eCommerce is quickly becoming the most popular way for businesses to generate revenue. Whether you want to sell online or through your brick-and-mortar store, eCommerce platforms like Odoo and Shopify provide many tools to help you grow your business.

Shopify is an eCommerce platform that can create websites with lists of products, handle payments, and more. One of its most popular features is the Shopify App Store which provides templates for various businesses like restaurants or boutiques.

Odoo is another eCommerce platform designed for small and medium enterprises. It provides comprehensive tools for managing orders, inventory, and point-of-sale systems with an integrated ERP system.

We’re going to break down what sets these two systems apart and which you should choose for your business!

Understanding Shopify

Shopify is a Canadian retail platform founded in 2004 by Tobias Lütke, Daniel Weinand, and Scott Lake that provides merchants with everything they need to start an online store, including software. Shopify’s goal is to focus on what matters to merchants.

What types of companies use Shopify?

Shopify caters to every type of business, from small startups to enterprise levels. They supply more than 600,000 businesses worldwide, which are all powered by Shopify’s robust eCommerce platform.

Since Shopify doesn’t have long-term contracts or hefty setup costs, they are attractive to startups. You can even add powerful features from their App Store to customize and grow your business.

How much does Shopify cost?

Shopify starts at $29/month for its most basic functions and goes up to $299/month for Advanced Shopify. The basic fee isn’t too prohibitive, and they do provide a free trial for those who like to try before they buy. It also includes free updates. 

The kicker is a hefty 14% fee on all transactions processed through its system. This can add up quickly for businesses.

What are Shopify’s features?

Some of Shopify’s most popular features are:

• The Shopify Lite App, which makes it possible for merchants to launch stores without needing any coding knowledge
• The POS system
• Their Custom Domain feature allows businesses to use their own domain without any additional setup or technical knowledge.

Shopify’s core products are:

the Shopify Store, which allows up to three websites per store

the Shopify Payments, a complete point-of-sale system, and

the App Store, where developers can sell their apps.

There are also two service products offered by Shopify – Webshop Apps and Hire Shopify Expert. Webshop Apps is designed for businesses that need help setting up their online store but don’t want to hire an expert yet. 

The Hire Shopify Expert service assists in turning your idea into a living and breathing e-commerce website with all the bells and whistles. 

How do I access Shopify?

Shopify is available on iOS, Android, and as a POS. They also have another app called Shopify Inbox, a chat app to answer customer questions and interact.

How is Shopify hosted?

Shopify’s data centers are located in the US, but most website content is hosted locally on their Content Delivery Network.

Understanding Odoo

Odoo was founded in 2005 and provides eCommerce tools such as enterprise resource planning, customer relationship management, and point-of-sale systems. This enables users to automate and streamline functionalities in their business. 

With almost 120,000 customers in over 160 countries, Odoo aims to help companies become efficient by automating their processes.

What sets Odoo apart from other companies in this industry is its open-source, free/low-cost-to-use business model.

The company’s founder and CEO, Fabien Pinckaers, created it to “fill a gap in the market” for open-source ERP systems. He has been quoted as saying, “We launched Odoo with the goal of making ERP available for everyone to use.”

What types of companies use Odoo?

With over five million users, Odoo has an incredibly diverse customer base, including eCommerce sites. Moreover, since it’s so customizable, businesses from any industry can make Odoo work for them. 

While many large companies use Odoo, it’s also an excellent choice for startups since there is a free version that you can make work with a little more elbow grease. In addition, it will grow with your company since you can add modules as you need them.

How much does Odoo cost?

Odoo Community is the open-source software that will always remain free to use. 

Odoo Enterprise’s price depends on the modules that businesses choose. You can either pay monthly or yearly, and the cost of modules starts at around $12/month. There is an additional user fee that depends on the number of users.

Odoo provides setup help for a minimum of $3,000, but this is entirely optional.

What are Odoo’s features?

Odoo has thirty main modules that you can mix and match as needed. These include:

• CRM
• Warehouse Management
• Project Management
• Point of Sale (POS)
• Sales Management
• Manufacturing
• Accounting
• Purchase Management

However, this is just the tip of the iceberg since third-party developers have created thousands of other apps.

How do I access Odoo?

Odoo Community is only available on desktop and web. Enterprise includes these along with an iOS or Android app. 

How is Odoo hosted?

There are a few different options. Businesses can use on-premise hosting or cloud hosting. The traditional cloud option is limited since there is no third-party support, but Odoo.sh covers this.

Should You Choose Shopify or Odoo for Your eCommerce Business?

Odoo can do inventory management, product management, customer management, and accounting (among other things). It also offers reporting and analytics tools for managers to make smarter decisions. 

Shopify has the same features as Odoo and offers online store design templates and apps to make it easier for users to manage their stores. 

One of the main differences between these two platforms is their price point: Odoo starts at $10/month while Shopify begins at $29/month, plus a 14% fee on all transactions processed through its system.

If you think Odoo is the right choice for you, but you’re hesitating because of the barrier of entry, we can help! Confianz is an Odoo Partner with extensive experience in tailoring software to a business’s specific needs. To get started, schedule a free consultation today. 

See more Odoo related comparison blogs:

• Odoo vs SAP
• Odoo vs Sage
• Odoo vs ERPNext
• Odoo vs SugarCRM
• Odoo vs Zoho
• Odoo vs Microsoft Dynamics
• Odoo vs NetSuite
• Odoo Community vs Odoo Enterprise
• Odoo vs Salesforce

Confianz Global® is an open source Software Development company that provides custom Odoo Implementation, integration and customization with 24/7 support.