In short: PrestaShop or Shopify?
PrestaShop is the better fit for a business that wants full code access, owns its data and hosting, and has a reliable developer or agency to keep the store patched and upgraded. Shopify pays off when the goal is to stop spending on servers, module conflicts and version upgrades, and put that budget into conversion, retention and new markets. The PrestaShop software is free to download; Shopify’s case is built on total cost of ownership and speed of execution, not on the sticker price.
Stay on PrestaShop if…
- Your store runs on PrestaShop 9 and your team keeps it updated.
- You depend on custom modules or overrides that would be hard to rebuild on a SaaS platform.
- You run several shops from one back office with PrestaShop’s multistore and it works well.
- You need full control over hosting, infrastructure and data location.
- Your module stack is stable and does not break with every update.
Move to Shopify if…
- You are still on PrestaShop 1.7, or an upgrade to 9 means rebuilding your theme and modules anyway.
- Hosting, security patches and module conflicts take a large share of your development budget.
- You struggle to find or keep PrestaShop developers.
- Email and SMS (for example with Klaviyo) are becoming a main revenue channel and you want faster execution.
- You want to launch new markets or features in weeks, not quarters.
What is PrestaShop?
PrestaShop is an open source ecommerce platform from France, written in PHP and built on Symfony. It comes in two main offers. PrestaShop Classic is free to download, and you host and maintain it yourself. PrestaShop Hosted is a subscription where PrestaShop installs and hosts the store for you, listed at 24 EUR a month excluding VAT on annual billing, or 29 EUR a month with no commitment, with no commission on sales.
The current release is PrestaShop 9.2, available since September 30, 2026. It adds a native One Page Checkout, an AI assistant in the back office called Ask AI, and Extra Properties for custom fields, and requires PHP 8.1 or later (up to PHP 8.5). PrestaShop 9.0 shipped in June 2025, and 9.1 followed in March 2026 with Hummingbird 2.0 as the new default theme.
Older versions matter for anyone still running them. Under PrestaShop’s published policy, the 1.7 branch received security fixes only until PrestaShop 9.0 was released, so a 1.7 store is now running unmaintained software. Moving from 1.7 or 8 to 9 is a major upgrade: themes and custom modules often need rework, which is why many merchants treat it as the moment to compare platforms.
PrestaShop vs Shopify: comparison table
The biggest difference is who runs the platform: on PrestaShop Classic, you (or your agency) own hosting, security and upgrades; on Shopify, the platform does. Shopify prices are US prices on monthly billing; PrestaShop Hosted prices are in EUR excluding VAT. Data checked October 2026.
| Criterion | PrestaShop | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Platform type | Open source; self-hosted (Classic) or hosted by PrestaShop (Hosted) | SaaS, hosting included |
| License / subscription | Classic free to download; Hosted 24 EUR/month (annual) or 29 EUR/month | Basic 39, Grow 105, Advanced 399 USD/month; Plus from 2,300 USD/month (3-year term) |
| Hosting | Paid separately on Classic; included on Hosted | Included on every plan |
| Updates and security | Merchant or agency applies updates and tests modules (Classic) | Managed by Shopify |
| Sales commission | None | No platform commission; transaction fee only with third-party gateways |
| Email/SMS (Klaviyo) | Klaviyo module included in PrestaShop 9.2 Classic | Native Klaviyo integration |
| Checkout | One Page Checkout native since 9.2; full code access | Shopify Checkout; full checkout customization on Plus only |
| B2B | B2B mode with company fields, credit limit and payment deadlines; customer group pricing | Native B2B on Basic, Grow and Advanced since April 2026 (up to 3 catalogs); unlimited catalogs on Plus |
| International | Multi-language, multi-currency and multistore built in | Markets in one store; theme and checkout per market on Advanced; up to 9 expansion stores on Plus |
| Extensions | PrestaShop Marketplace modules, many paid; quality varies | Shopify App Store, many with monthly fees |
| Customization | Full code access | Themes, apps and APIs |
How much does PrestaShop cost compared to Shopify?
On software alone, PrestaShop Classic is free and Shopify is not. The real comparison is total cost of ownership: on PrestaShop, hosting, paid modules, a theme, updates and the developer hours that keep everything compatible sit on your budget; on Shopify, hosting and platform updates are inside the subscription.
PrestaShop Hosted bundles hosting and installation for 24 EUR a month on annual billing or 29 EUR a month without commitment, excluding VAT. Most growing stores run PrestaShop Classic on their own hosting instead, with costs that depend on traffic, catalog size and how many modules the store uses. Neither PrestaShop offer takes a commission on sales.
Shopify’s core plans cost 39 USD (Basic), 105 USD (Grow) and 399 USD (Advanced) a month on monthly billing, while Plus starts at 2,300 USD a month on a 3-year term or 2,500 USD on a 1-year term. These are US prices; your Shopify admin shows the price for your country, which can differ. On top of the plan, budget for paid apps, a theme, development work and payment processing. Shopify Payments is available to businesses in Romania for online payments; with a third-party gateway, Shopify adds a transaction fee.
Here is what to compare line by line:
| Cost line | PrestaShop Classic | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Software | Free (open source) | Fixed monthly plan; card processing is charged per order. On Shopify Plus, higher-volume businesses can move to a revenue-based variable platform fee. |
| Hosting | Paid separately; scales with traffic | Included |
| Updates and security | Developer hours for each update and module compatibility test | Included |
| Theme | Free default theme, or a paid or custom theme | Free themes, or a paid or custom theme |
| Extensions | Paid modules, often with paid updates | Apps, often with a monthly fee |
| Payments | Fees from your payment processor | Shopify Payments rates, or gateway fees plus Shopify’s transaction fee |
The honest takeaway: if you run a well-maintained PrestaShop 9 store with a stable team, switching only to save money rarely makes sense. Moving to Shopify makes sense when the hours spent on hosting, patches, module conflicts and upgrades are hours you would rather spend on conversion, retention and new markets.
Who handles hosting, security and upgrades?
On PrestaShop Classic, you do. On Shopify, the platform does. This is the difference that shows up most in day-to-day operations.
Updates. PrestaShop ships minor releases a few times a year and patch releases in between, several of them security fixes. Each update has to be tested against your theme and modules before it goes live, usually on a staging copy of the store.
Major upgrades. Moving from 1.7 or 8 to 9 changes the PHP requirement to 8.1 or later and often breaks older themes and modules. Stores that postpone it end up on versions that no longer receive security fixes, as 1.7 does today.
Modules. A typical PrestaShop store runs dozens of third-party modules. Each one is code on your server that needs updates, and outdated modules are a frequent source of security issues and conflicts.
On Shopify, hosting, SSL, platform updates and PCI compliance are part of the subscription. Shopify is certified Level 1 PCI DSS compliant. Your team still owns theme code, app choices and data quality, but not servers or version upgrades. PrestaShop Hosted takes hosting and installation off your plate, but you still manage modules and customizations.
Which is better for SEO and site speed?
Neither platform wins on SEO by default; results depend on the theme, content and technical setup. PrestaShop gives developers full control over URLs, meta data, redirects and structured data, and recent releases have improved structured data and multilanguage routes in the core. Shopify covers the technical basics out of the box (sitemap, canonical tags, editable titles and meta descriptions, redirects) and lets developers fine-tune themes and structured data.
Speed on PrestaShop depends heavily on hosting, caching and how many modules load on each page. Hummingbird, the default theme since 9.1, is built to be lighter than the older Classic theme. On Shopify, hosting and CDN are managed for you, so speed work focuses on the theme and apps.
For either platform, test your own store rather than relying on platform claims. Run your top category and product pages through Google PageSpeed Insights, and compare them with a well-built Shopify store in your niche.
The bigger SEO risk is the migration itself. Shopify uses fixed URL prefixes such as /products/ and /collections/, so almost every PrestaShop URL will change. Without a complete URL map and 301 redirects, rankings can drop, which is why a migration without losing organic traffic starts with SEO, not design.
How do they compare on marketing and retention?
Both platforms connect to Klaviyo; the difference is setup and upkeep. Since PrestaShop 9.2, the Classic edition includes PrestaShop Automation with Klaviyo, a module that connects store data to Klaviyo for automated email and SMS, segmentation and personalization. Like every PrestaShop module, it runs on your server and has to be tested again after each platform update. On Shopify, Klaviyo installs as an app and syncs orders, browsing behavior and product data without server work.
With the data flowing, you can build segmented flows such as welcome series, browse abandonment, post-purchase and win-back, and run email and SMS from one place. For brands where repeat purchases drive profit, Klaviyo retention automations often matter more than any single platform feature.
As a Shopify Plus Partner and Klaviyo Master Platinum agency, we see the same pattern often: the less time a team spends keeping integrations alive, the more time it spends improving the flows that drive predictable revenue.
Which scales better for B2B and international?
Both can run B2B and multi-market stores; PrestaShop gives more control, Shopify gives more out of the box. PrestaShop’s B2B mode adds company fields, an authorized credit limit and a maximum payment deadline per customer, and customer groups can get their own prices. A broader B2B model is being built into the core behind a feature flag, so check what is stable before you rely on it. PrestaShop also includes multi-language, multi-currency and multistore, which lets you run several shops from one back office.
Shopify added native B2B to its Basic, Grow and Advanced plans in April 2026, with up to 3 catalogs, company profiles, payment terms and volume pricing; Plus adds unlimited B2B catalogs and up to 9 expansion stores. With Markets you sell in several countries from one store, with local currencies, languages and domains, and the Advanced plan lets you customize the theme, checkout and customer account pages for each market.
For Romanian stores, PrestaShop has a mature ecosystem of local modules for couriers, invoicing and eMAG listings. On Shopify, the same needs are covered by third-party apps, so test each one against your order volume before you move. Also note that Shopify Payments in Romania covers online payments but not in-person payments with Shopify POS.
How easy is it to take your data with you?
On self-hosted PrestaShop, you own the database, so nothing is locked in: products, customers, orders and content can all be extracted, with developer help where the admin export does not cover it. Shopify lets you export products, customers and orders as CSV files from the admin, on every plan.
Before any migration, also export what CSV files often miss: order history details, product reviews, blog posts, customer groups and their prices, URL structure and any data held in modules or your ERP. If you are on PrestaShop Hosted, ask how a full database export works before you cancel.
When it makes sense to stay on PrestaShop
Stay on PrestaShop if the platform is not what limits your growth. A migration costs time, money and focus, and it only pays off when it solves a real problem.
PrestaShop is likely still the right choice if you run PrestaShop 9 on its latest patch, your custom modules would be expensive to rebuild, and your team keeps updates and module compatibility on schedule. It also makes sense for multistore setups that share one back office and already work well.
If growth has stalled, look at the bottleneck first. Weak ads, product pages or email strategy will follow you to any platform.
How migrating from PrestaShop to Shopify works
A PrestaShop to Shopify migration follows six steps, with SEO protection running through all of them. The timeline depends on catalog size, custom modules, integrations and design scope.
- Audit. We review your catalog, traffic, top-ranking URLs, custom modules, overrides and integrations, and agree on what must work on day one.
- Data export. Products, customers and orders are exported from PrestaShop, along with CMS pages, blog posts, reviews and customer group prices.
- Store build. We set up the Shopify theme, design, checkout, the apps that replace your PrestaShop modules, and integrations such as Klaviyo, payments and, where needed, your ERP.
- SEO mapping. Every old URL gets a 301 redirect to its new equivalent, and titles, meta descriptions and structured data are carried over.
- Testing. Orders, payments, emails, integrations and redirects are tested end to end before launch.
- Launch and monitoring. We switch the domain, monitor rankings and crawl errors in Google Search Console, and fix issues in the first weeks.
Our Shopify development team handles the full process of migrating from PrestaShop to Shopify, from audit to post-launch monitoring. See our migration case studies.
PrestaShop vs Shopify: FAQ
Is PrestaShop better than Shopify?
It depends on your goals. PrestaShop is better for businesses that want full code access, control over hosting and data, and have a reliable development team. Shopify is better for brands that want to stop managing hosting, patches and module conflicts and focus their budget on growth. Choose the one that removes your current growth bottleneck.
Is PrestaShop really free?
The software is. PrestaShop Classic is free to download, but you pay for hosting, paid modules, a theme and the developer hours that keep the store updated. PrestaShop Hosted bundles hosting for a monthly subscription.
Should I upgrade from PrestaShop 1.7 to 9 or move to Shopify?
If you are on 1.7, you are running software that no longer receives security fixes, and the upgrade to 9 often means reworking your theme and modules. Since that is a rebuild either way, compare the cost of the upgrade with a move to Shopify before deciding.
How much does migrating from PrestaShop to Shopify cost?
It depends on catalog size, custom modules, integrations and design scope. We share a clear estimate after the audit, with no surprises on the invoice.
Will I lose Google rankings if I migrate?
Not if the migration is planned around SEO. Every old URL needs a 301 redirect to its new equivalent, because Shopify uses fixed URL prefixes. We then monitor rankings and crawl errors in Google Search Console after launch.
Can I keep Klaviyo if I move to Shopify?
Yes. Klaviyo connects to Shopify through a native integration that syncs orders, browsing behavior and product data, and your existing lists, flows and templates stay in your Klaviyo account.
Want a recommendation for your store?
We will tell you honestly whether moving to Shopify makes sense, including when it does not. eCommerce Today is a Shopify Plus Partner and Klaviyo Master Platinum agency with 11 years and 300+ brands behind us, and our audit looks at your costs, integrations, SEO and growth plans before suggesting anything. Request a platform audit and get a clear recommendation for your store.
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