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§ Comparison · honest · no "the best"

Shopify managed vs headless with Saleor.

Shopify is the right choice for many Chilean SMBs. Headless is the right choice for others. This comparison explains when each pays the difference.

§ 10 objective dimensions

Where differences show

Shopify managed
Saleor + Next.js (headless)
01 Time-to-market
Shopify: catalog + checkout in 1-2 weeks with premium theme.
Headless Saleor: 6-12 weeks for comparable site. Trade for flexibility.
02 Year-1 cost
Shopify Basic USD 39/mo + apps + Flow Chile USD 25/mo ≈ USD 800/year.
Saleor self-hosted: 80-150 UF setup (CLP 3-6M) + VPS USD 240/year.
03 Sales commission
Shopify: 0% with Shopify Payments (not in Chile) or 0.5-2% via Flow.
Headless: 0% platform commission. Only pay processor (Flow, Transbank).
04 Catalog scale
Shopify Basic: up to 25 visible products fluidly. Plus: unlimited but USD 2,000/mo.
Saleor: thousands of SKUs no penalty. PostgreSQL scales with indexes.
05 Customer data
Shopify: lives on their US servers. Limited export on Basic.
Saleor: your PostgreSQL, your hosting, exportable anytime.
06 Chile SII integration
Shopify: via third-party apps (Bsale, Defontana). USD 30-60/mo extra.
Saleor: open API, allows building Chilean e-invoicing integration when the project requires it (not included by default).
07 Custom frontend
Shopify: theme or Hydrogen (limited). Liquid templating.
Saleor + Next.js: 100% custom. Server components, RSC, App Router.
08 Core Web Vitals performance
Shopify: depends on theme. Typical LCP 2.5-4s.
Saleor + Next.js + CDN: LCP < 1.5s effortlessly.
09 Lock-in
Shopify: high. Migration to another is 4-12 weeks with downtime.
Headless: zero. Portable PostgreSQL, portable Next.js, your data.
10 Maintenance
Shopify: automatic updates, managed security.
Headless: you or aGo. Update PostgreSQL, Next.js, Saleor. Backups.
§ FAQ

Frequently asked questions

If your question isn't here, email us at hola@ago.cl or via WhatsApp.

01 When is Shopify the right choice?

SMB that needs to be selling in 2 weeks, 20-200 SKU catalog, in-house team without programmers, low initial budget (USD 500-1500). If your priority is to validate the market and then decide, Shopify wins. 24/7 operation without own DevOps.

02 When is headless with Saleor + Next.js better?

E-commerce with 500+ SKUs, deep integration with Chilean ERPs when the project requires it, traffic volume that justifies CDN and custom caching, performance critical for SEO (LCP under 1.5s), or platform exit strategy (data sovereignty).

03 Can I migrate from Shopify to headless later?

Yes. Catalog exports to CSV or via API. Customers and order history also. URLs require 301 redirect mapping to preserve SEO. Typical migration timeline: 8-16 weeks depending on volume. Schedule in low-traffic period (not peak Black Friday). aGo does serialization-safe migrations (nested meta-fields preserved).

04 Does headless work with Flow Chile and Transbank?

Yes. Saleor has official Stripe plugin. For Flow and Transbank Chile, integrated as custom gateway (~40h dev). Once integrated, 0% platform commission, only pay processor (Flow ~2.9% + VAT, Transbank similar).

Does your case fit headless?

Let's talk 20 min. If Shopify is better, we'll say so honestly.

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