Shopify alternatives in Nigeria: 6 platforms built for how Nigerians sell

Shopify works in Nigeria. You can open a store from Lagos today and sell in naira. But it was built for a shopper in London or Toronto who lands on a website, trusts it, and checks out alone.

A Nigerian customer asks first. Is it original? How much last? Can I pay half now? And that conversation happens in WhatsApp and Instagram, not on the product page.

That's usually why people start looking. Not because Shopify is bad, but because it was built for someone else's customer.

Prices and features checked on each platform's own website in October 2026. Dollar figures converted at about ₦1,390.

Can Shopify be used in Nigeria?

Yes, with three things to know before you build on it:

• Shopify Payments isn't available in Nigeria. You connect a third-party provider like Paystack or Flutterwave instead, and Shopify adds its own fee on each sale for using one: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced. That's on top of the provider's fee.
• It's billed in dollars. Basic is US$27 a month (US$19 if you pay for the year), about ₦37,500. The naira cost moves with the exchange rate, and some naira cards decline foreign subscriptions.
• Things Nigerian sellers rely on come from apps. WhatsApp ordering, local delivery companies and selling in your DMs mostly mean third-party apps, each set up and billed separately.

None of that makes Shopify wrong. If you sell mostly to customers abroad, it's still the strongest store on the market. We compared it head to head with Nigeria's best-known local option in Bumpa vs Shopify.

What payment gateway does Shopify use in Nigeria?

Paystack and Flutterwave both connect to Shopify as third-party providers. Set your store currency to naira so customers can pay by card, bank transfer or USSD. Because neither is Shopify Payments, Shopify's extra fee applies on every sale through them.

The alternatives at a glance

• Bizthom: selling on your website, in your DMs and in person, with the software doing some of the selling.
• Bumpa: a basic website, sales records and a POS for a small business.
• WooCommerce: full control of your own website, with a developer.
• Flutterwave Store: a free store if you already use Flutterwave.
• Paystack Storefront: a free product page to get started.
• Selar: courses, ebooks, tickets and other digital products.

1. Bizthom

Best for: sellers whose customers ask before they buy, on the website or in the DMs, and who sell in person too.

This is us, so read this section with that in mind.

Bizthom is a commerce platform built around how Nigerians buy: a website that converts, an inbox that sells, an AI sales agent, automations, campaigns and a POS, working together to turn a conversation into a sale, and a first sale into a second.

Where Shopify assumes the customer already trusts you, Bizthom is built to earn that trust and close the sale.

A website that sells like your best salesperson.

• Proof she can believe. Praise already in your WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook chats — the voice note, the photo of the dress on — becomes a review on the product page. You approve what goes up.
• The feeling that others are buying. Who just bought, how few are left, and a bag timer that holds the item for her.
• Room to negotiate. She can ask for a better price, and Ejiro, the AI sales agent, negotiates within the lowest price you set.
• Ways to pay that fit her pocket. Part payments, pay on delivery, and bank transfers that confirm themselves the moment the money lands.

DMs where you sell, not just reply. WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and your website chat land in one inbox.

• Every chat is marked by how likely the person is to buy, so you know who to answer first.
• When she says yes, you create the order in one click. She's already saved as a contact with her name and number, and the products, delivery address and delivery option are filled in from the chat. Nothing typed twice.
• Ejiro answers when you can't, and follows up with the customer who said "I'll get back to you".

Automations and campaigns that bring them back.

• Abandoned bags chased on WhatsApp, then SMS, then email.
• Back-in-stock and price-drop alerts, sent only to the people who asked.
• Win-back messages for customers who've gone quiet.
• Campaigns to the right group, with Bizthom AI writing the message and a report of who ordered.

One shop, online and offline. A POS with barcode scanning on the same stock as your website and DMs.

Moving from Shopify. We import your Shopify store directly: products, collections, customers and order history, with past orders matched to the right customers and products. Or ask us to move it for you. Most stores are trading the same day.

What you'd give up: Shopify's theme and app ecosystem is far bigger, and if most of your customers are abroad, its international selling is more mature. Plans and what's in each are on the pricing page.

2. Bumpa

Best for: small businesses that want a basic website, sales records and a POS, billed in naira.

Bumpa is the best-known Nigerian alternative. Every plan gives you a basic website, and it was built to help you run the business behind the sale: records, stock, receipts, expenses, and a POS app on web, phone and tablet. Everything is priced in naira.

Pricing: Starter is ₦15,000 a quarter, Pro ₦30,000 a quarter. Growth and Scale are sold yearly only.

Where it falls short:

• The website does little to sell. A picture, a price and a Pay button: no proof from other buyers, no room to negotiate, no nudge when stock is running out. Coming from Shopify, that's the biggest step down.
• The cheap price grows with add-ons. Advanced templates, extra pages, a blog, gift cards, bundles, custom checkout and back-in-stock alerts are paid extras, and their prices only show inside the app.
• DM sales are typed in by hand. You sell in your phone's WhatsApp and Instagram, then record each sale in Bumpa afterwards.
• Some basics sit on higher plans. Staff accounts start on Pro; barcode scanning on Growth.

For the full picture, read Bumpa vs Shopify, Bizthom vs Bumpa, and our Bumpa alternatives.

3. WooCommerce

Best for: businesses with a developer who want to own their website outright.

The closest thing to Shopify's flexibility. WooCommerce is a free, open-source store plugin for WordPress: you own the site and the code, there's no limit on products, and WooCommerce takes no share of your sales.

Paystack and other Nigerian providers plug in directly, with no extra platform fee on top.

Pricing: the plugin is free. You pay for hosting (WooCommerce's own pricing page puts it at US$25 to US$350 a month), a domain, and paid extensions at US$29 to US$299 a year each.

Where it falls short: you're running a website, not just a store. Updates, security, backups and speed are your job or your developer's. Its own POS doesn't support Nigeria yet, and WhatsApp messaging needs an extension.

Already on WooCommerce? Keep it and add Bizthom with the free Bizthom for WooCommerce plugin. Every WooCommerce buyer becomes a contact you can sell to again, the same products go into one-click orders from your DMs and sell at Bizthom's POS, and abandoned bags are won back on WhatsApp, SMS or email.

4. Flutterwave Store

Best for: sellers who already take payments with Flutterwave and want a free store fast.

Flutterwave Store puts your products and variants on a mobile-friendly store you manage from your phone, with low-stock alerts, discounts and delivery fees. Your products are also listed on Flutterwave Market, its shopping marketplace.

Pricing: free to set up. You pay Flutterwave's fee on each sale: 2% on local payments (a 1.4% transaction fee plus a 0.6% platform fee), with VAT on the fee.

Where it falls short: it's a simple store, not a store system. No campaigns, abandoned-bag recovery or customer groups, no POS on the same stock, and nothing for selling in your DMs.

5. Paystack Storefront

Best for: getting a free product page up in minutes.

If you already take payments with Paystack, Storefront puts your products on a mobile-friendly page with variants, stock alerts, delivery fees and a WhatsApp button. You manage orders from the Paystack app.

Pricing: free, with no subscription. You pay Paystack's standard fee on each sale: 1.5% + ₦100 for local payments (the ₦100 is waived under ₦2,500), capped at ₦2,000.

Where it falls short: it's a page, not a store system. No campaigns, abandoned-bag recovery or customer groups, and no POS on the same stock. A good place to start, not to grow.

6. Selar

Best for: creators selling courses, ebooks, tickets and memberships.

If you were using Shopify for digital products, Selar is built for exactly that: digital downloads, services, subscriptions, tickets, pre-orders, and an affiliate network that sells your product for a cut. It takes many currencies and pays out to bank, mobile money and PayPal.

Pricing: the Starter plan is free, with 40 products. Paid plans run from ₦12,000 to ₦50,000 a month. Every plan has a transaction fee of 4% + ₦50 per naira sale.

Where it falls short: it's built for creators first. You can sell physical products, but there's no POS for selling in person. If that's you, see Selar alternatives for physical products.

How to choose

• Most of your customers are abroad: stay on Shopify.
• You want full control and have a developer: WooCommerce.
• You need a basic website, sales records and a POS, at the lowest price: Bumpa.
• You're just starting and want something free: Paystack Storefront or Flutterwave Store, whichever you already take payments with.
• You only want buyers, not your own store: list on Jiji.
• You sell digital products: Selar.
• Your customers ask, negotiate or want proof before they pay — on the website or in your DMs — and you want the software to help close the sale: Bizthom.

What moving off Shopify involves

Export three things before you go: products, customers and order history. Your customer list is the one you can't rebuild.

On Bizthom you don't need the exports. We import a Shopify store directly, past orders included, and can do the whole move for you. With other platforms, export your products and customers from Shopify as CSV files and import them.

Keep your domain. It's yours, not Shopify's: point it at your new store and your links keep working.

FAQ

Can Shopify be used in Nigeria?
Yes. You can open a Shopify store from Nigeria and sell in naira. Shopify Payments isn't available here, so you connect Paystack or Flutterwave and pay Shopify an extra 0.6% to 2% on each sale.

How much is Shopify in Nigeria?
Basic is US$27 a month, or US$19 a month paid yearly — about ₦37,500 or ₦26,400 at today's rate — plus Shopify's fee on sales through a third-party provider, and any paid apps.

What is the best Shopify alternative in Nigeria?
It depends on how you sell. If your customers ask, negotiate or want proof before they pay, Bizthom. For a basic website and a POS at the lowest price, Bumpa. For full control with a developer, WooCommerce.

Is there a free Shopify alternative in Nigeria?
Paystack Storefront, Flutterwave Store and Selar's Starter plan cost nothing a month; you pay per sale. WooCommerce is free software, but hosting and extensions cost money.

Can I move my Shopify store to Bizthom?
Yes. Products, collections, customers and order history come across directly, and we can do it for you. Ask us to move your store.

The fastest way to decide is to try it with your own products. Start free on Bizthom, connect your WhatsApp or Instagram, and see what happens with a real customer.