Roots HQ vs. Shopify

Roots HQ is a storefront and operations platform, not a marketplace — it has no built-in buyer audience of its own. Bringing buyers is on the seller; in exchange, the seller keeps the customer relationship (see Business ownership).

A hosted store the seller brings their own traffic to; Shopify itself is not a marketplace with a buyer audience.

Buyers check out on the seller’s own branded checkout — Roots HQ does not operate a marketplace checkout of its own.

Not a marketplace — checkout is the merchant’s own store checkout.

Roots HQ runs the till and books the sale against the same inventory as every other channel. The card itself is taken by YOUR connected Square account — Square processes the payment and you remain the merchant of record. Roots HQ records the total, the processor's transaction reference and the payment status; it never stores card details.

Shopify POS Lite is included with all Shopify plans. POS Pro adds staff, inventory and customer management features at retail locations. Limits: POS Pro is an extra $89/month per location (billed yearly); Lite is aimed at on-the-go and pop-up selling. Source: Shopify — POS System Pricing, read 2026-08-25.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

A hosted online store is the core product, on every paid plan. Source: Shopify Pricing, read 2026-08-25.

Scoped to the customer contact list specifically (see “Data export” below for the exportable proof of this) — not a claim that every business record is exportable.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Admin-only, audit-logged CSV export of the contact list and consolidated multi-channel sales (api/src/routes/export.ts). This is NOT a full-account export or backup: no such feature exists, and workspace deletion is a platform-owner action with no self-service pre-deletion export step.

Customers export to CSV from the admin — current page, all, selected, or a filtered segment, with optional tags and metafields. Reports export as CSV, XML, JSONL or Apache Parquet. Limits: Exports over 50 customers are emailed rather than downloaded in the browser. Source: Shopify Help Center — Importing and exporting customers, read 2026-08-25.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Products, variants and inventory across locations are core admin functionality. Source: Shopify Help Center — Managing inventory quantities, read 2026-08-25.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Both are built in: pickup in store at retail locations, and local delivery within a set distance or specific postal codes. Source: Shopify Help Center — Local pickup, read 2026-08-25.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

The capability exists but is gated to a specific pricing plan or subscription tier — you get it, just not on every plan.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Real and shipped, but narrower than the feature name suggests. See the note on this cell for the specific boundary.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Real and shipped, but narrower than the feature name suggests. See the note on this cell for the specific boundary.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

The capability exists but is gated to a specific pricing plan or subscription tier — you get it, just not on every plan.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Campaigns are composed, scheduled and sent from Roots HQ against a list you own. Delivery runs through YOUR own SMTP provider, billed to you — Roots HQ does not resell email sending, so deliverability is your provider's, not ours.

Shopify Messaging sends campaigns and automations, with AI tactics via Campaign Autopilot. Limits: Priced by email volume rather than included outright. Source: Shopify Help Center — Marketing automations, read 2026-08-25.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Real and shipped, but narrower than the feature name suggests. See the note on this cell for the specific boundary.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Build a workflow in the app — pick what starts it and the steps that follow — and a background job evaluates it every five minutes and runs it, recording every attempt. A workflow only ever acts on things that happen after you switch it on; it never reaches back over your history.

Shopify Flow is a free first-party automation app — triggers, conditions and actions across the store and connected apps. Marketing automations (abandoned cart, welcome series) run through the Shopify Messaging app. Limits: Flow must be installed from the Shopify App Store; it is not switched on in core; The Send HTTP Request action needs Grow, Advanced or Plus; partner-built custom tasks are Plus-only. Source: Shopify Help Center — Shopify Flow, read 2026-08-25.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

The capability exists but is gated to a specific pricing plan or subscription tier — you get it, just not on every plan.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Real and shipped, but narrower than the feature name suggests. See the note on this cell for the specific boundary.

Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.

Inventory is tied to orders. Cancelling an order restocks it automatically — "Restock inventory" is selected by default — and fulfilment status updates as the fulfilment service processes orders. Limits: Orders synced from some third-party marketplaces are excluded: Shopify states inventory for those is not restocked on return or cancellation and must be adjusted by hand. Source: Shopify Help Center — Canceling orders, read 2026-08-25.