The 5 Best Headless eCommerce Platforms for Your Business
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By
Omar - Updated on Apr 12, 2023
Are you thinking about the best headless ecommerce platforms for your business?
That’s normal. After all, headless ecommerce platforms have become crucial tools for many ecommerce businesses, especially those that want to create the optimum omnichannel retail experience.
Many headless ecommerce platforms are available, so it can be difficult for an ecommerce business owner like you to choose the right platform.
Don’t worry, I can help. In this article, I ranked and reviewed the best headless ecommerce platforms, and selected the top five you can consider for your ecommerce store.
Here they are at a glance:
Shopify Plus headless commerce enables companies to publish their brand on any channel and make any device a platform for their online store.
This headless ecommerce platform is self-hosted, so you enjoy limitless freedom over your online store’s appearance and design.
OroCommerce mainly focuses on B2B and wholesale customers. Its inventory management tools allow you to carry out multi-website and multi-warehouse management tasks.
This tool utilizes headless ecommerce technology in creating the foundation for innovative ecommerce architecture. It provides a point-of-sale functionality through cloud deployment.
This platform has a patented framework and revolutionary low code editor. These elements promise better builds, faster website load times, increased conversions, and better rankings on search engines.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
What Is a Headless Ecommerce Platform?
Unlike a traditional ecommerce platform, a headless ecommerce platform works by decoupling the frontend frameworks (presentation layers, templates, themes) of an ecommerce website or mobile app screen from the backend ecommerce functionality (pricing, security, etc.).
In simpler terms, a headless ecommerce platform separates the storefront layer (the “head”) from the ecommerce platform itself.
This separation allows both layers of a headless ecommerce platform to work independently and communicate via application programming interfaces (APIs).
A headless ecommerce platform offers excellent flexibility for online retailers to create seamless digital experiences for online shoppers.
The 5 Best Headless Commerce Platforms
Omar's Take
With more than 1.75 million merchants, Shopify Plus is today’s leading ecommerce platform.
Many new retailers and ecommerce stores prefer to use Shopify Plus because it’s easy to use. It’s also a fully hosted ecommerce platform, so you won’t have to do any coding.
You also don’t have to deal with security issues or bandwidth—the vendor takes care of these for you.
Shopify Plus headless commerce enables companies to publish their brand on any channel and make any device a platform for their online store.
- Best For Overall
- Price From $2,000 to $40,000/mo
- Annual Discount Yes, and on 2-year and 3-year plans
- Promotion Free Trial
With more than 1.75 million merchants, Shopify Plus is today’s leading ecommerce platform.
Many new retailers and ecommerce stores prefer to use Shopify Plus because it’s easy to use. It’s also a fully hosted ecommerce platform, so you won’t have to do any coding.
You also don’t have to deal with security issues or bandwidth—the vendor takes care of these for you.
Shopify Plus headless commerce enables companies to publish their brand on any channel and make any device a platform for their online store.
Shopify Plus’ headless commerce solution is designed to provide users with complete creative control across multiple touchpoints, creating an engaging customer experience.
Through this headless commerce platform, you can use your business software and web content management system to engage customers via personalized storefronts, kiosks, vending machines, wearables, or billboards.
What grabbed my attention was the user-friendly dashboard that had a streamlined headless content management system.
The dashboard has 23 different sales channels. You can manage your inventory, synchronize product orders, and manage customer data across all channels from one place.
Features
- Seamless integration with major marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay
- Chat and email support
- Turn any screen (websites, native mobile apps, smart mirrors, wearables) into a digital commerce storefront
- High-speed performance
- Handles up to 8,000 orders per minute
Cons
- A somewhat limited back-end configuration compared to other open source platforms
- Shopify payments are unavailable in some countries
- Lack of control over the checkout
Pricing
Shopify Plus price usually starts around $2,000 per month. If you start making $800,000 monthly, pricing changes from a subscription fee to a revenue-based fee of 0.25% of your monthly revenue.
Omar's Take
Adobe Commerce (formerly Magento Commerce) is one of the world’s most popular headless commerce platforms.
This headless ecommerce platform is self-hosted, so you enjoy limitless freedom over your online store’s appearance and design.
It features a variety of apps and integrations for handling analytics, content creation, and new sales channels.
Adobe Commerce is suitable for business owners who want an efficient way to personalize their ecommerce stores.
- Best For Efficiency
- Price Starts at around $22,000 per year
- Annual Discount Yes
- Promotion N/A
You have full access to the Adobe Commerce source code, so you have complete control over the look and design of your ecommerce store.
This headless ecommerce platform features over 1,700 extensions that you can use to boost the appearance and functionality of your ecommerce store.
Adobe Commerce’s inventory management system allows store owners to keep track of stock across all stores and warehouses in real-time.
This headless ecommerce platform has analytics that provides merchants with enhanced data visualization. You gain insight into retention rates, lifetime value, and average order value.
Adobe Commerce also seamlessly integrates with the REST and SOAP web API frameworks. You can create CRM, CMS, PIM, ERP, accounting, marketing, and inventory management integrations.
Features
- Build a personalized front-end experience using any technology
- Same APIs and services apply to multiple touchpoints, ensuring a smooth-sailing customer experience
- Limitless possibility to integrate with alternative third-party CMS or front-end platforms
- A variety of ready-to-use extensions to maximize online store capabilities
Cons
- Requires deep technical knowledge to create websites and manage Adobe headless ecommerce sites
- Challenging to navigate, especially for first-time users
- Can be costly because you need to pay for the server, the domain, developer costs, commerce platform updates, and security measures.
Pricing
The paid version of Adobe Commerce will cost you around $22,000 per year, depending on the nature and size of your ecommerce brand.
Omar's Take
OroCommerce is an ecommerce platform from the same team that built Magento. You can personalize this headless ecommerce platform to suit any B2B, B2B2C, B2B2B, or B2C ecommerce need.
OroCommerce mainly focuses on B2B and wholesale customers. Its inventory management tools allow you to carry out multi-website and multi-warehouse management tasks.
- Best For Wholesalers
- Price Starting at $45,000/year
- Annual Discount N/A
- Promotion Demo
OroCommerce also features an integrated CRM that helps with sales pipelines, customer segmentation, marketing, and sales projections.
With OroCommerce, wholesale ecommerce customers can easily place orders, work with shopping lists, or involve other decision-makers in purchasing.
This ecommerce platform can support millions of SKUs and transactions. It also seamlessly integrates with CRM, PIM, and ERP apps.
OroCommerce is highly secure and offers reliable consumer data protection, including payment information and access permissions.
By taking an open-source approach, OroCommerce has built a robust developer community around its software. This approach has resulted in improved code transparency, product reliability, and security.
Features
- Manage multiple storefronts via one panel
- Integrated omnichannel customer relationship management, giving store owners a 360-degree view of both business and customers
- Active community with over 20,000 registered and experienced developers
- Self-service portals for effortless buyer and seller operations
Cons
- Extensive coding skills are required since the platform requires complex programming tasks
- A Limited number of add-on extensions
- Most of the ecommerce platform’s functions come from its integrated features
Pricing
OroCommerce pricing starts at around $45,000 per year. I recommend getting in touch with their sales team for customer-specific pricing.
Omar's Take
Commercetools utilizes headless ecommerce technology in creating the foundation for innovative ecommerce architecture. This ecommerce platform provides store owners with a point-of-sale functionality through cloud deployment.
This headless ecommerce solution comes with all the essential functions needed for running an ecommerce business. It features ready-made commerce building blocks and custom solutions that help you create or improve your infrastructure at scale.
Commercetools easily integrates with Contentstack, Cybersource, and Frontastic. It also comes ready to use with DXPs and front-end CMS systems, such as Bloomreach and Adobe Experience Cloud.
- Best For POS Functionnality
- Price Varies
Implementation costs can range from $300,000 to $1 million, license fees can go from $200,000 per year to $500,000 per year, and specialized resources can cost around $150,000 per year
- Annual Discount Yes
- Promotion 60-Day Free Trial
Commercetools markets itself as the world’s leading commerce platform built on modern commerce principles.
This headless solution takes an advanced API approach to power retailers, create a personalized customer experience across multiple sales channels, and future-proof emerging channels.
Given its fully-enabled AP platform, you can do without SQL or any other customization – the APIs cover all essential functions.
Commercetools also comes with inventory management features you can use to track and adjust inventory, as well as manage multiple online businesses.
Features
- Impressive commerce features and functionality, such as catalog management, unified cart, order management, and machine learning
- Highly scalable and flexible commerce platforms
- All features and functions are available via open APIs
Cons
- Lacks a few enterprise-level features, such as filled level security, sync, and promotion of config across environments
- Small developer community may make it hard for you to find support or help in answering some questions
Pricing
Based on customer feedback, Commercetools prices range from $300,000 to $1 Million for implementation costs, $200,000 to $500,000 per year for license fees, and $150,000 per year for specialized resources.
Omar's Take
The.com is a low-code headless platform featuring community-made components you can share and own. Its cell-based platform significantly speeds up development, hand-off, and reusability.
This platform has a patented framework and revolutionary low code editor. These elements promise better builds, faster website load times, increased conversions, and better rankings on search engines.
What I love about The.com is how its editing tool gives you a real-time view of all the changes you make to your ecommerce website.
- Best For Speed
- Price Starts at $1500.00/mo
- Annual Discount N/A
- Promotion N/A
The site editor loads in front of your actual site, giving you an easier time customizing the look and feel of your ecommerce stores.
This headless commerce platform features serverless hosting that lets you personalize your online store without any boundaries while keeping your website fast and secure.
The.com also integrates easily with business apps, such as Shopify, Mailchimp, Typeform, and Formstackm, making it a suitable option for fast-loading commerce sites.
Features
- Rapid load times
- Unlimited collaborators
- Priority support channel
- 99.8% uptime guarantee
- Auto-generated sitemap
Cons
- May require a solid understanding of HTML and CSS to make the most out of the platform
- Rather steep learning curve, especially for beginners
- Lack of video tutorials to help users learn more about the platform
Pricing:
The.com features the following plans:
- Draft (free)
- Starter ($36 per month)
- Member ($199 per month)
- Automate ($2499 per month)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What Is the Difference Between Headless Ecommerce Platforms and Traditional Ecommerce Platforms?
With traditional ecommerce platforms, all the functionality required to run an online business is tightly coupled.
With this design, even the most minor adjustments to the UI design can affect the whole system, resulting in limited customization possibilities.
Headless ecommerce platforms solve this problem by decoupling the front-end of your storefront from the backend system.
What Is the Difference Between Headless Ecommerce Platforms and Headless Content Management Systems (CMS)?
Headless ecommerce platforms function just like typical ecommerce platforms but take an API-focused approach.
Meanwhile, a headless CMS has a headless architecture that delivers content through APIs for seamless display across multiple platforms and devices.
The Bottom Line
In the ecommerce industry, customizing your ecommerce website is necessary to increase traffic, maximize sales opportunities, and fuel business growth.
Switching to a headless ecommerce platform can make it easier to achieve these goals.
Carefully consider factors such as total cost, reliability, functionality, and ease of use when choosing a headless ecommerce platform.
Hopefully, you’ve found it easier to decide on the best headless ecommerce platform for your store after reading my article.
Want to offer your products or services on multiple channels? Check out this article if you want to master the art of multi-channel selling!
Omar
Founder of OJ Digital Solutions
