Do you have a product you’re ready to sell online? Thanks to the rising e-commerce trend in Malaysia, you’re likely looking for the right e-commerce platform for your online business.
In your research, you may have narrowed it down to the possibilities: Shopline vs Shopify. There’s no doubt that each platform offers a unique set of features and functionalities tailored to meet the diverse needs of businesses. But does it fit your needs?
To help you decide, let’s delve into a detailed comparison between Shopline and Shopify, analyzing factors such as fees, supported payments, customer support, integration, and more. With this, you’ll discover which one is the optimal choice for your e-commerce venture.
What is Shopline & Shopify
Shopline and Shopify are e-commerce platforms that provide users with tools for website creation, payment processing, inventory management, and more. Both platforms offer international domains and free SSL certificates, making them suitable for new website development as well.
Shopline, founded in 2013, prioritizes user-friendly interfaces and caters to a diverse range of merchants, from SMEs to larger brands. It aims to empower businesses with seamless omnichannel experiences, making it the best choice for fast online presence.
On the other hand, Shopify, founded in 2006, is a Canadian e-commerce giant known for its scalability. It caters to businesses of all sizes and boasts a vast ecosystem of apps and integrations, including e-commerce marketing tools.
Based on this, it seems as though both Shopline and Shopify are quite similar so it can be challenging to decide which system would work best for you. So let’s break down their differences further to help you choose the right one for your business.
Comparison between Shopify and Shopline
To help you decide on the best ecommerce platform in Malaysia, we’ve broken down several factors for you to look out for. Here’s a Shopify Malaysia and Shopline Malaysia review to help you decide.
Monthly Fee
Shopify and Shopline operate on different pricing models. Shopify offers multiple plans, starting from Basic Shopify to Advanced Shopify, with Basic Shopify plan starting at $25 USD (~RM118) per month if you opt for the monthly plan. If you’re new to Shopify, you will only be charged $1 USD (~RM4.7) for the first 3 months too.
They do have a simpler version called Shopify Lite that enables you to start selling almost instantly with just the basics of an ecommerce platform at just $5 USD (~RM24). Take note that this does not include possible taxes and additional fees and there’s no exact Shopify Malaysia price.
In contrast, the Shopline pricing is already in MYR. With the Shopline plan ranging from Starter to Premium, and should you opt for the monthly plan, their Starter plan starts at RM179 per month that excludes a 6% SST. They also have a more affordable option called Shopline Lite that’s at RM29 a month, which is a great option if you’re just starting and want to keep things simple.
Monthly Plans | Shopify | Shopline |
|---|---|---|
Lite | $5 (~RM24) | RM29 |
Basic/Starter | $25 (~RM118) | RM179 |
Shopify/Essential | $65 (~RM308) | RM455 |
Advanced/Premium | $399 (~RM1888) | RM1548 |
Transaction Fee
Every ecommerce platform you sell your products on will charge you a transaction fee, and these fees can significantly impact a business’s bottom line. Shopify charges a transaction fee as high as 2% if you’re on the basic plan, but can be as low as 0.5% if you’re on the Advanced Plan.
Shopline, however, adopts a different approach, offering different rates depending on the type of payment. For example, Shopline payments that use credit cards issued by local banks have a 2% rate, while credit cards issued by foreign banks have a 3.5% rate.
Transaction Fee | Shopify | Shopline |
|---|---|---|
How it’s determined | Based on Plan with Shopify | Based on Payment Method |
Rates |
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*Subject to 6% SST |
Number of Products
The size of your product catalog plays a crucial role in selecting an ecommerce platform. Thankfully, both Shopify and Shopline offer an unlimited number of products you can list, regardless of the plan you choose.
So in this case, both choices work in your favor. However, when it comes to listing variants of your products, Shopify has a variation limit of 100 while Shopline allows up to 500.
Number of Products | Shopify | Shopline |
|---|---|---|
Product Listing | Unlimited for all plans | Unlimited for all plans |
Variation Limit | 100 | 500 |
Supported Payments
Diverse payment options are essential to cater to a broad customer base. You will want to have a platform that supports the best payment gateway in Malaysia.
Shopify POS supports a wide range of payment gateways globally, providing flexibility to businesses should you be targeting global customers. If you’re worried about whether local options are available, Shopify payment gateway malaysia also supports other local and other forms of payments such as FPX (online banking), e-Wallets and even PayLater.
Shopline payment has a smaller number of payment gateways that’s mainly catered to the locals, but they’re all popular payment options including as FPX and e-wallet. This makes it more limited should your target market be outside of Malaysia. However, it also provides PayLater options such as Atome and GrabPay PayLater if you’re targeting local customers.
Supported Payments | Shopify | Shopline |
|---|---|---|
Global Payment | High number of global options available including PayLater options | Limited to credit card options |
Local Payment | High number of local payments available, including e-Wallet, FPX and PayLater options | FPX (Online Banking), E-Wallet, Atome, GrabPay PayLater |
Staff Accounts
The number of staff accounts allowed can impact collaboration and management. Both Shopify and Shopline offer varying staff accounts based on subscription levels. However, Shopline offers more Staff Accounts for all of their plans.
Their starter plan alone starts at 5, while Shopify’s basic plan offers only 2. Shopline’s Premium plan gives you up to 100 staff accounts, while Shopify’s Advanced plan gives you only 15.
Staff Accounts | Shopify | Shopline |
|---|---|---|
Basic/Starter | 2 | 5 |
Shopify/Essential | 5 | 10 |
Advanced/Premium | 15 | 100 |
Themes
Source: Shopify
The visual appeal of your online store is crucial for attracting customers. The right online shopping platform should give you the option to choose and customize the best theme that suits your business.
As an ecommerce website builder Malaysia, both platforms offer a range of themes, but the Shopify website’s extensive theme store provides more options for customization, including drag and drop and being able to change the colors of your theme of choice, additional translations, quickview, and more. However, a lot of these are paid themes, in which customization may add to the cost too.
Shopline, while offering appealing designs, may have fewer choices compared to Shopify. It does offer some level of customization, but compared to Shopify, your design choices are pretty much what you see is what you get.
Themes | Shopify | Shopline |
|---|---|---|
Theme offerings | Extensive theme store | Limited but visually appealing |
Customer Support
Having responsive and reliable customer support is important in your choice of ecommerce platform, as they play a vital role for seamless operations. Shopify, with its global presence, offers robust customer support through chatbots, emails, and more resources, all of which are available 24/7, no matter which plan you opted for.
Shopline has a specific Malaysian office you can contact via email and phone, though it’s likely limited to opening hours. They can also be contacted via a chatbox on your Shopline login account panel once you open an account.
Customer Support | Shopify | Shopline |
|---|---|---|
Type of Support | Available 24/7 | Varies by region’s opening hours |
Support Channels |
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Related: Easystore VS. Shopify: Which Is the Best E-commerce Solution for Your Business?
Apps
Third-party apps enhance the functionality of e-commerce platforms, as these can help you extend your online shopping platform Malaysia further. These apps extend to not just social media and marketing, but also include store management, customer service, and more.
Shopify boasts a vast app ecosystem with over 8000 apps, allowing users to add features and integrations. There’s even a Shopify mobile app you can use to manage your e-commerce account on your mobile device too.
Shopline, while offering essential apps, is quite limited in comparison with over 200 apps that could potentially impact the scalability of your online store. However, the number of apps have been growing and if it has the basic apps that you need, it’s still a worthy consideration.
Apps | Shopify | Shopline |
|---|---|---|
Number of Apps | Over 8000 | Over 200 |
Abandoned Cart Recovery
On top of offering discount codes, this is a great e-commerce marketing strategy if you want to maximize sales. The platform of your choice should have the option in place to automatically send emails to engage customers who have abandoned their cart, prompting them to complete their purchase.
Thankfully, both Shopify and Shopline offer this on all of their plans, but there are still some limitations in terms of sales channels. For Shopify, this option is available for the Online Store sales channel, the Buy Button sales channel, and the Plus Wholesale Channel. For Shopline, this is only available at the Online Store and Buy Button sales channels.
Abandoned Cart Recovery | Shopify | Shopline |
|---|---|---|
Plan Availability | Available on all plans | Available on all plans |
Channel Availability |
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Reporting and Analytics Tools
Insights into your business’s performance are vital to help you make better business decisions. Your platform of choice should offer the right insights and data needed to help you in the decision-making process.
Shopify offers way more features on their reporting and analytics tools, however it ranges based on the plan you go for. So if you opt for the Basic monthly plan, you get a Basic report, while if you get the Advanced plan you get an Advanced report.
However, even the basic report can be quite in-depth as you can look into not just the analytics but also behavior reports, marketing reports, customer reports, and more. The difference is that Advanced report allows you to create a custom report.
On the other hand, Shopline provides a simpler yet essential reporting for all their plans, which mainly includes Product sales, Traffic acquisition, Actions, Page and Customers.
Reporting & Analytics Tools | Shopify | Shopline |
|---|---|---|
Availability | Dependent on the type of plan | Available on all plans |
Types of Reporting & Analytics |
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Shopify vs Shopline: Select Your Best Choice
So now that we’ve gone through these various factors, it’s time to really boil down what each of these platforms has to offer. Check out this list of unique selling points and drawbacks of each platform.
Shopify:
Unique Selling Points | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
Extensive app ecosystem | Higher learning curve for newcomers |
Global support network | Potential for higher overall cost, especially as prices are in USD |
Advanced reporting and analytics tools | Lower staff accounts |
Customizable and visually appealing themes | |
Global payments available |
Shopline:
Unique Selling Points | Drawbacks |
|---|---|
High product variation limit | Global payment options are limited |
Localized support and understanding | Impacted by local policies |
Higher staff accounts | Self onboarding on the starter plan |
Supports major local payment gateways | |
Little to no limitations across all plans |
In the end, choosing between Shopline and Shopify ultimately hinges on your specific business needs and priorities. If you prefer simplicity and a focus on local support, Shopline might be the ideal choice. However, for those seeking extensive features, scalability, and a global reach, Shopify’s robust ecosystem may prove to be the more suitable option.
As you go through this Shopline and Shopify review, remember to consider your budget, business size, and growth plans when making this critical decision for your e-commerce venture.
Get Higher Conversions For Your E-Commerce Business
As you embark on your ecommerce journey, carefully weigh the pros and cons of each e-commerce platform. Consider the one that you think works for your business best, and don’t forget to consider your future plans too.
You also want to amplify your online success, so consider leveraging various digital marketing services such as Ecommerce SEO and even social media services to help engage customers and sell products. You can get all this and more at One Search Pro, as our team of combined knowledge, expertise and experience of more than 10 years means we know how to get your products seen by the right target market and gain customer trust, leading to higher conversions.
At One Search Pro, we ensure your website and e-commerce business thrives in today’s competitive digital landscape. Contact us at One Search Pro today and take the next step toward e-commerce excellence with strategic digital marketing solutions.
Shopify vs Shopline FAQ
What are the differences between Shopify and Shopline?
The main differences between Shopify and Shopline lie in their pricing models, scalability, and target audience. Shopify has a more global reach, they also offer extensive scalability and a vast app ecosystem. Shopline, on the other hand, focuses on simplicity, localization, and catering to the needs of small to medium-sized enterprises. Differences also exist in transaction fees, staff accounts, and reporting tools.
Is Shopline better than Shopify?
The answer depends on your business needs. Shopline is an excellent choice for budding entrepreneurs and smaller enterprises who prefer simpler options and localized support. However, if scalability, a global presence, and a comprehensive feature set are crucial, Shopify may be the preferred option.
How do transaction fees compare between Shopify and Shopline?
Both Shopify and Shopline charge transaction fees on each sale. Shopify’s transaction fees depend on the plan you subscribe to on their platform, whereas Shopline’s transaction fees depend on the payment gateway used for checkout.
Does Shopline offer a sustainable advantage over Shopify for new businesses?
Shopline’s simplicity, transparent and localized pricing, as well as localized support make it an attractive choice for new and small businesses. It provides an easy entry point into the world of e-commerce without overwhelming complexities. However, Shopify’s scalability and global reach may provide a more sustainable advantage for businesses with ambitious growth plans.
