Jimdo vs Shopify: These are the 10 most important differences

a. Cloud-based hosting on both platforms

We start our comparison with a pleasing similarity between Jimdo and Shopify: Both e-commerce systems are cloud-based. This means your online store runs on the platforms' outsourced, trusted servers. You're not responsible for the technical setup yourself.

This brings several advantages. For example, all security updates are automatic, and you don't have to worry about server maintenance. Instead, you can rest assured that your online store is always up-to-date and secure, without any additional effort.

b. Limited vs. free storage space

Jimdo and Shopify already differ in one key aspect: the available storage space. With Shopify, even with the cheapest plan, you don't have to worry about your online store being too large or data-intensive. Do you want to showcase your products with impressive videos and animations? Or is your catalog very complex? With Shopify, this will never be a problem.

Jimdo, on the other hand, places significant restrictions on your plan. Only the more expensive Business package offers unlimited storage and bandwidth. If you know your online store will be handling large amounts of data and will host an extensive portfolio, we definitely recommend Shopify.

c. Intuitive entry with both providers

Good news for both providers: Both Jimdo and Shopify are very beginner-friendly. Merchants can use either system to create their own online store regardless of their technical and programming skills.

Both platforms implement a no-code approach using an intuitive modular system: In just a few clicks, you can make the most important settings, add products, or change the look of your online shop.

Shopify merchants' experiences emphasize how intuitive and powerful the flexible customization options of Shopify's Theme Editor are. Especially compared to other e-commerce platforms, it's very easy to add and customize sections using drag and drop. This makes Shopify particularly well-suited to accurately reflect your brand identity and provide comprehensive context for your products.

d. +25 extensions vs. ecosystem of +8,000 apps

What particularly appeals to us about Shopify is that you can customize your store to exactly the features you need. How does this work? The answer lies in its comprehensive ecosystem of apps and extensions.

Shopify offers over 8,000 apps, the largest selection in the entire e-commerce space. In the App Store, you'll find extensions for all your desired store features, such as shipping, product reviews, customer service, internationalization, loyalty programs, and accounting.

But in our opinion, it's the seamless interplay of the apps that makes Shopify unbeatable. Various extensions work seamlessly together, exchanging data and synchronizing with each other. This allows you to complement your store with the right features, tailored to your needs.

Additionally, the catalog of available apps is constantly growing. Many developers now choose a Shopify-first approach, ensuring maximum compatibility with the platform. And if you're dissatisfied with an app, you can be sure you'll find a more suitable solution thanks to the wide selection.

At Shopify, extensibility through apps played an integral role from the very beginning. In contrast, Jimdo didn't have its own app store for a long time. Since 2022, however, merchants have had access to a catalog of smart apps, albeit with a significantly reduced selection: only around 25 extensions are available. While you'll find the absolute essentials, there's a serious lack of advanced features and alternatives.

Shopify clearly outperforms Jimdo in terms of extensibility.

e. 40 designs vs. huge theme portfolio (+120 designs)

A professional look is essential for an optimal online store. The good news: With both e-commerce systems, you don't need to be a trained designer to build a great-looking online store. With design templates, you can quickly define the layout and basic look of your online store. However, Shopify and Jimdo differ significantly in their design options:

With Jimdo, you can choose from 40 pre-made design templates. However, these can only be configured to a limited extent and are only available in the more expensive plans.

Shopify is a different story: Every plan gives you access to a massive theme store with over 120 design templates. These were created by professional designers specifically for modern e-commerce requirements and meet the highest quality standards in terms of responsiveness, performance, and appearance.

With Shopify, you can personalize your chosen theme in seconds: With just a few clicks, you can adjust the font, color, or logo to match your brand. This way, you can get a lot out of even the +11 free themes.

The extension options are just as straightforward, with individual content sections such as Shop the Look, FAQs, comparisons, or social media previews. Each theme offers its own advantages and unique features.

f. Lack of vs. comprehensive e-commerce specialization

We've mentioned it several times before: Unlike Shopify, Jimdo isn't a pure e-commerce platform. Jimdo is much more geared toward creating general websites. Online store functionality is more of an extension. This becomes especially apparent when we compare the features of the two shop systems in more detail:

Even its basic plan includes all the essential online store features. These include unlimited subpages, the ability to create discounts and coupons, and multichannel integration (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat). Shopify also offers powerful and user-friendly product management options.

While Jimdo offers basic product and order management functionality, it's nowhere near as powerful as Shopify. Basic features (sweep-through prices, discounts, social media) are only available on more expensive plans, and even then, they're not comparable to Shopify in terms of scope.

Furthermore, even with Jimdo's Business plan, you can only create 50 subpages for your online store. This may quickly limit the number of pages available, especially for retailers with content-heavy and complex topics. With Shopify, on the other hand, you have complete freedom and can focus on presenting your brand comprehensively.

g. Additional costs for legal certainty vs. simple GDPR adaptations

As an online retailer, you need to rely on a legally compliant shop system. Otherwise, you could face warnings or even fines in the worst case scenario. How do Jimdo and Shopify ensure you're always on the safe side?

First of all: Although Jimdo is a German company, this does not automatically mean that data processing is GDPR-compliant. The server locations are not exclusively located in Germany or the EU, but also in the US and Japan. The option for legal texts that are immune to warnings is only available in the more expensive Jimdo plans.

Shopify may be a Canadian company, but you can set up your store to be GDPR-compliant in just a few steps. How? The solution, once again, lies in extensibility. You'll find numerous free tools in the App Store that will help you set up legal cookies and legal texts.

h. Basic vs. detailed 24/7 support

When unexpected bugs or even outages affect your store, every moment counts. Helpful customer support not only saves you stress in these cases, but can even help minimize lost revenue.

Shopify offers 24/7 customer service with every plan. You can contact the support team around the clock via chat, email, or phone, providing comprehensive support for any type of error.

Jimdo, on the other hand, offers support exclusively via email and only during specified business hours. Since even small errors can have serious consequences, especially in e-commerce, and require immediate action, we clearly see Shopify as the leader in this regard.

i. Most common vs. diverse payment methods

The success of your online store depends on the selection of payment methods. In fact, this is one of the most common reasons for abandoned shopping carts: Customers don't have their preferred payment method available during checkout and therefore decide not to purchase. Therefore, your chosen shop system should ideally offer a wide selection of payment methods tailored to your primary market.

Jimdo and Shopify differ significantly in terms of payment methods. With Jimdo, the payment methods you can add during checkout depend on the plan you choose. While PayPal, the most popular payment provider, is included in every package, options like Klarna Sofort and credit card payments via Stripe can only be added via add-on products.

With Shopify, you don't have to worry about payment method restrictions: Shopify's own payment gateway, Shopify Payments, is included in every pricing plan and provides you with the most important payment methods right from the start (including credit card, Klarna invoice, SOFORTÜberweisung, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and many more).

You can activate these for your online shop in just a few clicks, without having to rely on external services or complex approval processes. If you sell internationally, you benefit from Shopify Payments and local payment methods. If you're missing a payment method, you can also easily integrate it via apps.

j. Missing vs. native POS functionalities

To effectively reach your target audience, physical sales channels are often relevant alongside online retail. Shopify POS (point of sale) offers an advanced POS system with every plan.

This allows you to manage digital and physical sales (e.g., through brick-and-mortar stores, pop-up stores, or trade fair appearances) easily and comprehensively within a single backend. In our opinion, a combination of online and offline commerce could hardly be implemented more effectively.

In contrast, Jimdo lacks native POS integration entirely and is only possible via widgets. However, these fall significantly short of Shopify in terms of usability and functionality, and are more complicated to set up.

a. Prices Jimdo

b. Shopify Prices

Included in every Shopify pricing plan:

• Unlimited payment methods (Shopify Payments)
• Integration of social media (e.g. Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Pinterest) & marketplaces (e.g. Amazon, eBay)
• Multilingualism
• App ecosystem (+8,000) & Theme Store (+120)
• Shopify POS for physical sales channels

No matter which plan you choose, even the cheapest Shopify plan includes extensive customization options and essential store functionality. Differences tend to concern specific features, such as reporting, the number of employee accounts, or possible automation.

c. Jimdo vs. Shopify: Where is the price-performance ratio right?

Jimdo is only suitable for online shops starting with the Business plan. While the monthly price (€26/month) is slightly lower than Shopify Basic (€36/month), Shopify far exceeds Jimdo's range of features and, above all, offers maximum flexibility.

Basic e-commerce features like unlimited storage and comprehensive multi-channel connectivity are an integral part of Shopify and are available to you without restrictions, even in the cheapest packages.

For a comparable price, Shopify offers the largest ecosystem of apps (+8,000) and designs (+120). Jimdo falls significantly short of expectations here (+25 extensions, +40 designs).

For these reasons, we see Shopify as the clear winner in the price-performance comparison: Even for little money, you can create a powerful and individual online shop.

a. Who is Jimdo suitable for?

A comparison clearly shows that Jimdo is a web service for websites and not a specialized e-commerce platform. In our opinion, Jimdo is particularly suitable for individuals who run an online shop as a hobby or who engage in e-commerce as a part-time job.

If your main focus is on your website and you're looking for a way to easily offer a few products for sale, Jimdo could be the right choice for you.

However, if you want to grow your online store long-term or even implement enterprise requirements, we clearly recommend Shopify instead of Jimdo.

b. Who is Shopify suitable for?

We recommend Shopify as a scalable e-commerce platform for retailers of all sizes—whether individuals or large, established companies. The platform grows with you. Shopify Plus , an add-on plan, even meets specific enterprise requirements.

c. How the migration works

Do you own an online store with Jimdo, but have found that Shopify might be a better fit for you?

A smooth migration requires detailed planning and in-depth technical analysis. Therefore, we recommend working with specialized experts.