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
Global-e vs. Managed Markets: Which Merchant of Record Fits?
WAITManaged Markets wins for most mid-market Shopify stores; a direct Global-e contract earns its complexity only at enterprise cross-border scale.
International & Localization
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
Judge.me vs. Yotpo: Which Reviews App Wins on Shopify?
BUYJudge.me beats Yotpo for most mid-market Shopify stores: flat plans and 26.44% Plus adoption against quote-based tiers. Yotpo wins where syndication pays.
Reviews & UGC
Klaviyo vs. Omnisend: Which Email Platform Wins on Shopify?
BUYKlaviyo wins the mid-market head-to-head from roughly $15M revenue; Omnisend wins on price for lean multichannel teams; native covers simple sends.
Email, SMS & Push
Klaviyo vs. Postscript: Email-First or SMS-First on Shopify?
DEPENDSKlaviyo wins while SMS supports email; Postscript wins when SMS runs as a headline channel. The hidden lane: no SMS spend at all.
Email, SMS & Push