Short answer
Shopify is the faster, cheaper route for standard online stores: hosted, secure and backed by thousands of apps. A custom e-commerce platform costs more upfront but removes platform fees and limits, and suits marketplaces, complex B2B pricing, subscriptions with unusual rules, or deep ERP integration. Start on Shopify unless your model clearly needs custom.
Updated · Written by the Infikey Technologies delivery team
Choose Shopify if…
You sell your own products with standard checkout, want to launch and test quickly, and prefer paying monthly over owning technology.
Choose Custom platform if…
You run a multi-vendor marketplace, need customer-specific B2B pricing and credit, have high volumes where fees add up, or need workflows apps cannot handle.
Comparison
| Factor | Shopify | Custom platform |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Low | Higher |
| Ongoing cost | Subscription, apps and possible transaction fees | Hosting, maintenance and support team |
| Speed to launch | Fast | Slower |
| Business model | Single-seller stores, standard B2B features on higher plans | Anything: marketplaces, rentals, auctions, complex B2B |
| Integrations | Apps and APIs | Built exactly for your ERP, WMS and partners |
| Ownership | You rent the platform | You own the code and data |
| Scaling | Managed by Shopify | Designed and run by your team or partner |
The headless middle ground
Headless commerce keeps Shopify for products, checkout and orders, and puts a custom front end (often Next.js) in front of it. You get design freedom and fast pages without rebuilding commerce basics. It costs more than a theme store and less than a fully custom platform.
Signs you have outgrown Shopify
- You stack many paid apps to fake one core workflow.
- Several vendors need their own dashboards, payouts and commissions; see multi-vendor marketplace development.
- Dealers need their own price lists, credit limits and quick reorder; see B2B e-commerce platforms.
- Platform and app fees exceed what a custom platform would cost to run.
Compare total costs over several years with the build vs buy calculator.