Shopify vs Prestashop: Which One Is best

Have you heard of Shopify and Prestashop e-commerce CMS? You have a hard time choosing one or the other solution and you are looking for a comparison between Prestashop VS Shopify? So welcome to this new article to take stock of the strengths of each of these two e-commerce solutions.

Shopify 

Shopify is a Saab’s e-commerce solution, meaning that you rent the solution every month and that in exchange, you don’t need to take care of the servers or the “core” part of the software. Updates are done automatically and you can focus on the marketing part of your e-commerce site

Shopify is a solution that started in Canada over 15 years ago and has since taken over the world. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, Shopify claims more than a million active e-commerce sites. 

Prestashop is a French e-commerce solution created around 2008 which is open-source. That is to say that it is up to you to download the source code of the site, install it on a server and manage the technical part (bug, updates, etc.) In return, Prestashop is free as compared to the highest Shopify pricing plan. You don’t have to pay a Prestashop license every year. Magento 1 worked exactly on the same principle.

The technical part can be a nuisance to e-merchants, many Prestashop agencies have seen the day and create Prestashop sites on behalf of their customers.

What is the best solution between Prestashop and Shopify?

The best e-commerce solution for you may not be that of your neighbor or the one recommended by an agency that does not know both solutions. We have been working for over 10 years with Prestashop and on Shopify for over 3 years. We can thus make a real assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of each solution.

COMPARISON BETWEEN SHOPIFY AND PRESTASHOP

Get started with Shopify

Shopify is super easy to learn, the interface is clear and fluid, the main functions of an e-commerce site such as the dashboard, order management, product management are accessible. The interface may even seem a bit simple at first glance, but the essentials are there.

Getting started with Prestashop

The interface of the latest version of Prestashop has taken on a facelift. Images loaded in drag n drop (finally!), clear interface. Focus on productivity. This version has the merit of being more functional than the previous ones. Prestashop has always had a lot of delay in the ergonomics of its back-office but is gradually catching up.

Benefit: Shopify 

A slight advantage that has been greatly reduced thanks to the work of the Prestashop team, but the ergonomics and handling of the Shopify back office remains a step ahead.

Daily use

 We have done several tests to measure the difference between Prestashop and Shopify for 

Create a product (1 image, 1 title, 1 description, 1 reference, 1 price, 1 stock)

Create a product with variable (1 image, 1 title, 1 description, 3 variables, 3 prices, 3 stock)

Create a category and add it to the menu

Modify the homepage to highlight a product

Benefit: Shopify 

Shopify was the fastest CMS in our testing. Please note, this may vary depending on your accommodation. A Prestashop back office hosted on a dedicated server could have been faster. 

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