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Glide vs Shopify

An in-depth head to head comparison

In this article, read a side-by-side comparison between two no-code tools: Glide 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 Glide?

Glide turns spreadsheets into beautiful, easy-to-use apps, without code.
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Learn everything you need to know about Glide

Our in-depth course will take your from a beginner to expert

The Complete Guide to Glide Apps

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

Glide pricing

  • Free basic plan with the glideapp.io domain, Glide branding, public sign in, and limited data storage
  • $32/month - $40/month (+$2/private user) for custom domains, up to 25,000 data rows, no Glide branding, lower transaction fees, private apps, and more 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

Glide benefits

  • Simple/magical app building experience
  • Build using a Google Sheet, so it’s easy to pick up
  • Constantly improving the product
  • Active community
  • Can build just about any type of app
  • Strong security features

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

Glide drawbacks

  • Progressive web app only (can’t be downloaded in app store)
  • Can’t offer in-app purchases
  • Somewhat limited in design
  • No push notifications (can get around this with Zapier for email/texts)

Shopify drawbacks

  • A bit limited for custom design without development work

What you can build

Glide use-cases

  • MVP versions of mobile and web apps like Tinder and Zillow
  • Apps with user accounts and complex logic

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 Glide

  • Publish your app to the app store (check out Adalo)
  • Apps that require connection to an API

What you can't build with Shopify

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

Overall Recommendation

Glide recommendation

Glide is best for building MVPs for your business, or for building internal apps.

You can create user accounts, store and display data from a database, and build complex logic. You can build apps like Tinder, Zillow, Headspace and more using Glide.

For more apps that need to be in an app store or connect with APIs I'd use Adalo.

If you want to build a web app with that scales better and has API access, I'd recommend Bubble.

In all other cases, I love Glide and think it's a great option for your no-code app.

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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Bring Your Ideas to Life with AI and No Code

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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