If you sell on Instagram, sooner or later someone will tell you to “just open a Shopify store.” It is good advice for some sellers and unnecessary for others. Shopify and Checkout DM both let you sell online, but they solve different problems.
Shopify helps you build and run a full online store. Checkout DM helps you sell inside the Instagram conversations you already have, and its Storefront link lets you sell outside Instagram too. This guide compares them honestly, including the places where Shopify is the better choice. We make Checkout DM, so we have marked those places clearly.
What each one is built for
Shopify is a store builder. You get a website with themes, a product catalog, a checkout, a blog and a large marketplace of apps. Customers visit your store, add items to a cart and pay on your site. Instagram becomes one of several places that send traffic to it.
Checkout DM is Instagram-first. The catalog, size choice, cart, delivery address and payment all happen inside the DM, so there is no website to build. It also gives you a Storefront (from the Creator plan), a shareable link that works on any platform. Customers browse your catalog, add items to a cart and pay on the page, with no Instagram account needed, so you can post it on WhatsApp, Telegram, YouTube, Facebook or your own website. See what Checkout DM does for an Instagram seller for the full picture.
Side by side
| Feature | Checkout DM | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Catalog, size choice and checkout inside Instagram DMs | ||
| A shareable store link that works outside Instagram | yes, the Storefront (from the Creator plan) | |
| Comment-to-DM and Story reply automation | ||
| Full branded website with your own domain | ||
| Themes, blog and design control | ||
| Large marketplace of apps and integrations | ||
| Built-in connections to marketplaces and other sales channels | ||
| Stock tracked per size and variant | ||
| Razorpay, Stripe and PayPal payments | ||
| Discount codes and coupons | ||
| Abandoned cart recovery | ||
| Orders, returns and shipping in one dashboard | ||
| Search-engine-indexable product pages | ||
| No platform fee on each sale | ||
| Permanent free plan |
What it costs
Prices change, so confirm them on each company’s own page. As reported in several 2026 pricing guides for India, Shopify’s Starter plan is aimed at selling through social media links and costs around ₹399 a month. The Basic plan, which gives you a full store, is around ₹1,499 a month billed yearly, or about ₹1,994 billed monthly, with 18% GST added.
| Checkout DM | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry plan | Free, with 5 products and 15 conversations a month | Starter, around ₹399 a month, for social selling links |
| Plan for a small shop | Starter at ₹1,499 a month, with 500 products | Basic, around ₹1,499 a month billed yearly, with a full store |
| Fee on each sale from the platform | None | Reported as 2% on Basic in India, because Shopify Payments is not available there |
| Payment gateway fee | Charged by your gateway, such as Razorpay | Charged by your gateway, such as Razorpay |
| Apps | Features are built in | Often extra paid apps for things like reviews or subscriptions |
A quick example shows why the per-sale fee matters. If a Shopify Basic store sells ₹1,00,000 in a month and the platform fee is 2%, that is ₹2,000 on top of the subscription and the gateway fee. Checkout DM does not charge a commission or transaction fee on your orders, so on the same sales that line is zero. Your gateway fee is the same on both.
Where Shopify is stronger
- A real website. You get a branded store with your own domain, themes, pages and a blog. Checkout DM does not build a website.
- More sales channels. Shopify connects to marketplaces and other sales channels, so one catalog can feed many places. Checkout DM’s Storefront link can be shared anywhere, but it does not connect to marketplaces.
- The app ecosystem. If you need subscriptions, advanced reviews, loyalty programmes or custom integrations, Shopify has apps for almost anything.
- Scale. Large brands with big catalogs, several staff and complex needs usually outgrow a DM checkout.
Where Checkout DM is stronger
- Selling where your customers already are. The order happens in the chat that started with a comment, a Story reply or a DM. Customers do not have to leave Instagram to a website.
- Selling outside Instagram too. From the Creator plan, your Storefront link works anywhere you can paste a link, such as WhatsApp, Telegram, YouTube, Facebook or your own website. Buyers browse, add to cart and pay on the page, and they do not need an Instagram account.
- No website to build or maintain. You can start the same day, with no themes, domains or page speed to manage.
- Less typing. Replies, size questions, address collection and payment links are handled for you.
- Simple costs for a small shop. A free plan to test, flat monthly pricing and no commission on orders.
- Manual payments for beginners. UPI, QR code and bank transfer work from the Free plan, so you do not need a gateway to start.
Can you use both?
Yes. Some sellers run a Shopify store for their website and use a DM checkout for the sales that start in Instagram conversations. The trade-off is that you then have two places to keep stock and orders up to date, so decide which one is your source of truth before you start. If you are not sure you need a website yet, our guide to selling on Instagram without a website explains when one starts to make sense.
Which should you choose?
| If you... | Look at |
|---|---|
| Get most of your orders from Instagram DMs, comments and Stories | Checkout DM |
| Are just starting and want to test demand before spending | Checkout DM, starting on the free plan |
| Want a store link to share on WhatsApp, Telegram or YouTube without building a website | Checkout DM, using the Storefront (from the Creator plan) |
| Want a full branded website that ranks on Google | Shopify |
| Sell on marketplaces and several channels from one catalog | Shopify |
| Need advanced apps, subscriptions or custom integrations | Shopify |
| Want both a website and a DM checkout | Shopify plus Checkout DM, with one source of truth for stock |
If you are also weighing chat tools such as ManyChat, our ManyChat comparison and the feature comparison of DM tools cover that side. And if you are not sure how customers will pay, read taking payments on Instagram in India before you commit to either.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Is Checkout DM an alternative to Shopify?
For sellers who mainly sell through Instagram, it can be. Checkout DM takes orders and payments inside DMs without a website. Shopify is a full store builder, so it is the better fit if you want a branded website, many sales channels or a large app ecosystem.
Do I need a Shopify store to sell on Instagram?
No. You can sell through DMs, payment links or a shareable storefront link without a website. A store becomes more useful once you want to rank on Google or sell across several channels.
Does Checkout DM charge a commission on sales?
No. Checkout DM does not charge a commission or transaction fee on your orders. Your payment gateway charges its own fee, as it would on any platform.
Can I use Checkout DM and Shopify together?
Yes, but you would maintain stock and orders in two places, so decide which one is your main record before you start.
