A reliable and easy-to-use shop system is the foundation for successful ecommerce. There are many options and the systems differ significantly in functionality, cost, and structure.
How do I choose the best B2C ecommerce software?
When selecting software for your B2C ecommerce, the goal is to find the software that can represent your offering and processes and meet your customers’ expectations for a fast, secure checkout. You can use the following criteria as a checklist:
Checkout and mobile-first: Important, since the majority of purchases are made via smartphones. The system should support express payment methods (e.g., Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal One Touch) and guest checkout without mandatory registration.
Promotions, discounts and strikethrough prices: Relevant if you want to control marketing campaigns, seasonal sales, or automatic discount rules without programming effort.
Variant and product data management: Crucial for assortments with many colors, sizes, or technical specifications. A clear selection and filtering in the shop are the basis for a good conversion rate.
Omnichannel and POS integration: Important for merchants with physical stores to synchronize stock, prices, and customer accounts between online store and point of sale in real time.
Automated customer communication: Useful if you want status updates on orders, shipping, and returns as well as personalized recommendations (e.g., “Matches your purchase”) to be sent automatically.
CMS: Helpful if, alongside products, you also want to easily create landing pages, guides, blog posts, or brand worlds and link them to products.
AI-powered product search and recommendations: Relevant if you want customers to be guided quickly to the right product via an intelligent search that also understands typos or descriptions.
GDPR compliance and security: Important for the DACH market. The system must offer features for legally compliant checkouts, cookie consent, and data deletion according to current standards.
APIs to ERP and logistics: Necessary if data should be transferred seamlessly to the merchandise management system, CRM, or shipping providers (e.g., DHL, DPD) to avoid manual effort.
This article was created by Shopware and represents an editorially prepared market overview. It is intended for orientation purposes and does not claim to be complete or to provide an objective evaluation in the sense of an independent test. The following information on features, prices, and services is based on publicly accessible sources from the respective providers (as of January 2026). It is provided for guidance only. Changes by the providers are possible at any time; no guarantee can be given for accuracy or completeness.
This article includes a presentation of Shopware as part of a market overview. It is based on careful research but is not an objective test report; rather, it is an editorial comparison that contains partly promotional elements. All mentioned brands are the property of their respective rights holders and are listed for comparison purposes only. The order does not represent a ranking or evaluation. Shopware has no business relationship with the mentioned providers.
Top 5 B2C ecommerce software
Shopware is an ecommerce software from Germany, offered as a free open-source variant (Community Edition) and in three commercial plans (Rise, Evolve, Beyond). Shopware is used for B2C online stores; B2B shops are also possible.
Shopping Experiences (CMS editor): For creating homepages, landing pages, category pages, and brand worlds with drag & drop, without developer effort.
Control of prices, shipping, content: For automatic price and shipping logics as well as individual content depending on customer group, cart value, country, or time period.
Automation of processes: For automated processes such as order confirmations, status changes, internal notifications, or integrations via webhooks.
Shopware AI: For AI-powered content creation and translation, product text optimization, review analysis, and other automated assistant functions.
Headless and API capability: For connecting ERP, PIM, CRM systems, marketplaces, or custom frontends like apps and portals.
Returns, subscriptions and multi-inventory: For integrated returns management, subscription models, and the management of multiple warehouse locations with separate stock (extensive features available from Beyond).
Operating models (self-hosted and cloud): For broad choice in hosting, from self-managed servers or German/European data centers to cloud operation via Shopware’s infrastructure.
Prices for Shopware (as of January 2026, source: Shopware website):
You can get Shopware in three price tiers starting at €600 per month. The first tier, Rise, already includes Shopware AI, 3D features, and unlimited sales channels. Additional features are available in Evolve (from €2,400 per month) and Beyond (from €6,500 per month).
2) Shopify
Shopify is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform for B2C retail. The system runs cloud-based, which means the technical maintenance of the infrastructure and security updates are handled by the provider.
Checkout system: Includes integrated payment processing (Shopify Payments) and accelerated payment methods like Shop Pay. Guest checkout and one-click checkouts are included by default.
App ecosystem: Features beyond the core (e.g., subscriptions, advanced SEO tools, or loyalty programs) are integrated via a marketplace for third-party apps.
AI features (Shopify Magic): Includes tools for automated product description creation, image editing, and an assistant (Sidekick) to manage store settings via text input.
POS integration: Offers its own point-of-sale solution (Shopify POS) to synchronize inventory, sales, and customer data between brick-and-mortar and online store.
Hosting and infrastructure: Uses a global content delivery network (CDN) and scales server capacity automatically with rising visitor numbers.
Internationalization: With Shopify Markets you can manage country-specific currencies, languages, and local tax rates within one instance.
Process automation: Shopify Flow enables the creation of rule-based workflows (e.g., stock notifications or customer tagging).
Data protection and GDPR: Shopify is headquartered in Canada. According to publicly available information, the company operates parts of its infrastructure outside the European Union. Shopify provides features to support compliance with applicable data protection regulations, such as GDPR in the EU, including data processing addendums (Data Processing Addendum). Depending on the specific setup and the markets served, additional apps or third-party services may be required to ensure legally compliant implementation of consent management, cookie banners, and legal policies. Companies should assess on a case-by-case basis which privacy and regulatory requirements apply to their business model and target regions.
Prices for Shopify (as of January 2026, source: Shopify website):
Four plan sizes are offered with increasing functionality. The smallest plan, Basic, costs from €25 per month with annual billing. Larger plans increase the number of staff accounts, support level, and more. The largest plan, Plus, starts at €2,100 per month.
3) Spryker
Spryker is a German-developed shop system based on composable modules, allowing shops, marketplaces, and B2B solutions to be assembled from components. Spryker typically runs in the cloud and is often chosen when a company experiences strong growth, needs to map special processes, or wants to connect multiple sales channels.
Modules: The system consists of many individual modules that can be combined to build shops, marketplaces, or B2B solutions tailored to the business model.
Headless: The backend is separated from the frontend, allowing independent development and operation of webshops, apps, or other sales channels.
Shop, B2B and marketplace: Suitable for classic online stores, business-customer solutions, and marketplaces where multiple merchants sell products.
Prices and assortment: Large product catalogs, many price variants, tiered prices, or time-controlled prices can be managed.
Content and media management: Images, banners, and other media can be organized centrally and used across channels.
Cloud operation: Platform is usually provided as a cloud solution; infrastructure, updates, and scaling are managed automatically.
Prices for Spryker (as of January 2026, source: Spryker website):
Spryker does not publish prices on its website.
4) commercetools
commercetools is a cloud software for B2C retail based on the MACH architecture (microservices, API-first, cloud-native, headless). As a composable commerce system, commercetools provides backend functionality via APIs instead of a built-in frontend.
API-first: All ecommerce functions (e.g., cart, inventory, product catalog) are accessible via REST and GraphQL APIs, enabling connections to any frontend like webshops, mobile apps, or POS.
Microservices structure: The system consists of independent services that can be scaled or updated without affecting the entire system.
commercetools Foundry: A package with preconfigured solutions (blueprints) and store launchpads for B2C retail to shorten implementation time.
Product and catalog management: Supports large volumes of product data, unlimited product variants, and complex attribute structures across sales channels.
AI developer assistants: Tools integrated into the platform to help software teams connect APIs and generate code for standard use cases.
Order management: Functions for cross-channel order processing and stock synchronization across multiple warehouses and stores.
Scalability: Infrastructure adjusts automatically to traffic peaks, ensuring availability during marketing events.
Prices for commercetools (as of January 2026, source: commercetools website):
Prices are not publicly listed and depend on functionality, usage volume, and individual configuration. The website describes a user- and volume-based subscription model.
5) Gambio
Gambio is a German ecommerce software aimed primarily at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the DACH region. The software is available as a cloud solution (SaaS) or for self-hosted installation. According to the provider, the software is preconfigured for the legal framework of the German market.
Design editor (StyleEdit): A visual tool to customize layouts and designs via drag & drop. The system offers responsive templates (themes) that can be edited without programming skills.
Legal compliance and texts: Integration for inserting legal texts (e.g., T&Cs, cancellation policy) and preconfiguration for German requirements such as the Pricing Ordinance or VAT settings.
Multichannel connection: With the integrated tool Magnalister, items can be listed and managed on marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Kaufland, and OTTO directly from the shop backend.
Customer and order management: Includes functions for creating invoices and delivery notes, managing customer groups, and an integrated ticket system for customer support.
Payment and shipping modules: Interfaces to common providers (e.g., PayPal, Klarna, DHL, DPD) are included by default or can be activated centrally via the Gambio Hub.
SEO features: Tools for editing meta tags, creating sitemaps, and optimizing URLs for organic visibility.
Integrated blog (Pressify): Integration or connection to WordPress to link content marketing with the online store.
Prices for Gambio (as of January 2026, source: Gambio website):
Gambio offers three packages starting with START-UP at €24.95 per month. Functionality increases with package size. Contract terms are 12 months and a 30-day free trial is available.
Is Shopware the right B2C ecommerce software for you?
If Shopware convinced you, you can book your personal demo here. There you will get a look inside the system and learn how to best use Shopware for your project.
B2C ecommerce software – frequently asked questions
What should I pay special attention to when choosing a B2C ecommerce software?
Important are checkout performance (especially on mobile devices), integrated features for marketing promotions, legally compliant handling of the right of withdrawal, and the system’s scalability with rising visitor numbers. The availability of APIs to shipping providers and payment providers is also crucial.
What is the difference between SaaS solutions and self-hosted systems?
SaaS solutions (Software-as-a-Service) are hosted and maintained by the provider. Merchants do not need to care about security updates or server infrastructure but have less control over the source code. Self-hosted systems (self-hosted) offer maximum freedom for customization and data control but require technical expertise for operation and regular maintenance.
How important is omnichannel integration for B2C retail?
For merchants with brick-and-mortar stores, omnichannel capability is important to synchronize stock, prices, and customer data between the physical store and online shop in real time. This enables functions such as click & collect or returning online orders in-store.
Can I change my shop system?
A switch (replatforming) is possible but requires careful planning of data migration (products, customers, order history). Depending on the complexity of integrated third-party systems (ERP, CRM) and individual customizations, the effort to move to a new software varies greatly.
What role does GDPR play in choosing the software?
The system must provide features to comply with GDPR, such as consent management (cookie banner), options for data deletion and access requests, and secure data transfer. For vendors with server locations outside the EU, additional contractual arrangements (data processing agreements) must be reviewed.
