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Established in 2020 to meet the growing need for proxy servers and IP addresses, Live Proxies has been successful in its mission. This means that its servers have allowed individuals and businesses everywhere to bypass geo-restrictions and scrape data from websites for half a decade already.

In late 2022, it expanded its service to provide - among other things - Live Servers, meeting the market demand for secure and reliable virtual machines. In 2023, the platform added static residential and rotating mobile IPs to its existing offerings of rotating residential proxies.

Today, this proxy provider proudly offers access to a pool of more than 10 million IPs spanning 55 locations. Users can take their pick among rotating residential, static residential, and rotating mobile IP addresses to enjoy unrestricted access to the internet.

Live Proxies: Plans and Pricing

(Image credit: Live Proxies)

As mentioned above, there are three types of proxies you’ll get with Live Proxies - rotating residential, static residential, and rotating mobile. Each category has its custom pricing, and there’s also a separate B2B option for businesses.

Customers can choose plans based on location, bandwidth, and number of IPs included. For instance, for 200 rotating residential IPs with a 4 GB bandwidth allocation for the duration of 30 days, you’d have to set aside $70, regardless of the selected country. At the same time, selecting the US as the target location allows you to specify the particular state where you want your IPs to be located. Extending this plan to 60 days brings the price to $85, whereas doubling the bandwidth to 8 GB (during 30 days) costs $100.

With a similar pricing structure, static residential IPs are charged $65 for 50 IPs with a 4 GB allocation for 30 days. Upping this to 8 GB for 45 days costs $110. Rotating mobile proxies are also priced depending on bandwidth and subscription length. Long story short - the higher the bandwidth and subscription length, the more you pay in total (but less per IP).

That said, static residential proxy locations are only available in the US, rotating mobile IPs in the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom, whereas other locations support only rotating residential proxy plans.

Of course, unmetered options are pricier than the metered ones and don’t include rotating mobile IPs. So, the rotating residential plan of 25 IPs for 30 days is charged $130. The same option for static residential proxies costs $150.

As for the B2B plan, its pricing structure is simple - businesses pay a minimum $5,000 monthly to access the entire 10 million+ IP addresses. This is different from residential and mobile plans, which are limited to the specific proxy location.

This pricing plan organization is relatively easy to understand. All you need to know is where you want your IPs to be, how many proxy addresses you require, and how much traffic you need them for. However, the plans might be a tad costly compared to the competition.

Live Proxies: Features

(Image credit: Live Proxies)

Live Proxies not only offers a solid network of more than 10 million IP addresses and three main types of proxies - rotating residential, static residential, and rotating mobile - but also use cases across multiple categories, including web scraping, ad verification, unrestricted eCommerce, social media performance, gaming, brand protection, SEO, travel data aggregation, access to limited-edition sneakers, and much more.

Rotating residential IPs

In line with their name, rotating IPs “rotate” according to specific schedules. This means you’ll be switched to a proxy IP at a set time, like every hour or each time you start a new browsing session.

Live Proxies offers rotating residential IPs in multiple regions - US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Israel, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, Sweden, and Turkey.

Rotating proxies offer better anonymity, as the frequent change makes it difficult for websites to track your online behavior. Suppose you want to scrape data from a real estate listing site with anti-scraping features. Rotating proxies makes it challenging for the website’s admins to track your usage pattern and detect the proxy. They’ll likely assume the rotating proxies come from different individuals visiting their website.

Better off, Live Proxies offers residential IP addresses from legitimate sources. Device owners around the globe agree to add their IP addresses to Live Proxies’ pool in exchange for benefits. Then, you can use these IP addresses to bypass website restrictions and scrape data.

The drawback is that rotating proxies are slower than static proxies. Frequent rotation increases the likelihood of encountering slow connections, and rotating IPs are more expensive than static IPs.

(Image credit: Live Proxies)Static residential IPs

Static proxy IPs can be used for as long as your subscription lasts, and Live Proxies offers plans for durations of 30, 45, and 60 days. You can select a domestic static IP to bypass geo-restrictions or, say, scrape data from a US-centric real-estate listing website.

At the moment, Live Proxies’ static IPs are only available for the US. We tested these and noted excellent speed and performance.

Rotating mobile IPs

Mobile proxies are IPs sourced from mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, for various use cases. For example, you can use Live Proxies’ reliable rotating mobile IPs to juggle multiple social media accounts without risking restrictions or having to check whether ads are displayed correctly to mobile users.

B2B

Live Proxies offers a simplified proxy IP plan for businesses. Companies can access the entire pool of 10 million+ proxy IPs across 55 countries for a monthly fee. This plan best suits companies with large proxy needs, such as a price comparison website scraping data from numerous sources.

Live Proxies: Ease of Use

We didn’t observe any hiccups when testing Live Proxies. Its interface is easy to understand, with features neatly arranged on the left side and the main dashboard on the right. The dashboard sports a white background plus a few shades of blue to highlight features. Everything is set up in a way that a layperson can quickly grasp.

(Image credit: Live Proxies)Customer Support

Live Proxies has a decent help area on its website that includes a detailed knowledge base with answers to common issues. If you require further assistance, you can submit a ticket or reach out through the platform’s Discord channel. There’s no direct live chat on the site, nor is there any telephone support.

(Image credit: Live Proxies)Live Proxies: The Competition

Live Proxies performed on par with most rival proxy tools we’ve tested. Its proxy IPs provide excellent speed and performance. The drawback is its limited pool of 10 million IPs across 55 countries, compared to rivals like Oxylabs, which has 102 million IPs across 195 countries and Bright Data, which has 72 million IPs across 195 countries.

Live Proxies: Final Verdict

Live Proxies remains one of the best proxy providers in the industry, where speed and performance are concerned. For instance, thanks to these capabilities, it reliably supports large-scale data scraping, SEO boosting, and ad verification in which speed is of the essence, especially useful to businesses. At the same time, it works great for individual use cases dependent on performance, like downloading files, gaming, unrestricted shopping, and social media navigation.

• Take a look at our guide to the best proxy services

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Formerly known as Smartproxy, Decodo is a proxy service scoring highly on our radar, thanks to its established reputation in the industry, where it has existed since 2018. It currently offers more than 125 million IPs across 195 locations with reliable uptime and speed.

With Decodo, users gain access to residential (dynamic and static), data center, and mobile proxies to level up their browsing security. There’s also a handy Site Unblocker feature that facilitates bypassing CAPTCHA and IP bans, and enables entry to restricted sites.

Aside from ethically-sourced proxy addresses, Decodo offers APIs for scraping, providing users with a wide array of options to automate the extraction of publicly available information from websites. These include several types of APIs for different levels of expertise and various objectives.

Plans and pricing

Decodo doesn’t have a subscription pricing model like many other proxy providers. Instead, its pricing is based on how many IPs you require, the type of IPs, and the volume of traffic you require. The pricing structure is complex, but let’s break it down below.

Decodo promotes its Residential IPs starting from $1.5 monthly per GB under enterprise pricing (excludes individuals and small businesses), but you need to take the 1000 GB plan, which means you’ll be charged $1,500 per month. Meanwhile, the pay-as-you-go option, available to regular users, starts at $3.5 per GB.

The more gigabytes you consume, the lower the unit price per GB. For instance, $245 per month would get you 50 GB ($4.90 per GB) of traffic for residential IPs, $450 monthly equals 100 GB ($4.50 per GB), while you’d need to set aside $3,000 each month if you want 1,000 GB ($3 per GB) of traffic through residential IPs.

Static residential proxies, priced by the number of IPs, monthly traffic, or the number of dedicated IPs required, start from $0.27 monthly per IP (that’s if you require 8,000 IPs and 50 GB of traffic). Furthermore, 500 IPs cost $165 monthly ($0.33 per IP), but 10 IPs cost $5.17 (that’s $0.47 monthly). In other words, the greater the number of IPs, the lower the unit cost of each IP.

The pricing for mobile proxies begins at $4.50 per IP with the 500 GB plan, and the price goes up per IP with the lower traffic requirement. Similar to static proxies, datacenter plans are also offered on the GB, IP, and dedicated IP basis. They start at $3,800 for the 10,000 GB plan, or $0.026 per IP if you go with the 4,000 IP and 300 GB option.

If you decide to go with the pay-as-you-go option for residential proxies, it’s priced by 1 GB, each costing $3.50. For mobile proxies, the price is $8 per 1 GB, while the static dedicated ISP and datacenter proxies don’t have the pay-as-you-go option available.

There’s a 14-day money-back guarantee if you’re not entirely satisfied with the service, although it’s not offered for every pricing plan. That said, you can first take it out for a spin during the rather short three-day free trial with 100MB of traffic before making a final decision.

All things considered, Decodo runs a pricing model that favors bulk users over individual and small business users. So, if you run a large organization that needs many IPs and gigabytes, you’ll find Decodo cost-effective due to the significant discounts. Still, Decodo might be expensive for small users.

Features

A Decodo user's journey begins with registration—you can sign up with an email address or link a Google account. Your account dashboard conveniently has all features located on the left, which you can easily sift through. Whether you need residential proxies, ISP proxies, or scraping, you can choose it on the left menu.

Smartproxy's dashboard (Image credit: Decodo )

After choosing and paying for a plan, you can conveniently add users via your dashboard. As the administrator, Decodo gives complete control over the IP resources you’ll allocate to each sub-user. For example, you can give a user 1 GB of data and another 10 GB. Each user from your organization has unique credentials to access Decodo.

You can create and customize proxy connections from your dashboard. First, you'll choose a sticky or rotating proxy. Sticky proxies change at set intervals (up to 24 hours) while rotating proxies change with every connection request. Then, you can choose an IP from a specific country/city or a random one as your proxy. With these options set, you can start utilizing Decodo’s online protection.

Let’s dive deeper into the features of this app:

Residential proxies

Residential proxies are real IPs from residential devices across the globe. Decodo promotes its service as “ethically sourced” proxies, which is crucial because some proxy services use IP addresses acquired without the owners' knowledge. Instead, Decodo gives access to residential IPs acquired with consent. You can choose from over 195 locations, with the United States, Germany, the UK, India, and Canada having the highest number of available proxies.

Residential proxies enable you to bypass geo-restrictions, e.g., changing your location to watch a sports match on a streaming site. During our test, we found Decodo's residential IPs to have excellent uptime and speed.

Static residential (ISP) proxies

Decodo now also offers static (fixed) residential proxies for as long as you need, which is great for long sessions, automation, and managing multiple accounts. Premium ASNs give you the best quality IPs from AT&T, Verizon, Orange, and others, to gain entry to the toughest of targets.

This option provides static IPs with ISP origin, combining datacenter speed and stability with residential legitimacy. It delivers 99.99% uptime and below 0.2-second response time, accompanied by HTTP(S) and SOCKS5 support, live usage statistics, and 100% dedicated IPs.

Mobile proxies

Decodo gives you access to mobile IP addresses around the globe. Its 10 million+ IP pool covers 160+ locations, and you can choose from 700+ mobile carriers. The largest pool of Smartpoxy's mobile IPs is available in the United States (3.9 million), Germany (1.2 million), the UK (940,000), and India (720,000).

Proxy mobile IPs help you bypass content geo-restrictions. They're also helpful for app testing, wherein developers test their apps across different devices, operating systems, and locations to ensure optimal user experience. Likewise, mobile IPs are useful for website scraping.

Datacenter proxies

You have access to residential and mobile IPs. But how about renting an entire proxy server for your online activities? Decodo offers this service, which helps bypass hard geo-restrictions and web scraping obstacles. You can choose a shared or dedicated proxy server; the latter costs more.

Decodo offers shared servers across many locations, but dedicated proxy servers are available only in the US. You can connect to the proxy servers via the HTTP(S) or SOCKS5 protocol.

Site Unblocker

Site Unblocker is a proxy-like solution that Decodo provides. It allows you to bypass IP and geographical restrictions and extract data from websites with robust CAPTCHAs and anti-bot measures.

Decodo's Site Unblocker differentiates itself from typical proxies with unique abilities like browser fingerprinting, which creates a different browser fingerprint for each proxy to bypass anti-bot measures; and JavaScript rendering, letting you execute website JavaScript codes without a headless browser. Of course, there’s automatic proxy rotation to prevent websites from identifying and blocking your IP address.

Scraping

Decodo goes beyond merely enabling you to scrape public websites. It actually provides APIs that let you automate website scraping instead of doing it manually by yourself for every single site. There are two primary approaches to this: Core and Advanced.

The former offers essential web scraping that handles proxies, browsers, and anti-bot measures. The latter is fully customizable, with premium proxies, advanced geo-targeting, target templates, JavaScript rendering, unlimited requests per second, and more.

With Decodo’s platform, you get APIs to scrape the web in general or specific templates, including search engine results pages (SERPs) like Google (with or without AI Overview, eCommerce websites, and social media. Now you can also scrape AI tools, as well as YouTube transcripts and metadata.

The web scraping API facilitates the retrieval of large amounts of data, presenting the results in an HTML or table format, and even including the option to schedule scrapes. Considering that many websites are strict about visiting IP addresses and use CAPTCHA to discourage scraping, Decodo’s full-stack solution helps bypass these obstacles.

Smartproxy's dashboard (Image credit: Decodo )

Those requiring social media scraping will benefit from structured data gathering at scale, with results presented in HTML or JSON format. For instance, you’ll be able to track the engagement rates of influencers working with your brand, monitor your competitors’ follower numbers, or discover trending content in real time or at a specific time. The recently introduced YouTube scraping lets you extract transcripts, metadata, and videos.

As for eCommerce scraping, you get structured marketing and pricing data from online stores, in HTML, JSON, or table format. This is helpful for businesses that run price comparison sites, enabling real-time pricing data scrapes to assist people in finding the best deals. Scraping tasks can be scheduled in advance, and you’ll receive an email notification once they’re done.

Smartproxy's dashboard (Image credit: Decodo )

Finally, Decodo’s SERP scraping API lets you access structured data from search engine pages and see the results in HTML, JSON, or table format. This way, you can research the competition’s search rankings, URLS, and meta descriptions directly from queries in Google or Bing.

Your scraping charges depend on the number of requests made, so you can expect to pay between $0.8 and $1.25 per 1,000 API requests.

X Browser

Decodo takes anti-detection one step further by offering an entire private browser. The X Browser focuses on privacy, allowing users to manage multiple browser profiles, each with a unique fingerprint. This means that websites can’t link these profiles to others on your device and discover your identity.

In other words, the X Browser lets you juggle multiple accounts on a single website and gather location-specific insights anonymously without facing cross-contamination risks, bans, and geographical or other kinds of restrictions.

Smartproxy's dashboard (Image credit: Decodo )Ease of Use

Decodo’s user interface is easy to navigate. On the desktop, all features are arranged on the left side, and you can easily access your desired feature with a single click. With a white background, black text, and colorful buttons, the whole setup is pleasing to the eye.

Along with the website interface, Decodo offers a Proxy Checker that lets you test up to 10,000 proxies after uploading them with one click.

There are also browser extensions for Google Chrome and Firefox, which give you access to features like one-click IP rotation, customizable session length, and seamless switching between proxies. Additionally, they include WebRTC Leak Prevent to stop WebRTC from bypassing your proxy, masking both your real IP address and location.

Like the main Decodo interface, the extensions are easy to navigate.

Smartproxy's dashboard (Image credit: Decodo )

Decodo makes it easy to integrate its proxies with various third-party tools, such as eCommerce purchase bots, scraping software, SEO tools, and external proxy managers like MuLogin and AdsPower. The backend is all covered, so you just need to carry out a few steps to kickstart the integration from the intuitive dashboard.

Customer Support

Excellent customer support is one of Decodo’s strengths. This support begins with extensive technical documentation for its features. You can find tutorials and user guides concerning all features, with detailed screenshots illustrating the instructions. You can learn everything about the app in the Help Center, from a basic introduction until you reach more complex aspects.

Decodo has a YouTube channel with video tutorials about its features. This channel allows users to learn about the platform more interactively and has dozens of illustrative and engaging videos.

Smartproxy's dashboard (Image credit: Decodo )

Of course, customer support can’t be left to the customer alone. If you need help, Smarproxy's support team is available via live chat. You can contact the support team 24/7 and get speedy answers, although the response time varies depending on your time zone. You can also reach Decodo’s support team via email (for non-urgent inquiries) and expect a response within 24 to 48 hours.

Other complementary support resources include Decodo’s GitHub repository with code samples and a Discord channel where you can connect with other users and share solutions to common issues. Decodo also holds frequent webinars to help users learn the ins and outs of this platform and general trends in the proxy software market.

The Competition

There’s no shortage of competition in the proxy software sector. Decodo has robust competitors like IPRoyal, OxyLabs, and WebShare. It outshines many competitors by providing a broader range of global IP addresses and complementary features like the X Browser and scraping APIs. However, our main issue is with Decodo’s pricing– it’s significantly more expensive than many rivals, especially for low-volume users.

If you’re a bulk user needing hundreds of proxy IPs, Decodo is an ideal tool. However, it’s too costly for individuals or small enterprises needing a few dozen IPs at most.

Final verdict

Decodo is one of the best proxy tools in the business, and for many good reasons, the most significant being its unmatched speed, uptime, and reliability. Aside from those, Decodo’s products are easy to use and provide access to a wide range of IPs. They also include complementary features to help you scrape various kinds of websites and platforms and counter anti-bot measures.

However, its tools are primarily intended for large businesses and enterprises with a large number of users. Small enterprises and individuals, on the other hand, might find it overly pricey.

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In our Shopify review, we found it to be one of the most complete ecommerce platforms in 2025. It offers an impressive set of tools for businesses of all sizes.

Wix is at the top of our list for the best website builders in 2025. However, Shopify stands out as the leading specialized solution for online stores. This earns it a top spot in our best ecommerce platform list.

Shopify impressed us with its easy drag-and-drop store builder. You don’t need any coding skills, which makes it great for beginners. It also has advanced features for experienced merchants. The platform includes built-in payment processing, a large App Store with over 13,000 integrations, and smooth point-of-sale options for businesses selling online and in physical stores.

On the downside, we noticed that costs can add up quickly. Monthly subscription fees start at $29 after a trial period. There are also transaction fees if you don’t use Shopify Payments. Plus, some paid apps provide extra functionality that other competitors include for free.

Shopify: 2-minute review

With over 4.6 million websites using Shopify, it has secured 29% of the market share in the U.S. What impressed us most was how Shopify balances ease of use with powerful selling features. It’s great for beginners but offers enough advanced tools for experienced merchants.

Shopify's strength is its all-in-one ecommerce approach. The platform shines with its easy store builder, secure payment processing, and a vast app marketplace featuring over 8,000 integrations. It also supports seamless multichannel selling. We valued its scalability; whether you're starting out or running a multi-million dollar business, Shopify fits your needs. Even very large stores with over 2 million products can operate smoothly on the platform.

When we compared Shopify to competitors like WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento, Shopify often led for businesses focused on ease and features. Among high-traffic sites, Shopify holds a 28.8% market share among the top 1 million websites, while WooCommerce has 18.2%. Major brands like Tesla, Gymshark, and Kylie Cosmetics use Shopify, proving it can handle enterprise-level operations.

However, Shopify has some drawbacks. It follows a subscription model starting at $29/month after the trial. Additional costs can add up from transaction fees (if not using Shopify Payments), paid apps, and premium themes. Despite these expenses, we think Shopify offers great value for serious online sellers, earning a score of 4.5 out of 5 in our review.

What is Shopify?

Shopify is an all-in-one ecommerce platform. It helps you create and run an online store without technical skills. Think of it as your digital storefront to display products, accept payments, and manage your business in one place. Whether you sell handmade crafts, digital downloads, or branded merchandise, Shopify provides the tools you need to start.

Shopify offers a user-friendly dashboard for managing your online business. You can easily add products, customize your store’s look, process orders, and track inventory. This means no need to juggle multiple software programs. The platform handles web hosting and security, keeping your store up and running 24/7 without server worries.

What makes Shopify beginner-friendly is its drag-and-drop store builder and pre-made templates. Choose a design you like, customize it with your brand colors and logo, add products, and you’re ready to sell. Shopify also handles secure checkout, allowing various payment methods like credit cards, PayPal, and Shop Pay, their fast checkout option.

Beyond selling online, Shopify lets you expand across multiple channels. You can connect your store to social media like Instagram and Facebook. Sell in person with Shopify's point-of-sale system and manage shipping with discounted rates. As your business grows, Shopify grows with you, offering advanced features and tools to support your needs.

Ecommerce features

Being able to pick from a host of payment providers makes it easy for your customers to buy from you. (Image credit: Shopify)

You’ve decided to take the plunge into the world of ecommerce and you're considering Shopify as your platform of choice, right? Let’s go through the process of creating your online store and explore the suite of ecommerce features that Shopify has to offer.

Right from the start, we’ve appreciated how Shopify simplifies the process of setting up an online store. With its intuitive interface and beginner-friendly website design tools, getting started is a breeze. Once you’ve selected one of over 160 professional-looking themes, you can easily customize your site to your liking with Shopify's drag-and-drop editor.

Next, it's time to add your products or services. Shopify makes this process super simple, allowing you to upload product images, set prices, and write compelling descriptions with ease. We found Shopify Magic particularly helpful here as this AI tool generates product descriptions for you, saving you time and energy.

As keeping track of inventory becomes crucial, Shopify offers robust inventory management tools to help you stay organized. We like the ability to assign inventory to multiple locations, including retail stores and warehouses, and track inventory levels for product variants.

Arranging shipping for your products is made simple with Shopify's shipping solutions. It’s easy to set up shipping options, whether you're offering flat-rate, free, or calculated shipping. Plus, Shopify integrates seamlessly with popular shipping apps and carriers, ensuring competitive shipping rates.

Another essential for converting visitors into customers is a seamless checkout experience and Shopify delivers with its customizable checkout process. You can personalize the checkout cart with your brand colors and fonts, creating a more consistent shopping experience for your customers.

Thinking about embracing a point-of-sale (POS) system? Shopify's POS app can turn any mobile device into a sales tool, allowing us to accept payments, issue refunds, and manage inventory on the go. Whether at a pop-up event or a retail store, Shopify POS keeps the sales and inventory synced across all channels.

To simplify the online payment process you can utilize Shopify Payments, Shopify's own payment service. Plus, by using Shopify Payments, you can avoid transaction fees and support 130+ currencies, providing a hassle-free checkout experience for your customers. You can even use multiple currencies/markets with one storefront, making selling internationally both easy and tailored to your audience.

By partnering with Coinbase and Stripe, Shopify now allows users to accept stablecoin, opening new potential revenue streams.

All in all, Shopify equips online sellers with everything they need to succeed in the competitive ecommerce landscape. Now, let’s take a look at other important Shopify features and tools.

Themes

Shopify has a large range of stunning templates, but only a handful are free to use. (Image credit: Shopify)

Shopify offers a rich collection of themes tailored to enhance your brand's identity and engage your audience. Whether you choose one of the 12 free themes or invest in one of over 160 premium options, which range in price from $140 to $400 each, you're bound to find one that aligns with your vision. What's more, if you don't find exactly what you're looking for, each Shopify theme is customizable, allowing you to tweak everything from colors and fonts to layout and buttons.

Furthermore, Shopify themes aren't just visually appealing - they're also highly functional. Each theme is designed to be mobile-responsive, ensuring that your store looks and performs flawlessly on any device, whether it's a smartphone, tablet, or desktop.

However, it's important to note that while Shopify offers a wide variety of themes, the selection tends to favor premium options. While there are free themes available that can certainly kickstart your ecommerce journey, the choices are somewhat limited compared to the paid options.

Website editor

Although your website will be structured around a template, Shopify's website editor makes it easy to customize it, making it your own. (Image credit: Shopify)

Crafting your store's design is simplified with Shopify's intuitive drag-and-drop website editor. Whether you're adjusting images, editing text, or featuring your logo, the editing interface provides the flexibility and control you need to create a captivating storefront. The drag-and-drop functionality makes it easy to rearrange elements on your site, allowing for swift and seamless customization. You can also do AI image editing on the fly in admin and via the mobile app.

In terms of ease of use, Shopify website builder is generally straightforward and accessible to users of all experience levels. The drag-and-drop interface eliminates the need for coding or technical know-how, making it easy for beginners to build professional-looking websites.

However, some users may find navigating through the separate dashboard for managing product listings and other backend tasks slightly awkward, specifically when transitioning between different aspects of store management.

Despite any minor awkwardness, the Shopify website editor offers a range of helpful and useful features to enhance your online store.

Domains

Upgrading to a dedicated domain will help build trust amongst your visitors. (Image credit: Shopify)

When you start your Shopify store, you automatically get a Shopify-branded domain like “yourstorename.myshopify.com”. It's functional, but if you want to step up your game and look like a pro, you'll probably want a custom domain. Also, Shopify charges $15 per year for the domain, which is pretty pocket-friendly. Likewise, domains with extensions like “.store” or “.shop” are also affordable compared to competitors.

Getting a custom domain for Shopify stores is straightforward. You can purchase one straight from the Shopify platform by going to your dashboard, navigating to settings, selecting domains, and choosing to buy a new domain. Once you've got your domain, you'll just need to connect it to your Shopify store.

With a custom domain, you'll boost your brand more easily and build trust with your customers.

AI tools

AI tools are a great way to automate repetitive tasks such as creating descriptions. (Image credit: Shopify)

Expanding on Shopify's latest AI innovations, let's dive into the world of Shopify Magic and Sidekick. These AI-powered tools are designed to revolutionize the way you manage your store and engage with your customers.

First up, Shopify Magic. This AI-powered tool takes the headache out of crafting compelling product descriptions. By simply inputting a few product details, Shopify Magic works its magic to generate captivating descriptions, saving you time and effort in content creation.

Now, you can think of Sidekick as your AI assistant, ready to support you with a wide range of tasks, helping you streamline your business operations. From setting up discounts and promotions to creating insightful reports, Sidekick is there to lend a helping hand. Want to analyze sales data to identify trends and opportunities? Sidekick has you covered. You can interact with Sidekick using voice and chat communication, meaning you can interact with it using natural language.

Sidekick recieved a major update in 2025, taking it from a helpful additional tool to a fully intergrated platform that can execute tasks based on your requests. It can also now act as an AI-powered business consultant, able to analyze your store data and provide helpful recommendations.

Shopify's AI block generator is another helpful tool for store owners. Simply describe what you want like "Black Friday deal banner" and watch it happen before your eyes.

All of Shopify's AI tools are designed to streamline tasks, potentially saving you precious time while helping you make smart decisions to fuel business growth. However, it's worth noting that, like any technology, these tools may not be perfect right off the bat and will need some tweaking along the way.

App store

Shopify's app store makes it easy to extend the functionality of your online store. (Image credit: Shopify)

The Shopify App Store provides a vast collection of apps and third-party extensions to enhance your store's capabilities. With over 8,000 apps available, you'll surely find solutions for every aspect of your ecommerce business, from marketing and promotion to inventory management and customer support.

The strength of the Shopify App Store lies in its diversity. Whether you're looking to streamline your checkout process, implement loyalty programs, or integrate with popular marketing platforms, there's an app to fit your needs.

Exploring the app store, we found a treasure trove of checkout apps, each offering unique ways to elevate your store's checkout experience. With almost 30 options available, we were thrilled to discover features such as upsell and cross-sell suggestions, age verification tools, and post-purchase surveys.

We were also impressed by Shopify's seamless integration with popular marketing apps like Mailchimp and Klaviyo, offering a robust set of tools to boost your marketing efforts. From crafting compelling email campaigns to running targeted social media ads and analyzing customer insights, these apps can aid in engaging with your audience effectively.

However, while many apps in the Shopify App Store come with no upfront costs, as we delved deeper into the ecosystem, we found that the cumulative costs of paid features can accumulate swiftly.

Ease of use

Getting started on Shopify is a simple process. (Image credit: Shopify)

When we tested Shopify, we were impressed by its user-friendly interface and easy setup. Creating an account is simple; you just need an email address to start. There's no credit card needed for the initial trial. The onboarding process guides you through some basic questions about your business and what you plan to sell. This helps tailor the dashboard to your needs.

Shopify's dashboard is designed intuitively. It has a clean, modern look that keeps everything you need close at hand. The main navigation menu on the left side gives quick access to key areas of your store, like products, orders, customers, and analytics. Even team members with limited tech skills found it easy to navigate and perform tasks like adding products, customizing themes, and processing orders.

A standout feature of Shopify is its AI tools that cut down the time needed to set up and manage your store. Shopify Magic, its built-in AI assistant, can generate product descriptions using keywords you provide. It can also create marketing content and design custom themes based on prompts, like "homemade knitwear for kids." This technology makes the platform accessible for beginners who may struggle with writing or design.

The theme customization experience balances simplicity and flexibility. Shopify uses a section-based editor, which some may find limiting compared to free-form design tools. However, it helps maintain a professional look while allowing for personalization. The platform offers industry-specific themes with dynamic scrolling and hover effects that are mobile-responsive from the start. Your store will look great on all devices with no extra work.

For those who want more customization, Shopify gives access to HTML/CSS and its Liquid templating language. These advanced options are completely optional. We appreciate that Shopify offers a gentle learning curve but still allows tech-savvy users to create highly customized experiences as they grow comfortable with the platform.

Pricing

Shopify offers several packages to pick from, which is right for you will depend on the size of your store. (Image credit: Shopify)

Basic

Shopify

Advanced

/mo (paid annually)

$29

$79

$229

/mo (paid monthly)

$39

$105

$399

Transaction fees (online payments)

2.9% + $0.30

2.7% + $0.30

2.5% + $0.30

When it comes to Shopify pricing, you might be wondering if there's a free option or at least a trial period to test things out. Well, while Shopify doesn't offer a forever-free plan, they do give you a 3-day free trial to get a feel for the platform before committing.

As for Shopify plans, there are three main ones: “Basic”, “Shopify”, and “Advanced”, where each plan has its own set of features and price points, catering to different needs and budgets.

Starting with the “Basic” plan at $29 per month (billed yearly), it's great for those just setting up their first online store. Despite the name, it gives you everything you need to get up and running smoothly, like unlimited products and basic reporting.

If you're ready to take things up a notch, the “Shopify” plan at $79 per month (billed yearly) might be more your speed. It offers lower transaction fees, better reporting tools, and more staff accounts, making it one of the best small business website builder plans and great for international sellers looking to spring up.

Now, if you're running a bigger operation with an established customer base, the “Advanced” plan at $299 (billed yearly) per month could be the way to go. It comes with all the features of the Shopify plan, plus some extras like custom reporting and more staff accounts.

Moreover, Shopify offers four additional specialized plans tailored to suit specific types of businesses:

The "Starter" plan at just $5 per month (billed yearly) is perfect for sellers who have already established their audience on social media platforms or messaging apps. With this plan, you can instantly start selling through these channels or set up a small online store hassle-free.

Next up, we have the "Retail" plan priced at $89 per month (billed yearly), specially crafted for businesses focusing on in-person selling. This plan comes packed with advanced staff, inventory, and loyalty features, making it the go-to choice for businesses with physical storefronts.

Looking for exceptional value and growth opportunities? "Shopify Plus" starts at $2300 per month (billed yearly) and is tailored for high-growth businesses. Offering advanced features and personalized support, Shopify Plus is your key to efficiently scaling your business to new heights.

Lastly, "Enterprise commerce" offers custom pricing plans designed to meet the unique needs of large-scale operations. With a focus on agility, deployment speed, and performance, this plan ensures seamless support for your enterprise-level business.

Sure, Shopify's pricing might seem a bit steep compared to some other options out there, but when you consider all the features and support you're getting, it's worth it. Plus, they offer additional add-ons for in-person sales and high-volume stores with specialized needs. And if you want more detailed info on Shopify's pricing and plans, you can check out their pricing page.

Security

Shopify is Level 1 PCI DDS compliant and offers free SSL certificates for new users. (Image credit: Shopify)

When it comes to keeping your online store safe and secure, Shopify has you covered. All Shopify plans come with SSL security, which encrypts data passing between your customer and your website. This is crucial for protecting sensitive information, such as payment details, from hackers.

Another important aspect of security is PCI compliance, and Shopify is Level 1 PCI DDS compliant. This might sound like a mouthful of legal jargon, but it essentially means that your store meets the necessary security standards for processing credit and debit card details.

One of the advantages of using a hosted solution like Shopify is that keeping your site secure is largely Shopify's responsibility, not yours. Unlike self-hosted platforms where you have to manage core software and plugin updates yourself, Shopify takes care of these updates in the background. This means you can be at ease knowing that your site is always up-to-date with the latest security patches.

What's more, Shopify has a strong fraud detection system in place to prevent card testing and account takeover fraud. They also use an alert system to notify customers and account managers of potential security threats, allowing you to take prompt action to secure your accounts.

Customer support

24/7 support is helpful for online stores that sell 24/7. (Image credit: Shopify)

With Shopify, you'll find a solid range of support options. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced ecommerce entrepreneur, Shopify offers comprehensive support channels to ensure you have the help you need when you need it.

One of the main selling points of Shopify's support system is its round-the-clock availability. Regardless of the time zone you're in, you can access support 24/7 through various channels, including phone support, live chat, social media, and email. This means you'll get much-needed assistance promptly, even during weekends or late at night when you're burning the midnight oil to work on your store.

At the Shopify Help Center, you'll find an abundance of information from step-by-step guides to troubleshooting articles - a wide range of topics to address common questions and concerns. However, some users may find the step-by-step instructions a bit confusing, especially when directed to the app store without further guidance.

For those seeking more personalized assistance, Shopify offers advanced specialist support, particularly beneficial for “Shopify Plus” users. With this level of support, you'll have your own dedicated support agent who will help you address any specific needs and challenges.

It's worth noting that Shopify's customer support extends across multiple languages, ensuring accessibility for users worldwide, although the availability of support in other languages may vary depending on your location.

Shopify's support services are pretty good, but it can sometimes be a bit of a hassle to get in touch with their support team. You often have to search through their help pages to find a solution to your problem before you can even access their contact details. While this approach is common, it can be a bit annoying for those who need help right away.

Alternatives

Shopify leads the market as the go-to ecommerce solution for businesses of all sizes. It holds a 26% global market share, making it the most popular choice available. Shopify is ideal for small to medium-sized businesses that want to grow their brand without worrying about technical details. Larger enterprises can also benefit from Shopify Plus, which scales effectively.

But for some, it doesn't tick all the boxes. Below we list some great Shopify alternatives to consider.

Shopify faces competition from WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, and Magento (Adobe Commerce). WooCommerce, a WordPress plugin, offers flexibility and lower costs but needs more technical know-how to set up and maintain. Our analysis shows that Shopify is easier for beginners compared to WooCommerce, though WordPress users may prefer WooCommerce for its better integration with their sites.

BigCommerce is Shopify's closest competitor. It offers similar features with a focus on scalability and no transaction fees. Our comparison found little difference between the two platforms for large businesses, especially when considering Shopify Plus. For smaller businesses, Wix offers a more affordable entry point with solid ecommerce features, but we found Shopify stores to be more stable and optimized for ecommerce than Wix.

Generally we found that Wix is better for websites with an ecommerce element, whereas Shopify was better for dedicated online stores. You can see exactly how the two stack up in our Wix vs Shopify comparison.

For enterprise-level businesses earning over $5 million monthly, Magento (Adobe Commerce) provides unmatched customization and flexibility. However, it comes with a steeper learning curve and higher costs. In contrast, Shopify Plus offers an accessible enterprise solution that balances power with ease of use.

For most online sellers seeking user-friendliness, scalability, and features, Shopify is the top choice in 2025. However, businesses with specific technical needs or budget limits may find better options elsewhere.

Shopify review: Summary

As we wrap up our Shopify review, this all-in-one solution emerges as one of the best website builders for agencies and entrepreneurs venturing into the ecommerce realm. Throughout our journey, we've come to appreciate Shopify's dedication to customer support, ensuring that a helping hand is always just a click away. We've also found the platform's commitment to website security reassuring, with features like SSL encryption and PCI compliance providing peace of mind for both businesses and their customers.

However, we must mention a few areas where Shopify could improve. While it offers a wealth of features, we found that relying on third-party apps for certain functionalities can lead to higher costs. Additionally, transaction fees may eat into your profits, especially if you opt for non-Shopify payment gateways. Despite these drawbacks, we believe that Shopify's benefits far outweigh its limitations.

To recap, our experience with Shopify has been overpoweringly positive. We were impressed by its user-friendly interface, extensive theme collection, and the wide array of apps available to boost store functionality. If you're considering Shopify for your ecommerce venture, we encourage you to take advantage of the free trial to explore its features firsthand. Once you've had a chance to delve deeper into Shopify's offerings, you can choose the plan that best suits your business needs and budget.

Shopify review: FAQsAre there any hidden costs to using Shopify?

There are several additional costs and fees that you may encounter when using Shopify. For example, some apps can cost around $10 to $100 a month on top of your subscription. Premium themes can also cost extra, often costing between $140 and $400.

If you don’t use Shopify Payments, you may also be charged additional transaction fees on each sale you make.

Additional staff accounts can also set you back, as well as potential chargeback fees that can cost $15 to $25 per dispute.

Is Shopify good for agencies?

Yes, Shopify is one of the best website builders for agencies. Its robust ecommerce platform offers a wide range of features and customization options, making it suitable for building and managing online stores for clients. Additionally, Shopify's partner program provides agencies with resources and tools to streamline client management and boost their businesses.

Is Shopify best for building online stores?

We've found Shopify to be one of the top choices for creating online stores.

It's easy-to-navigate interface, wide selection of apps, and robust ecommerce capabilities make it a go-to platform for anyone looking to start or grow their online business. Whether you're just kicking off your small business, pushing forward as an entrepreneur, or running a large enterprise, Shopify delivers the kind of scalability and flexibility you’ll want to thrive online.

What can you sell on Shopify?

Shopify supports the sale of a wide variety of products and services, ranging from physical goods like clothing, electronics, and home decor to digital products such as ebooks, software, and online courses. In addition to this, Shopify allows merchants to sell services, subscriptions, memberships, and even event tickets. With its all-purpose platform and integrated payment solutions, Shopify provides the tools and resources you’ll need to sell virtually anything online.

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