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Shopify Hydrogen alternatives

Shopify Hydrogen alternatives: a headless backend with payments, and no Shopify plan.

Shopify Hydrogen is a toolkit for the storefront: the catalog, the cart, and checkout stay on Shopify, so a Hydrogen store runs on a Shopify plan that includes a headless storefront (from $39 a month billed monthly), checks out through Shopify Checkout, and pays Shopify 2% to 0.2% when another processor takes the payment. Flint Pay is the alternative for a US headless storefront that wants the whole backend and payments behind one API: no monthly fee, cards at 3.79% + 35¢ with Stripe’s processing included, and checkout on your own pages or on Flint’s hosted page on your domain.

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3.79% + 35¢ on cards · no monthly fee · free sandbox · no credit card

last reviewed 2026-10-15 · sources

01The alternatives

Shopify Hydrogen alternatives, ranked for headless stores.

Ranked for US teams building their own storefront in Next.js, React Router, or any other framework. Every price is from the vendor's own page, checked on the date under Sources.

  1. 01

    Flint Pay

    US businesses whose storefront needs the catalog, inventory, tax, checkout, and payments behind one API, with no platform plan.

    Monthly
    No monthly fee
    Cards
    3.79% + 35¢, Stripe's fees included
    Checkout
    Your pages, or hosted on your domain for $15/mo
  2. 02

    Next.js Commerce

    Vercel's Next.js storefront template. Vercel maintains only a Shopify version; other backends fork it.

    Template
    Free
    Maintained backend
    Shopify, on a Shopify plan
  3. 03

    BigCommerce Catalyst

    BigCommerce's Next.js storefront, on a BigCommerce plan with sales caps.

    Core
    $39 a month billed monthly, $30,000 TTM cap
    Other providers
    2% on Core outside the embedded list
  4. 04

    Medusa

    A commerce framework you host yourself or on Medusa Cloud, behind your own storefront.

    Medusa Cloud
    From $29, $99, or $299 a month
    Payments
    Your own Stripe account

02Side by side

Hydrogen on Shopify vs Flint, need by need.

The Shopify column is what Shopify's own developer docs, US pricing, help center, and API terms say today, each linked under Sources. The Flint column is what a Flint account does, with the API name behind it.

Monthly planHydrogen on a Shopify plan, US, billed monthly: Basic $39, Grow $105, and Advanced $399 each include one headless storefront; Plus, from $2,300, includes 25. Oxygen hosting comes at no extra charge on paid plans and isn't available on the Agentic plan.Flint: No monthly fee. Host your storefront wherever you like. Unlimited seats and sandboxes.GET /v1/balance-transactions
Where checkout runsHydrogen on a Shopify plan, US, billed monthly: Hydrogen doesn't include checkout UI, because checkout stays on Shopify; the cart's checkoutUrl takes the buyer through Shopify's web checkout. Full checkout customization is listed for Plus.Flint: Build checkout into your own pages with Stripe Elements, or use Flint's hosted checkout, on your own domain for $15 a month.surface
Using another processorHydrogen on a Shopify plan, US, billed monthly: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced, 0.2% on Plus, on top of the processor’s own fee, and not returned when you refund. Shopify’s third-party feeFlint: None. Stripe processes every card inside Flint's 3.79% + 35¢.POST /v1/orders/{order_id}/pay
Pairing with another checkoutHydrogen on a Shopify plan, US, billed monthly: Shopify's API terms bar an alternative to Shopify Checkout for Shopify merchants without Shopify's express written authorization.Flint: Flint is the whole backend, so the catalog, stock, orders, and checkout move together and nothing pairs against Shopify's API.POST /v1/products
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How switching works

03Headless Shopify

What does a Hydrogen store still run on Shopify?

Hydrogen replaces the theme. The store behind it is still a Shopify store, with the plan, the checkout, and the payment rules that come with one.

Shopify’s docs say it plainly: “Shopify provides the Storefront API, the Customer Account API, and checkout,” and Hydrogen “doesn’t include checkout UI, because checkout stays on Shopify.” Oxygen, the hosting built for Hydrogen, is included on paid Shopify plans.

So the costs of a Shopify store stay with a Hydrogen one: the monthly plan, Shopify Checkout as the only checkout its API terms allow without written authorization, and the third-party transaction fee whenever a processor other than Shopify Payments takes the payment.

Flint replaces the store behind the storefront. Your front end keeps its design and calls your backend, which calls Flint for products, carts, tax, checkout, and payments.

Headless Shopify checkout →Flint vs Shopify, with a worked cost example →Shopify's third-party payment fee →

04Hydrogen vs Next.js

Hydrogen vs Next.js Commerce: what's the difference?

Both are storefront code. Hydrogen is Shopify's headless toolkit, which Shopify documents for Next.js as well as React Router, and Next.js Commerce is Vercel's Next.js template, which Vercel maintains only for Shopify. Either way the store behind them is the same Shopify store.

Shopify’s docs say Hydrogen works with frameworks that run server code, such as Next.js, React Router, Nuxt, Astro, and SvelteKit, and offer two templates: React Router deployed to Oxygen, and Vercel Shop, a Next.js App Router template deployed to Vercel. Next.js Commerce is a separate Next.js App Router application; its README says “Vercel will only be actively maintaining a Shopify version,” and other providers fork it and replace its Shopify module.

Choosing between them is choosing a front-end framework. To change what sits behind the storefront, point your Next.js app at Flint: the catalog, cart, tax, and payment run on Flint’s API, and checkout runs on your pages or Flint’s.

Next.js commerce on Flint →Build a headless storefront →

05Included

What does a headless storefront get from Flint?

The backend and the payment in one account. Each job below is a field or an endpoint, in the core card rate except automatic tax.

The cart is an open order: Flint prices each line from your catalog and computes tax for the address.

POST /v1/orders

Render checkout on your own pages with an embedded checkout session and Stripe Elements, or send buyers to the hosted one.

POST /v1/checkout-sessions

Show a signed-in buyer's orders, subscriptions, and returns in your own app through a customer session.

POST /v1/customer-sessions

Stock is held per location when payment starts, committed on success, and released on failure.

held_quantity

Codes and automatic promotions stack by rules you set, with a preview call that shows the result first.

combines_with

Shipping prices by region, goes free over a threshold, or switches to in-store pickup or scheduled local delivery.

POST /v1/delivery-methods

Returns run from a policy, with inspections, restocking fees, exchanges, and buyer self-serve.

POST /v1/return-policies

Build your own checkout →Build your own customer account →The commerce API →

06Who Flint is for

Flint is built for US stores with their own storefront.

If that describes you, the catalog, checkout, tax, and shipping above are running the day you create your account.

US businesses

Flint onboards businesses in the US, sells in USD, and pays out to your own bank account. Buyers can pay from anywhere with a card.

Any front end

Next.js, React Router, or any other framework, hosted wherever you like. Your backend calls the API; the browser talks to your backend and Stripe.js.

Goods and services

Orders that ship, get picked up, deliver locally, or fulfill as a download or a service, with stock held at payment.

Developers and agents

A public OpenAPI spec, Node and PHP SDKs, a CLI, llms.txt, and MCP servers a coding agent can read.

07Switching

How do you move a Hydrogen store to Flint?

Keep the components and the design. Swap the Storefront API calls for calls to your backend, which calls Flint.

  1. Recreate the catalog from your export

    POST /v1/products

    Create each product with its options and variants from Shopify's product CSV, with SKUs and prices.

  2. Load stock by location

    POST /v1/inventory-items

    Create an inventory item for each tracked variant and set its stock at each location you ship or pick up from.

  3. Hold the cart as an order

    POST /v1/orders

    Replace the Storefront API cart with an open Flint order that your backend creates and updates as the buyer adds items.

  4. Take the payment

    POST /v1/orders/{order_id}/pay

    Collect the card with Stripe Elements on your own page and pay the order from your backend, or send the buyer to Flint's hosted checkout.

  5. Fulfill from order.paid

    order.paid

    Run fulfillment from the order.paid webhook, test every flow in a sandbox with Stripe's test cards, then switch to live keys.

Read the headless Shopify checkout guide →

08Start

From a sandbox key to a paid test order in ten minutes.

Node

npm install @flintpay/node

CLI

npm install -g @flintpay/cli

Test keys are prefixed flint_test_ and bound to a sandbox with its own data, so nothing you try there touches live money. Pay with 4242 4242 4242 4242, any future expiry, any CVC.

Then read these

  1. 01
    Headless Shopify checkoutCart to paid order on your own domain
  2. 02
    Next.js commerce on Flint
  3. 03
    Flint vs Shopify
  4. 04
    Headless commerce platforms, compared
  5. 05
    Accept your first payment
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Sources

Where each claim comes from.

  • Hydrogen is Shopify's headless toolkit; it works with frameworks that run server code, like Next.js, React Router, Nuxt, Astro, and SvelteKit; templates are React Router 7 deployed to Oxygen and Vercel Shop, a Next.js 16 App Router template deployed to Vercel; Shopify provides the Storefront API, the Customer Account API, and checkout; Hydrogen doesn't include checkout UI because checkout stays on Shopify. Shopify developer docs: Hydrogen

    shopify.dev · checked 2026-10-15

  • Oxygen is available at no extra charge on paid Shopify plans and isn't available on Agentic plans. Shopify developer docs: Hydrogen and Oxygen fundamentals

    shopify.dev · checked 2026-10-15

  • US monthly billing: Basic $39, Grow $105, Advanced $399, Plus from $2,300; one headless storefront on Basic, Grow, and Advanced and 25 on Plus; third-party transaction fees 2%, 1%, 0.6%, 0.2%; checkout customization Limited below Plus and Full on Plus. Shopify pricing (US)

    www.shopify.com · checked 2026-10-15

  • Charged when a third-party provider takes the payment; not returned when you refund an order. Shopify Help Center: Third-party transaction fees

    help.shopify.com · checked 2026-10-15

  • Last updated October 7, 2026. Section 2.3.18: no alternative to Shopify Checkout for Shopify merchants without express written authorization. Shopify API License and Terms of Use

    www.shopify.com · checked 2026-10-15

  • The cart's checkoutUrl redirects customers through Shopify's web checkout. Shopify developer docs: Manage a cart

    shopify.dev · checked 2026-10-15

  • A Next.js App Router ecommerce application; Vercel will only actively maintain a Shopify version. Next.js Commerce README

    github.com · checked 2026-10-15

  • Core $39 a month billed monthly, up to $30K TTM GMV; Open Payment Provider Fee 2% on Core. BigCommerce pricing

    www.bigcommerce.com · checked 2026-10-15

  • Medusa Cloud Develop from $29 a month, Launch from $99, Scale from $299. Medusa pricing

    medusajs.com · checked 2026-10-15

last reviewed 2026-10-15 · corrections: Flint Help

FAQ

Questions people ask.

Is Flint a good alternative to Shopify Hydrogen?

For a US business with its own headless storefront, yes, if you want to leave the Shopify plan and its payment rules behind rather than the storefront code. Flint gives the storefront the catalog with variants, inventory held at payment, promotions, automatic US sales tax, shipping, returns, subscriptions, checkout, and payments behind one API, with no monthly fee and cards at 3.79% + 35¢. Create an account from the website, or from the terminal with flint signup.

What is the best headless Shopify alternative?

For a US store, Flint: one API for the catalog, inventory, promotions, tax, shipping, returns, checkout, and payments, with no monthly plan and no third-party processor fee. Your storefront keeps its framework, and checkout runs on your own pages with Stripe Elements or on Flint's hosted page.

Hydrogen vs Next.js Commerce: which should I use?

They are both storefront code for a Shopify store. Hydrogen is Shopify’s headless toolkit for frameworks that run server code, including Next.js and React Router, with a React Router template on Oxygen and a Next.js template, Vercel Shop, on Vercel. Next.js Commerce is Vercel’s Next.js template, which Vercel maintains only for Shopify. Pick the framework your team prefers. To change the backend and the payment terms, point a Next.js storefront at Flint instead. Next.js commerce on Flint

Does Shopify Hydrogen cost extra?

Hydrogen is free, and Oxygen, Shopify's hosting for it, is included at no extra charge on paid Shopify plans: Basic $39, Grow $105, and Advanced $399 a month billed monthly, and Plus from $2,300. Oxygen isn't available on the Agentic plan. Card processing and any third-party transaction fee come on top of the plan.

Can I keep my Shopify store and use Flint as the checkout?

No. Section 2.3.18 of Shopify's API terms bars an alternative to Shopify Checkout for Shopify merchants without Shopify's express written authorization. Flint replaces the store's backend instead: products, variants, stock, orders, tax, and checkout move to Flint, and your Hydrogen or Next.js storefront keeps its design.

Where does checkout run on Flint?

Wherever you choose. Build it into your own pages with an embedded checkout session and Stripe Elements, or send buyers to Flint's hosted checkout, which runs on your own domain for $15 a month. Card details go from the buyer's browser to Stripe, so neither your server nor Flint sees card numbers.

Keep the storefront. Move the store behind it.

Free sandbox, no credit card, no sales call. Import a product with variants, hold a cart as an order, and pay it from your own page.

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Read the headless Shopify checkout guide

Or run npm install -g @flintpay/cli && flint signup to create your account and a sandbox key from the terminal. CLI guide

More comparisons · last reviewed 2026-10-15