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Carrd vs Shopify

An in-depth head to head comparison

In this article, read a side-by-side comparison between two no-code tools: Carrd and Shopify. We'll compare pricing, the benefits, the drawbacks, give examples of what you can and can't build, as well as our overall recommendation.

What is Carrd?

A free platform for building simple, fully responsive one-page sites for pretty much anything.
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What is Shopify?

Try Shopify for free and get more than just an ecommerce solution. Sell anywhere, to anyone, with Shopify's ecommerce platform and point of sale features.
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Pricing

Carrd pricing

  • Free basic plan with the carrd.co domain and up to 3 sites
  • $9/year - $49/year for custom domains and no branding, additional published sites, more data storage and features

Shopify pricing

  • Free 14 day trial, but no free plan
  • $29/month - $299/month for all basic e-commerce features, site hosting, custom domain, and no branding. More expensive plans have lower processing fees, more reporting, and more staff accounts

Benefits

Carrd benefits

  • Simple to use
  • Great for one page websites
  • Can integrate with Stripe for payments (limited e-commerce functionality)
  • Integrates with platforms like Mailchimp to collect emails
  • Responsive
  • Most affordable website builder (as low as $9/year)

Shopify benefits

  • Market leader for e-commerce
  • Easy to use
  • Shopify app store has thousands of apps for just about any use-case
  • Conversion-optimized checkout
  • Very active community

Drawbacks

Carrd drawbacks

  • Can’t export code
  • Not as customizable as Webflow
  • No CMS - have to hard code in content or embed an Airtable CMS

Shopify drawbacks

  • A bit limited for custom design without development work

What you can build

Carrd use-cases

  • Simple websites with full control over design
  • Landing pages
  • Simple e-commerce sites

Shopify use-cases

  • Robust e-commerce site with custom design
  • Dropship to sell without holding inventory

What you can't build

What you can't build with Carrd

  • Websites with a CMS that dynamically creates pages (check out Webflow)
  • Multi-page websites (check out Webflow or Squarespace)
  • Web apps with complex logic (check out Glide or Bubble)

What you can't build with Shopify

  • A marketplace (check out ShareTribe)
  • A custom web app (check out Glide or Bubble)

Overall Recommendation

Carrd recommendation

Carrd is best for simple one-page websites. It combines an easy learning curve with high customization. It's perfect for testing out an idea.

Another great option for this use-case is Umso.

You can also use tools like Webflow and Squarespace, but for simple sites those tools may be overkill.

Shopify recommendation

Shopify is the absolute best option for e-commerce stores.

Gumroad, Squarespace and Webflow also have e-commerce functionality, but it’s more limited than Shopify. In almost all cases I'd recommend Shopify.

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Unlock premium step-by-step tutorials building real apps and websites
Easy to follow tutorials broken down into lessons between 2 to 20 minutes
Get access to the community to share what you're building, ask questions, and get support if you're stuck
Access all of this with No-Code MBA Unlimited
Unlock premium step-by-step tutorials building real apps and websites
Easy to follow tutorials broken down into lessons between 2 to 20 minutes
Get access to the community to share what you're building, ask questions, and get support if you're stuck
Friendly Tip!
Companies often reimburse No Code MBA memberships. Here's an email template to send to your manager.

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