Compare
Shopify is built to run a store — cart, checkout, payments, inventory. If your site doesn't sell anything, you're paying store prices for a page that's just a page.
No mid-term price increases.*
Shopify's entry plan is roughly $29–39 a month, before transaction fees and paid apps. Figures approximate — check their current pricing.
Shopify is an ecommerce platform first — cart, checkout, inventory, payment processing and a theme store, all built around selling products. If you're running a real store, that's a genuinely different job than serving a folder of HTML, CSS and JS, and Lemonade Host isn't built to do it.
A large share of Shopify sites never sell anything, though — brochure pages, portfolios, and "coming soon" pages built there because it was the tool someone already knew, not because the site needs a cart. This page is for that comparison: a static site paying store prices for commerce infrastructure it never touches. Shopify's figures below are approximate as of mid-2026 — pricing and fees change, so check Shopify's own pricing page before deciding.
At a glance
Same categories, side by side. Shopify's numbers are approximate and change — confirm current pricing on their site.
| Feature | Lemonade Host | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | 99¢/mo, billed $11.88/yr | ~$29–39/mo, entry plan, approx. |
| Renewal price | $11.88/yr — unchanged in year two | Same published tiers; confirm current rates |
| Transaction fees | None — we don't process payments | Yes, on most plans unless using Shopify Payments exclusively |
| Custom domain | +99¢/mo ($1.98/mo all-in) | Not included; bought or connected separately |
| SSL | Included, auto-renewed | Included |
| Backups | Daily, kept 7 days, included | Store data only; not the same category |
| Cart & checkout | Not offered — static files only | Core product, full ecommerce engine |
| Themes & apps | Not applicable | Many paid; costs stack beyond the base plan |
| Deploy methods | Git repo, zip upload, CLI, MCP/AI — four routes | Admin/theme editor; not built for plain static files |
| AI / MCP deploy | Yes — MCP server | Not offered |
| Portability | Your files, in a folder, movable anytime | Store data exportable; storefront tied to Shopify's platform |
Shopify figures are approximate as of mid-2026 and change without notice — check their current pricing page before deciding. Ours are exact and won't move under you.
What's in the price
Shopify's price funds a commerce engine a site with nothing to sell never touches.
Cart, tax calculation, shipping rules, fraud checks and payment processing — real infrastructure, sized for a store that takes orders.
Thousands of paid themes and apps built to extend a store — inventory sync, upsells, reviews. None of it does anything for a site with no products.
Charges layered on top of the subscription for every sale processed — a cost structure that only starts making sense once you're actually selling.
Where Shopify fits
If you're running a real online store — a cart, payments, inventory, shipping — Shopify is the right tool, and this isn't a real comparison. Its checkout is proven at a scale we don't attempt, and its app ecosystem covers commerce problems we don't try to solve. Use Shopify for a store. This page is about the sites that were never one.
Our side
$11.88 a year for a site, not a commerce platform you don't use — no cart, no checkout engine, no transaction fee riding on top.
Every site gets a certificate that renews itself and a daily backup kept for seven days — no add-on screen at checkout.
Connect our MCP server and your assistant deploys straight to your account — alongside Git, a zip upload, or a CLI command.
One plan, one add-on. No paid themes, no app subscriptions creeping the bill up every month.
If your site doesn't have a cart: a brochure page, a portfolio, or a "coming soon" page built on Shopify is paying for a checkout engine it never uses. That's the comparison this page is about — not stores that actually sell.
Cost over one year and three
Base subscription only — transaction fees and paid apps or themes would push Shopify's real total higher still.
| Year | Lemonade Host | Shopify (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Year one | $23.76 | ~$408 |
| Year two | $23.76 | ~$408 |
| Year three | $23.76 | ~$408 |
| Three-year total | $71.28 | ~$1,224 |
Shopify figures are approximate as of mid-2026, cover the entry plan's subscription only, and exclude transaction fees, paid themes and apps — confirm current pricing on their site. Ours don't move and don't grow.
Questions
Usually not, on price — Shopify's entry plan runs roughly $29 to $39 a month as of mid-2026 for a commerce engine a brochure or landing page never uses. If your site takes no orders, that's infrastructure you're funding without using.
Commonly yes — transaction and payment fees apply on top of the plan price on most plans, and many themes and apps are priced separately. Lemonade Host has one price and one add-on, with no usage billing or overage charges.
Not really — Shopify is built around its theme editor and admin, aimed at running a store. Lemonade Host is built only for static files, with a Git repo, a zip upload, a CLI command, or an MCP server for AI assistants.
When you're actually selling something — a real store needs a cart, checkout, payments and inventory management, and Shopify is built for exactly that in a way we aren't. This page is about the sites that never reach that point.
Keep comparing
The closest competitor on price. See why fit still matters.
An intro rate near $9 a month that renews far higher.
A WordPress host, often billed years upfront.
A real drag-and-drop editor, priced at $17–29 a month.
Beautiful templates, the same lock-in as Wix.
A real free tier, and what a custom domain adds on top.
Or see full pricing and what's included with every static site.
Join the list and we'll email you just once — that's the only thing we use your address for.