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Most buyers should pick Shopify.
Choose PayPal if you need a wallet and payment option, not a full store platform: its standard business account has no monthly fee, though processing fees apply. Choose Shopify if you need to build and run a store across online, in-person, social, and AI channels; its Agentic option is CHF 0/month, while Basic starts at CHF 21/month billed yearly or CHF 29 monthly. Shopify offers broader commerce tools and 21,000+ apps; costs can include payment and app fees.
01Side by side
| PayPal | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $0/month standard account; transaction fees apply | CHF 0 Agentic; Basic CHF 21 yearly, CHF 29 monthly |
| Free plan | Yes; standard business account has no monthly fee | Yes; Agentic charges per sale |
| Best for | Payments, money transfers, and shopping | Building and managing a multichannel store |
| Core strength | Digital wallet, checkout, and money transfers | Store creation, sales channels, and commerce management |
| Learning curve | Ease-of-use review score: 7 | Ease-of-use review score: 8 |
| Integrations/data | App ecosystem size not published | Shopify App Store lists 21,000+ commerce apps |
| Team/seat costs | Staff-seat limits and costs not published | Grow includes 5 additional staff; Advanced includes 15 |
| Support | Support review score: 4 | Support review score: 5 |
PayPal Choose PayPal if
- Choose PayPal if you mainly need payments, transfers, and a wallet.
- Choose PayPal if a no-monthly-fee business account fits your needs.
- Choose PayPal if you do not need Shopify's wider store toolkit.
Shopify Choose Shopify if
- Choose Shopify if you need to build and manage an online store.
- Choose Shopify if you want to sell across online, retail, social, and AI channels.
- Choose Shopify if its staff limits and app ecosystem suit your operation.
02Pricing compared
PayPal’s standard Business Account has no monthly maintenance fee, but processing fees apply: the listed rates are 3.49% + $0.49 for PayPal Checkout and Venmo, or 2.99% + $0.49 for standard card payments. Payflow Pro is $25/month, while Payments Pro and Virtual Terminal are $30/month; transaction fees may apply to those plans too.
Shopify’s Basic plan is CHF 29/month, or CHF 21/month when billed yearly. Grow is CHF 79 monthly or CHF 59 billed yearly; Advanced is CHF 359 or CHF 269. Its Agentic option is CHF 0/month, with fees when you make a sale. Shopify lists third-party transaction fees of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced, and 0.2% on Plus. These prices use different currencies, so they aren’t a direct cost comparison.
03Features and depth
PayPal is mainly a wallet and payment service, not a store builder. Customers can pay online or in stores, send and request money, and use Pay in 4 or Pay Monthly options, subject to approval and availability. It also lists merchant offers, a debit card, savings through Synchrony Bank, and cryptocurrency buying, selling, and transfers. Business tools include hosted checkout and payment processing plans, with transaction fees and some add-on costs.
Shopify covers more of the commerce operation. It supports online, in-person, social, and AI-channel selling, with store creation through AI or prebuilt themes. Its admin brings payments, fulfillment, and retail management together; Shopify Markets and shipping tools support international sales. Sidekick AI can help spot growth opportunities and automate tasks, according to the product description. Shopify also lists more than 21,000 apps in its App Store. That breadth is useful if you need a store and sales operations in one platform, but app costs and payment-related fees can add to the bill. PayPal can support checkout; it does not replace Shopify’s broader store-management toolkit.
04Ease of use and learning curve
PayPal is the narrower choice: for a business that mainly needs to accept payments, its standard account has no monthly maintenance fee and offers checkout options without requiring a full commerce platform. Payment processing fees still need to be factored in, and more specialized features can mean paid plans or add-ons.
Shopify puts store creation, channels, payments, and operations in one platform, which may reduce the need to assemble separate tools. But there is more to configure than with a wallet or checkout option. Its app ecosystem can extend the store, while adding costs and decisions. The published review rates Shopify higher for ease of use, but neither product’s materials give a learning-time estimate.
Questions people ask
Does PayPal take 25%?
The published PayPal pricing lists transaction rates such as 3.49% + $0.49 for PayPal Checkout and Venmo, and 2.99% + $0.49 for standard card payments. It does not list a 25% standard transaction fee. Other fees may apply depending on the product or add-ons.
Who is Shopify owned by?
The published Shopify information describes its commerce platform and pricing but does not state who owns the company. We can’t verify ownership from this material, so we won’t guess.
How much does Shopify take from a $100 sale?
The published pricing is in CHF, not USD, so it doesn’t provide a USD fee calculation for a $100 sale. It lists Basic online card processing at 2.95% + CHF 0.30 and a 2% third-party transaction fee on Basic; actual costs depend on the payment setup.
What is the downside of using Shopify?
The main downside in the published review is cost: subscription fees can stack with payment and app costs. Shopify lists third-party transaction fees from 2% on Basic to 0.2% on Plus, and POS Pro costs CHF 69/month per location. The right total depends on your plan and setup.