Haul vs Shopify for UK sellers
Shopify is a great platform — but it wasn’t built for independent UK sellers who want to keep things simple. Here’s an honest look at where each platform shines, so you can make the right choice for your business.
What you actually pay each month
Shopify’s sticker price is just the beginning. Transaction fees + paid apps add up fast. Choose your monthly revenue to see the real comparison.
Shopify Basic
£25/mo subscription
Haul Starter
£15/mo subscription
Save £100 per month with Haul
That’s £1,200 per year back in your pocket.
Feature-by-feature comparison
Every feature listed here is included on Haul’s £15/mo Starter plan. On Shopify, some require paid apps.
| Feature | Shopify Basic | Haul Starter |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction fees* | 2% on Basic | 0% |
| Product variants | ||
| Stock control | ||
| Customer reviews | Paid app | |
| Blog / CMS pages | ||
| Discount codes | ||
| VAT invoices | Paid app | |
| Page builder | ||
| Email templates | ||
| Custom domain | ||
| CSV import / export | ||
| SEO tools | ||
| Shipping zones | ||
| Order management | ||
| SSL certificate |
* Transaction fees: Shopify waives this only if you use Shopify Payments
The honest take
We respect Shopify — they built a fantastic platform. Here’s where each one genuinely does better.
Where Shopify wins
Massive app ecosystem
Thousands of third-party apps for niche needs. If you need something very specific, Shopify probably has an app for it.
More themes
A large marketplace of premium and free themes with a mature theme engine.
More integrations
Deep integrations with accounting software, ERPs, fulfilment centres, and marketplaces worldwide.
Established brand
Shopify has been around since 2006. It powers millions of stores globally and has a huge support community.
POS & in-person selling
Shopify has a mature point-of-sale system for physical retail. Haul is online-only.
Where Haul wins
Zero transaction fees
Every penny of your revenue is yours. No 2% platform fee on top of card processing.
Everything included
Reviews, VAT invoices, page builder, email templates, discount codes — all built in, no paid apps needed.
Simpler to use
A clean, focused admin with no app store to navigate. Less to learn, less to break.
Lower total cost
From £15/mo with no hidden extras. Most Shopify stores end up paying £75–£150/mo once apps are added.
Isolated database
Your data lives in its own database — not shared with other shops. Better privacy, faster queries.
Built for UK sellers
UK VAT rates, GBP-first pricing, UK shipping zones, and support from a UK-based team.
Real cost at every revenue level
Subscription + transaction fees + typical app costs. Stripe processing (1.5% + 20p) applies to both platforms and is shown separately.
| Monthly revenue | Shopify Basic | Haul Starter | You save | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platform cost | + Stripe | Platform cost | + Stripe | per month | |
| £1,000 | £95 | £117 | £15 | £37 | £80 |
| £2,000 | £115 | £158 | £15 | £58 | £100 |
| £5,000 | £200 | £308 | £15 | £123 | £185 |
| £10,000 | £325 | £542 | £15 | £232 | £310 |
| £20,000 | £525 | £958 | £15 | £448 | £510 |
Assumes average order value of £30. Shopify app costs estimated at £50–£100/mo (reviews, VAT invoices, SEO tools — all included free on Haul). Shopify transaction fee is 2% on Basic plan when not using Shopify Payments.
Switching from Shopify to Haul
Moving platforms sounds daunting, but we’ve made it as straightforward as possible.
Export from Shopify
Download your products as CSV from Shopify’s admin. Images, variants, descriptions, and prices all export.
Import into Haul
Upload your CSV to Haul. We map Shopify’s format automatically — products go live in minutes, not days.
Redirect your domain
Point your domain to Haul and set up URL redirects so existing links and SEO rankings carry over.
What transfers
Comes across
- Products (title, description, images, variants, prices)
- Categories and collections
- Customer email list (CSV)
- URL redirects (to preserve SEO)
- Discount codes (recreated manually)
Needs manual setup
- Theme / design (use Haul’s page builder)
- Order history (Shopify retains this)
- Shopify-specific app integrations
- Customer account passwords
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my domain when switching from Shopify?
Yes. Your domain is yours — just update the DNS records to point to Haul instead of Shopify. We provide full instructions and handle SSL automatically. There’s no downtime if you set it up correctly.
How long does migration take?
Most shops are up and running within a day. The CSV import handles products in minutes. The rest of the time is spent customising your theme and setting up URL redirects.
Is Haul as reliable as Shopify?
Haul runs on Cloudflare’s global edge network — the same infrastructure that powers a quarter of the internet. Your shop loads fast from anywhere in the world, with built-in DDoS protection and automatic SSL.
What about Shopify’s app store?
Shopify’s app store is huge, but most small sellers only use a handful of apps — reviews, SEO, VAT invoices, email templates. Haul includes all of these out of the box, so you don’t need to pay for or manage separate apps.
Do I lose my SEO when switching?
Not if you set up redirects properly. Haul has a built-in redirect manager that lets you map old Shopify URLs to new Haul URLs. Search engines follow these redirects and your rankings transfer over. We also generate sitemaps automatically.
Ready to stop overpaying?
Haul is launching soon. Register your interest to get early access and a free migration guide for Shopify sellers.