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Sana Commerce vs Shopify comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive Summary
 

Categories and Ranking

Sana Commerce
Ranking in eCommerce Platforms
13th
Average Rating
8.2
Number of Reviews
5
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Shopify
Ranking in eCommerce Platforms
5th
Average Rating
8.6
Number of Reviews
9
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of November 2024, in the eCommerce Platforms category, the mindshare of Sana Commerce is 1.3%, down from 1.6% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Shopify is 11.1%, up from 8.3% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
eCommerce Platforms
 

Featured Reviews

MD
Nov 1, 2021
Helped us create a new revenue stream, but the cost and time of customization are disadvantages
We had to do a lot of customization, so I wouldn't say the integration worked out-of-the-box. Also, if you want to have anything done, you have to go back to their development team, which is offshore. You can't customize it yourself. And that customization took a long time. Sana is a decent company, although they have had their challenges. When we originally signed up with Sana, they lost a lot of their leadership team. Part of the problem with them is that their entire support team is offshore in Sri Lanka. When you want to interface with the development team, you have to wait a day or two for each response. We also didn't realize this going into it, but there is an RQS (requirements gathering) phase, which takes about a month. After that, there is a development phase that takes another month. There are also testing and go-live. If you want to introduce any new features or functionality, it's at least a three to four-month process, possibly more, because of the way their structure works. Everything has to be customized. They are resource-challenged as well. Sana is a very small company. That means that when you want to start up a development enhancement, there's a wait time of at least a month. So in addition to requirements, development, and testing, you have to add a month of waiting for a resource to be assigned to even look at the requirements. They have some growing pains. We've told them this a few times and it seems to be getting better, but they definitely have challenges. Another challenge is that their global capabilities are quite limited. We're a global company. We operate in 23 countries. We've asked them, "What can we do in China? What can we do in Europe?" I don't think they have any customers in China. We'd be their first. Europe is more solidified than Asia, but still growing for them and not as established. We've had to restructure some of our backend processes to accommodate order errors that come through the site. We've had to address and do some enhancements for that. It's quite expensive. We have probably spent a couple hundred thousand dollars in development expenses to get up and running. That's not what we expected, but we've gone through it.
Janis Karasa - PeerSpot reviewer
Jul 24, 2024
Helps to set up an online store for businesses
If you have a physical business, like a shop on the street, and you want to take it online but don't know how to do it, you have a couple of options. You could contact a developer or set up an account on Shopify and create your online store there. Shopify is similar to WordPress. It's a content management system specifically built for e-commerce. You can add your products, upload photos, and set up your store fairly easily, even if you don't know how to code. It's designed for people who don't know how to code but want to create a basic online store. Some business owners don't want to deal with this, so they hire web developers specializing in Shopify to help set up their online store. If you're not satisfied with the default settings or appearance of your Shopify store, you can also hire a Shopify specialist to customize the code, layout, and other aspects of the website that you can't modify within Shopify itself. What I like most about the tool is its ability to integrate applications. You can add various apps, such as review applications to handle reviews or apps that help with upselling. There are many different applications available. Another feature I appreciate is the ability to connect your store to your Instagram or Meta account. It is also user-friendly.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The big benefit with Sana is our ability to interface with Microsoft Dynamics."
"I found it surprisingly easy from both the admin side and the customer side. The admin side has a limited set of features, but they are very well explained. They are very simple to understand. It is very easy to find out what every feature does. It is not really complicated. Sana provides an online university where you can learn everything that you need about it. When we needed to check a new feature or validate how something works, we found solid online information on their website. If there was anything that we couldn't find, or if we really couldn't understand how exactly something was working, their support was always very quick. So, it is quite easy."
"We use Sana Commerce with Microsoft Dynamics on the back end and the native ERP integration works well. The fact that no third-party integrations are needed between our Sana Commerce web store and Microsoft Dynamics is important. It's one less thing to worry about when it comes to troubleshooting."
"This product is highly customizable. We use the standard system but we have extended it quite a bit."
"The most valuable feature is the direct ERP integration, as it allows us to provide product availability and specific pricing in real-time. Customers can also order themselves in real-time."
"If you have a physical business, like a shop on the street, and you want to take it online but don't know how to do it, you have a couple of options. You could contact a developer or set up an account on Shopify and create your online store there."
"The most valuable feature is its strong SEO capabilities."
"Shopify can be used without any coding knowledge."
"The solution is highly customizable for our store’s e-commerce needs. We don't need to write any code as all the required features are already inbuilt. The front end can be easily customized. Moreover, this tool offers built-in integrations with payment gateway, messaging services like SMS and email, and logistics integration."
"For the initial setup phase, many online tutorials are available, making the process easy."
"The product has a few free-to-use features. It is easy to navigate and has good visuals as well."
"Shopify provides an easy to use service at the backend that includes product upload, customer service, team settings, and team customization."
"It has a brilliant inventory system to help you manage your store."
 

Cons

"We also didn't realize this going into it, but there is an RQS (requirements gathering) phase, which takes about a month. After that, there is a development phase that takes another month. There are also testing and go-live. If you want to introduce any new features or functionality, it's at least a three to four-month process, possibly more, because of the way their structure works. Everything has to be customized. They are resource-challenged as well."
"The performance can be improved. Sometimes, the system is really slow because of the ERP integration. I'm not sure whether this is a problem with Sana Commerce or the ERP system but overall, it could be faster. When it comes to usability, if it takes too much time to load, then it's not the best."
"There could also be more support about everything that is related to website management, which is not strictly related to the B2B tool. These are the things like knowing about GDPR regulations, knowing about digital consents, and in general, all the laws that go with having a website. Sometimes, we would have liked more support in that area."
"One problem that we encounter is that it's difficult to upgrade as a result of making a large number of customer-specific adaptations."
"I'd rate their customer service a nine out of 10. I think they're in demand and a little overloaded on work. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time for them to get to our work."
"The order processing and saving of the changes for the product should have automatic functioning."
"There are some areas where improvements could be made. Currently, the platform only supports three product variants, and having the option for more variants would be beneficial. Additionally, we have to rely on external plugins for reviews and ratings, which could be more convenient if they were built-in."
"Previously, Shopify had a limitation of 200 product variations, which posed a challenge for businesses with multiple product options like different colors and sizes. However, they have increased this limit to 1,000 variations, greatly improving the platform's functionality. Besides that, I don't see any major issues that need improvement."
"I have many clients that want to sell their products to the wholesale market, and Shopify currently does not have that kind of feature."
"If you consider an enterprise-level application with a lot of customization, Shopify can be problematic to use."
"It could benefit from improving its user-friendliness for non-coders, perhaps by offering easier template-building options."
"I would like to see a feature that allows us to access all of the platforms in Shopify, like Facebook and Instagram messages, so we can easily reply to connect to our customers."
"Many of our clients complain because it's costly and not an open-source."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"They have a policy of a price per legal entity. So, if you are a company that operates in one country, that is, if you're just an American company, or you're just a Spanish company or just a British company, then that probably makes sense. We are a global company, and we have operations in 20 to 30 different countries. So, we are interested in implementing Sana in potentially 20 to 30 countries. Right now, the pricing model of Sana has a limitation. They are almost asking for the same price for the new country when in many cases, a new country will just be a new small rollout. That's because it is the same solution that gets implemented everywhere. So, to me, it is not the same price if you are maintaining 10 Sanas that are looking exactly the same and are working exactly the same in 10 different countries. To me, these should not cost 10 times more than one. They don't yet have a good grasp of how to manage global companies like ours. That is something we are talking to them about, and we are in discussions with them about. So, hopefully, they will learn."
"Sana's pricing is fair. It could be more competitive. It's not so much the licensing cost, it's the additional development."
"Support costs are in addition to the standard licensing fees, and they vary per month, based on how much we use them. It is not very expensive."
"When we got version 9.2, it was a good price. Everything is moving to the subscription-based cloud model, and that's probably a little high when you look at the lifetime cost."
"Depending on the client's requirements, they can choose either the basic plan or the premium plan."
"The pricing of the solution is economical. The enterprise version is more expensive, however, we do not use it. We pay for the license on a monthly basis and there are payment gateway charges associated with transactions, typically around two percent or as applicable."
"They have various plans including ones that are priced at $29 per month, $79 per month, and can go up to $300 per month."
"This is the only platform to enforce its own transaction fee unless you use Shopify Payments Content, which doesn’t automatically reformat when you switch themes."
"The tool's pricing depends on how big your online store is."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Computer Software Company
20%
Manufacturing Company
10%
Government
9%
Educational Organization
8%
Educational Organization
58%
Computer Software Company
8%
Retailer
4%
Manufacturing Company
4%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
No data available
 

Questions from the Community

Ask a question
Earn 20 points
What do you like most about Shopify?
For the initial setup phase, many online tutorials are available, making the process easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Shopify?
The tool's pricing depends on how big your online store is.
What needs improvement with Shopify?
Previously, Shopify had a limitation of 200 product variations, which posed a challenge for businesses with multiple product options like different colors and sizes. However, they have increased th...
 

Comparisons

 

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Sample Customers

Akzo Nobel B.V., Atkins, Century Martial Arts, Forbo Flooring Systems, Michelin Group, Ravensburger AG Learn more about our customers.
RadioShack, Hawaiian Airlines, ThirdLove, Whistle, Essio Shower, Silk Therapeutics, Slack, Beamz Interactive, National Aquarium, GoNoodle, Toronto Life, FiftyThree
Find out what your peers are saying about Sana Commerce vs. Shopify and other solutions. Updated: October 2024.
814,763 professionals have used our research since 2012.