Shopify is the world's leading e-commerce platform — but it was built for direct-to-consumer retail, not B2B promotional products. Here's how the two platforms compare for distributors.
Last updated: April 2026
Shopify is an excellent platform for D2C e-commerce. Brikl is purpose-built for promotional product distributors who need multi-store management, integrated on-demand fulfillment, and a commission-based pricing model with no monthly subscription.
| Feature | Brikl | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | B2B promotional product distributors | D2C retail and general e-commerce |
| Pricing model | 3.5% per transaction, no subscription | Monthly subscription + transaction fees |
| On-demand fulfillment | Built-in — 12 integrated providers | Available via third-party apps (Printful Enterprise and others) |
| Supplier integration | 150+ brands with real-time wholesale pricing | Available via apps like Syncee, Shopify Collective, and supplier-specific integrations |
| Decoration routing | Automatic — routes to decorator by method | Available via POD apps — each app connects to its own fulfillment network |
| Multi-store management | Unlimited stores from one account | Requires separate subscriptions per store (Shopify Plus offers expansion stores) |
| Multi-distributor networks | Sub-organizations with centralized control | Not a core feature — built for single-brand retail |
| Merchant of Record | Brikl handles payments on Launch plan | Merchant handles own payments |
| Industry focus | Promotional products and custom merchandise | General retail across all industries |
| PPAI integration | PPAI member, industry-specific features | No industry-specific features |
Shopify is a strong choice if you're selling consumer products directly to end customers, need a full-featured D2C storefront with advanced themes and plugins, or operate outside the promotional products industry. Shopify's ecosystem of 8,000+ apps makes it extremely flexible for general retail use cases.
Brikl is a strong choice if you're a promotional product distributor who needs to manage multiple branded stores for different clients, wants integrated on-demand fulfillment without third-party apps, and prefers a commission-based model over monthly subscriptions. Brikl eliminates the need to assemble a tech stack from multiple vendors — fulfillment, supplier catalogs, decoration routing, and payment processing are all built in.
This page is written by Brikl. We've done our best to represent the compared platform accurately based on publicly available information. Where we're uncertain, we say so. If anything here is inaccurate, contact us and we'll correct it.
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