Build vs. Buy on Shopify
Build, buy, customize, or wait — decided with numbers. Capability-by-capability verdicts with honest 3-year cost math.
Custom wins on 3-year cost or fit — with maintenance counted honestly.
The app wins your scenario — we say so plainly.
Buy the app, build the glue: very often the honest mid-market answer.
Shopify is shipping this natively. Don't spend yet; we'll tell you when it flips.
Latest Decisions
Athos Commerce vs. Boost AI Search & Filter: Which Engine?
BUYBoost wins the self-serve mid-market zone; Athos Commerce wins for quote-led merchandising depth. The metafield facet schema comes first either way.
Search & Discovery
Athos Commerce vs. Native Search & Discovery: Upgrade or Wait?
BUYAthos Commerce beats free native search past roughly 1,000 SKUs and pays back in 6–9 months above ~10K; the January 2025 merger adds vendor risk worth pricing.
Search & Discovery
Attentive vs. Postscript: Which SMS Lane Fits Your Scale?
DEPENDSAttentive earns its quote once SMS is a headline channel at negotiated scale; Postscript-class self-serve tiers cover most mid-market programs.
Email, SMS & Push
Avalara vs. Shopify Tax: When Does Native Stop Being Enough?
WAITShopify Tax wins the US-only matchup for most mid-market sellers; Avalara earns its quote-based fees only at multi-channel, multi-entity complexity.
Trust, Legal & Compliance
Boomi vs. MuleSoft: Which iPaaS Fits a Shopify Stack?
DEPENDSBoomi wins EDI/MDM-heavy ops; MuleSoft wins Salesforce API programs; for Shopify-centered stacks under ~10 endpoints, custom middleware beats both.
ERP, Accounting & Integrations
Boost AI Search & Filter vs. Native Filters: Worth the Fee?
CUSTOMIZEA metafield-first customize play beats defaulting to Boost: native renders clean facets free to ~1,000 SKUs, and Boost pays back above ~10K or for filter-led UX.
Search & Discovery
Celigo vs. Workato for Shopify: Which iPaaS Wins?
BUYCeligo wins the store-to-ERP job for mid-market Shopify; Workato wins org-wide automation; custom middleware wins 1–3 stable, high-volume flows.
ERP, Accounting & Integrations
Checkout Blocks vs. Built Checkout UI Extensions: Rent or Own?
BUILDBuild checkout UI extensions when checkout logic gets specific; rent Checkout Blocks for the generic layer of banners, fields, and trust content.
Checkout & Conversion
DataFeedWatch vs. Feedonomics: Which Feed Tool Wins on Shopify?
BUYDataFeedWatch wins for self-serve feed rules; Feedonomics wins as a managed service at enterprise scale; the native Google channel covers channel one free.
Product Data, Catalog & Merch Ops
Easyship vs. Native Carrier Rates: Who Wins International Checkout?
BUYEasyship aggregates pre-negotiated couriers and landed-cost display for cross-border stores; native carrier-calculated rates win once owned contracts arrive.
Shipping, Delivery & Fulfillment