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
Fast Bundle vs. Simple Bundles: Which Wins on Shopify?
DEPENDSSimple Bundles & Kits wins kitted fulfillment; Fast Bundle wins promo breadth; native Shopify Bundles covers fixed sets and multipacks free.
Bundles & Kits
Feedonomics vs. Built Feed Pipelines: Managed or Owned?
BUILDBuilt feed pipelines win at 3–5 channels with a dev bench; Feedonomics earns its managed retainer past roughly 6 channels or when marketplace order sync arrives.
Product Data, Catalog & Merch Ops
GemPages vs. Replo: Templates or Testing Tempo?
BUILDBuilding an OS 2.0 section library beats both apps for evergreen pages; GemPages wins template-led campaigns, Replo earns a fenced lane at CRO tempo.
Content & Storefront
GemPages vs. Theme Sections: Rent the Builder or Own the Pages?
BUILDBuilding an OS 2.0 section library beats GemPages wherever dev support exists; template-built pages stay app-locked, sections stay portable JSON you own.
Content & Storefront
Gorgias vs. No Helpdesk: When Does the Native Stack Run Out?
BUYGorgias earns its subscription past roughly 500 tickets a month; below that, a shared inbox plus native customer accounts and Shopify Flow covers support.
Support & Self-Service
Gorgias vs. Richpanel: Which Shopify Helpdesk Wins?
BUYGorgias wins as the Shopify helpdesk default; Richpanel wins when per-resolution AI billing breaks the math or a Rules-sunset rebuild is due anyway.
Support & Self-Service
Gorgias vs. Zendesk: Ecommerce-Native or Horizontal Helpdesk?
BUYGorgias wins while support lives inside the Shopify store; Zendesk wins when multi-brand scope, B2B contracts, and SLAs outgrow it.
Support & Self-Service
Grapevine vs. KnoCommerce: Best Post-Purchase Survey?
BUYGrapevine wins the single attribution question; KnoCommerce wins survey programs; on Plus, a checkout UI extension puts answers on the order row.
Reviews & UGC
Intuitive Shipping vs. Built Rate Logic: Buy the Rules Engine?
BUYIntuitive Shipping wins for most mid-market rate complexity; build a custom carrier-service engine only when rate accuracy moves real margin.
Shipping, Delivery & Fulfillment
Judge.me vs. Okendo: Which Reviews App Fits Your Stage?
BUYJudge.me wins on value for most mid-market Shopify stores; Okendo earns its order-volume tiers when attribute-level review data drives conversion and segmentation.
Reviews & UGC