Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Joomla VS Shopify

Compare Joomla VS Shopify and see what are their differences

Joomla logo Joomla

Joomla! is the mobile-ready and user-friendly way to build your website. Choose from thousands of features and designs. Joomla! is free and open source.

Shopify logo Shopify

Shopify is a powerful ecommerce platform that includes everything you need to create an online store and sell online. Try it free for 14 days.
  • Joomla Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-18
  • Shopify Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-09-04

Joomla features and specs

  • Flexibility
    Joomla offers a high degree of flexibility and customizability. It is suitable for creating a wide range of websites, from small personal blogs to complex corporate websites.
  • User Access Control (UAC)
    Joomla has advanced user access control mechanisms, allowing you to set different permissions and access levels for various types of users, which is particularly useful for large websites with multiple contributors.
  • Multilingual Support
    Joomla comes with built-in support for multilingual content, making it a great choice for websites that need to cater to different language speakers.
  • Extensive Extension Directory
    Joomla has a large extension directory with thousands of free and paid plugins and templates that can be easily integrated to extend the functionality of your website.
  • Strong Community Support
    Joomla has a large and active community of developers and users who contribute to forums, documentation, and third-party resources, providing strong community support.

Possible disadvantages of Joomla

  • Steeper Learning Curve
    Compared to other CMSs, Joomla can be more challenging to learn for beginners due to its extensive features and complex interface.
  • Limited Built-in SEO
    Joomla's out-of-the-box SEO capabilities are not as advanced as those of other CMSs like WordPress. It often requires additional plugins for better SEO performance.
  • Performance Issues
    Joomla can sometimes have performance issues due to its resource-heavy nature, especially if not properly optimized.
  • Compatibility Issues with Extensions
    Not all third-party extensions and templates are always compatible with the latest version of Joomla, which can create challenges during updates.
  • Hosting Requirements
    Joomla has specific hosting requirements that not all web hosts can meet easily. This can limit your choices when it comes to hosting providers.

Shopify features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Shopify offers a very intuitive and easy-to-use interface, which makes it accessible even for those with minimal tech skills. Store setup and management can be performed with little technical knowledge.
  • Extensive App Ecosystem
    Shopify's App Store features thousands of apps and integrations, allowing users to extend the functionality of their online stores. From marketing tools to inventory management, there's likely an app for almost any need.
  • Customizable Themes
    Shopify offers a wide range of professionally designed themes that are easily customizable. This allows businesses to create unique and visually appealing online stores without needing a designer.
  • Secure and Reliable
    Shopify provides robust security features and ensures your website's uptime. This means you don't have to worry about your store's security or dealing with downtime issues.
  • Comprehensive Customer Support
    Shopify offers 24/7 customer support through various channels, including live chat, email, and phone. This ensures that help is available whenever you need it.
  • Mobile Responsiveness
    All of Shopify's themes are mobile-responsive, ensuring a seamless shopping experience for customers regardless of the device they use.
  • Built-in SEO Features
    Shopify provides built-in SEO features and analytics tools that help with search engine rankings and tracking the performance of your store.

Possible disadvantages of Shopify

  • Transaction Fees
    Although Shopify offers its own payment gateway, Shopify Payments, it charges additional transaction fees if you choose to use an external payment gateway.
  • Customization Limitations
    While Shopify does offer a lot of customization options, it can be restrictive for businesses with very specific needs or those that require deep customization capabilities. Advanced customizations often require knowledge of Shopify's proprietary coding language, Liquid.
  • Cost
    Shopify's monthly subscription fees can add up, especially for advanced plans or when additional paid apps are used. This can be a significant cost for small businesses.
  • Content Management Limitations
    Shopify is primarily an e-commerce platform, and it may lack some of the advanced content management features (like blogging capabilities) found in platforms specifically designed for content management such as WordPress.
  • Learning Curve for Advanced Features
    While basic store setup is straightforward, mastering Shopify's more advanced features can take time and may require additional training or hiring a professional.
  • Limited Internationalization
    Shopify's multi-language and multi-currency capabilities are somewhat limited compared to other platforms dedicated to global e-commerce.

Analysis of Shopify

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Shopify is a highly regarded and reliable e-commerce platform, especially suited for users who prioritize ease of use and a comprehensive feature set for online storefronts.

Why this product is good

  • Features
    It offers a wide range of features, including various payment gateways, customizable themes, and an app store with numerous plugins to extend functionality.
  • Community
    Shopify has a strong community and a wealth of online resources, including tutorials, forums, and user groups, which can be very helpful for new and experienced users alike.
  • Scalability
    Shopify provides scalability for businesses of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises, with different pricing plans and advanced features available at higher tiers.
  • User friendly
    Shopify is known for its user-friendly interface, making it easy for store owners to set up and manage their online stores without needing technical expertise.
  • Customer support
    The platform offers 24/7 customer support, ensuring that users can get help whenever they encounter issues or have questions.

Recommended for

    {"entrepreneurs" => "With its flexibility and expanding app ecosystem, entrepreneurs can tailor their stores to meet unique business needs and test new ideas rapidly.", "growing_brands" => "Businesses experiencing growth can benefit from Shopify's robust infrastructure and scalability options, ensuring that the platform can grow alongside their business.", "small_businesses" => "Shopify is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses that need an easy and effective way to start selling online quickly."}

Joomla videos

10 Reasons Why You Should Use Joomla in 2018

More videos:

  • Review - [BEFORE You Buy] Joomla Extensions Review
  • Review - Helix Ultimate Joomla Framework [Setup/Demo/Review]

Shopify videos

Shopify Review 2020 - Is it still worth it in 2020?

More videos:

  • Review - SHOPIFY REVIEW MID 2019 - Is Shopify Worth It For The Money? Pros & Cons
  • Review - THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE USING SHOPIFY (IN 2019)
  • Review - Shopify Review 2025 - Is It Right For You? Pros And Cons
  • Review - Shopify Review: Is It the Best eCommerce Platform for Your Store?
  • Review - Shopify Review 2025 - Is It Right For You? All Features Explained!

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Joomla and Shopify)
CMS
100 100%
0% 0
eCommerce
0 0%
100% 100
Blogging Platform
100 100%
0% 0
eCommerce Platform
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Joomla and Shopify. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Joomla and Shopify

Joomla Reviews

Comparing 9 WordPress alternatives & competitors in 2024
Joomla! is an open-source, free WordPress alternative that combines advanced features with user-friendly interfaces. To customize your sites, check out the software’s massive library of over 5,000 extensions that integrate newsletters, user management, and site search.
Source: webflow.com
19 Best WordPress Alternatives in 2025
Joomla is an open-source content management system (CMS) that allows organizations to create and manage their websites. It offers a wide range of features, including content management, user permissions, SEO tools, and customization options.
Source: www.pixpa.com
Top 10 Web Content Management Systems
If for whatever reason WordPress does not float your boat as a CMS, then Joomla is a great alternative as a customizable CMS. Joomla is one of the best free CMS options in 2024, featuring a wide range of plug-ins, templates, and extensions, Similar to WordPress it is also an open-source CMS, and it focuses on enabling more advanced developers who already have some coding...
Source: cloudzy.com
Joomla vs WordPress: Which CMS Should You Choose?
Joomla’s Joomla Extensions Directory and WordPress’s Plugin Directory differ in their offerings. The Joomla Extensions Directory focuses on providing extensions specifically for Joomla, including plugins, modules, components, and templates. It caters directly to the Joomla community and offers a diverse range of extensions developed and tested specifically for Joomla websites.
8 Great Drupal Alternatives to Try for your Website (Nov 2021)
Joomla is an excellent CMS solution for those who don’t want to work with a lot of HTML and JavaScript. If you want the flexibility and extensibility to adjust your website however you choose, Joomla is the solution for you. This service can power any website, from the smallest solutions to the more complex. As a Drupal alternative, Joomla is usually the go-to choice for...

Shopify Reviews

  1. Shopify - the best no code platform.

    Creating my online store for small dog products on Shopify was a remarkably smooth and rewarding experience. Shopify's user-friendly platform guided me through each step of the setup process, making it easy even for someone without prior experience. Their range of customizable templates gave my store a professional and appealing look, and the analytics tools provided have been invaluable for tracking my store's performance and customer trends. Additionally, Shopify's 24/7 customer support was always ready to assist whenever I encountered any roadblocks. Overall, launching my business on Shopify has been a positive experience, and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to start their own online store.

    🏁 Competitors: Tilda, WooCommerce
  2. Lori Appleman
    · Founder at Redline Minds ·
    Strong Option for New DIY Stores Serving Consumers

    Shopify is a powerful marketing machine that has driven incredible growth. It's an excellent choice for the store owner who needs to do it themselves, on a shoestring budget, who does not sell complex products and who does not plan to run a hybrid - a store that serves multiple customer bases such as retail and wholesale.

    Due to its sheer market share, there is a robust marketplace of apps that can be added to shape the store to fit most needs. There is an equally robust selection of themes and developers who can assist with any size project. They have a terrific knowledge base which I strongly recommend store owners use as it teaches the basics for e-commerce in general and online marketing. This learning should be done prior to developing a plan for your site. That will help root your project for success.

    Unfortunately, it's also oversold based on name recognition even when the platform is a poor choice for a specific business. There are both policy and technical limitations that impact suitability.

    Shopify stores require many apps, which adds monthly costs and can greatly slow your store down. While ALL online stores end up with some app use, because this allows you to choose the features you want and need, much of what is native in other carts like their most direct competitor, BigCommerce, is not. So you'll spend more money each month and it can be harder to get a fast site.

    Among the stores that should probably NOT use Shopify: - Sells items that are generally prohibited on the platform which includes weapons, weapon-related items, sex objects, tobacco (for some odd reason Vape is currently on the platform but for how long is anyone's guess), alcohol.
    - Sells items allowed but that don't qualify for Shopify Payments which expands the above list to include supplements, CBD, vape products and other items. - Just as above, any store that can't qualify for Shopify Payments or who has good reasons to use another payment gateway. Why? Because if you don't use their payment gateway which they profit from, they will take 1/2-2% of your gross revenues soley because you are using another gateway. For small merchants, this isn't much, for big ones it's a significant cost. - Stores with multiple price structures or catalogs - such as those who offer VIP tiers or wholesale clients. Why not? Because you can't create true customer groups which on other platforms let you segment the catalog and content for each customer group. Groups are really important for B2B. To accomplish multiple audiences on Shopify requires either a separate app (at an added cost) or multiple storefronts, or ShopifyPlus (which is still creating multiple sites). This can greatly increase your operational costs and work efforts. - Stores with complex products - these are items with many options, also known as configurable or customizable products. While Shopify does offer the ability to offer up to 3 options per product with a maximum of 100 skus per product, this limit is very easy to exceed. There is also no native path to add modifiers such as those one would use for personalized products (like custom embroidery. While these issues can be overcome with apps, that adds both load time and costs.

    🏁 Competitors: BigCommerce, Magento, Miva, WooCommerce, Workflow
    👍 Pros:    Easy to use|Low price|Flexible|Large developer base|Great documentation|Reliable|Low maintenance
    👎 Cons:    Limited features|No customer groups for wholesale|Some product types forbidden|Must use their gateway or pay extra fees|Limited api calls|Limited capabilities for products with options

WordPress vs. Proprietary Site Builders: What to Know Before Starting a Website Development Project
Shopify: Shopify does not natively offer a backup option for user data. Although product data, orders, and customer details are stored, full-site backups must be managed manually or with paid third-party apps. Restoration options are limited, requiring users to rely on Shopify support or third-party solutions if data is lost.
Comparing 9 WordPress alternatives & competitors in 2024
Shopify specializes in ecommerce sites, managing customer data, payments, and content without the need for plugins. Store themes allow you to customize pages and create a consistent branded look. Shopify lets brands focus on global, local, and B2B sales right from their website's dashboard, with metrics like total sales and average order value.
Source: webflow.com
19 Best WordPress Alternatives in 2025
Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform that offers a wide range of features for online businesses. From setting up an online store to managing inventory and marketing, Shopify provides a comprehensive solution.
Source: www.pixpa.com
Top 5 Headless Ecommerce Platform For B2B Business (2024 Reviews)
Known for its stability and security, Shopify Plus provides businesses with a robust platform and extensive app store, along with complete control over design and functionality. With enterprise-level features and a flexible app-based system, Shopify Plus allows companies to expand their operations according to their unique needs. It enables API-driven experiences by smoothly...
Top 10 Shopify Alternatives for Ecommerce in 2024
When running an e-commerce business, choosing the right platform can make a significant difference in your success. While Shopify is a popular choice, there are several other e-commerce platforms that might better suit your business needs. Let's explore the top Shopify alternatives that cater to a variety of users, from small startups to large enterprises.
Source: www.attrac.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Shopify seems to be a lot more popular than Joomla. While we know about 44 links to Shopify, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Joomla. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Joomla mentions (2)

  • Joomla 3x - How to create a Custom Registration Form (Custom Fields) w/o 3rd Party? [Dev Only Please]
    What resources could someone who has achieved this, point me to. I once came across a development doc link on joomla.org I thought; I cannot seem to find it. I can only recently find this : https://docs.joomla.org/J3.x:Creating_a_Plugin_for_Joomla which is not how I remembered if it's done by plugin. Source: over 3 years ago
  • Helping with the basics
    The forums found on joomla.org are great and there are tons of people there to help. Source: almost 4 years ago

Shopify mentions (44)

  • Material 3 Expressive: Better, Easier, Emotional UX
    I don’t think is ugly, it is just that it feels like every trendy company webpage copied and pasted the same design: http://shopify.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 17 days ago
  • 11 real-life PWA examples you can learn from in 2025
    Shopify is one of the easiest platforms for selling products online, and turning your store into a PWA with installation and push notifications takes just a click, thanks to the Shopify app store. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • shopify.com vs store.link, what do you think is better one?
    Shopify.com vs store.link which one is better? Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Forget Shopify Why MedusaJS Is the Future of Headless Ecommerce
    With a traditional e-commerce platform like Shopify, you're locked into their ecosystem. You have to use their templates, checkout, and backend. Headless platforms like MedusaJS give you the freedom to build the front end however you want, using any framework or library. - Source: dev.to / almost 2 years ago
  • Allow Rules not given priority over block?
    For example, if you want to load firewalla.com, just allowing "firewalla.com" will not work, you will have allow shopify.com and few other stuff ... You can see what sites loaded using chrome dev mode. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Joomla and Shopify, you can also consider the following products

WordPress - WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.

WooCommerce - A freely available eCommerce plugin that enables shop facilities on your WordPress website. Functionality enabling extensions & beautiful themes available.

Drupal - Drupal - the leading open-source CMS for ambitious digital experiences that reach your audience across multiple channels. Because we all have different needs, Drupal allows you to create a unique space in a world of cookie-cutter solutions.

Magento - Magento is the eCommerce software and platform trusted by the world's leading brands. Grow your online business with Magento.

Ghost - Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

BigCommerce - BigCommerce provides ecommerce software solutions and shopping cart software for online businesses. Try it free and start selling your products online today!