Shopify alternatives made in Europe

Looking for a Shopify alternative made in Europe? Look at Shopware from Germany and PrestaShop from France. Both exist as free open-source software you run at a European host; Shopware also has paid editions from 600 euros a month for larger stores. If you want no platform at all, a custom store on European servers is the third route. In every case you trade Shopify's ease for more control, and for more responsibility: hosting, updates and security become yours or your builder's.

All amounts on this page are before VAT. Whichever platform you choose, check that it supports the local methods in payment methods in Europe.

Why companies look for an alternative

Shopify is a Canadian company; for European merchants the contracting party is Shopify International Limited in Ireland. For most stores that is fine: Canada has an adequacy decision from the European Commission for commercial organisations, which eases data transfers. Still, companies look further for three reasons:

• Where your data livesOn a hosted platform, the platform decides where your store and customer data run, and which sub-processors join in.
• DependenceYour store follows the prices, rules and choices of a company far away. When something changes, you adapt.
• Costs that grow with youPlan, apps and a surcharge when you do not use Shopify Payments add up as you sell more.

The GDPR applies to every store serving EU customers, on any platform. A European platform does not make you compliant by itself, but gives you more sight of where everything sits. For the bigger trade-off between rented and owned, read Shopify or WooCommerce.

The European options side by side

WooCommerce is not European, but runs wherever you put it: on a European server with your own WordPress site, your store sits where you place it. The same goes for the open-source editions of Shopware and PrestaShop.

Worked example: Shopify or a European route over three years

A store with 200 orders a month at 60 euros, 60 percent paid with a local fixed-fee method and 40 percent by card. Average payment cost per order: 0.81 euros on Shopify Basic, 0.77 euros at Mollie. Build, extensions and upkeep are examples inside the market range; the rest are public prices.

Shopify remains the cheapest and fastest route for this store. A European route costs more, and that is the price of control. It pays off when the control earns something: a process Shopify cannot do, a link with your own systems, or certainty that your store and data sit with a European party. What each line covers: ecommerce website cost.

The options explained

Shopware

A commerce platform from Germany, strong in mid-sized and large stores and in B2B. The Community Edition is free and runs on your own hosting; the paid editions Rise and Evolve add features, support and channels. You need a builder who knows Shopware, and they are easiest to find in Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

PrestaShop

An open-source platform from France, made for online stores. You install it at a host of your choice and extend it with modules, many of them paid. Popular in France, Belgium and Spain, with many French-speaking partners.

WooCommerce on European hosting

A free WordPress plugin. On a European server your store sits where you put it. Differences with Shopify are in Shopify or WooCommerce.

A custom store

With a custom build you choose the host and the region. The management platform we built for Business Centrum runs on a server in Paris, with a nightly backup. Be honest with yourself: many big hosts are US companies with European data centres. If you want the company behind the server to be European too, choose a European host such as OVHcloud or Combell on purpose.

Which European route fits you?

What to check on a European route

• Host and regionAsk in which country the server sits and which company is behind it.
• Data processing agreementYour host and builder process customer data for you; that needs an agreement under Article 28 GDPR.
• Updates and securityOpen-source software gets security updates; someone must install them.
• Payment providerA European provider such as Mollie (Netherlands) connects directly, with no platform surcharge.
• AccessibilitySince 28 June 2025 the European Accessibility Act applies to stores selling to EU consumers, on any platform.

Switching from Shopify to a European route

A switch is a rebuild, with your data as the only thing that moves: Before you close the old store, check how to cancel your Shopify subscription so nothing gets lost.

1. Export products, customers and orders from Shopify as CSV.
2. Choose hosting and platform, and have the new store built on a test address.
3. Import your catalogue and check variants, photos and prices.
4. Connect your payment provider and test every method with a real order.
5. Redirect every old URL. Shopify uses /products/ and /collections/; without 301s you lose your rankings. See moving a website to a new host.
6. Switch over outside your busiest season, and cancel Shopify only when everything works.

For a mid-sized store, count on a few weeks of build and a few days of follow-up.

And a European alternative to WordPress?

WordPress is open-source software: you can run it at a European host, with no US service in between. The company behind the paid WordPress.com is American; the software itself installs anywhere. If you want no CMS at all, a static custom site is an option; see custom website or WordPress.

What to do this week

1. Write down why you want an alternative: data, dependence or cost. That decides the route.
2. Work out your store over three years with the table above, using your own numbers.
3. Ask a European host and a builder what an open-source store costs you in upkeep.
4. Put a data processing agreement in place with every party and update your privacy notice.