Shopify vs WooCommerce vs Tribe: Find the Right eCommerce Platform for Your Online Store

Are you looking for a thriving eCommerce platform to build your online store? But don’t know which is the reliable option from a large number of available options? The decision is tough for an individual with no technical expertise and industry experience because all the eCommerce platforms offer similar features, functionalities and more.

Therefore, to help businesses overcome the situation, we have selected the top three eCommerce platforms: Shopify, WooCommerce, and Tribe. These platforms are among the leading options that allow entrepreneurs and businesses to launch a thriving online store. Again, which one of these three platforms best fits your business’s needs and vision requires an in-depth analysis and a clear comparison. 

In this blog, you will go through all the key considerations that you can’t ignore when selecting between Shopify, WooCommerce and Tribe. Let’s dive deep and find the best eCommerce platform to build your online store. 

Overview of Shopify, WooCommerce and Tribe

All three platforms are popular and help businesses launch a fully operational online store without the need to develop a platform from scratch. You can simply start your eCommerce journey in a few steps. However, the selection of an eCommerce platform varies depending on the business’s needs and preferences. Let’s begin with an overview of Shopify, WooCommerce and Tribe: 

Shopify

Shopify is a SaaS-based eCommerce platform that allows businesses to build their online stores. It supports all essential features required to ensure smooth online transactions. You can quickly set up your online store and start selling products within a few days, sometimes in hours. Shopify provides all the essential tools that you need to manage your store and sell products online, including payment processing, shipping, and marketing.

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is an open-source plugin that converts a simple WordPress website into an eCommerce store. However, the platform requires several integrations to make your online store fully operational. WooCommerce offers flexibility with customization and is ideal for users familiar with WordPress.

Tribe

Tribe is a self-hosted eCommerce platform that enables startups, SMBs and offline stores to build their own online store. The software is 100% white-label and designed for entrepreneurs and business owners seeking complete control, high performance, source code ownership, flexibility in customization and scalability with a one-time payment model. With Tribe, you can manage, operate and grow your online store effortlessly. 

Hosting Type: Shopify vs WooCommerce vs Tribe

An eCommerce platform needs a server to host. A server is a virtual space where your data and files are stored and the hosting is responsible for delivering them to users when they request them using an internet connection. Let’s explore the hosting types of each platform, Shopify, WooCommerce and Tribe. 

Shopify: A SaaS-based eCommerce platform

Shopify is a fully hosted eCommerce platform. You don’t need to manage hosting, server and security. The software provider takes the responsibility. You can simply start using the platform once you get the login access. 

WooCommerce: Cloud and Self-hosted eCommerce Platform

WooCommerce is not itself a dedicated self-hosted platform. Because of its open-source nature, users can install and configure the platform on their own WordPress website which makes it a self-hosted platform. 

Tribe: A Self-Hosted eCommerce Platform

Tribe is a self-hosted ecommerce platform that allows businesses to host the store on their preferred server infrastructure. It supports large-scale customization, ensures complete control over the online store, eliminates performance-related issues and more. 

Which Hosting Type Can Be Better? Self-hosted and hosted, both software are good. However, the selection of any one depends on one’s preferences. Yet, you can consider these points when choosing between hosted and self-hosted: A self-hosted platform provides an option to host the store on your preferred server; a hosted platform doesn’t. However, you need to purchase hosting, a server, and take care of the technical aspects when hosting a platform on your server. A self-hosted software offers more freedom and control than a hosted one. When you choose a self-hosted solution, your data is stored on your server. On the other hand, you need to be careful about data security and privacy, as it’s your responsibility. On-premises means that the self-hosted solution is located on a dedicated server that provides faster response times and reduced latency, as the control belongs to you. However, with a hosted platform, you can experience performance disruptions and downtime. Owning a self-hosted platform means getting code-level access, which offers more flexibility with customization and third-party integration. However, these options in hosted or SaaS-based solutions are locked with pricing tiers.

Pricing Model: Shopify vs WooCommerce vs Tribe

The consideration of pricing is important. It directly reflects on your investment, expenses and income. However, there are two popular pricing models that the eCommerce platform follows. One is subscription-based and the second one is a one-time pricing model. Apart from these two pricing models, a few platforms are available for free. However, being free doesn’t mean you don’t need to spend money at all. To operate a fully functional online store, you need several features and tools that incur monthly or yearly fees. Let’s take a look at the pricing model of Shopify, WooCommerce and Tribe. 

Shopify: Recurring or Subscription-based Pricing Model with Tiered Plans

Shopify follows a subscription-based pricing model with tiered pricing plans depending on the business’s size and transactions. The costs start at $39/month and go up to $399/month or more for advanced features. 

Shopify also charges transaction fees in case you use its native payment gateway. In addition, premium themes, apps, and custom integrations can significantly increase overall expenses. 

WooCommerce: Open-Source and Free with Paid Plugins

The WooCommerce plugin is available for free. However, launching an online store with WooCommerce involves several hidden costs. These include premium themes, paid plugins for specific features and many more. 

Tribe: Offers a Lifetime License at a One-Time Payment  

Tribe is a popular example of an eCommerce platform available with a one-time payment option. It allows you to get a lifetime license with no recurring, subscription or hidden charges. You can launch your online store by paying $99 for installation only, which is equivalent to or even lower than a SaaS-based monthly payment. 

Which Pricing Model Should I Choose: one-time or recurring? Subscription-based pricing models can be expensive for businesses with a long-term goal. However, a one-time payment option is more effective and sustainable than a recurring one. Subscription-based pricing models can be expensive for businesses with a long-term goal. However, a one-time payment option is more effective and sustainable than a recurring one.

Customization Flexibility: Shopify vs WooCommerce vs Tribe

Customization is the initial requirement of any eCommerce store. It enables businesses to tailor their online store according to their specific business needs and customer preferences.

In short, a solution more flexible with customization gets preference. Let’s compare the level of customization Shopify, WooCommerce and Tribe offer when tailoring an online store to a specific business’ needs.

Shopify: Restricted due to SaaS Nature

Shopify is a hosted eCommerce platform and is primarily architected for people with no technical background. Therefore, the platform is not fully customizable. However, Shopify offers customization through pre-built themes and templates. On the other hand, it poses some limitations when it comes to extensive customization, particularly making changes in the back-end. Because the platform doesn’t provide access and ownership to the source code. 

WooCommerce: Flexible with Customization

WooCommerce is an open-source software and is more flexible with customization. Especially for those familiar with WordPress. It enables businesses to customize their online store using pre-built themes, extensions and more. However, sometimes it brings challenges due to excessive use of plugins and tools that are required to tailor an online store to a specific business’s needs.  

Tribe: Enables Code-Level Customization  

Tribe is a fully customizable eCommerce platform. It allows businesses to modify their online store using a drag-and-drop CMS. In case businesses are looking for extensive customization options, Tribe provides source code ownership that enables businesses to improve user experience, redesign workflows and integrate third-party APIs or tools to enable advanced features and functionality by accessing the source code. 

Which one of these platforms is more flexible with customization? A platform with source code ownership offers more flexibility than a SaaS-based platform. Tribe gives you complete control over the code and allows you to tailor your eCommerce store to specific business needs by offering code-level access. At the same time, WooCommerce is an open-source solution that also provides flexibility when customizing your online store.

Scalability: Shopify vs WooCommerce vs Tribe

Whether you are developing an online eCommerce website from scratch or opting for a turnkey solution, the selection of a scalable eCommerce platform should always be a priority. It makes your business future-proof. 

Shopify: Scalable at Additional Costs

Shopify is primarily designed for small to mid-sized businesses. However, it supports scalability. You can scale your online store with your growing business’s needs. To avail of scaling options, all you need is higher-tier pricing plans. On the other hand, it can increase operational cost and complexity. 

WooCommerce: Scalable, but Performance can be a Challenge

WooCommerce supports scalability and can handle the growing business’s needs. However, WooCommerce relies on several plugins and tools when scaling it. Therefore, the speed and performance of your online store can be a challenge.

Tribe: Fully Scalable eCommerce Platform

With Tribe, you can easily scale your online store when it needs to handle an increased number of users, transactions, listings, sales, or expand globally. It is inherently built for scalability that lets you grow your online store more efficiently without performance degradation or facing downtime. It directly leads to increased revenue and competitiveness.

Which type of eCommerce platform can grow easily with your growing business? A platform with source code ownership can easily grow with your growing business. Unlike a SaaS-based solution, it doesn’t limit scalability with pricing tiers. You have the freedom to grow according to the business’s growing demand.

Control and Ownership: Shopify vs WooCommerce vs Tribe

Control and ownership mean the right to access, manage and operate your online store. However, it is a vast term in legality that you need to take care of when owning eCommerce software or launching your online store with a SaaS-based solution. For now, let’s compare the level of control and ownership you get with Shopify, WooCommerce and Tribe:

Shopify: Limited Access, Restricted by Pricing Tiers

Shopify gives you access to your online store. At the same time, it restricts back-end access and doesn’t provide access to the source code. While you own the data and content you upload, you don’t get access to the underlying technology. In addition, it can lead to vendor lock-in, limit your ability to make significant changes and more.

WooCommerce: Complete Control and Ownership 

WooCommerce offers full ownership and control over your eCommerce store. Since it’s open-source and self-hosted, you can customize and operate your store as needed. 

Tribe: Complete Control and Ownership

With Tribe, you get complete control over your platform. It takes ownership to the next level by offering full access to source code and hosting control. Businesses can build custom features, customize the platform according to specific needs and maintain absolute control over operations. This is how Tribe becomes a preferred choice for looking for complete control, ownership and long-term stability.

Which type of platform offers complete control and ownership over your online store? Getting ownership and control means gaining complete access to the product. A SaaS-based solution limits your back-end access. However, a self-hosted solution like Tribe offers source code ownership that gives complete ownership and control, as you can access the core code.

Also checkout: Top 10 white label eCommerce platforms

Pros and Cons of Shopify, WooCommerce and Tribe

Knowing the pros and cons of Shopify, WooCommerce and Tribe will help you understand the strengths and weaknesses. It also lets you make an informed decision when building an online store. Let’s explore the pros and cons of these eCommerce platforms:

Shopify Pros	Shopify Cons
Known for its user-friendly interface	Charges monthly/yearly recurring charges that can be expensive over time
Wide range of themes and templates available	Restricts customization options due to lower-tier plans
Good customer support	Heavily relies on third-party apps for advanced features and functionality
Built-in tools for inventory, payments and shipping management	Migration from Shopify to another platform can be challenging.
Hosting and maintenance are managed by Shopify	Your valuable data is stored on a third-party server
–	No or limited backend access, as no source code ownership is available Transaction fees apply if not using Shopify Payments

WooCommerce Pros	WooCommerce Cons
Core Plugin is available for free	Incur additional costs for plugins, themes and more
Offers complete control over your online store	Heavily relies on plugins that may cause performance issues
Allows seamless integration with WordPress content and SEO tools	A security threat can be there as WooCommerce is an open-source solution
Highly customizable	Technical expertise required to manage a WooCommerce store
Can handle increased traffic	Technical expertise required to manage a WooCommerce store
–	Steeper learning curve for beginners, and not ideal for those without WordPress experience
–	Costs extra to manage server and hosting

Tribe Pros	Tribe Cons
One-time payment for a lifetime license	Upfront investment seems higher; however, it starts at $99 and offers cost savings in the long run
Offers complete control over your online store	Heavily relies on plugins that may cause performance issues
Self-hosted eCommerce platform	Additional expenses are required to manage the server and hosting
Zero transactional charges	Technical expertise is needed when accessing source code
Can handle increased traffic	Technical expertise required to manage a WooCommerce store
Provides source code ownership	Limited community compared to WooCommerce or Shopify
Fully customizable with no limitations	–
Built to support scalability in mind	–
Enable businesses to access dedicated customer support	–
Comes with multi-lingual and multi-currency support	–
Has pre-integrated payment gateways, shipping management and other essential tools	–

Comparison of Top eCommerce Platforms: Shopify vs WooCommerce vs Tribe

Shopify, WooCommerce and Tribe can help you build an online store. However, deciding the best one that can perfectly fit your business’s needs requires a clear comparison. Let’s compare them in the table below:

Aspects	Shopify	WooCommerce	Tribe
Hosting Type	Hosted	Self-Hosted	Self-Hosted
Pricing Model	Subscription-based	Free (Paid Plugins)	One-time Fee
License Type	Until Subscription	Open Source	Lifetime
Customization	Limited due to SaaS Restrictions	Fully Customizable	Fully Customizable
Scalability	Limitations (Additional Cost Required)	Scalable (Plugins Required)	Fully Scalable
Source Code Ownership	X	✔	✔
Code Level Customization	X	✔	✔

Which One of These eCommerce Platforms is Better for You?

According to the above comparison, Tribe is the clear winner when it comes to choose between Shopify, WooCommerce and Tribe to build your online store. Yet, the selection of your eCommerce platform depends on your business’s needs.  

• Choose Shopify if you want to launch your online store quickly. However, ongoing recurring fees, limitations with customization, scalability, control and access can be a challenge in the future. 

• Choose WooCommerce if you want to build an online store initially for free. But to make your eCommerce business operational, you will need paid plugins which will cost you more in the long run. Again, due to the installation of numerous plugins and tools, your store can often face downtime and performance issues. 

• Choose Tribe if you are looking for a feature-rich eCommerce platform that doesn’t rely on plugins. In addition, it gives you complete flexibility when customizing and scaling your online store. Moreover, by getting the source code ownership and a lifetime license at a one-time payment option, you can gain complete control over your online store and don’t need to worry about ongoing recurring or subscription fees like Shopify and WooCommerce.

Conclusion

Launching an online store is an exciting adventure for businesses. At the same time, choosing the right one can be overwhelming. Every eCommerce solution has its own strengths, limitations, and unique propositions that cater to specific business needs. Deciding which is the best can be a challenge. However, after you have gone through this blog, you can make an informed decision and decide which one is right for you between these 3 leading eCommerce platforms: Shopify, WooCommerce and Tribe.

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