Compare Sharetribe vs. WordPress
What is the best way to build a marketplace: Sharetribe or WordPress marketplace plugins and extensions? What is the easiest solution? How about fastest? Most affordable, or most scalable? Let's find out.
Strictly speaking, WordPress isn't a Sharetribe alternative.
WordPress wasn't originally built for creating two-sided marketplaces. To build a marketplace with WordPress today, you need to configure multiple plugins built by different developers to work together. Adding unique features, workflows or designs can be become very complex and require you to dive deep into the internals of all these plugins to maintain their compatibility. Because of this, setting up a marketplace with WordPress can take quite a while, and the approach is not very scalable or easy to maintain.
For an experienced WordPress developer who wants to test a side project idea as affordably as possible, WordPress can be a good starting point. For an entrepreneur who prefers a no-code alternative and plans to grow the business to a bigger scale, Sharetribe may be a better fit.
Sharetribe was built solely for the purpose of creating two-sided marketplaces. Sharetribe allows you to set up a fully functional marketplace in minutes. You don't need to install anything or configure plugins and themes; it just works. If you want to scale your marketplace and add completely unique features, workflows, and designs, Sharetribe also allows you to do that. In addition to no-code marketplace functionality, it's optimized for great developer experience, making it easy to extend your marketplace infinitely and scale it to any size.
Are you already running a marketplace on WordPress but considering changing your tech? Learn more here about switching your marketplace to Sharetribe.
The table below helps you compare WordPress with Sharetribe.
WordPress | Sharetribe | |
|---|---|---|
Dedicated marketplace solution |
| |
How to get started | • Install WordPress on your server • (Buy a domain) • Buy hosting + SSL certificate • Install a theme • Install WooCommerce plugin • Install Dokan Multi-Vendor | • Sign up to Sharetribe • Set up your marketplace • Buy a custom domain • Launch your marketplace |
Built-in marketplace features | ||
Time to launch | 1–3 weeks | 1 day |
Pricing | • WooCommerce plugin (free) • (WooCommerce Bookings plugin $249.00/year)* • Dokan Pro or Business $249–$499/year* • Theme $30–$60 • Hosting costs starting from $25/month *You need a Bookings plugin and Dokan Business to build a rental or service marketplace (like Airbnb or Fiverr) | • Build plan $39/month • Live plans start at $99/month |
Free trial | 14 days for Dokan 30-day money-back guarantee for WooCommerce | 14 days for Build plan |
Technical skills needed | Low to high • Installing and maintaining themes and plugins requires being comfortable with WordPress, but no coding skills • Customizations will require advanced WordPress development skills • Maintaining performance at scale requires advanced development skills | Low to medium • No coding skills needed Easy to customize and set up in Console • Hosting, performance, maintenance, backups, and updates included at any scale • Customization and integrations possible with code and self-hosting |
Hosting | Self-hosting your frontend is possible | |
Maintenance | ||
Performance monitoring | ||
Backups | ||
Custom-development | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Main programming language | PHP | • React, Redux, CSS • For self-hosted, use the tech stack of your choice |
Supports building a mobile app | ||
Support | • WordPress forums (online support for paid plans) • WooCommerce online support • Dokan online support | • Sharetribe support • Developer support |
Key benefits | + Low cost + Customizability through plugins + Supports multiple business models + Offers multiple payment gateways + Advanced features for "online malls" like Amazon | + Very fast to launch + Very easy to use + Seamless user experience that keeps improving + Effortless to maintain + Advanced features for rental marketplaces like Airbnb, service marketplaces like Fiverr, and product marketplaces like Etsy + Dedicated support for non-technical founders and developer + Unlimited scalability + Enjoyable developer experience + Easy to build a mobile app |
Key drawbacks | - Not the fastest way to launch - Requires some level of technical skills - Maintaining can become challenging especially at scale - Not easily extendable with custom features - Challenging to build a mobile app - Limited scalability - Not the smoothest developer experience - Multiple sources for documentation and support | - Supports fewer payment gateways and business models out of the box - Less functionality for online mall-type product platforms out of the box - Building custom functionality and integrations requires coding skills (or hiring a verified Sharetribe Expert) |
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- Launch quickly, without coding
- Extend infinitely
- Scale to any size
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