Hand-OffHand-Off vs. Shopify: A Shopify Alternative for Local Sellers
Choose Shopify if you sell mostly by mail, need its huge app and theme ecosystem, or plan to scale internationally. Choose Hand-Off if local pickup and delivery are central to your business: route optimization, a driver app, and tracking links are included in every plan instead of added through separate apps.
Disclosure: Hand-Off publishes this page and is one of the products compared. Competitor details come from each company's public pages, linked in the sources below, checked on October 20, 2026. Prices change, so confirm them before you buy.
The Short Version
Shopify is a general ecommerce platform with a very large ecosystem of themes, apps, and partners. Hand-Off is an all-in-one platform for businesses that sell to customers nearby, so delivery routing, a driver app, and tracking are part of the base product.
Price and Fees
| Hand-Off | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Basic: $29/month, or $290/year | Basic: $39/month, or $29/month billed yearly |
| Mid plan | Grow: $99/month | Grow: $105/month, or $79/month billed yearly |
| Top standard plan | Advanced: $349/month | Advanced: $399/month, or $299/month billed yearly |
| Card fees on the entry plan | 1% platform fee plus Stripe processing | 2.9% + 30¢ online with Shopify Payments |
| Card fees on the top plan | 0% platform fee plus Stripe processing | 2.5% + 30¢ online with Shopify Payments |
| Using another payment provider | Not applicable | Extra 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), or 0.6% (Advanced) |
| Crypto payments | 0% platform fee | Through third-party providers |
On card payments alone, Shopify's entry plan can cost less per order than Hand-Off Basic, because Hand-Off adds a 1% platform fee on top of Stripe processing. That fee drops to 0.5% on Grow and 0% on Advanced. Run your own order volume through both before deciding.
Local Delivery
Shopify lets you set delivery zones by radius or postal code, charge per zone, and deliver with your own staff or a third-party service. For optimized multi-stop routes, a driver app, live tracking, and proof of delivery, most merchants install an app. EasyRoutes, a popular choice, is free up to 50 orders a month, then $39 or $59 a month with extra charges per driver seat.
Hand-Off includes a route optimizer, a driver app, tracking links with ETAs, and pickup, local delivery, mail, and in-store fulfillment in every plan.
Where Shopify Is the Better Choice
- You ship nationally or internationally and rarely deliver yourself.
- You need a specific app, theme, or integration only Shopify has.
- You want a large pool of agencies and freelancers who already know the platform.
Where Hand-Off Is the Better Choice
- You deliver to local customers several times a week.
- You want delivery, subscriptions, members-only stores, and messaging under one bill.
- You accept cash on delivery or crypto alongside cards.
Before You Switch
Export your products, customers, and order history first. List every Shopify app you pay for and check which ones Hand-Off replaces; the SaaS Graveyard shows the common ones. If you also run WordPress, read Hand-Off vs. WooCommerce.
Sources
- Shopify — Pricing Accessed October 20, 2026
- Shopify Help Center — Setting up local delivery for online orders Accessed October 20, 2026
- Shopify App Store — EasyRoutes Local Delivery Accessed October 20, 2026
- Hand-Off — Plans and pricing Accessed October 20, 2026
