Shopify Review: The Good, Bad, & Ugly (2025)
Shopify is one of the most popular eCommerce platforms in the world… but is it the best? In this Shopify…
TOOLS
50+ Best eCommerce Tools For Online Success
Save thousands of dollars testing sub-par tools and dive straight into the very best eCommerce tools that will help fast-track your online business growth.
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Shopify
ECOMMERCE PLATFORM
The #1 choice for building your brand’s online store. Packed with powerful, easy-to-use features making your brand look professional from day one. Used by beginners through to 8 & 9-figure brands like Gymshark, Fashion Nova, & Allbirds.
Wix
WEBSITE BUILDER
A cheaper alternative to Shopify. Those who don’t want a full eCommerce experience for their website and would rather set up a simple website or landing page will find Wix’s drag-and-drop editor easy to use and cheap to run.
Mixo
AI WEBSITE BUILDER
If you don’t rate your design skills in the slightest and want a simple, nice-looking website, then Mixo is the perfect solution. A number of our BBU members have used it to create AI-assisted websites that look great with a few clicks.
WooCommerce
WORDPRESS SHOP
WooCommerce is a must-have tool if you’re running a WordPress website. It powers millions of stores around the world and gives you complete control over your website. However, it’s more complex to use than Shopify.
Shogun
LANDING PAGES
While Shopify’s 2.0 update provided more flexibility for product and category pages, there are times when a custom landing page builder is necessary. Having also tried GemPages and PageFly over the years, Shogun remains our go-to.
SiteGround
WEBSITE HOSTING
For our non-Shopify projects, we use Siteground for hosting websites. Plans are reasonably priced, support is fantastic, and uptime is very reliable. You can manage multiple websites and emails all from one account.
Helium 10
PRODUCT RESEARCH
The undisputed king of Amazon seller tools. Helium 10’s most popular use case is product research, but it goes way beyond that with a suite of 30+ tools that will help you start and scale your Amazon business with success.
Jungle Scout
AMAZON OPERATIONS
Another great option for product research, Jungle Scout also excels in the ongoing operations of your Amazon business. Features like alerts, review follow-up automation, and the supplier database make it great value for money.
ZonGuru
LiSTING OPTIMIZATION
The forerunner in AI Amazon listing optimization, ZonGuru is a tool suite with a competitive range of packages. Its latest AI developments make it a great option for sellers and agencies with a lot of listings to produce.
Data Dive
KEYWORD RESEARCH
Developed by some of the biggest, smartest sellers in the space, Data Dive extracts more keyword data than any other tool we’ve tried. You may get 90% of them with other tools, but for big sellers, that 10% makes a big difference.
Scale Insights
PPC AUTOMATION
Our PPC automation tool of choice (having tested a LOT.) Offers a perfect balance of automation features, reliability, and detailed analytics alongside a very fair pricing model that works particularly well for low SKU-count brands.
PixelMe
EXTERNAL TRAFFIC
Create, launch, and measure ad campaigns on Google, Facebook, and TikTok to maximize organic growth on Amazon whilst also capturing a retargeting audience for future campaigns.
Explore all Amazon seller tools
Klaviyo
Email & SMS Marketing
The most popular email marketing tool in the eCommerce space for a reason. Integrates with Shopify seamlessly and has smart automations, segmentations, and workflows that help drive significant revenue through email.
MailerLite
Email Marketing
A more affordable alternative to Klaviyo. Doesn’t have the same level of Shopify integration but is much friendlier on the P&L. Having used Mailerlite a lot in the last year, it’s an impressive platform. Intuitive, easy to use, and reliable.
Privy
Email Collection
Building an email list is crucial for nurturing trust and growing customer lifetime value. Privy is the best tool available for pop-ups and list building with smart settings to target users at the perfect stage in the buying journey.
SEMRush
SEO
If you’re serious about SEO, a good tool is a must. SEMRush offers a free 7-day trial and will help you analyze competitors, carry out keyword research, and build a successful SEO strategy that delivers compounding results year-on-year.
Social Snowball
Influencer Marketing
The best influencer marketing software for Shopify sellers. Helps you create frictionless affiliate programs for your customers & creators and mobilize an army of promotional partners. Great automation features.
Social Pilot
Social Media Marketing
Our social media scheduling tool of choice. With many options on the market, we chose Social Pilot because it’s affordable with multiple accounts and can publish directly to short-form video platforms like YouTube and Reels.
Jing Sourcing
sourcing agent
The best sourcing agent we’ve worked with. Jing has served a large amount of our community and the feedback is always positive. Save time (and often money due to local dialect negotiations) and outsource your sourcing.
SoStocked
inventory management
A tool we couldn’t live without. Helps manage inventory across multiple Amazon marketplaces and creates forecasts so you know exactly how many units to order and when. Works well with 3PLs and seasonal spikes too.
Cogsy
inventory management
If you’re more Shopify than Amazon, this is the inventory software of choice. Used by big brands like Caraway and Doe, Cogs helps you streamline purchase orders, simplify inventory management, and eliminate costly stockouts.
Seller Investigators
Amazon Reimbursements
Around 1% of all inventory you send to Amazon will get lost or damaged. Unless you submit evidence-backed reimbursement claims, this money is gone forever. Seller Investigators are the best in the industry at getting you this money back.
Westbound Logistics
Freight Forwarder
A trusted freight forwarder is one of the most important contacts to have in your eCommerce business. We’ve used (and recommended) Westbound for 6+ years and are always impressed with the fair pricing and high level of service.
Canva
In-House Design
For quick social media posts, website banners, and other marketing materials, it’s hard to be the bang-for-buck of Canva. Simple to use, templates galore, and a generous free plan make this a must-bookmark site.
Adobe
Advanced Design
Need a little more power and flexibility? Adobe is your solution. The industry-standard Photoshop and Illustrator tools are invaluable, plus AI developments within the Firefly tool are taking Adobe’s Creative Cloud to another level.
Fiverr
Freelance Marketplace
While you won’t find many (worthwhile) gigs for a fiver these days, Fiverr is still a platform with a lot of good design talent at affordable prices. It’s the first place we go to—and send others to—when looking to outsource design work.
99designs
Design Specialists
The quality on 99designs is up there with the best you will find. You can create a contest that gives you 30+ designs to choose from and if you find a designer you like you can work with them directly on further projects.
Xero
Bookkeeping
You owe it to your accountant to use good bookkeeping software, and Xero is the one. Our accountants insist on it and are convinced it’s the best solution available. And why would we argue with the professionals?
LinkMyBooks
Bookkeeping
LinkMyBooks is an essential tool for making sense of your Amazon and Shopify settlements. It groups them into clear categories and makes the bookkeeping process much smoother leading to more accurate reporting.
8fig
Growth Capital
Growing an eCommerce business can be a capital-intensive operation. Enter 8fig, a growth capital specialist who will work with you to find the perfect funding solution tailored to your business and growth objectives.
Wise
Currency Exchange
If you sell in multiple marketplaces or work with overseas contractors and VAs, a foreign currency account can help save several percentage points on exchange rates. Wise is the gold standard in this space and we are happy customers.
EcomBalance
Bookkeeping Service
Specialist eCommerce bookkeepers at an affordable price. The experienced team will manage your books and produce a P&L by the 15th of every month so you can carefully track business progress and adapt as needed.
EcomBrokers
Business Brokers
The best brokers in the industry to get you maximum value when selling your eCommerce business. Founded by Ben Leonard who built and sold Beast Gear for 7 figures and teaches our Exit Engine course inside BBU.
Explore all eCommerce accounting tools
Triple Whale
Shopify Analytics
Stop relying on inaccurate reporting dashboards inside Facebook & Google ads, and instead get accurate analytics in real-time with Triple Whale’s innovative stats dashboard. Perfect for growing Shopify sellers.
Sellerboard
AMAZON ANALYTICS
Amazon’s reporting is notoriously limited and only makes limited data readily available. Sellerboard takes all that pain away allowing you to quickly and easily see exactly what your profit margins are and how your business is performing.
Plausible
Website Analytics
If you’re struggling with Google Analytics 4, you are not alone. For the first time in years, we explored alternative options and thankfully found Plausible. It’s a great user experience and we now use it across all sites to track key analytics.
Missive
Collaborative Email
Having used Help Scout and Front in the past, we moved over to Missive due to its ability to host collaborative team inboxes (email & social) alongside personal inboxes, cutting down on apps needed. Great for collaborative customer service.
ManyChat
CHAT BOT
If you’re looking for an affordable, flexible chat bot option for your website, they don’t come much better than ManyChat. We use it for post-purchase funnels, but the features for website chat support are great too.
Gorgias
CUSTOMER SERVICE
If you prefer a ticket-based solution over chat/email, then Gorgias is the stand-out choice. Fantastic integration with Shopify, easy to use, and a reasonably priced entry-level plan that should cover most growing startups.
Online Jobs
Virtual Assistants
If you’re looking to hire or outsource to overseas contractors, we can’t recommend Online Jobs highly enough. We have hired a number of fantastic people through Online Jobs who still work with us to this day.
Circle
Community Hosting
Want to host a community for your brand? Circle is the perfect solution. With topic-based rooms, live events, a mobile app, and more, it’s one of the fastest-growing education and community platforms and what we use inside BBU.
ChatGPT
Generative AI
Simply a must-use tool. The free plan is more than enough for most users, but if you really want to take things up a notch the paid plan is still only $20/month. Won’t replace your job, but will speed up many aspects of it!
Surfer
Content Optimization
Getting your eCommerce website ranked in Google creates a lot of revenue opportunities. Surfer’s optimization toolset helps you audit and create content that Google loves, ranks, and drives profitable traffic to.
SiteGPT
AI Support
Using ChatGPT for support becomes a lot easier with SiteGPT. Feed the tool your website and it will train itself on your content in order to be able to provide automated customer support with accurate and helpful information.
MidJourney
Image creation
Creating product images and marketing materials has never been easier. The quality of AI-generated images is improving at a rapid pace and MidJourney is at the forefront of the development with some incredible output possible.
Quartile
AMAZON PPC
Quartile’s patented algorithms and AI engine can optimize your Amazon ads around the clock. Using unique single-keyword campaign structures, your advertising can have huge scale with manageable maintenance.
Perci
amazon listings
Keyword-optimized Amazon listings at the click of a button you say? Feed Perci the details of your product and main keywords and it will do just that. We’ve been very impressed with the output and it keeps improving.
Explore more AI tools for eCommerce
ZenBusiness
US LLC Formation
Don’t get weighed down by forming an LLC for your eCommerce business when you can completely outsource the process for a small fee. ZenBusiness has proven time and again to be a solid option for US sellers.
1st Formations
UK Company Formation
If your eCommerce business is based in the UK then 1st Formations is the best option. They will set you up with Companies House including all the required documentation, and can even act as your registered address.
Next Insurance
BUSINESS INSURANCE
eCommerce businesses need insurance for a number of aspects, most commonly product liability insurance. Next Insurance are Amazon seller and eCommerce specialists that will help find the perfect policy for your business.
GoDaddy
Domain Registration
We have used GoDaddy exclusively over the years for registering (far too many!) domains. They are well-priced and the back-end dashboard is easy to navigate with lots of helpful documentation in case you need to change any settings.
Notion
Organization
We use Notion for a growing amount of internal tasks such as creating SOPs, content calendars, and company wikis. It can feel a bit much at first, but quickly becomes a hub for note-taking, productivity, and project management.
Asana
Project Management
We are trying to move projects & tasks to Notion, but have been using Asana for 8+ years and it is very hard to leave. We’ve tried other solutions like ClickUp, but for simple task and project management for you and your team, Asana is king.
Slack
team communication
As your team grows, communication via email can become a bit cumbersome. Slack is the ideal solution with topic-based channels for focused chat. Integrates well with many other tools and the free plan has always been fine for us!
1Password
Password Management
If you’re managing a range of tools and platforms across a team, a password management tool is crucial. 1Password allows you to create shared password vaults giving team access when needed, and the ability to remove it when it’s not.
