Quick Summary
Are you a creator or influencer trying to up your game with the audience? Selling cool, trendy merchandise can be a surefire way to do it. You need a website suitable for both POD (print-on-demand) and subscription models. This way, you can sell your merch and offer exclusive members-only content. That’s where a platform like Sellfy comes in.
Sellfy is an outstanding platform for setting up a quick eStore and selling subscriptions, digital products, and print-on-demand items. But when you want to sell anything online, isn’t Shopify the first platform to consider? Well, yes, thanks to Shopify’s user-friendliness and advanced features. But how do these two platforms differ?
This blog compares Sellfy vs Shopify on key factors and offers insights on which is better in which cases. But first, let’s look at what these platforms are and how they compare one-to-one.
| Factor | Sellfy | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Starts from $22 per month. | Starts from $29. |
| Transaction Fees | No transaction fees. | Starts from 0.6%. |
| Ease of Use | Simple and beginner-friendly. | Easy to use but has a steeper learning curve for beginners. |
| Digital Products | Dedicated platform for selling digital products. | Can sell digital products but requires add-on extensions. |
| Design & Customization | Customization is limited; not as many themes as compared to Shopify. | Higher number of themes and custom coding for design personalization. |
| Payment Processing | PayPal and Stripe (options are limited). | Over 100 payment gateways are available and supported. |
| Marketing & SEO | Built-in tools for email marketing and discounts. | Built-in tools available for email marketing, social media integration, and more. |
Sellfy is an all-in-one e-commerce platform perfect for selling digital products, subscriptions, and print-on-demand items. With Sellfy, individual creators, influencers, and freelancers can set up professional e-commerce stores to sell their offerings to their target audience in no time.
Unlike some of the other top e-commerce platforms, you don’t need a separate hosting for your Sellfy-based store.
This platform offers a drag-and-drop builder, automatic delivery for digital products, and basic marketing tools. If you are trying to start an e-store with a minimal setup and reach your target consumers, then Sellfy is a suitable option.
Here are a few key features of Sellfy and how they help your online store.
| Pros of Sellfy | Cons of Sellfy |
|---|---|
| ✓ User-friendly setup and easy to use interface, even for the beginners.✓ Perfect for creators and influencers trying to sell digital products and print-on-demand items.✓ Secure built-in hosting and faster delivery for digital products.✓ No transaction fees. | ✗ Design and layout customization is limited as compared to Shopify.✗ Basic e-commerce features suitable only for entry-level brands and creators. Shopify is better for larger entities.✗ Not too many apps available for adding features and functionalities to the store.✗ Limited payment options. |
Shopify is arguably the biggest e-commerce development platform, with just under 30% (combined with Shopify Plus) in market share. This popularity comes from the advanced features Shopify offers to build fully-functional online stores in no time.
With Shopify, you can manage the product catalog, handle payments, shipping, marketing, pricing, and much more. And all this can be handled while Shopify remains scalable and flexible for a growing store.
It has a steeper learning curve, which can be a little staggering for beginners. Those who prefer a simpler setup would go with Sellfy.
Here are a few key features of Sellfy and how they help your online store.
| Pros of Shopify | Cons of Shopify |
|---|---|
| ✓ Offers multichannel e-commerce, including physical stores, online marketplace, POS, social media, etc.✓ Shopify app store includes thousands of apps and extensions to add new features to the store.✓ There are hundreds, if not thousands, of themes available for Shopify. So you can design your store however you want.✓ Offers advanced built-in tools for marketing and automation. | ✗ Shopify has a stiffer learning curve for the beginners.✗ More customizable apps and themes are often paid, which can add up your costs fairly quickly.✗ Customization beyond built-in tools and apps requires coding know-how.✗ Will have to pay transaction fees unless you use Shopify Payments. |
So, do you think Shopify is suitable for your business enterprise? Then get our professional Shopify development services.
Now that you know what Sellfy and Shopify are, let’s compare them on some key factors one by one.
Sellfy is an easy-to-use drag-and-drop ecommerce website builder. You can set up the online store and start selling your products in minutes. That too, without coding and very minimal configuration (although that might be a downside to some). It’s ideal for creators and influencers looking for quick launches.
Shopify, on the other hand, has a steeper learning curve, but it still offers intuitive onboarding and an extensive dashboard. The complexity comes when you manage inventory, staff accounts, and multichannel e-commerce.
Verdict: Sellfy is a more user-friendly platform and offers faster setup.
Sellfy pricing starts from $22 per month for the starter plan and goes up to $119 per month for the premium plan. Even with the lower-tier plans, you can have an unlimited number of products in your store, but there’s a cap of $10k on sales and revenue per year.
Plus, there are no transaction fees, no matter the plan you choose. So the cost factor is limited to the chosen plan.
Shopify pricing, on the other hand, starts at $29 per month for the Basic plan and goes to custom pricing for Shopify Plus based on enterprise requirements. Unless you are using Shopify Payments, you will have to pay transaction fees, starting from 0.6%.
Moreover, integrating advanced features into your Shopify store will require premium apps, which will add to the costs.
Verdict: For basic e-commerce stores, Sellfy is a more affordable option. While Shopify can be pricier, it’s also more scalable and customizable.
Sellfy offers a straightforward, theme-aided customization, but it’s limited to that. No coding is excellent for beginners, but it also means limited customization. With this platform, you focus on the core presentation rather than deep design flexibility.
Shopify, however, offers a wide variety of themes, and you can further personalize the design with our Shopify liquid cheat sheet. It ensures better control over design for building a unique storefront.
Verdict: Shopify is much better than Sellfy for design customization.
Sellfy is a dedicated platform for selling digital products with some outstanding features. Like, file storage, instant delivery, PDF stamping, and built-in music and video previews. With this platform, you can easily handle subscriptions and instant downloads.
Shopify, on the contrary, is the top e-commerce platform that you can use to sell all kinds of products and services. But for selling digital products, you install a third-party app like Easy Digital Products. While it adds advanced features, it also means higher cost and complexity.
Verdict: Sellfy is better suited for selling digital products, as it’s natively optimized.
Sellfy supports a range of top payment gateways, and no matter which plan you choose, there are no transaction fees. While payment transactions are streamlined, there are fewer gateway options available than on Shopify.
But with Shopify, there are over 100 payment gateways to choose from. However, regardless of the plan, there are transaction fees involved, starting from 0.6%. Plus, there’s Shopify Payments, this platform’s proprietary gateway option. Using it would incur ZERO transaction fees.
Verdict: Even though you have to pay transaction fees, Shopify is better for payment processing, thanks to more options.
Sellfy offers built-in tools for upselling, discount codes, and email marketing. You can also integrate social media and SEO fundamentals to make your storefront ready for discovery and engagement.
Shopify, however, is well optimized for advanced SEO, social media, and other e-commerce marketing strategies. It’s suitable for building a scalable marketing campaign and optimizing it through analytics. Shopify can help you truly create an omnichannel strategy.
Verdict: Shopify is more advanced for marketing tools and strategies.
Sellfy offers reliable customer support via live chat, emails, and a help centre. The platform manages security, hosting, and SSL, so you can focus on the core operations.
Shopify, however, offers 24/7 support through multiple channels. And, security-wise, you have PCI DSS Level 1 compliance, automatic updates, and SSL encryption. Your Shopify store will scale effectively and reliably.
Verdict: Shopify is more secure and better supported for both basic and enterprise-grade stores.
Based on this comparison, you’ll find Sellfy is a suitable platform for beginners like creators and influencers. They can diversify by selling their products and merchandise to an already well-groomed audience.
But if you are an enterprise business or want a professional-looking e-commerce store, hire expert Shopify developers with BrainSpate. This platform, combined with our expertise, will be perfect for your business.
Now that you understand how different these two platforms are, let’s look at when you should choose which platform.
Sellfy is for digital-first sellers who value simplicity and purpose-built tools. And Shopify is for growth-focused merchants trying to build scalable online stores.
It’s not as simple as one or the other; there’s no universally “better” choice. The choice of platform depends on what kind of store you are trying to build.
Sellfy is a purpose-built platform for selling digital products, print-on-demand items, and subscriptions. It offers a fast, affordable experience so you can focus on creating and connecting with your audience.
But Shopify is for scalable, brand-driven businesses selling a mix of physical and digital products and services. And it offers greater flexibility and customization for creating a unique store. But it comes with a steeper learning curve and higher costs compared to Sellfy.
And if you want a completely custom-made store with a suitable platform, connect with us today!
Harshad Shah is known for his visionary leadership and strategic foresight. While he delegates day-to-day operations, Mr. Shah's primary focus is on setting the company's long-term direction and growth trajectory. A passionate mentor, he particularly enjoys guiding e-commerce companies to achieve their growth targets within their respective market niches.
