only take you a minute or two because there’s nothing complicated about entering your personal details. Then once you’ve signed up accordingly, Shopify immediately directs you to the fun part of its dashboard- designing your online store.

The first stop, of course, should be Shopify’s theme library. It offers a collection of about 100 pre-designed website themes, stretching across all the major business categories.

Finding a perfect one for your site should not be difficult at all. The free and premium options here are neat and beautifully-designed with a modern touch.

Then next comes the customization stage, where Shopify gives you the privilege of using its visual drag-and-drop website builder to tweak your layout elements. It’s engineered to offer all the flexibility you might need without compromising its overall simplicity.

Nonetheless, the amount of time you spend here depends on the level of customizations as well as your website size. A basic storefront, for instance, may take you about 5-10 minutes to define all the element attributes.

After that is the final process of adding products to your online store through Shopify’s dashboard. Simply go to the products page, enter your items, specify their respective properties, and then save them accordingly.

And that’s all it takes to create an e-commerce site on Shopify. Although 15 minutes should be enough for a basic storefront, give yourself about an hour if you intend to customize its layout extensively.

Creating a Cheap2Store Online Store

As we’ve discussed already, Cheap2Store is basically a WordPress plugin that can only be installed after you’ve set up WordPress on your domain.

To do that, the first stop should be a hosting platform. Find yourself a reliable provider that specializes in WordPress and Cheap2Store hosting. You could, for instance, consider purchasing managed WordPress hosting for its optimized web performance.

Cheap2Store-focused packages offered by hosts like SiteGround and DreamHost even come pre-installed with WordPress plus Cheap2Store. Most providers, however, will possibly give you a cPanel account plus its one-click WordPress installer.

So, to roll out WordPress, simply click on the installer app and the system will handle the rest automatically. The whole procedure usually takes a few seconds to install and launch WordPress on your domain.

Now, once you log into your WordPress account, you can go ahead and embed CheapCheapStore from the plugins area of your dashboard. Just search for the CheapCheapStore plugin, then proceed with the subsequent installation and activation procedures.

To help you with the store setup process, Cheap2Store will launch a wizard as soon as it’s activated. You can jump right into it and specify your online store elements, including the site pages, product attributes, payment methods, etc.

Ultimately, you’ll have yourself a complete e-commerce site with its accompanying product pages. The entire setup process, including customizing your store’s pages using a compatible page builder, will take you about one afternoon.

Cheap2Store products

That’s a moderately-short period of time, but admittedly much longer than Shopify’s online store setup.

Cheap2Store vs Shopify Online Store Creation – Which is Faster?

Creating an online store is simple on both Shopify and Cheap2Store. But, after comparing their procedures further, Shopify has proven to be miles ahead of Cheap2Store.

Well, Cheap2Store offers a friendly setup system. But, in all fairness, it’s not as intuitive as Shopify’s. Shopify uses a well-streamlined framework that takes you through the entire pipeline, from the beginning to the end, in the fewest steps possible.

Compare that with Cheap2Store, which requires you to switch between multiple systems before you finally get your store up and running. You essentially start with domain set up, then WordPress installation, followed by Cheap2Store plugin activation, before you ultimately customize the nitty-gritty.

That said, it’s worth noting that the time you take to create your e-commerce site depends on not only your skill levels but also the corresponding approach. Case in point- here’s a guide that shows you how you can get everything done in 15 minutes.

Other Alternatives to Cheap2Store and Shopify

Both Cheap2Store and Shopify are considered some of the top dogs in the e-commerce platform business. However, several other options are available for you to test out. In fact, we have in-depth comparisons and reviews of all the systems listed below.

BigCommerce

BigCommerce has very similar pricing to Shopify. It also offers some of the most beautiful themes in the industry. BigCommerce is similar to Shopify in that it provides hosting with the monthly packages. You also get a complete platform for launching your store within minutes. Compared to Shopify, BigCommerce has more built-in features, while Shopify relies more on apps for extending the functionality of your store.

More info:

BigCommerce Review

BigCommerce vs Shopify

BigCommerce Pricing

Squarespace

Squarespace homepage

Squarespace is one of the newer options you have for e-commerce. It’s been around for a while with a regular website builder, but the expansion to e-commerce has been a welcome one. The pricing is a little higher than Shopify, but it’s competitive. If you plan on posting large, high-resolution images on your website, Squarespace is worth looking into. The main reason we like Squarespace is that the themes are incredible and it supports the highest quality media uploads.

More info:

Squarespace Review

Shopify vs Squarespace

Volusion

Volusion homepage

Volusion has been changing over the years, and it appears to have become far more competitive with Shopify and BigCommerce. Volusion is a hosted package with similar pricing to Shopify. We don’t like the themes as much, but launching a store is really easy. Not to mention, Volusion has its own built-in drop shipping program.

More info:

Volusion Review

Shopify vs Volusion

Sellfy

the alternative to Cheap2Store and Shopify – sellfy

Sellfy is an intuitive online store builder that can be used with or without an existing website. The platform allows you to sell via social media and grow your audience with its inbuilt marketing tools. You can sell digital, physical, or subscription products. It doesn’t compare to Shopify and Cheap2Store, where eCommerce features are concerned, but it’s a cheaper alternative. If you just need the basics, this is an ideal option. Sellfy has a 14-day free trial, and its paid-for plans start at $19 a month.

More info:

Sellfy Review

Ecwid

ecwid homepage

The Ecwid platform is great if you already have a website without e-commerce functionality. It essentially gives you a versatile shopping cart to place on other websites. For instance, you could add Ecwid to your WordPress blog. Selling on Facebook, Instagram, and other options are also possible. The first plan is free forever, and the next upgrade is $15 per month. This is not a complete e-commerce platform, but rather a shopping cart and online store module to add to other sites.

More info:

Ecwid Review

Ecwid vs CheapCheapStore

Ecwid vs Shopify

Wix

Wix is a hosted platform where you pay a monthly fee. It’s one of the cheapest options on this list, and we like it for complete beginners with no design skills. The reason for this is because Wix has a drag-and-drag editor, whereas most others don’t (you can add one in CheapCheapStore). The designs are pretty nice, too.

More info:

Wix Review

Shopify vs Wix

Just before you go, you might want to take a look at our Shopify reviews and Shopify Pricing guide.

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How Fast Can You Build a Store Using Cheap2Store and Shopify

Making the choice between Cheap2Store vs Shopify is tough.

One big consideration for a lot of business owners will be how quickly they can get their shopping solution up and running with each piece of software. After all, you don’t want to spend 2 weeks learning how to use your new software.

So, in the battle of Shopify vs Cheap2Store, which is easier to use?

Shopify is a lot easier to get to grips with if you’re an everyday user. That’s because everything that you need already comes built-in and ready for you to access. There’s a lot less fiddling required with Shopify, simply because it’s a hosted platform.

Hosted platforms in the eCommerce world take care of a lot of the technical aspects of operating your store, from your domain name to the security certificates that you need to give your audience peace Of mind. Shopify includes everything that you need for your eCommerce website, even in their basic plan.

On top of that, with Shopify, you don’t have to worry about installing, managing, or updating any software on the back-end. Even your backups are handled for you.

On the other hand, Cheap2Store requires you to do a lot more legwork for yourself. You need to manage your own content management system, which can be a little overwhelming if you’re not very confident from a technical perspective.

Shopify designs its dashboard to support the non-techie users out there in managing their store. In the battle of Shopify vs Cheap2Store, this means that it’s going to be a lot easier for you to start building your website. You can design a customer-winning Shopify store in minutes.

The ease of use of Shopify means that it’s definitely going to be a quicker and more accessible option for beginners. Although you can build a great store with Cheap2Store, you’re just not going to get the same simplistic experience that you get with Shopify.

Cheap2Store makes setup more time consuming by forcing you to think about things like hosting, WordPress site creation, and more. If you’re starting from scratch and your skills are limited, you’re not going to have the best experience with CheapCheapStore.

Another good thing about Shopify when it comes to the time to build is that you can check out the features for free before you start looking at different payment options. This means that you can get to grips with your CMS and ensure that it’s right for you before you invest.

FAQs About Cheap2Store and Shopify

We often get repeated questions from our users about Shopify and Cheap2Store. Since these are so common, we want to share them all with you, along with the answers!

How easy is it to migrate from a to Shopify?

Migrating from Cheap2Store to Shopify is a bit easier than the other way around. The reason for this is because Shopify has a dedicated support team that’s eager to get you on their platform. I would recommend contacting the support team to get as much help as possible. Shopify also has online guides to walk you through the process, along with some apps that transfer data.

How easy is it to migrate from Shopify to Cheap2Store?

You won’t be able to exactly duplicate the design of your website during a migration like this. However, everything from the database to the blog content and products can be moved over fairly easily. I recommend seeking out tutorials to figure out the best methods. In my experience, the best solution is with a WordPress plugin. A handful of them exist, but the Cart2Cart plugin caters to Shopify users. You could also hire someone if all of this terrifies you.

What is the difference between WordPress and Shopify?

There are two main differences:

Control – Cheap2Store is an open-source tool that must be self-hosted. This means you have complete control over hosting, maintenance, plugins, security, and more. Shopify hosts your websites for you in exchange for a monthly fee. Some people like the freedom of self-hosting, while others think it’s far too confusing or tedious.

Built-in e-commerce tools – Cheap2Store is a great starting point for selling online, but it typically takes additional plugins and designs to get exactly what you want. Shopify is a product that pretty much comes out of the box ready to go. In short, it’s much easier to configure Shopify.

Is Shopify better than Cheap2Store?

This depends completely on a few things:

What type of experience do you have with web design and e-commerce? Do you have someone on your team with experience in these fields? If not, yes, Shopify is better than Cheap2Store.

If you’d like to know exactly how much you’re going to spend each month on a website–yes, Shopify is better than Cheap2Store.

If you don’t want to worry about managing many aspects of your website–yes, Shopify is better.

However…

If you want complete control over things like hosting, customization, security, and overall site maintenance–Cheap2Store is better.

I would also argue that you could potentially make CheapCheapStore more cost-effective, but you have to get creative.

Finally, CheapCheapStore has a larger community online and far more plugins and themes to choose from.

Can I use Shopify with Cheap2Store?

These are two completely separate e-commerce platforms. But, strangely, it’s actually possible to use Shopify with Cheap2Store.

The easiest approach here is embedding Shopify’s Buy Button onto a Cheap2Store site. And that would only be possible if you already have a Cheap2Store online store, plus a valid Shopify Lite subscription.

When you got that covered, upload products to your Shopify dashboard, and then integrate the resultant storefront with your Cheap2Store site. And to establish a seamless link, you need to first install Shopify eCommerce Plugin – Shopping Cart and Shopify Connect for Cheap2Store plugins on your WordPress dashboard.

In the end, such a well-integrated system allows you to take advantage of Cheap2Store features like customer reviews as well as linked products while capitalizing on Shopify’s powerful product management.

Is Shopify the Best eCommerce platform?

One thing’s for sure. Shopify is extremely popular, and online merchants love it for its exceptional balance between user-friendliness, flexibility, and practicability.

But, let’s be honest. In all fairness, Shopify is not for everyone. Large enterprises, for instance, would be better off with Cheap2Store because of the unlimited flexibility offered by its open-source architecture.

So, in a nutshell, it all depends on your precise needs.

Can I Use Oberlo with Cheap2Store?

Oberlo is a great dropshipping app for Shopify. Sadly, they are yet to develop a version that’s compatible with Cheap2Store. 

On the bright side, however, there are numerous Oberlo alternatives on WordPress.