LaoCart vs Shopify for Laos
Short answer
For a shop that sells in Laos, in kip, to customers who pay by LAO QR and get their parcels through Anousith or Mixay, LaoCart is built for exactly that and costs from 2,990,000 kip a year with no commission. Shopify is the big worldwide tool: prices in dollars paid by card, no Lao QR or Lao delivery built in — the right choice when you sell abroad and take cards.
Price
LaoCart: paid in kip, by QR, once a year — Basic 2,990,000, Starter 3,990,000, Pro 7,990,000 kip a year; free to build, paid to open, no commission on sales. Shopify: paid in dollars, by card, monthly; its cheapest plan is about US$29 a month when paid yearly — check the current price on shopify.com, it changes.
Taking payment
LaoCart: the customer scans your QR (LAO QR / BCEL One) and attaches the slip, or pays cash on delivery — the money lands in your account directly. Shopify: its own payment service (Shopify Payments) is not offered in Laos, so you need another payment provider that works there — and Shopify adds a fee on every sale — or you take payments by hand outside the system.
Delivery and addresses
LaoCart: Lao delivery companies and a packing fee you set, a province – district – village picker for the whole country, parcel labels you can print. Shopify: no Lao delivery company and no Lao address structure built in — you set it all up yourself.
Language and ease
LaoCart: the dashboard and the shop are in Lao (Thai, English and French too), built for people who already sell on Facebook and TikTok — if you can use Facebook, you can use it. Shopify: the admin has no Lao, and thousands of apps and themes to choose from, which takes more time to set up and to learn.
When Shopify is the better choice
If you sell abroad, in several currencies, take credit cards and need a large app store, Shopify is the bigger tool and the better fit. A shop that sells in Laos to Lao customers is better off starting with a tool built for Laos.
Common questions
Can I use Shopify in Laos?
You can sign up, but Shopify's own payment service is not offered in Laos: you need another provider and pay a fee per sale, or take payments by hand.
Is LaoCart cheaper?
For a shop in Laos, usually yes: paid in kip once a year, with no fee per sale — compare for yourself on the price table.
Can LaoCart sell abroad?
It is built for Laos: kip and Lao ways of paying. A customer abroad can order and agree a transfer with you in chat, but there is no credit-card checkout.
The prices on this page come straight from LaoCart's price list and are always the current ones. See the price table
How to do it, in the help centre
What the plans include
Every plan sells the same way — they differ on products, video, domain and team size.
Taking payment with a QR and a slip
The customer transfers to your QR and uploads the slip — you check it and confirm.
Using your own domain
When you want the shop at yourshop.com instead of laocart.com.
What the buyer sees
Knowing their side of the screen makes answering a customer much faster.