Shopify alternative
A free Shopify alternative for social sellers in South Africa.
Shopify was built for sellers setting up a store from scratch. Aurelua is built for sellers who already have customers, on Instagram, on WhatsApp, and just need a real storefront and checkout behind them. No subscription, no commission, free to set up.
| Aurelua | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | R0, free, no subscription | Monthly subscription, tiered by plan |
| Commission on sales | 0%, you keep 100% | Per-transaction fees on top of the subscription |
| Import from Instagram | Yes: connect Instagram to pull in your posts | No: manual product setup |
| WhatsApp checkout | Built in: order on WhatsApp, pay link sent in the chat | Not native, needs a third-party app |
| South African payments | Card and instant EFT in ZAR (Paystack) | Card only, via international processors |
| Extra fee on top of card fees | None, you keep 100% of every sale | 0.6% to 2% per sale on most plans, because Shopify Payments is not available in South Africa |
| Payout cost | Flat R10 per payout, not a % of sales | Payment-processor fees per transaction |
Shopify pricing and features change on their side. Check shopify.com for their current plans. Aurelua figures are our own, current pricing (see /pricing).
The cost most South African sellers miss
Shopify Payments, Shopify's own built-in card processor, is not available to merchants in South Africa. Without it you connect a separate payment gateway, and Shopify then charges an extra transaction fee on every sale on top of what that gateway already takes. On most plans that extra fee is between 0.6% and 2% of each order. Aurelua has card and instant EFT in ZAR built in, so there is no extra per-sale fee and you keep 100% of every sale.
The risk is on us
Five reasons to start today,
nothing to lose
We back every claim on this page. If something doesn't work the way we said, we make it right.
Keep 100%: zero seller fees
You keep 100% of every sale, paid straight to your bank. No commission, no monthly fee. Buyers cover one small, transparent Buyer Protection fee at checkout.
Free setup, or we build it for you
Sign up and add your products in minutes. If you get stuck, our team sets your store up for you, free.
Your data is yours
Export your full customer list, order history, and product catalogue anytime, standard CSV / JSON. We will never hold your data hostage.
Cancel anytime, no contract
No card required. No monthly subscription on the free tier. No notice period. Your existing orders complete normally, no surprises.
Questions