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Roots HQ vs. Shopify
Hosted ecommerce. Live selling, CRM depth, and marketing come from apps or other tools.
Ecommerce platform · Last reviewed 2026-10-03 · shopify.com/pricing
What each one actually is
Not the same kind of product.
- Roots HQ
- Connected business headquarters — inventory, customers, events, and money in one system, across every channel you sell on.
- Shopify
- Hosted e-commerce storefront — your own branded store; live-selling, deep CRM, and marketing come from apps or other tools.
A fair read
What Shopify does well, and where Roots HQ differs.
Derived directly from the sourced comparison matrix below, not written separately.
Where Shopify is stronger
- In-person card payments (POS, keyed card entry)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 2026-10-03.
- Multi-factor authentication
- Your own hosted storefrontA hosted online store is the core product, on every paid plan. Source: Shopify Pricing, read 2026-10-03.
- You own the customer list
- Sell on your OWN site (not a marketplace)
- Data export (contacts + consolidated sales)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 2026-10-03.
- Custom domains
- Product catalog & inventoryProducts, variants and inventory across locations are core admin functionality. Source: Shopify Help Center — Managing inventory quantities, read 2026-10-03.
- Product types + collections (filter by kind)
- Local pickup & deliveryBoth 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 2026-10-03.
- Order-status workflowOrders carry payment and fulfilment statuses, filterable in the Shopify admin. Source: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/fulfillment/managing-orders/order-statuses, read 2026-10-03.
- Labels, tracking & status notifications
- Categories & discounts
- AI-assisted content
- AI-drafted emails, blogs & product copy
- CMS pages & blog
- Media library & video embedsProduct media supports images, videos and 3D models. Source: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shopify-admin/files, read 2026-10-03.
- SEO metadata & structured data
- Built-in AI business assistant
- Sales update inventory automaticallyInventory 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 2026-10-03.
Where Roots HQ is stronger
No rows in the matrix currently credit Roots HQ over Shopify.
Fees
What Shopify actually charges.
- Monthly
- $29 / $79 / $299 per month billed annually (Basic / Grow / Advanced); $39 / $105 / $399 month-to-month; Plus "starts at $2,300/mo" on a 3-year term ($2,500/mo on a 1-year term)
- Commission
- $0 platform commission on Basic/Grow/Advanced when using Shopify Payments; using a third-party gateway instead adds 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), 0.6% (Advanced), 0.2% (Plus)
- Processing
- Online cards 2.9%+30¢ (Basic) · 2.7%+30¢ (Grow) · 2.5%+30¢ (Advanced) · 2.25%+30¢ (Plus; rates vary by country)
- Per order
- None published beyond processing
- Category exceptions
- None published
- Promo exceptions
- None published
POS Pro is a separate $89/mo-per-location add-on.
Last verified 2026-10-03 against shopify.com/pricing.
Feature by feature
Every sourced row that mentions Shopify.
Selling & checkout
Marketplace checkout (buyer pays inside the platform's own app)
Roots HQ
Not applicable
Buyers check out on the seller’s own branded checkout — Roots HQ does not operate a marketplace checkout of its own.
Shopify
Limited
Primarily the merchant's own checkout (Shop Pay); the Shop app offers one-tap purchase for Shop users. Source: https://www.shopify.com/shop, read 2026-10-03.
In-person card payments (POS, keyed card entry)
Roots HQ
Available
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
Native
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 2026-10-03.
Marketplace cross-listing (push listings to other platforms)
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Add-on required
Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.
Security & access control
Brute-force protection
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
—
Not confirmed in Shopify's official public documentation on 2026-10-03, so not rated.
Multi-factor authentication
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Business ownership
Your own hosted storefront
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
A hosted online store is the core product, on every paid plan. Source: Shopify Pricing, read 2026-10-03.
You own the customer list
Roots HQ
Native
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.
Shopify
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Sell on your OWN site (not a marketplace)
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Data export (contacts + consolidated sales)
Roots HQ
Available
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.
Shopify
Native
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 2026-10-03.
Product reviews
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Add-on required
Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.
Custom domains
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Operations
Product catalog & inventory
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Products, variants and inventory across locations are core admin functionality. Source: Shopify Help Center — Managing inventory quantities, read 2026-10-03.
Product types + collections (filter by kind)
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Local pickup & delivery
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
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 2026-10-03.
Shipping with carrier rates + labels
Roots HQ
Limited
Shipping integrations — Beta. Integrations with Shippo, Envia.com and ShipStation are built, with real-account verification still pending. Live label purchasing is not available.
Shopify
Available
The capability exists but is gated to a specific pricing plan or subscription tier — you get it, just not on every plan.
Marketplace sales in one place (eBay, Etsy, Whatnot & Shopify by file import)
Roots HQ
Limited
Real and shipped, but narrower than the feature name suggests. See the note on this cell for the specific boundary.
Shopify
Add-on required
Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.
Multi-channel order consolidation
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Add-on required
Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.
Order-status workflow
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Orders carry payment and fulfilment statuses, filterable in the Shopify admin. Source: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/fulfillment/managing-orders/order-statuses, read 2026-10-03.
Labels, tracking & status notifications
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Event pickup & local delivery scheduling
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Add-on required
Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.
Invoices
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Limited
Real and shipped, but narrower than the feature name suggests. See the note on this cell for the specific boundary.
Per-item media
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Limited
Real and shipped, but narrower than the feature name suggests. See the note on this cell for the specific boundary.
User roles
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Available
The capability exists but is gated to a specific pricing plan or subscription tier — you get it, just not on every plan.
Growth
Categories & discounts
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Email campaigns
Roots HQ
Available
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
Available
Shopify Messaging (first-party app) sends email campaigns and automations; the first 10,000 emails per month are free, with per-volume pricing beyond that. Campaign Autopilot is free to use. Source: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/promoting-marketing/create-marketing/shopify-messaging/email/pricing, read 2026-10-03.
One Promotions hub (coupons, wheels, giveaways, loyalty, offers)
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Add-on required
Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.
Prize wheels (spin-to-win) + winner emails
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Add-on required
Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.
QR codes & printable market flyers
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Add-on required
Available only by installing and paying for a separate third-party app or plugin — it is not part of the base product.
AI-assisted content
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
AI-drafted emails, blogs & product copy
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
CMS pages & blog
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Media library & video embeds
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Product media supports images, videos and 3D models. Source: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shopify-admin/files, read 2026-10-03.
SEO metadata & structured data
Roots HQ
Limited
Real and shipped, but narrower than the feature name suggests. See the note on this cell for the specific boundary.
Shopify
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Marketing automations (trigger → action workflows)
Roots HQ
Native
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
Add-on required
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 2026-10-03.
Business intelligence
Built-in AI business assistant
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Unified sales dashboard (all channels)
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Available
The capability exists but is gated to a specific pricing plan or subscription tier — you get it, just not on every plan.
Revenue, expenses, COGS & margin
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Limited
Real and shipped, but narrower than the feature name suggests. See the note on this cell for the specific boundary.
Does the information connect?
Sales update inventory automatically
Roots HQ
Native
Built in at no extra cost and no separate app — this is how the product ships out of the box.
Shopify
Native
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 2026-10-03.
Bottom line
Should you use Roots HQ instead of Shopify?
Shopify is a hosted storefront platform. It includes native discounts, and offers first-party Shopify Messaging (the first 10,000 emails a month free) and Shopify Flow; live selling, deep CRM and consolidated cross-channel reporting typically come from apps, some billed separately. Roots HQ is not a pitch to leave Shopify — it is aimed at businesses that want to keep their Shopify store and add a connected operations layer alongside it.
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.