When a small business decides to sell online, one of the first questions that comes up is hosting. Entrepreneurs hear all kinds of terms—shared hosting, VPS, cloud servers—and often assume they’ll need to find a separate hosting company. But if you’re using Shopify, things work a little differently.
Shopify isn’t just a platform for designing online stores. It also handles hosting for you. That means you don’t have to buy a separate hosting plan from companies like Bluehost or HostGator in order to run your Shopify store. For many business owners, this is both a relief and a source of confusion. Relief because one major headache—setting up servers—is off your plate. Confusion because you may wonder whether Shopify’s hosting is “enough” for a growing business.
So what does Shopify actually provide in terms of hosting? And is it the best option for small businesses in 2025, or should you consider alternatives? Let’s break it down.
Shopify Hosting: What You Get by Default
Every Shopify subscription includes hosting. Whether you’re paying for the $39/month Basic plan or the $399/month Advanced plan, your store lives on Shopify’s servers. There’s no extra charge for bandwidth, storage, or SSL security certificates. This setup is appealing because it eliminates the juggling act of connecting your site design, payment system, and hosting provider.
A few key features stand out:
-
Unlimited bandwidth: Unlike traditional hosts that may throttle you after a traffic spike, Shopify allows unlimited visitors without penalties.
-
Built-in CDN (Content Delivery Network): Shopify uses a global network of servers so your site loads quickly whether your customer is in New York, Lagos, or London.
-
Automatic updates: Security patches and server optimizations happen in the background. You don’t need to think about them.
-
PCI compliance: If you’re processing payments, Shopify ensures compliance with industry standards to keep customer data safe.
For a small business owner, this setup means you can focus more on products and marketing instead of technical headaches.
The Advantages for Small Businesses
One of Shopify’s biggest advantages for small businesses is predictability. Hosting costs are rolled into your monthly fee, so you don’t wake up to surprise charges for “extra bandwidth” or sudden server upgrades.
Take, for example, a small clothing boutique. During the holiday season, traffic might triple as customers look for gifts. On many traditional hosting platforms, that kind of spike can slow down the site or trigger overage charges. With Shopify, the traffic simply flows through. It’s a reassuring feeling—your store won’t collapse during the busiest week of the year.
Another strength is how integrated everything is. Many entrepreneurs underestimate how complicated it can be to stitch together a WordPress site with WooCommerce, a third-party hosting plan, a CDN, and payment gateways. Shopify bundles those elements together. That integration is part of the reason so many first-time store owners choose Shopify over self-hosted options.
The Limitations You Should Know About
That said, Shopify hosting isn’t flawless. It comes with trade-offs that some small businesses may find restrictive.
First, you don’t control the hosting environment. You can’t tinker with server settings or install custom software outside of Shopify’s framework. If you’re a developer who wants absolute freedom, this can feel limiting.
Second, app reliance is real. Shopify’s app store is extensive, but many features require third-party apps that cost extra. While this isn’t strictly a “hosting” issue, the reliance on apps means you may find yourself paying more than expected as your business grows.
Third, international businesses sometimes bump into limitations. While Shopify’s CDN helps with global speed, local payment options or regional compliance tools may require extra configuration. For example, a small business in South Africa or India may need to integrate with local payment processors not natively supported by Shopify.
So while Shopify hosting is convenient, it’s not perfect. For businesses with complex technical requirements, it may feel like trading flexibility for ease.
What About Alternatives to Shopify Hosting?
Here’s where the conversation shifts. If Shopify includes hosting, why even ask about alternatives? The answer is that some businesses want more control, or they discover Shopify’s monthly costs add up as they scale.
Alternatives usually mean moving to a self-hosted platform like WooCommerce on WordPress or Magento (Adobe Commerce). These platforms require separate hosting from providers like SiteGround, Kinsta, or WP Engine.
-
WooCommerce: Free to install but requires a WordPress site and hosting. SiteGround and Bluehost are popular entry-level choices. A small business could pay as little as $10/month for hosting, though scaling costs more.
-
Magento/Adobe Commerce: More enterprise-focused. It requires serious hosting power, usually cloud hosting, and professional developers to manage it. Not ideal for most small businesses.
These alternatives may appeal to owners who want total customization or lower long-term costs if they’re comfortable managing hosting themselves. But for many small businesses without an in-house tech team, the simplicity of Shopify’s hosting still outweighs the flexibility of self-hosted options.
Comparing Shopify Hosting to Traditional Web Hosting
To make the picture clearer, let’s compare Shopify to some well-known hosting providers small businesses might consider:
-
Bluehost: Affordable, often under $5/month, and integrates easily with WordPress/WooCommerce. But it’s shared hosting, meaning performance can dip with high traffic.
-
SiteGround: Known for speed and excellent customer service. More reliable than basic Bluehost plans but more expensive.
-
Kinsta: Premium WordPress hosting built on Google Cloud. Very fast, very stable, but starting prices ($30+/month) are on par with Shopify.
-
HostGator: Another budget provider, similar to Bluehost. Fine for entry-level sites but not built for e-commerce spikes.
What’s striking is that when you compare all-in costs, Shopify doesn’t look as expensive as it first appears. While Shopify’s $39/month Basic plan is pricier than cheap shared hosting, remember that you don’t need to buy a separate SSL, CDN, or backup solution. Those are baked in.
Real-World Examples
Imagine two small businesses:
-
Case A: A handmade candle business in Toronto. The owner is new to e-commerce and just wants a clean store, payment processing, and reliable hosting. Shopify is ideal here. For one flat fee, everything works. The owner doesn’t need to learn server management or plugin updates.
-
Case B: A small design agency in London. They want a storefront for digital downloads but also want to integrate complex membership features. Shopify could work, but WooCommerce on a SiteGround plan might give them more flexibility and lower monthly costs if they have technical skills in-house.
-
Case C: A growing coffee subscription business in Sydney. As the business scales, Shopify Plus (the enterprise tier) offers serious infrastructure but comes with very high costs. At that point, the business might reconsider whether a custom self-hosted platform is more cost-effective.
These scenarios suggest that Shopify hosting works best for small businesses that prioritize convenience and predictability. Once you cross into custom or enterprise needs, alternatives start to look attractive.
The Hidden Value of Shopify’s Hosting
One underappreciated aspect of Shopify’s hosting is the time savings. Small business owners often underestimate how much time they’ll spend troubleshooting on a self-hosted platform. A broken plugin, a DNS error, or a server misconfiguration can eat up hours you don’t have.
With Shopify, those headaches are mostly invisible. It may not sound glamorous, but for a business owner juggling inventory, marketing, and customer service, having hosting “just work” is worth far more than saving a few dollars per month.
Downsides to Keep in Mind
Of course, convenience has its downsides. Shopify charges transaction fees if you don’t use their built-in payment processor, Shopify Payments. For small businesses using alternative gateways like PayPal or Paystack, those fees add up.
And while hosting is included, storage isn’t limitless. Images and files can be uploaded freely, but there are still practical limits on how much media you can manage without slowing things down.
Finally, Shopify’s hosting environment is closed. You can’t choose your server location, install non-Shopify software, or optimize the database directly. For developers, that lack of control can feel frustrating.
Is Shopify Hosting the Best for Small Businesses?
The answer depends on what kind of small business you’re running. If you’re a solo entrepreneur selling handmade goods, Shopify is likely the best choice. The hosting is reliable, the platform is secure, and the integration of tools is designed to minimize stress.
If you’re a small team with technical skills—or you’re aiming for highly customized features—Shopify’s hosting may feel restrictive. In that case, hosting WooCommerce on a provider like SiteGround or Kinsta might give you more freedom and possibly save money at scale.
But for the vast majority of small businesses, Shopify’s included hosting strikes the right balance: reliable, predictable, and tied into the tools you need to sell. It may not be the cheapest route, but it often proves to be the least stressful one.
Final Thoughts
Small businesses don’t usually have time to obsess over server settings or uptime guarantees. They need a store that loads quickly, processes payments securely, and scales when customers show up. Shopify’s hosting provides all of that without requiring extra contracts or third-party services.
That doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Costs add up, flexibility is limited, and some businesses eventually outgrow the platform. But for many, those trade-offs are worth the peace of mind.
So is Shopify hosting the best for small businesses? In most cases, yes—especially if you value simplicity and stability over fine-grained control. If you’re the kind of owner who prefers to spend more time on your products than on server logs, Shopify’s hosting is more than good enough.