Complete freedom
No platform limits at all. Every screen and rule is yours to decide.
Compare platforms
ShopenUp and a custom build
A custom build is a store written from scratch for you, by an agency or your own developers. It can do anything, and you own all of it, including the work of keeping it running. ShopenUp sits between a template and a full build: the common parts are ready, and only what is unique to you is built.
ShopenUpMoving from a custom build, sample planAK
Summary
Which store suits which option.
If your store is truly unlike anyone else's, at a scale where the platform itself is the advantage, and you have a technology team to run it, build it. Most merchants find that catalogue, cart, payments and shipping are the same as everyone else's, and pay for that part twice in a custom build.
Side by side
ShopenUp and a custom build, area by area
General terms only. Check the other option's current plans, fees and features on its own site.
| Area | ShopenUp | a custom build |
|---|---|---|
| Time to launch | Weeks, depending on migration and custom work | Usually months |
| Upfront cost | ₹25,000 a year for Growth plus custom hours | The full build, often a large fixed quote |
| Fit | Common parts ready; unique parts built | Everything built to your specification |
| Ownership | Your data and custom specifications; the platform is ours | All the code, if your contract says so |
| Running it | Our team on the managed plans | Your team, or a maintenance contract |
| When the developer leaves | The platform team is still there | A real risk for small teams |
| Payment terms for custom work | By the hour, pay after you accept, 150 hour minimum | Varies; often milestones with an advance |
| Upgrades over time | Platform updates included on the managed plans | Each improvement is a new project |
Where a custom build is better
Their strengths
Full code ownership
If the contract grants it, you own every line and can take it anywhere.
Very large or unusual scale
At some volumes, a platform designed only for you is worth its cost.
Where ShopenUp is better
Our strengths
You do not pay to rebuild the basics
Catalogue, cart, payments, shipping and the admin already exist.
Somebody runs it
Hosting, updates and support are handled after launch by a team whose job it is.
Smaller, safer steps
Custom modules are scoped and delivered one at a time, so you never write one large cheque up front.
Choose a custom build if
- Your store's core logic is unlike any platform
- You have an in house team to run it for years
- You need to own all the code outright
- Your scale justifies building the platform itself
Choose ShopenUp if
- Most of your store is standard and a few parts are not
- You do not want to fund a full build to get those parts
- You want someone to run the store after launch
- You prefer to fund the work one module at a time
Questions
About moving from a custom build
Can ShopenUp grow into a custom build later?
Custom modules, the API and webhooks let the store grow a long way. If you outgrow the platform, your data comes with you and the specifications we wrote help whoever builds next.
Who owns the custom modules?
Ownership and licensing of custom work are set out in the written scope before work starts. Ask us to walk through it on the first call.
How is custom work priced?
On 2good.dev terms: USD 2 or INR 199 an hour, a 150 hour minimum, no advance, and you pay after you accept the work.
We already have a custom store. Should we move?
Only if running it has become the problem. If it works and someone looks after it well, keep it.
Keep going
Work it out with your own numbers
See the store running with your own products.
Send a few products and your trickiest order. The demo shows them in the admin and on a storefront, with a plain list of native and custom parts.