Cost of Ownership |
Free to Use:
Free to download, meaning there are no licensing fees, the only costs involved are those you choose.
Domain registration, SSL certification and hosting, £10/month (variable) |
Subscription Fees:
Requires a minimum subscription fee of £25/month which can quickly escalate as your business grows. |
Cost of Sales |
Lower Transaction Fees:
Using Stripe (Free): 1.5% + £0.20/transaction = £79.17/m for average* business. *£50,000 sales p/annum with 1000 transactions. |
Higher Transaction Fees:
Shopify Payments (uses Stripe): 2% + £0.25/transaction = £104.16/m for average* business.
Other Payment Provider: 4% + £0.25/transaction = £168.75/m for average* business. *£50,000 sales p/annum with 1000 transactions. |
Scalability |
Scalable Without Limits:
Suitable for businesses of all sizes.
Freedom to grow with increased traffic and sales without worrying about escalating subscription costs. |
Scalability at a Cost:
Suitable for all business sizes but at extra cost. Subscriptions rise to £65/month then to £344/month |
Extensibility |
Unmatched Extensibility:
Open Source Code with an architecture built with extensibility at its core.
Modular with unique Hooking Systems built in, give endless possibility to extend functionality.
Tailor your store to meet specific business requirements. |
Limited by Closed Source:
Closed Source Code significantly restricts extensibility.
Custom development is constrained, making it harder to implement truly unique or highly customised features. |
Customisation |
Complete Control Over Customisation:
Full control over every aspect of your store's design and functionality.
Unique Layout Module systems allow design layout limited only by imagination.
This makes it possible to create a truly unique and personalised shopping experience that aligns perfectly with your brand. |
Customisation Within Limits:
Closed Source Code severely limits customisation.
A range of themes and some customisation options available but these are limited by the platform's structure. |
Addons (Apps & Extensions) |
Unlimited Addon Flexibility:
There's an ever growing collection of Addons in the Addons Library.
An open-source platform allows creation, modification and integration of Addons that can be tailored specifically to your store's needs.
A team of Certified Developers, Phoenix Cart specialists, are also available to take on bespoke work as required. |
Curated App Ecosystem:
This is curated and controlled meaning that while the available apps cover many common needs, you are limited to the functionalities provided by these apps.
Many apps also require a monthly subscription which dramatically increase the cost.
Closed source means implementing custom extensions is difficult, making it challenging to achieve unique or highly specialised features. |
Responsive |
Customisable:
Responsive design performs well on all devices.
Built with Bootstrap ensures you have the freedom to customise the mobile experience to perfectly suit your customers' needs. |
Customisation Limited:
Responsive but customisation is limited by the platform's structure. The level of control is not as extensive. |
Ownership and Portability |
Complete Data Ownership:
You retain full ownership of your data.
You can back up, export, or move your store to another hosting provider or platform at any time without restrictions.
This is crucial for businesses that value data sovereignty and flexibility. |
Data Control Limitations:
Holds much of the control over your store's data.
Moving data to another platform is highly complex.
Moving your store to another hosting provider is not possible at all so it is locked in. |