MARKETING-CONTENT

Should I self-host Shopify?

$5/mo · Starter · alternative: PrestaShop

RATING

NOT REALLY

OUTLOOK

NOT ASSIGNED

RATIONALE

PrestaShop can run a store. But your checkout's uptime is revenue, PCI is real, and Shopify's $5 starter buys a payments-and-fraud team you cannot hire for that money. E-commerce is infrastructure where downtime bills you directly — keep paying.

WHAT YOU LOSE

Payments, fraud handling, PCI scope, and a checkout that's up at 3am

WHAT YOU'RE PAYING FOR

online storefront · checkout & payments · inventory · order management

Self-Hosting Facts

1 app per panel · Shopify

Assumes 1 seat on 1 always-on box you already run

Amount per month% of sub *

Subscription$5.00

VPS share2.0040%

Storage + backup0.000%

Your hours · 60 min @ $2020.00400%

Self-hosted all-in22.00440%

Effective markup0.2×

Setup · 15 min measured$5.00 once

Break-evennever

VERDICT

NOT REALLY

OUTLOOK

NOT ASSIGNED

What's your hour worth? $20/h

* Percent of the subscription price. Your time is priced at the slider's rate — $0/h ("my homelab time is free and I love it") is a legitimate position. Every number is derived from the record, never hand-written. Price source, checked 2026-08-06.

Runs comfortably on a real VPS (2 GB+).

ALTERNATIVES

Ranked alternatives

PrestaShopA full storefront, catalogue and order pipeline on a domain you own, with no monthly platform fee sitting on top of the card rates.

PrestaShop/PrestaShop · ★ 9,186 · 46d

PrestaShop running from the boot-verified compose file — PrestaShop, running from the compose file on this page — screenshot from our verified instance, not marketing material.

EVIDENCE

PROTOCOL

VERIFIED BY

zernonia

REVIEWED

10 AUG 2026

SETUP MEASURED

15 MIN

AI ASSISTANT

CLAUDE-CODE · STATED

FULL TIMED LOG

# Shopify — verdict log

- **Date:** 2026-08-10
- **Verdict:** NOT REALLY — keep paying
- **Protocol:** v1 (2GB reference env, Docker preinstalled, AI assistant: claude-code)

## Why no compose file

- This verdict is decided by economics/capability, not setup effort — the rubric doesn't require a timed install to conclude the subscription should stay (or that the replacement's cost lives elsewhere, e.g. GPUs, egress, or an installer script).

## The call

PrestaShop can run a store. But your checkout's uptime is revenue, PCI is real, and Shopify's $5 starter buys a payments-and-fraud team you cannot hire for that money. E-commerce is infrastructure where downtime bills you directly — keep paying.

HISTORY

10 AUG 2026UNRATED → NOT_REALLYInitial verdict: PrestaShop can run a store.