Shopware Review, Pricing & Features

See Shopware's pricing plans, features, pros and cons for 2026. Compare Germany's leading open-source e-commerce platform for B2B and B2C stores.

Category
Ecommerce
Pricing
Freemium open-source core plus tiered cloud/enterprise subscriptions, from Free (Community Edition)
Verified
Not yet
Last updated
July 19, 2026
Founded
2000
Headquarters
Schoppingen, Germany
Web AppAPIOpen SourceFreemium

What is Shopware

Shopware is an e-commerce software company founded in 2000 in Schoppingen, Germany by brothers Stefan and Sebastian Hamann. It has grown into Germany's leading e-commerce platform, with an estimated 100,000 merchants worldwide and a strong presence among top German online retailers.

The platform is built with an API-first, headless-capable architecture, allowing developers to connect any frontend to Shopware's commerce backend. This makes it popular among merchants and agencies that want more architectural flexibility than fully hosted platforms typically allow, particularly for complex B2B commerce.

Key features

Shopware's Community Edition is fully open source and self-hostable, giving developers complete control over customization. Paid cloud editions add built-in B2B components such as tiered pricing, quote management, and buyer approval workflows, along with unlimited sales channels and Shopware Intelligence AI tools like a copilot, image editor, and 3D preview generator.

Higher tiers unlock advanced search, dynamic access rules, multi-inventory management, and subscription commerce, alongside faster support response times. Shopware's extension marketplace and theme ecosystem further extend functionality without requiring a full custom build.

Pricing

Shopware's Community Edition is free and open source, usable at no cost up to 1 million euro in gross merchandise volume. Paid cloud editions are priced as flat monthly subscriptions rather than per-transaction fees: Rise starts from 600 euro per month, Evolve from 2,400 euro per month, and Beyond is custom-priced for large enterprise merchants.

An optional Shopware Intelligence+ add-on, which unlocks unlimited access to AI tools like the copilot and 3D preview generator, costs 29 euro per month on Community Edition or 19 euro per month on paid editions.

Key Features

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Open-source flexibility with full self-hosting control
  • Strong native B2B feature set for wholesale and complex pricing
  • No per-transaction fees on paid cloud editions
  • Dominant market position in the German and DACH e-commerce market
  • Backed by strategic investment from PayPal

Cons

  • Smaller global app ecosystem than Shopify
  • Requires more technical resources to self-host and customize
  • Enterprise tiers (Evolve and Beyond) are costly for smaller merchants
  • Documentation and community support skew toward German-language users
  • Fewer built-in integrations tailored to the US market compared to US-based platforms

Pricing

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Shopware free

Shopware's Community Edition is free and open source, usable at no cost up to 1 million euro in gross merchandise volume.

How is Shopware different from Shopify

Shopware charges flat monthly fees scaled to sales volume and offers a free open-source edition, while Shopify charges per-transaction fees and has no free self-hosted option.

Who owns Shopware

Shopware AG is a German company; PayPal holds a 41 percent stake as of 2025 after acquiring The Carlyle Group's position.

Is Shopware open source

Yes, Shopware's Community Edition is open source and self-hostable.

Does Shopware charge transaction fees

No, Shopware's paid editions use flat monthly subscription pricing scaled to GMV rather than per-transaction fees.

Can Shopware handle B2B commerce

Yes, Shopware includes native B2B components like tiered pricing, quote management, and buyer approval workflows.

Where is Shopware based

Shopware AG is headquartered in Schoppingen, Germany.

When was Shopware founded

Shopware was founded in 2000 by brothers Stefan and Sebastian Hamann.

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