Pinnacle Cart vs Shopify 2024: Which is Better?

Shopping online is not a new trend. The advancement of digital technologies persuades consumers to buy products online. According to the latest statistical data, the eCommerce world will constitute more than 24% of global sales. So, it has encouraged several sellers to go online to increase their sales. But, how do you develop your e-store to establish your business?

The most important step is to choose the eCommerce development platform. The most popular name in the eCommerce world is Shopify. However, another alternative to Shopify is PinnacleCart. Although both are eCommerce development solutions with marketing tools, they have some differences.

Who should use Shopify and PinnacleCart?

Whether you are a first-time online retailer or a billion-dollar eCommerce business owner, you can rely on Shopify. Develop your new digital store with Shopify or move your e-store from other platforms to Shopify.

Similarly, PinnacleCart is the right choice for SMBs and new online sellers. Its tools help you set up the store very easily. As PinnacleCart has international payment gateways, you can rely on it for setting up a global business.

An Overview of PinnacleCart

Set up in 2004, PinnacleCart was developed by passionate entrepreneurs for eCommerce sellers. Using PinnacleCart, you will be able to create an eCommerce website for both mobile and desktop users.

Being a user-friendly shopping cart, PinnacleCart is best for beginners. You can even promote your e-store and sell your products. Vet MedPlus + and Defender Outdoors are some platforms created with PinnacleCart.

An Overview of Shopify

Shopify Inc. is a prominent Canadian multinational agency with an eCommerce platform, Shopify. It provides a suite of services essential for eCommerce businesses. For instance, you will get tools for marketing, customer engagement, shipping, and payments. Scott Lake and Tobias Lutke established the platform in 2006 after opening an online shop for snowboarding equipment.

Shopify is more popular than Pinnacle, as it is used in countries including the UK, Australia, Canada, the USA, and so on.

If you are in search of a high-performance custom Shopify eCommerce site, consider exploring the expertise of Digital Silk – a company dedicated to designing, developing, and optimizing sites for superior performance, better rankings, and higher conversion rates.

In 2017, the company declared an integration with the eCommerce giant, Amazon. So, merchants can sell their products on Amazon from the respective stores.

With the launch of Shopify POS, the company has bridged the gap between offline and online storefronts through different products. It means you can synchronize your online and in-store inventories.

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User-friendliness of PinnacleCart and Shopify

It takes only a few minutes to sign up with PinnacleCart and set up your eCommerce store. You have to go through the wizard setup process, where you should answer queries related to taxes, store addresses, and shipping options. After the wizard has been set up, you will access the dashboard. Every time you want to check the status and activities at your online store, you should visit the dashboard.

As you have signed up with PinnacleCart, it will create relevant pages for the digital store. So, you have to add custom pages and products. Every feature of PinnacleCart is clearly labeled and arranged properly. So, you will be able to manage the intuitive interface without significant effort. Being a hosted solution, PinnacleCart has made everything ready for you.

Similarly, Shopify also presents you with a user-friendly platform. Without high technical knowledge, you cannot manage digital stores efficiently. The drag-and-drop functionality makes everything easier. You can also customize the layout and design of the website.

Key Features of PinnacleCart

Easy-to-use store builder

Setting up a PinnacleCart store is not a hassle. Even if you are a novice, you can create your eCommerce store on this platform. Just sign up for a premium plan and choose the template for the store. Fonts, colors, images, and styles are customizable before uploading your eCommerce products. You can also assign shipping rates and prices. Overall, it takes 20 minutes to set up the digital store. The 1-click plugin (such as WooCommerce) installation feature also saves you time.

You will also find a Store Designer feature without additional charge. For instance, it lets you add a logo, upload a home page image, adjust panels, and insert a custom header/footer. You can even embed videos or music into your e-store.

Inventory and order management

Using the PinnacleCart dashboard, you will be able to manage your eCommerce business inventory and daily orders. You can also track the quantity of every item available in your store. If any product is not available in stock, the Order Management feature will display the Sold option. You can restock the products and make them available to customers.

Marketing tools

PinnacleCart will help you promote your e-store with functional tools for keyword search and SEO. With the efficient use of these tools, you can boost the rank of your eCommerce site. Besides, PinnacleCart lets you offer promo codes, gift cards, and QR codes. The integrated sales widgets help you advertise your top products. You can show whether previous customers have purchased those products.

Third-party apps integration

No matter what premium plan you have chosen for the PinnacleCart store, you can make a seamless integration of QuickBooks. So, accounting tasks will become easier with this integration. Again, AddShoppers and MailChimp integrations are useful for marketing purposes. To track customer behavior, you can integrate Google Analytics and Google Tag Manager.

Features of Shopify

Shopify presents you with a range of features:

Order management system

Shopify is not simply a platform for creating your digital store. It is a comprehensive solution for eCommerce business management. The dashboard allows you to manage orders, accept payments securely, and accept orders from mobiles or desktops.

SEO tools

Shopify helps you use a range of SEO tools to boost your business growth and achieve a higher rank. Besides, Shopify allows different third-party app integrations for website optimization. For example, the Shopify App Store has Smart SEO to provide structured data and automate metadata input.

Abandoned Cart reminders

Many consumers put items into their shopping carts but do not make a deal finally. It results in a drop in the sales rate. So, Shopify allows eCommerce business owners to send reminder emails to those who have abandoned their carts during the checkout process. The advanced subscription to Shopify also lets you automate the overall process. Thus, you will become more productive, and there is a chance of increasing sales. Access the Order section to take advantage of the feature.

Shopify Analytics

There are multiple tools for analytical data. Shopify Analytics provides data on product purchases, visitors’ demographics, live views, sales, inventory, and total number of orders.

Customer service standards of PinnacleCart

PinnacleCart lets you connect with its customer representatives in different ways. While using PinnacleCart, you can enter your ticket to the helpdesk anytime. Other available options for customer services are live chat, phone number, email communication, and so on.

The customer agents at PinnacleCart remain active from 6 am to 5 pm. However, there is no way to get customer service on weekends. The live chat option is highly advantageous for new PinnacleCart users.

Still, professional designers and developers at PinnacleCart are highly dedicated. Thus, if you need help with creating a website, you can communicate with them.

What’s more, there is an FAQ section in the website to solve your basic queries.

You can also make a direct phone call to (632)734-0244.

There is also a knowledge base covering different topics, such as product & categories, store designing, general settings, customers & orders, and marketing. Shopify lets you solve your queries in various ways. Most importantly, Shopify Community, with 900,000+ members, is highly advantageous for developers. You can find more than 1 million posts and different discussions related to Shopify apps and designs. The community is free to use and lets you connect with fellow Shopify users.

It is easy to find anything in the community because there is a search bar for your convenience.

Besides, Shopify has a Help Center or a knowledge base. The self-service resource on the website lets you solve your basic issues. You can find answers to your own questions. You can read the FAQ section and informative articles on the site to solve your problems.

Shopify also has an AI-powered chatbot to give you an instant response.

Another way to resolve your queries is to connect with customer representatives for live chat. You will have a real-time conversion with customer agents.

You can also communicate with customer service providers via email. So, send your queries to support@shopify.com. If you cannot find the solution from the chatbot or FAQ, contact the team directly via email.

Moreover, as Shopify has developed its presence on social platforms, you can visit Shopify’s Facebook page and Instagram page to find your answer. Still, if you have doubts, you can access the YouTube channel of Shopify to make everything clear.

Security features

Both PinnacleCart and Shopify have some security features to keep your eCommerce business data safe.

Shopify

As cyber security is highly important, Shopify has implemented PCI compliance, SSL encryption, 2-factor authentication, Content Security Policy, Security Monitoring, and Secure Checkout. So, your e-store will be safe from cyber threats.

As a Shopify storeowner, you will get a Security Key, which is a 2FA tool. It means the user’s identity will be verified with 2 types of authentications. It minimizes the risk of suspicious or unauthorized access to your Shopify account.

PinnacleCart

PinnacleCart wants to secure your store’s information and customer’s data with SSL certifications. It lets you choose from various SSL options. PinnacleCart Shared SSL is available free of cost. Rapid SSL is available at $149 per year. However, Advanced Plan users will get this SSL free. GeoTrust True Business ID is another security option that costs $199 per year.

PinnacleCart Pricing Plans

PinnacleCart has different packages that match your budget. There is also a free trial option with some limitations. As a premium PinnacleCart user, you can select from more than 30 payment providers.

So, let us compare the free plan and other premium packages.

Free trial

The free package available for 14 days includes everything you get in the Standard pricing plan. However, you do not need to pay a monthly amount. Make sure you have activated Prupay to use the free plan.

Standard

The standard plan is best for startups in the eCommerce world. The plan lets you access 5 admin accounts and unlimited eCommerce. It is the cheapest PinnacleCart plan that does not charge a transaction fee. The monthly cost of the plan is $79.95.

Advanced

Growing eCommerce business users can sign up for the Advanced plan. The monthly cost of this plan is $199.95. Set up your store and add an unlimited number of categories and products.

Enterprise

If you want to develop a large eCommerce platform with PinnacleCart, the Enterprise plan is the right choice. The company has not disclosed anything about the monthly charge because it is tailored to your needs. Discuss your needs with the team and get the overall estimate.

Shopify Pricing Plans

Shopify has a 3-day free trial offer that lets you explore the main features of the eCommerce development platform. Besides, there are 3 options for premium plans.

The basic plan costs $29 per month. But, if you want to make a 1-year payment, the monthly charge will become $14.44 per month.

Shopify plan includes everything you get in the Basic package. Plus, it provides advanced SEO tools, unlimited bandwidth, and several themes for your online store. You can make a 1-year payment to reduce the monthly charge to $39.44.

The Advanced plan is another option for big eCommerce businesses. You will get a lot of marketing tools, advanced analytics, and so on.

Conclusion

Both Shopify and PinaccleCart are eCommerce development platforms with a lot of features. However, the monthly charge for PinnacleCart is comparatively high. But, when compared to Shopify, PinnacleCart offers a longer free trial period. So, you can compare ease of use, third-party integrations, themes, and other factors to make your decision. To create a unique store with PinnacleCart or Shopify, you can hire professional eCommerce developers.