Shopify vs Next.js.
A Shopify store on its own themes against a custom storefront built in Next.js, which can still use Shopify for the products, cart and checkout.
Shopify
Next.jsFeature by feature.
Cost & Fees
| Feature | Shopify | Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify plan | Both From $19/month billed yearly | |
| Hosting | Included | Oxygen at no extra charge, or Vercel |
| Building it | 24 free themes, 1,350 paid | A developer build, which Shopify says costs more |
| Card fees (US, online) | Both 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic | |
Checkout & Orders
| Feature | Shopify | Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| Checkout | Both Shopify Checkout | |
| Checkout changes | Both Limited below Plus, full on Plus | |
| Products and orders | Both Managed in Shopify admin | |
Building & Control
| Feature | Shopify | Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| How you build | Themes and the theme editor | React code with Next.js |
| Storefront data | Liquid templates | Storefront API (GraphQL) |
| Starter code | Free and paid themes | Vercel Shop, built on Hydrogen |
| Storefronts per store | The Online Store theme | 1 headless storefront below Plus, 25 on Plus |
| Developer needed | Not to start | Yes, to build and maintain |
Plans & pricing.
| Plan | Shopify | Next.js |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $19/month billed yearly, $27 monthly | The same plan, plus the build |
| Grow | $54/month billed yearly, $72 monthly | The same plan, plus the build |
| Advanced | $299/month billed yearly, $399 monthly | The same plan, plus the build |
| Plus | From $2,300/month | From $2,300/month, 25 headless storefronts |
| Hosting | Included | Oxygen included, or Vercel Pro $20/month |
| Card fees (US, online) | Basic 2.9%, Grow 2.7%, Advanced 2.5%, each + 30¢ | The same, through Shopify Checkout |
US dollars as of November 2026, from shopify.com/pricing, Shopify's guide to card fees and vercel.com/pricing. A Next.js storefront still needs a Shopify plan when Shopify runs the products and checkout.
Our conclusion.
Pick a Shopify theme store for most shops: hosting, checkout and thousands of apps are ready on day one, and Shopify itself says a headless storefront costs more to build and run. Pick a Next.js storefront when the shopping experience must go beyond what a theme allows and you have developers to look after it; Shopify can still run the products, cart and checkout behind it.
Shopify starts at $19 a month billed yearly, with hosting, checkout and more than 16,000 apps. On Basic, Grow and Advanced you can customise the checkout only in part; full checkout customisation is a Plus feature.
A Next.js storefront reads your products through Shopify's Storefront API and hands shoppers to Shopify Checkout, so your payments and orders stay in Shopify. Since October 2026, Hydrogen, Shopify's headless toolkit, is a library that works inside Next.js, and Vercel Shop is a Next.js 16 starter built on it.
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See Next.js vs Remix
Astro
Webflow
WordPress
RemixFAQ
Questions,
answered.
No. A Next.js store can run on another commerce platform, or take payments directly with a provider such as Stripe, at 2.9% + 30¢ per US card payment. Paired with Shopify, the Storefront API supplies the products and cart, and Shopify Checkout takes the payment.
Shopify's headless toolkit. Since October 2026 it is a library that adds commerce parts to frameworks such as Next.js, React Router, Nuxt, Astro and SvelteKit. Before that it was a framework built on React Router.
Only for some stores. Shopify says a headless storefront costs more to build and run than a theme, and suits merchants with specific needs for control and developers to maintain it after launch. Its enterprise guide points to budgets of $1 million or more and timelines of six months or longer.
In part on every plan from Basic: the checkout editor, and apps for the thank you and order status pages. Changes to the information, shipping and payment steps need Shopify Plus.
Shopify says Oxygen is available at no extra charge on paid Shopify plans, within its runtime and usage limits. A Next.js storefront can also run on Vercel or another host.
Vercel archived the Next.js Commerce template in October 2026. Its place is taken by Vercel Shop, a Shopify storefront on Next.js 16 built with Hydrogen.
