PrestaShop vs Shopify

Why Switch from Shopify to PrestaShop?

Shopify makes it easy to launch an online store, but that convenience comes with significant costs and constraints. Shopify charges transaction fees (up to 2%) unless you use Shopify Payments, locks you into its proprietary ecosystem, and stores all your customer and sales data on US and Canadian servers. You do not own your store — you rent it. If Shopify changes its terms, raises prices, or suspends your account, you lose access to your business.

PrestaShop, headquartered in Paris, France, is the leading open-source e-commerce platform in Europe. With over 300,000 active stores worldwide, PrestaShop gives you complete ownership of your store, your code, and your customer data. The core software is free, there are no transaction fees, and multi-language plus multi-currency support is built in from the start — not a paid add-on.

For European merchants, PrestaShop’s native understanding of EU VAT rules, GDPR compliance requirements, and multi-country selling makes it a natural fit that Shopify struggles to match.

Feature Comparison

Feature	PrestaShop	Shopify
Open source	✅ OSL 3.0	❌ Proprietary
Transaction fees	✅ None	❌ 0.5-2% (unless Shopify Payments)
Self-hostable	✅ Full control	❌ SaaS only
Multi-language	✅ Built-in (75+ languages)	⚠️ Requires paid apps
Multi-currency	✅ Built-in	⚠️ Shopify Payments only
EU VAT handling	✅ Native support	⚠️ Requires configuration
Themes	✅ 2,000+ (free and paid)	✅ 150+ (mostly paid)
Modules/Apps	✅ 3,000+ on marketplace	✅ 8,000+ on app store
SEO features	✅ Advanced built-in	✅ Good
Data ownership	✅ You own everything	❌ Shopify controls hosting
Data location	Your choice (self-host) 🇪🇺	Canada/United States 🇺🇸🇨🇦

Pricing

PrestaShop’s open-source model can be dramatically cheaper than Shopify over time:

• PrestaShop Core: Free — self-hosted, full e-commerce platform
• PrestaShop Hosted: From €24/month — managed hosting with simplified setup
• PrestaShop Modules: Individual pricing — from free to €200+ per module
• Shopify Basic: $39/month — basic store, 2% transaction fee (without Shopify Payments)
• Shopify Standard: $105/month — professional reports, 1% transaction fee
• Shopify Advanced: $399/month — advanced features, 0.5% transaction fee
• Shopify Plus: From $2,000/month — enterprise solution

The key difference is ownership. With PrestaShop self-hosted, you pay for your own hosting (€10-50/month for a typical store) and any premium modules you need. There are no monthly platform fees and zero transaction fees. For a store processing €50,000/month, Shopify’s 1% transaction fee alone costs €500/month — dwarfing PrestaShop’s hosting costs.

Privacy & Data Sovereignty

PrestaShop provides data sovereignty that SaaS platforms cannot offer:

• Self-hosting means all customer data, order history, and payment information stays on your servers in your chosen jurisdiction
• PrestaShop SA is a French company, developing the platform under EU legal frameworks
• GDPR compliance module is available to help merchants meet their obligations (cookie consent, data export, right to erasure)
• No customer data is shared with PrestaShop or any third party — you control the entire data flow
• Open-source code means you can audit exactly what happens with your data
• The European merchant community has built robust GDPR-compliant payment and shipping integrations

Shopify, as a Canadian/US company, processes customer data on North American servers. While Shopify offers GDPR tools, the fundamental data processing happens outside EU jurisdiction, which can be problematic for merchants handling European customer data.

Migration Guide

Migrating from Shopify to PrestaShop requires planning but is a well-documented process:

1. Choose your hosting and install PrestaShop — select a European hosting provider (such as OVHcloud, Hetzner, or Scaleway) and install PrestaShop via their one-click installer or manually. Alternatively, sign up for PrestaShop’s managed hosting plan at 24 euros per month.
2. Export your Shopify data — export your products, customers, and order history from Shopify using the built-in CSV export tools. Save images and digital assets separately.
3. Import data into PrestaShop — use PrestaShop’s import module or a dedicated Shopify-to-PrestaShop migration tool to import your products, categories, customers, and orders. Verify that product images, variants, and prices transferred correctly.
4. Configure EU-specific settings — set up EU VAT rules, multi-language storefronts, multi-currency support, and GDPR compliance modules. PrestaShop’s native EU features make this substantially easier than on Shopify.
5. Set up your payment and shipping integrations — configure European payment providers (Mollie, Adyen, Stripe EU) and shipping carriers. PrestaShop’s marketplace has modules for most European payment and logistics providers.
6. Test and launch — run your store in test mode, process sample orders, verify payment flows, and check all pages in each language. Once satisfied, redirect your domain to PrestaShop and deactivate your Shopify subscription.

Estimated time: 1-3 days for small stores (under 500 products); 1-2 weeks for larger stores with custom features. Difficulty level: Moderate — basic technical knowledge needed for self-hosted; easy for managed hosting.

Real-World Use Cases

• A French artisan cheese producer migrated from Shopify to PrestaShop to sell across 12 EU countries with correct VAT handling. PrestaShop’s native multi-language and multi-currency support eliminated the need for three paid Shopify apps, saving over 150 euros per month. They also gained full ownership of their customer data, which stayed on French servers.
• A German fashion boutique processing 50,000 euros per month in sales switched to PrestaShop and immediately saved 500 euros per month by eliminating Shopify’s 1% transaction fee. The savings funded a premium PrestaShop theme and several modules, with money left over.
• A Belgian chocolatier with seasonal peaks needed a platform that could handle traffic surges without escalating SaaS costs. By self-hosting PrestaShop on a scalable European cloud provider, they maintained performance during holiday seasons while keeping costs predictable and all customer data under Belgian jurisdiction.

Company Background

PrestaShop was founded in 2007 in Paris, France, by Igor Schlumberger and Bruno Lévêque. The project originated as a student project at the EPITECH computer science school in Paris before evolving into a full commercial venture. PrestaShop SA was established to provide professional support, hosting, and marketplace services around the open-source e-commerce platform, which quickly gained traction among European merchants seeking an alternative to proprietary solutions.

In 2022, PrestaShop was acquired by MBE Worldwide (a subsidiary of Italy’s Oersted group), strengthening its position within the European logistics and e-commerce ecosystem. The acquisition brought additional resources for platform development while maintaining PrestaShop’s open-source model and French headquarters. Prior to the acquisition, PrestaShop had received investment from Serena Capital and Seventure Partners, among other European investors.

Today, PrestaShop powers over 300,000 active online stores worldwide, with a particularly strong presence in France, Spain, Italy, and Latin America. The company employs approximately 200 people, primarily in Paris, and maintains a global community of over 1 million members including developers, designers, and merchants. The PrestaShop Addons marketplace hosts over 3,000 modules and themes developed by the community, creating a self-sustaining ecosystem around the platform. PrestaShop’s commitment to open-source development under the OSL 3.0 license ensures that merchants retain full ownership of their store code, data, and customizations, making it the most widely used open-source e-commerce platform in Europe.

Security & Compliance

PrestaShop provides a robust security framework for e-commerce, with the additional advantage that self-hosted merchants can implement security measures tailored to their specific regulatory requirements.

• PCI DSS compliance support through integration with PCI-compliant payment gateways (Stripe, Mollie, Adyen), ensuring secure payment processing
• GDPR compliance module available to help merchants implement cookie consent, data export, right to erasure, and data retention policies
• SSL/TLS encryption enforced for all storefront and admin panel communications
• Regular security patches released by the PrestaShop core team, with a dedicated security team monitoring and addressing vulnerabilities
• Bug bounty program through YesWeHack, encouraging ethical security researchers to identify and report vulnerabilities
• Two-factor authentication (2FA) available for admin panel access to protect store management
• Open-source security advantage — the public codebase allows independent security audits and community-driven vulnerability discovery

Integration Ecosystem

PrestaShop offers one of the most extensive integration ecosystems in the open-source e-commerce space, with particular strength in European payment and shipping providers.

• PrestaShop Addons marketplace with 3,000+ modules and themes covering payment, shipping, marketing, SEO, and store management
• European payment gateway integrations including Mollie, Adyen, Stripe, Klarna, and iDEAL for market-specific payment preferences
• EU shipping carrier modules for DPD, GLS, PostNL, Colissimo, DHL, and other European logistics providers with label printing and tracking
• REST API (Webservices) providing programmatic access to products, orders, customers, and catalog management
• ERP and accounting integrations with DATEV, Sage, Exact, and other European business software platforms
• Multi-channel selling via modules for Amazon, eBay, Google Shopping, and social media marketplace integration
• CMS and marketing tool connectors including Mailchimp, Sendinblue (Brevo), HubSpot, and Google Analytics alternatives
• Import/export capabilities with CSV, XML, and JSON support for product catalogs, customer data, and order history

Who Should Switch?

PrestaShop is ideal for:

• European merchants who need native multi-language, multi-currency, and EU VAT support
• Growing businesses that want to eliminate transaction fees as sales volume increases
• Developers and agencies who need full code access for custom store features
• Privacy-conscious businesses that must keep customer data within the EU
• Established merchants who want to own their platform rather than rent it

The Bottom Line

PrestaShop offers European merchants something Shopify cannot: complete ownership and control of their online store, customer data, and business logic. The open-source model means no transaction fees, no vendor lock-in, and full data sovereignty.

The honest trade-off is simplicity. Shopify is easier to set up, has a larger app ecosystem, and requires zero technical knowledge. If you want a store running in an afternoon with no coding, Shopify is still the fastest path. But for merchants who think long-term — who want to own their platform, avoid escalating fees, and keep customer data under EU jurisdiction — PrestaShop is the smarter investment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need technical skills to run a PrestaShop store?

For the self-hosted version, basic server administration knowledge is helpful, though many European hosting providers offer one-click PrestaShop installations. PrestaShop's hosted edition at 24 euros per month eliminates the need for technical skills entirely and provides a managed experience similar to Shopify.

Can I migrate my existing Shopify store to PrestaShop?

Yes. PrestaShop has official migration modules and there are third-party tools that can transfer your products, customers, orders, and categories from Shopify. The process typically takes a few hours for small stores and a few days for larger catalogs with thousands of products.

How does PrestaShop handle EU VAT and multi-country selling?

PrestaShop has native EU VAT support built in, including automatic VAT rate application per country, VAT ID validation, and OSS (One-Stop Shop) compliance for cross-border sales. This is a significant advantage over Shopify, which requires paid third-party apps for proper EU VAT handling.

Is PrestaShop really free? What are the hidden costs?

The core PrestaShop software is genuinely free and open source. Costs come from hosting (10-50 euros per month for a typical store), premium themes (50-200 euros one-time), and premium modules (varies widely). There are no transaction fees from PrestaShop itself, unlike Shopify's 0.5-2% fee on non-Shopify Payments transactions.

What happens if PrestaShop the company disappears? Is my store safe?

Because PrestaShop is open source, your store runs independently of the company. Your code, data, and customizations belong to you. The community can continue developing and maintaining the platform even without the company — this is a fundamental advantage of open source over proprietary SaaS platforms like Shopify.