FlexiCommerce vs Shopify, for a shop in the Emirates
Shopify is the most capable e-commerce platform in the world and we are not going to pretend otherwise. But one fact of this market changes the arithmetic here.
Shopify Payments is not available in the UAE
That is not a criticism — it is a fact of where Shopify has rolled out its own payments product. The consequence is what matters: with Shopify Payments unavailable, a UAE merchant must use a third-party gateway, and that is precisely the case where Shopify charges an additional transaction fee on top of whatever the gateway already takes.
Published rates at the time of writing are 2% on Basic, 1% on the mid plan and 0.6% on Advanced. A UAE merchant cannot opt out of that percentage the way a merchant in a Shopify Payments country can.
USD 39/month, 2% on third-party gateways AED 143 AED 4,000 AED 4,143
USD 105/month, 1% on third-party gateways AED 386 AED 2,000 AED 2,386
AED 399/month, no cut of sales AED 399 AED 0 AED 399
Dollar plans converted at the pegged rate of AED 3.6725 to the dollar. Percentages are Shopify’s published third-party gateway fees at the time of writing — check their current pricing before deciding anything on this table.
FlexiCommerce and Shopify, line by line
| FlexiCommerce | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Cut of your sales | None | 2% / 1% / 0.6% on third-party gateways |
| Prices quoted in | AED | USD |
| UAE TRN tax invoice, all FTA fields | Built in | Add-on |
| Delivery by emirate and area | Built in | Postcode-shaped |
| Cash on Delivery with reconciliation | Built in | Add-on |
| Tabby and Tamara | Built in | Free app, gateway fee applies |
| Your own app on both stores | Included on Business | Third-party service, separate fee |
| Seller and delivery apps for staff | Included on Business | No |
| App ecosystem | Small | Enormous — the best there is |
| Themes and design marketplace | Built-in theme system | Huge marketplace |
| Setup done with you by a person | Included | Agency or self-serve |
Compiled from published pricing and documentation at the time of writing. Platforms change their plans often — check anything that would change your decision directly with the vendor.
When Shopify is the right answer
If your business depends on a specific integration — a particular ERP, a niche subscription tool, a marketplace connector — Shopify's app store almost certainly has it and we almost certainly do not. That is a real reason to pay the transaction fee, and we would rather you weighed it than discovered it.
The same goes for scale of ecosystem: agencies, theme developers, and people who already know the platform are far easier to hire for Shopify than for anything else. If you need to hand this to a team next year, that matters.
What people ask when switching
Is Shopify actually more expensive for a UAE store?
Can I move my Shopify store across?
What happens to my SEO if I move?
Weighing something else up
Run both for two weeks
Import your catalogue, place a few real orders, look at the invoice and the app. Comparing screenshots is guesswork; comparing your own products is not.
No card needed · Free catalogue import · 0% of your sales, ever