Compare
Marketplaces help you make a sale. Roots HQ runs the business behind it.
Most independent businesses run on a stack of separate tools, each with its own copy of the products and the customers. Roots HQ is one headquarters behind all the places you sell. It isn’t a marketplace, and it isn’t asking you to leave the ones that work for you.
Not the same kind of product
Each one is centred on something different.
These are descriptions, not a ranking. A business can use any of these alongside Roots HQ.
Roots HQ is centred on
Your whole business, as one set of records.
The connected headquarters behind your shop, your markets and the platforms you already sell on. Products, stock, orders, customers and events are entered once and used everywhere they belong.
- Products
- Stock
- Orders
- Customers
- Events
Centred on
Payments & point of sale
Centred on
An online store
Centred on
A marketplace & live selling
Centred on
Social & live commerce
The difference
Six copies of the business, or one.
With separate tools, every tool keeps its own copy of part of the business — and you keep them in step by hand. With one headquarters, there is one record, and every place you sell reads it.
A website or shop tool
- its own products
- its own customers
- its own orders
A point-of-sale app
- its own products
- its own sales
A stock spreadsheet
- its own stock
An email tool
- its own customers
Marketplace dashboards
- its own orders
- its own buyers
A market-day notebook
- its own events
- its own packing
Updated by hand, exported now and then, rarely in agreement.
Roots HQ
- Products
- Stock
- Orders
- Customers
- Events
- Your shop
- Roots POS at markets
- Pickup & delivery
- eBay & Etsy orders
- Imported sales
eBay and Etsy orders can sync in once your own app credentials and OAuth tokens are configured (Limited); Shopify, Whatnot and Palmstreet sales come in by import. How each one connects.
If you want the detail
Roots HQ doesn’t need to win every row.
The detail below is grouped by the jobs a business actually does. Every answer for another platform was checked against that platform’s own documentation, last on 3 October 2026. Where we could not confirm something, it says not rated — never a guess.
Side by side
What each one does, in detail.
“Not applicable” means a marketplace provides something by being a marketplace — it isn’t a gap on either side. Open a group to read it.
Selling & checkoutTaking the sale — in person, live and online — and how the buyer pays. Marketplaces and live-selling platforms provide some of this by being marketplaces.
| Capability | Roots HQ | Shopify | Square | Whatnot | Palmstreet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| In-person card payments (POS, keyed card entry) | Available | Native | Native | Not available | — |
| Phone Tap-to-Pay (no card reader needed) | Limited | — | Native | — | — |
| Live-stream scheduling | Native | — | — | Native | Native |
| Auctions | Native | — | — | Native | Native |
In-person card payments (POS, keyed card entry)
- Roots HQ
- Available
- Shopify
- Native
- Square
- Native
- Whatnot
- Not available
- Palmstreet
- —
Phone Tap-to-Pay (no card reader needed)
- Roots HQ
- Limited
- Shopify
- —
- Square
- Native
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
Live-stream scheduling
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- —
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- Native
- Palmstreet
- Native
Auctions
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- —
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- Native
- Palmstreet
- Native
Security & access controlHow sign-ins, admin access, stored credentials and each workspace’s data are protected. Every Roots HQ answer here is checked against the code.
| Capability | Roots HQ | Shopify | Square | Whatnot | Palmstreet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stored credentials & API secrets encrypted at rest | Native | — | — | — | — |
| Multi-factor authentication | Native | Native | Native | — | Not applicable |
| Security-action audit log (auth, access control, user management) | Native | — | — | — | — |
Stored credentials & API secrets encrypted at rest
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- —
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
Multi-factor authentication
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Native
- Square
- Native
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- Not applicable
Security-action audit log (auth, access control, user management)
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- —
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
Business ownershipWho controls the brand, the domain, and the customer relationship — and what happens if a platform changes its rules, fees, or algorithm tomorrow.
| Capability | Roots HQ | Shopify | Square | Whatnot | Palmstreet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Your own hosted storefront | Native | Native | Native | Marketplace-dependent | Marketplace-dependent |
| You own the customer list | Native | Native | Native | Marketplace-dependent | Marketplace-dependent |
| Sell on your OWN site (not a marketplace) | Native | Native | — | Marketplace-dependent | Marketplace-dependent |
| Data export (contacts + consolidated sales) | Available | Native | — | Limited | Limited |
| Custom domains | Native | Native | Available | Marketplace-dependent | Marketplace-dependent |
Your own hosted storefront
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Native
- Square
- Native
- Whatnot
- Marketplace-dependent
- Palmstreet
- Marketplace-dependent
You own the customer list
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Native
- Square
- Native
- Whatnot
- Marketplace-dependent
- Palmstreet
- Marketplace-dependent
Sell on your OWN site (not a marketplace)
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Native
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- Marketplace-dependent
- Palmstreet
- Marketplace-dependent
Data export (contacts + consolidated sales)
- Roots HQ
- Available
- Shopify
- Native
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- Limited
- Palmstreet
- Limited
Custom domains
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Native
- Square
- Available
- Whatnot
- Marketplace-dependent
- Palmstreet
- Marketplace-dependent
OperationsRunning the business day to day: inventory, orders, events, vendors, staff access, and the paperwork behind all of it.
| Capability | Roots HQ | Shopify | Square | Whatnot | Palmstreet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Product catalog & inventory | Native | Native | Native | Limited | Limited |
| Local pickup & delivery | Native | Native | Native | — | — |
| Shipping with live carrier rates + labels | Native | Available | Integrated | Limited | Limited |
| Marketplace sales in one place (eBay & Etsy order sync, limited; Whatnot & Shopify by import) | Limited | Add-on required | — | — | — |
| Multi-channel order consolidation | Native | Add-on required | — | — | — |
| Invoices | Native | Limited | Native | — | — |
| Vendor purchase orders & receiving | Native | — | — | — | — |
| Mileage tracker + Tax Center (accountant-ready export) | Native | — | — | — | — |
Product catalog & inventory
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Native
- Square
- Native
- Whatnot
- Limited
- Palmstreet
- Limited
Local pickup & delivery
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Native
- Square
- Native
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
Shipping with live carrier rates + labels
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Available
- Square
- Integrated
- Whatnot
- Limited
- Palmstreet
- Limited
Marketplace sales in one place (eBay & Etsy order sync, limited; Whatnot & Shopify by import)
- Roots HQ
- Limited
- Shopify
- Add-on required
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
Multi-channel order consolidation
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Add-on required
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
Invoices
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Limited
- Square
- Native
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
Vendor purchase orders & receiving
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- —
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
Mileage tracker + Tax Center (accountant-ready export)
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- —
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
GrowthBringing customers back and reaching new ones on channels the business controls, rather than channels a marketplace controls.
| Capability | Roots HQ | Shopify | Square | Whatnot | Palmstreet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Email campaigns | Available | Available | Available | Marketplace-dependent | Marketplace-dependent |
| One Promotions hub (coupons, wheels, giveaways, loyalty, offers) | Native | Add-on required | — | — | — |
| Marketing automations (trigger → action workflows) | Native | Add-on required | — | — | — |
Email campaigns
- Roots HQ
- Available
- Shopify
- Available
- Square
- Available
- Whatnot
- Marketplace-dependent
- Palmstreet
- Marketplace-dependent
One Promotions hub (coupons, wheels, giveaways, loyalty, offers)
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Add-on required
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
Marketing automations (trigger → action workflows)
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Add-on required
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
Business intelligenceUnderstanding what is working — across every channel you sell on, not one platform at a time.
| Capability | Roots HQ | Shopify | Square | Whatnot | Palmstreet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built-in AI business assistant | Native | Native | Beta | Not available | — |
| Unified sales dashboard (all channels) | Native | Available | Limited | Limited | Limited |
| Revenue, expenses, COGS & margin | Native | Limited | Limited | — | — |
Built-in AI business assistant
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Native
- Square
- Beta
- Whatnot
- Not available
- Palmstreet
- —
Unified sales dashboard (all channels)
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Available
- Square
- Limited
- Whatnot
- Limited
- Palmstreet
- Limited
Revenue, expenses, COGS & margin
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Limited
- Square
- Limited
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
Does the information connect?Not "does the feature exist" but "does using it change anything else automatically" — where one connected system and separate tools differ most.
| Capability | Roots HQ | Shopify | Square | Whatnot | Palmstreet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales update inventory automatically | Native | Native | — | — | — |
Sales update inventory automatically
- Roots HQ
- Native
- Shopify
- Native
- Square
- —
- Whatnot
- —
- Palmstreet
- —
Pricing and feature claims are checked against each platform's own docs, last verified 2026-10-03. CommentSold appears on its own page below.
One platform at a time
If you already sell on one of these
Each page has that platform’s published fees and every capability we could verify, with the source and date.
- Roots HQ and Palmstreet →
Niche live-shopping marketplace (plants, collectibles) — buyers discover and buy inside Palmstreet’s own app.
- Roots HQ and Whatnot →
Live/marketplace selling — buyers discover and buy inside Whatnot’s own app, across almost any category.
- Roots HQ and Square →
Payments, point-of-sale and merchant-services software, with online store, invoicing, banking and marketing tools.
- Roots HQ and Shopify →
Hosted e-commerce storefront — your own branded store; live-selling, deep CRM, and marketing come from apps or other tools.
- Roots HQ and CommentSold →
Live-selling and video-commerce platform with its own storefront, inventory, fulfilment and reporting, aimed at sellers’ own audiences — not a marketplace.
Roots HQ provisions and operates your storefront, tracks orders and keeps your business records synchronised. Customer payments are processed through your own connected payment account, and you remain the merchant of record. Roots HQ does not store raw card details.
Roots HQ is a monthly subscription: Root $99, Branch $199, Canopy $299 per month, and it takes no percentage of your sales. See pricing.
Root here. Branch everywhere.
Tell us about your business.
Roots HQ is currently welcoming selected businesses into the beta. Every business applies the same way: tell us where you sell and what takes too much of your time — that is how we learn whether Roots HQ fits, and where your setup should start.
What the application is for
- Tell us how you sell, not why you deserve it
- Your application is reviewed by our team
- Standard onboarding is included with every Roots HQ plan.