Shopify vs. Volusion: A Simple Decision for Business Owners

Choosing an online platform for your business has never been easy, especially when comparing Shopify vs Volusion. Each platform has its own unique strengths in inventory management, payment processing, and logistics. In this article, NextSky will provide a detailed analysis and comparison of both to help you clearly see the pros and cons and find the optimal solution for your store.

Shopify or Volusion: At a glance

Shopify, founded in 2006, serves millions of global stores with a robust feature set including in-house payment processing, comprehensive shipping tools, and advanced management functionalities. It is renowned for its extensive ecosystem and widespread popularity, catering effectively to businesses seeking rich features and scalability.

Volusion, established in 1999, focuses on providing robust data analytics, customizable interface design, and flexible payment options. It appeals particularly to users interested in detailed insights into their business performance and the ability to tailor their online store's look and feel.

1. Best Pricing – Shopify

Pricing plans

• Shopify: Offers 5 plans including Starter ($5/month), Basic ($39/month), Shopify ($105/month), Advanced ($399/month), and Shopify Plus ($2,300/month).
• Volusion: Has 4 plans: Personal ($35/month), Professional ($79/month), Business ($299/month), and Prime (custom pricing). Volusion offers a 14-day free trial.

Entry-level plans

• Shopify: If you want to start with the lowest cost, the Starter plan, at just $ 5 per month, is significantly cheaper than Volusion. However, this plan does not allow you to build a full online store — it only supports selling through social media, Buy Button, POS, and a very basic storefront. Higher-tier plans (Basic and above) have no limits on the number of products or annual revenue.
• Volusion: The Personal plan at $35/month lets you build a complete online store right from the start. However, it comes with strict limits: only $50,000 in annual revenue and a maximum of 100 products — restrictions that Shopify does not impose at any level.

Transaction fees

• Shopify: Charges transaction fees of 5% (Starter), 2% (Basic), 1% (Shopify), and 0.6% (Advanced). The big advantage? You can eliminate these fees entirely by using Shopify Payments, which is available in 23 countries.
• Volusion: Transaction fees range from 1.25% (Personal), 0.65% (Professional), to 0.35% (Business). U.S. users can avoid fees with Volusion Payments, but users outside the U.S. have no equivalent free option like Shopify Payments.

Verdict: Shopify – offers a cheaper entry point and is easier to avoid transaction fees globally.

Read more: Shopify Pricing: Find the Right Plan for Your Business

2. Ease of Use – Shopify

Shopify

With its highly intuitive interface, Shopify is especially friendly for non-technical users. Setting up a store is extremely fast: just sign up and follow a few simple guided steps. Thanks to a flexible drag-and-drop editor, a clear “Undo” button, and visual cues throughout, you can design your store, manage products, add items, or set up shipping with just a few clicks.

Volusion

Volusion impresses with a clean, user-friendly dashboard and easy navigation, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced users. The platform is logically designed, making it quick and convenient to manage products, orders, and customer data. However, compared to Shopify, Volusion’s setup and customization process feels less intuitive, and the overall user experience isn’t as smooth.

Verdict: Shopify – faster, more intuitive, and smoother overall.

3. Best design & templates – Shopify

In today’s e-commerce world, design matters as much as a physical store’s appearance — a cluttered or ugly online store will drive customers away.

Shopify

Shopify offers 24 free themes and over 960 premium themes priced between $100–$500, all fully responsive across devices. Its themes suit nearly every industry (except perhaps DIY/craft or fine art niches). Additional perks include product zoom functionality and a mobile editor, so you can customize your store anytime, anywhere from your phone.

Volusion

Volusion provides 11 free templates and 34 paid ones at $180 each. All themes are responsive, but the lack of mobile admin editing is a major drawback, severely limiting flexibility in design and daily operations. Volusion’s theme library works for most industries but is less optimized for niche sectors like Art, Toys, Books, and Education.

Verdict: Shopify dominates with a much larger selection of premium themes at lower prices, plus mobile editing and product zoom features that make it far more flexible and user-friendly than Volusion.

Read more: Shopify vs Magento: Which Platform Is Right for You?

4. Extensions & plugins – A Tie 

Shopify

Shopify boasts one of the most comprehensive and powerful App Markets in the industry, with over 13,000 apps and plugins. This marketplace is a true “all-in-one” solution for expanding every aspect of your online business — from store design and shipping automation to inventory management, conversion rate optimization (CRO), and automated marketing.

Volusion

Volusion’s native marketplace has only around 80 specialized apps. However, its integration with Zapier dramatically expands capabilities to over 8,000 additional apps. This includes essential tools for accounting, marketing automation, CRM, and other related applications. For example, connecting to MailChimp for email management and campaign automation is straightforward.

Verdict: Shopify wins for its massive, ready-to-use, and seamlessly integrated ecosystem. Volusion remains flexible thanks to Zapier, but it requires extra setup steps to achieve similar functionality.

5. Sale features - A Tie

Overall

• Shopify: A platform that allows you to sell without limits, supported by the Shopify Fulfillment Network to optimize inventory, packing, and shipping. It also includes a built-in blog, abandoned cart recovery, real-time shipping rates, and a wide range of apps such as advanced search, subscriptions, loyalty programs, and one-click upsell.
• Volusion: Volusion imposes annual sales limits based on pricing plans ($50,000, $100,000, $250,000, $500,000) and automatically upgrades your plan when you exceed the limit. Although more restrictive than Shopify, Volusion is strong in data analytics, offering a mobile app that consolidates all metrics, allowing store owners to monitor performance anytime, anywhere.

Checkout & payment gateways

• Shopify: Supports over 100 payment gateways and integrates Shopify Payments to eliminate transaction fees. It also enables multi-currency sales, making it suitable for merchants in 27 different countries.
• Volusion: Features a single-page checkout but only integrates with PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net. Volusion Payments is only available in the United States, and the platform does not support multi-currency sales, which limits international expansion.

Sales channels (Sales Forms)

• Shopify: Excels in dropshipping thanks to numerous integrated apps. Its POS system supports in-person sales, inventory management, and invoicing. With POS Pro ($89/month), you can expand to multiple locations and offer buy-online-pickup-in-store options.
• Volusion: It also offers a POS system, but operating it on smartphones/tablets is still cumbersome, and there is no dedicated POS app. For dropshipping, Volusion supports only one integration, significantly reducing flexibility compared to Shopify.

Read more: Shopify vs Big Cartel: Which Is Best for Small Businesses?

6. Marketing Features - Shopify

Email marketing

• Shopify: Includes Shopify Email, which allows you to create newsletters and manage email campaigns directly within the platform.
• Volusion: Email marketing features were only available in the old version (V1); the current version does not support them.

SEO

• Shopify: Allows for full customization of titles, alt text, meta descriptions and offers automatic 301 redirects, as well as many free & paid SEO apps in the App Store.
• Volusion: Redirects must be set manually, URL editing capabilities are limited. The new version has improved SEO features, but it remains less flexible than Shopify.

AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages)

• Shopify: Supported through various apps, helping speed up mobile pages, reduce bounce rates, and improve SEO.
• Volusion: Does not support AMP.

Social media & marketing campaigns

• Shopify: Direct integration with Facebook Ads, Snapchat, Google Smart Shopping; product syncing and performance tracking from Google.
• Volusion: Offers a Social Media Center for posting to Facebook/Twitter and supports selling on Facebook, Amazon, eBay, and Google. However, advanced and specialized marketing features remain limited.

Verdict: Shopify clearly outperforms Volusion with more diverse, flexible, and in-depth marketing tools, especially in email marketing, SEO, AMP, and social media campaigns.

7. Dropshipping: Shopify 

• Shopify: With over 600 apps in the Shopify App Store, the platform automates order fulfillment and product management from supplier to customer. This saves significant time, eliminates warehousing burdens, and is especially ideal for startups with limited capital.
• Volusion: Only supports dropshipping through two apps (Doba and Kole Imports), severely limiting flexibility and automation. This makes managing and scaling the business much more complicated.

Verdict: Shopify far surpasses Volusion in dropshipping capabilities, thanks to its large number of apps, high level of automation, and ease of scaling. In contrast, Volusion is only suitable for very basic dropshipping needs.

8. Best POS (Point of Sale) - Shopify

Shopify

Comes with a fully integrated POS system that allows you to sell in-person at physical stores, pop-up shops, markets, or fairs, and automatically syncs inventory between online and offline channels. With the POS Pro plan ($89/month), you receive advanced features, including the ability to manage multiple locations, create staff accounts, customize receipts, and enjoy seamless “buy online – pick up in-store” functionality.

Volusion

Volusion’s POS support is only available through third-party solutions. There is no native, seamless integration or official hardware support. The setup process is cumbersome and relies heavily on manual UPC code entry, making it slow and inefficient for real-world retail environments.

Verdict: Shopify far outperforms Volusion in POS capabilities, offering a much more flexible and professional solution for businesses with physical sales channels.

Read more: Shopify vs WordPress: Which Is Better for Ecommerce?

9. Customer support: Shopify

Shopify

Shopify stands out with comprehensive, easily accessible support across all plans. Every plan includes 24/7 email and live chat support. Starting from the Basic plan and above, you also get 24/7 phone support. Support is primarily available in English, but email assistance is also offered in up to 19 languages, making it a reliable option for stores operating globally.

Volusion

Volusion takes a more tiered and restrictive approach to support. Users on the Personal plan are limited to live chat and the help center only. Phone support is unlocked only from the Professional plan upward and requires scheduling in advance. Higher tiers like Business get priority support, while the top-tier Prime plan offers exceptional value with VIP support and a dedicated team of expert advisors (in marketing, design, and finance).

Verdict: Shopify clearly has the edge with faster, more flexible, and more comprehensive support than Volusion – especially if you need immediate help without being restricted by your plan tier.

10. Security: A Tie

Shopify

Every Shopify store is Level 1 PCI DSS compliant by default, ensuring credit card data is processed, stored, and transmitted securely. Built-in SSL encryption protects all data exchanged between the website and customers, and HTTPS is automatically enforced with the padlock icon visible in browsers – building trust from the very first visit.

Volusion

The platform also meets industry-standard security requirements, with PCI DSS compliance and built-in SSL certificates, ensuring the safe protection of customer and payment data. Store owners can operate with peace of mind without needing to install additional third-party security tools.

Verdict: Shopify and Volusion are evenly matched in security. Both fully meet eCommerce safety standards and effectively protect customer information.

Alternatives to Consider Besides Volusion vs Shopify

If neither Volusion nor Shopify feels like the perfect fit for your business, here are some strong alternatives worth exploring:

• BigCommerce: Offers a comprehensive feature set, even surpassing Shopify in certain areas such as native multi-currency support and advanced abandoned cart recovery. Ideal for growing businesses that need a stable, scalable, long-term solution.
• Squarespace: While its eCommerce capabilities aren’t as powerful as Shopify’s, Squarespace excels with stunning designs, a smooth page-building experience, as the top choice for creative brands, portfolios, or small stores that prioritize professional, beautiful visuals.
• Wix: A highly user-friendly, flexible, and budget-friendly platform that still handles basic to moderate online selling needs very well – a great value option.
• WordPress + WooCommerce: Perfect for users who want full control over design and functionality. It requires more setup and ongoing management, but in return, you get an extremely customizable and scalable store – limited only by what you’re willing to build.

Shopify vs Volusion: Which should you use?

Choose Shopify if you:

• Want a fully featured ecommerce platform with tools to grow and scale your store.
• Need seamless multi-channel selling across platforms like Amazon, eBay, and social media.
• Prefer a large app marketplace to customize and enhance your store.
• Value 24/7 customer support and strong security features.

Choose Volusion if you:

• Focus mainly on data and customer analytics to drive decisions.
• Appreciate built-in payment options and basic selling tools.
• Are comfortable with limited customization and don’t need a blog feature.
• Are a smaller business prioritizing insight over extensive growth tools.