Shopify is a good platform — until it decides your products are not welcome. If you sell CBD, supplements, vape, adult products, tactical gear or anything else that falls outside Shopify’s acceptable use policy, you have probably already learned this the hard way: a frozen account, a termination email, and 30 days to move your entire business somewhere else.
The good news is that other platforms exist. The bad news is that “Shopify alternative” returns a hundred results, and most of them have the same restrictions Shopify does. Here are three that actually work for merchants selling restricted products, with honest pros and cons for each.
1. Shop Ave — A Store and Payments in One Platform
Shop Ave was built specifically for merchants in specialized industries. The store and the payment application sit on the same platform, so the underwriter reviews your actual products and compliance documentation instead of rejecting you based on a category code.
What it does well:
- Your store and payment processing are in one place — no stitching together a store platform and a separate payment gateway that may or may not accept your products.
- Applications are reviewed individually, based on what you sell and how you operate.
- Open your store free while your payment application is under review.
- Built on WooCommerce with Elementor, so if you have used WordPress before, the admin tools will be familiar.
Tradeoffs to know about:
- Newer platform with a smaller app and plugin ecosystem than Shopify’s marketplace.
- If you already have a large store on another platform, migration means rebuilding your product catalogue.
- The ecosystem of third-party integrations is growing but not as deep as Shopify’s 8,000+ apps.
Best for: merchants who need a store and a processor that will not shut them down. Especially strong for merchants starting over after a Shopify or Stripe closure, or launching a new brand in a restricted category.
2. WooCommerce (Self-Hosted WordPress)
WooCommerce is the open-source e-commerce plugin for WordPress. You install it on your own hosting, and you own everything — the code, the data, the design. No platform can shut you down because you are the platform.
What it does well:
- Complete control over your store. No acceptable use policy. No risk of platform-level termination.
- The largest library of plugins and extensions in e-commerce — over 50,000 WordPress plugins and hundreds of WooCommerce-specific add-ons.
- Total design flexibility. You can build any layout, any checkout flow, any product page structure.
- No monthly platform fee beyond hosting (which runs $20 to $100+ a month depending on the provider).
Tradeoffs to know about:
- You find your own payment processor. WooCommerce does not come with one, and you are back to the same problem: finding a gateway that accepts your products. WooCommerce Payments (built on Stripe) has the same restrictions as Stripe.
- You manage your own hosting, security, updates and backups. This is not hard, but it is ongoing work, and a security lapse on a self-hosted site is your problem.
- No built-in support team. When something breaks, you are searching forums or hiring a developer.
- Setup takes longer than a managed platform. Budget a week or two for a functional store, longer for a polished one.
Best for: merchants with technical skills (or a developer on call) who want total control and already have a payment processor lined up. If you know your way around WordPress and you have a processor that will give you a gateway, WooCommerce is the most flexible option available.
3. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a hosted e-commerce platform that competes directly with Shopify. It is not specifically built for restricted categories, but its acceptable use policy is more permissive than Shopify’s in some areas, and its enterprise tier includes access to processors beyond the default BigCommerce Payments (which runs on Stripe and carries Stripe’s restrictions).
What it does well:
- Established platform with strong built-in features — multi-channel selling, SEO tools, product variants, B2B pricing.
- Supports third-party payment gateways (over 65 integrations), so if you have your own processor, you can plug it in.
- No transaction fees on any plan if you use a third-party gateway.
- Larger app marketplace than newer platforms, though smaller than Shopify’s.
Tradeoffs to know about:
- BigCommerce Payments (the default option) runs on Stripe and has Stripe’s restrictions. You need your own payment processor for restricted products — BigCommerce just gives you the store, not the payments solution.
- The acceptable use policy still restricts some categories. Check your specific product type before committing. CBD is allowed in some configurations; adult content is more restricted.
- Revenue-based plan tiers — if your annual revenue exceeds the plan limit, you are bumped to a higher tier automatically. The Enterprise plan has no published pricing.
- Template customization is less flexible than WooCommerce, more flexible than Shopify.
Best for: established businesses with their own payment processor that want a managed platform (no server maintenance) with more flexibility than Shopify. Best if you are already in a category BigCommerce allows and you have payment processing handled separately.
Which One Should You Pick?
It depends on where you are and what you need:
- Starting fresh or rebuilding after a shutdown? Shop Ave gets you a store and payment processing in one place, reviewed for your category. No hunting for a separate processor.
- Technical and want total control? WooCommerce gives you everything, but you supply the hosting, the processor and the maintenance.
- Already have a processor and want a managed platform? BigCommerce plugs in third-party gateways and handles the infrastructure for you.
The one thing all three have in common: none of them will shut you down for selling a legal product in a specialized industry. That is the real difference between these options and Shopify.
Shopify Alternatives FAQ
Can I migrate my Shopify store to one of these platforms?
Yes. All three support product imports from Shopify — either through built-in migration tools (BigCommerce has one) or CSV export/import. Your product data, customer data and order history can usually be moved. Your Shopify theme and customizations will not transfer directly; you will need to rebuild or adapt your design on the new platform.
Will I lose my SEO rankings if I switch platforms?
Not if you set up proper redirects. Map every old URL to its new equivalent using 301 redirects. Keep the same page titles, meta descriptions and URL slugs where possible. Google may temporarily adjust your rankings during the transition, but a well-handled migration recovers within a few weeks.
What about Squarespace, Wix or other website builders?
Squarespace and Wix are website builders with e-commerce features, not dedicated e-commerce platforms. Both have restricted product policies similar to Shopify’s, and neither offers the payment gateway flexibility of the three options above. If you are selling restricted products, they are unlikely to be a long-term solution.
Start Selling Without Platform Risk
Shop Ave pairs your store with a payment application built for specialized industries. Open your store free and apply for payments from the same dashboard.