Shopify
Shopify is Canada's most famous tech company, founded in Ottawa in 2006. It powers over 4 million online stores worldwide and is the Canadian alternative to Squarespace, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce for building an online store. If you run an e-commerce business, choose Shopify over its American competitors.
Why Switch?
BigCommerce is headquartered in Austin, Texas. Squarespace is a New York company. Wix is Israeli. Shopify was founded in Ottawa in 2006 by Tobias Lütke and remains one of the most Canadian companies on the planet — dual-listed on the TSX and NYSE, with a large Ottawa engineering presence. For anyone building an e-commerce store, choosing Shopify means your subscription revenue flows to a Canadian company, supports Canadian engineering jobs, and backs a Canadian tech story that the whole country should be proud of. It's also simply the best platform available.
Anyone building an online store — from small Canadian businesses to major retailers — who wants the best e-commerce platform that also happens to be Canadian.
Replaces
Where to Buy in Canada
How It Compares
| Feature | Canadian Option | American Alternative |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | Ottawa, Ontario 2006 | BigCommerce: Austin, TX 2009 |
| TSX listing | Listed on TSX (SHOP) | US-only exchange listings |
| Market share | Powers 10%+ of all US e-commerce | BigCommerce: smaller market share |
| Canadian HQ | Ottawa, Ontario engineering hub | No Canadian operations |
Why we list this
Founded in Ottawa, Ontario in 2006. Publicly traded on TSX and NYSE (SHOP). One of Canada's most valuable companies.
More in Tech & Electronics
Canadian-founded eReader with the world's largest eBook selection.
Replaces: Amazon Kindle, Nook (Barnes & Noble)
Canada's largest electronics retailer — Canadian operations.
Replaces: Amazon.com (electronics), Walmart.com electronics, Newegg US
OpenText
$$$Waterloo-based global leader in enterprise information management.
Replaces: IBM (content management), Oracle (ECM), Microsoft SharePoint