---
title: "Build vs buy | Medusa knowledge base"
description: "Deciding between Shopify, headless setups, and a commerce framework like Medusa, including costs and trade-offs."
url: https://medusajs.com/kb/build-vs-buy
last_updated: 2026-10-29T06:55:50Z
---

# Build vs buy

Deciding between Shopify, headless setups, and a commerce framework like Medusa, including costs and trade-offs.

## Entries

- [The true cost of Shopify apps vs owning your stack](https://medusajs.com/kb/build-vs-buy/shopify-app-costs-vs-owning-stack.md): Paid Shopify app plans for subscriptions, reviews, loyalty, bundles, and B2B run from $15 to $599 per month each, and some add per-transaction fees. Owning your stack with Medusa replaces those apps with modules you build once, guided by official tutorials, on Medusa Cloud from $29 per month with a 0% GMV fee. Developer time is the trade-off.
- [Should I use Shopify or build a custom store?](https://medusajs.com/kb/build-vs-buy/shopify-vs-custom-store.md): Use Shopify if you have no developer, a standard catalog, and need to sell fast. Build on a commerce framework like Medusa when your edge is custom product logic, subscriptions without per-transaction app fees, owned data, or AI features. Medusa Cloud starts at $29 per month with a 0% GMV fee; developer time is the main extra cost.
- [What does headless commerce actually mean?](https://medusajs.com/kb/build-vs-buy/what-is-headless-commerce.md): Headless commerce means your storefront is a separate app that talks to a commerce backend through an API. The backend handles products, carts, orders, and payments; you build and host the frontend. Medusa is an open source headless platform with a Store API and a Next.js Starter Storefront, so you build the frontend, not commerce itself.