Platform Comparison

Shopify vs. Boutir: A Comparison of Online Store Fees, Features, and Services

With the increasing number of online store platforms, the e-commerce landscape is constantly evolving. When expanding your online business, how do you choose a platform that is suitable for sustainable growth? In this article, we will compare two well-known platforms, Shopify and Boutir.


Boutir is a one-stop video-centric online business platform, on which merchants can handle shop opening, daily operation, video shooting and even product-selling livestreams. It's also a phygital platform that helps shop owners bring physical shopping experience and a human touch to their online shops.	Shopify Inc. is a Canadian multinational e-commerce company headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. Shopify is the name of its proprietary e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. The Shopify platform offers online retailers a suite of services, including payments, marketing, shipping and customer engagement tools.

Price Comparison

Shopify offers three main plans for you to choose from:

Plan	Yearly Pricing	Introduction
Basic	US$ 25/mo ~ HK$ 2,346/year	Everything you need to create your store, ship products, and process payments
Shopify	US$ 69/mo ~HK$ 6,475/year	Level up your business with professional reporting and more staff accounts
Advanced	US$ 299/mo ~HK$ 28,060/year	Get the best of Shopify with custom reporting and our lowest transaction fees

Boutir, the leading e-commerce platform, offers three primary plans for their users:

Plan	Yearly Pricing	Introduction
All-in-one Essential	HK$4,488	All you need to run your online store
Advanced Plan	HK$11,888	Effortlessly manage your online and offline business operations from one platform, anytime and anywhere.
V-Commerce All in One	HK$18,888	Sell more and engage your customers with videos

It is worth noting that Shopify's three plans only include basic e-commerce functionalities such as product management, order management, and shipping settings. The plan prices primarily depend on the number of employee accounts, transaction fees, and reports. Shopify has its own App store where different store functionalities can be obtained through the installation of third-party extensions, but there is a chance that additional fees may be required, such as for basic customer review functionality or different website templates (which can cost hundreds of dollars). Although this may seem flexible, it becomes difficult for many store owners to predict the final amount of funds needed for their online store. On the other hand, Boutir clearly outlines the included features in each plan, offering a comprehensive package for store management at a single price. All functionalities are readily available and do not require individual installation. This makes it easy to operate and convenient for merchants to accurately budget their operational costs.

Transaction fee comparison

Shopify charges varying transaction fees based on the merchant's subscription plan;

Plan	Credit card (per transaction amount)	Accept payments through third-party platforms (non-Shopify Payments)
Basic	Hong Kong： 3.3% + HK$2.35 International： 3.9% + HK$2.35	2% of the total transaction amount
Shopify	Hong Kong： 3.2% + HK$2.35 International： 3.8% + HK$2.35	1% of the total transaction amount
Advanced	Hong Kong： 3.1% + HK$2.35 International： 3.7% + HK$2.35	0.5%of the total transaction amount

To accept credit card payments, merchants can apply for Shopify Payments, their in-house payment tool. However, if they prefer to use other payment methods like the popular PayMe for Business or FPS in Hong Kong, they will need to download additional third-party payment applications and create accounts. In addition to PayMe's own transaction fees, merchants will also need to pay Shopify a percentage ranging from 0.5% to 2% of each transaction amount. Furthermore, the costs of payment service providers or one-time fees for account setup and settlement are not included, making it a significant hidden expense that novice merchants can easily overlook.

On the other hand, with Boutir, all plans have a uniform charge of 0.5% of each transaction amount (exempted for sales below HKD 20,000), and it also integrates with various payment service providers. If merchants prefer to accept credit card payments, they can choose YedPay. YedPay only charges 2.9% of the successful transaction amount for local credit cards, and for cross-border credit cards, it is only 3.5%, making it even lower compared to the transaction fees charged by Shopify's Advanced plan. Additionally, using other payment tools like PayMe or Tap & Go on Boutir does not incur any additional fees.

Local/Asian Applications

Payment


Bank Transfer	✅	✅
Paypal	✅	✅
PayMe from HSBC	✅	✅
Alipay, WeChat Pay	✅	✅
Octopus App for Business	✅	❌
BoC Pay	✅	❌
Tap & Go	✅	❌

As Shopify primarily caters to the European and American markets, it has made fewer adjustments for the Asian market. For instance, when Hong Kong Government introduced consumer vouchers, Shopify was unable to integrate with popular payment tools like Octopus and Tap & Go, causing merchants using Shopify to potentially miss out on business opportunities. Additionally, it was only last year that popular payment methods such as AlipayHK, WeChat Pay, and Union Pay were finally integrated, showing a slower response to the local market's needs.

However, Boutir understands the importance of adapting quickly to market trends and government policies. Prior to the launch of each round of consumer vouchers, Boutir had already integrated all payment tools, allowing merchants to respond to demands and launch various promotional activities to seize opportunities in a timely manner.

Store Operation

Ease of use

Although Shopify offers high flexibility in setting up an online store, it can also be relatively difficult. For instance, when connecting to a Google Ad account, merchants have to create their own account on Google and then only insert the code into the backend of their store.

Because starting an online store can be complex for many people (including setting up localized payment and shipping systems), Shopify encourages store owners to hire Shopify experts to help with store setup. However, this adds additional costs, which can be burdensome for startups or small businesses.

On the other hand, Boutir has always adhered to the principle of simplicity and ease of use, allowing even non-tech-savvy store owners to effortlessly create their own online stores. Taking the example of setting up a Google Ad account, you can even directly create a Google Ad account within the Boutir application, completing it with just a few simple steps, without the need to hire professionals.

Conclusion

Why choose Boutir over Shopify ?

Both Boutir and Shopify are robust e-commerce systems, but for local businesses, Boutir is undoubtedly the superior choice. One reason is that Boutir provides strong regional support in the Asian market, offering local payment methods, language localization, and currency support. It also collaborates with local logistics and payment providers to better meet the demands of the local market.

Additionally, when it comes to convenience and ease of use, Boutir outshines Shopify. While Shopify offers a wide range of apps and integration options, store owners need to invest additional time and resources to research, test, or hire experts to build and manage their online stores. In contrast, Boutir is dedicated to providing a user-friendly interface and tools that make store creation and management easy, without the need for any programming knowledge. This allows you to focus on your business and maximize your profits.

"The characteristic of live streaming is that the focus of 500 people is placed on a single product, which has a greater impact compared to traditional stores. Even if I place it at the main entrance, it wouldn't be seen by 500 people. At the same time, it creates an explosive effect when promoting new products, which is much larger than traditional stores."

"Beginning with the understanding that customers prefer to read reviews from other users before placing an order, we utilized the 'Custom Page' feature of the online store to create a 'Customer Sharing' section. This section showcases customer testimonials and photos, allowing new customers to make informed purchases of Beginning skincare products with confidence."

"Boutir's mobile application is genuinely very user-friendly and simple. It has been tremendously helpful to us, especially in terms of payment options, where there are many choices available. We can even utilize it for accepting consumption voucher. Therefore, if any of our friends are considering opening an online store, we will definitely highly recommend Boutir."

Platform Comparison

Shopify vs. Boutir: A Comparison of Online Store Fees, Features, and Services

With the increasing number of online store platforms, the e-commerce landscape is constantly evolving. When expanding your online business, how do you choose a platform that is suitable for sustainable growth? In this article, we will compare two well-known platforms, Shopify and Boutir.

Payment

Logistics

Ease of use

Why choose Boutir over Shopify ?

Merchant Stories

Effectively Boost Sales with Boutir

Book a free consultation with our expert

Boutir is a one-stop video-centric online business platform


Custom Delivery Options	✅	✅
SF Express Integration (Pay by Shipper)	✅	Via third party's app
SF Express Integration (Pay by Consignee)	✅	Via third party's app
Hongkong Post Integration	✅	❌
ZTO Express Integration	✅	❌