Shopify vs a custom e-commerce website: which should you choose?
We build both Shopify stores and fully custom storefronts. Here’s when each one wins — with the real costs, fees and trade-offs.
Key takeaways
- Choose Shopify if you sell standard products, want to launch fast and prefer predictable monthly costs.
- Choose a custom store if you have unusual products, pricing, delivery or subscription logic, or if platform and app fees are eating your margin.
- Shopify is cheaper to start; a custom store can be cheaper to run at scale because there are no platform or app fees.
- Both can rank well on Google — speed, content and structured data matter more than the platform.
The quick verdict
For most new UK online shops, Shopify is the right first step: it’s quick to launch, reliable and easy for non-technical teams to run. A custom e-commerce website makes sense once your business model doesn’t fit Shopify’s rules, or the monthly app bill and transaction fees start to look like a second rent.
We build both — Shopify stores and custom storefronts — so this comparison isn’t trying to sell you one.
Side-by-side comparison
| Shopify | Custom store (e.g. Next.js) | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | £3,000 – £15,000 for a professional build | £8,000 – £30,000+ |
| Monthly platform cost | Plan from ~£25 to £2,000+ per month, plus apps | Hosting only — typically £20 – £150 |
| Transaction fees | Extra fee unless you use Shopify Payments | Only your payment provider’s fee |
| Time to launch | Weeks | Months |
| Custom features | Limited to themes and apps | Anything you can specify |
| Page speed | Good, but apps slow it down | Excellent when built well |
| SEO control | Good, some fixed URL structures | Full control over URLs, schema and rendering |
| Who maintains it | Shopify handles hosting and security | You or your development partner |
| Ownership | You rent the platform | You own the code |
When Shopify is the better choice
- You’re launching your first store and want to validate demand quickly.
- Your products, variants and shipping rules are fairly standard.
- You don’t have (or want) a developer on call.
- You need built-in integrations with marketplaces, POS or social selling.
When a custom e-commerce website is the better choice
- You sell things that need custom logic: delivery slots, subscriptions, bundles, trade pricing or made-to-order items.
- You’re paying for five or more apps to make Shopify do what you need.
- Platform and transaction fees are a meaningful percentage of your margin.
- You want the store tightly connected to your own stock, CRM or ERP system.
- Page speed and search visibility are a competitive advantage in your market.
That was the situation for Dairy Farm Products, a fresh dairy and grocery business. We built them a custom Next.js storefront with 20+ product categories and their own admin dashboard — no monthly platform plan and 0% platform fees on orders.
What about SEO?
Both options can rank. Google rewards fast pages, helpful product and category content, clean internal linking and product structured data — none of which is exclusive to one platform.
The difference is control. On a custom store you decide the URL structure, how pages are rendered and exactly which schema is output. On Shopify you work within its conventions (for example, fixed /products/ and /collections/ paths) and every extra app script can cost you speed.
A middle path: headless Shopify
If you like Shopify’s checkout and admin but need a faster, more flexible front end, a headless build uses Shopify as the back office while the storefront is custom-built. It costs more than a theme, but it’s a common upgrade route for growing brands. We cover this in our headless CMS and WordPress services too.
How to decide in 10 minutes
- List the features you need that Shopify can’t do without an app.
- Add up 24 months of Shopify plan, app and transaction fees at your expected revenue.
- Compare that against the cost of a custom build plus hosting and support.
- If the numbers are close, start with Shopify. If they aren’t — or the features are core to how you sell — go custom.
Want us to run the numbers for your shop? Send us your requirements and we’ll recommend the option that fits, even if it’s the cheaper one.