Vend vs. Shopify: Understanding the Difference - Oyova
Skip to main content

Vend vs. Shopify: Which Is Better for Your Business?

vend vs shopify

Shopify is an all-in-one commerce platform that makes it easy to launch your dream business and start selling to your customers, wherever they might be.

The company’s eCommerce platforms have been widely adopted for years. More recently, Shopify’s point-of-sale (POS) system has become increasingly popular. Within the POS space, Vend is one of its most notable competitors. When assessing different potential POS systems for your business, it helps to compare Vend vs. Shopify.

Let’s take a look at the core differences and overall ratings for the two platforms. Then we will assess Vend and Shopify in two charts: ratings in various categories and available features.

4 Core Differences

Here are four basic differences between these two platforms:

  1. Shopify is a comprehensive solution for online and offline sales, while Vend is a supplementary or additional tool for point-of-sale (POS) functionality.
  2. Shopify offers more attractive and less expensive upgrade opportunities for when your business grows.
  3. Shopify is a widely recognized commerce brand, while Vend is relatively new.
  4. Shopify is a complete sales platform. Its POS integrates directly with the eCommerce system. Vend is specifically a point-of-sale technology.

Overall Ratings

Ratings are a critical piece of the puzzle when you are determining the right POS for your business. For that, we look at a third party that analyzes software impartially, Quebec’s Technology Evaluation Centers (TEC). TEC’s analysis of Vend POS vs. Shopify POS finds that Shopify ratings are higher:

  • Shopify POS — 4.5 stars (965 reviews)
  • Vend — 4.0 stars (33 reviews).

Furthermore, TEC found that Shopify has more features than Vend. TEC did note that features are often available through plug-ins. Shopify is especially well-known for having an incredible number of integrations.

Comparing Shopify vs. Vend Reviews

Here is a comparison of the two systems in six different areas:

Shopify Vend POS
Ease of Doing Business 4.8 (11) 4.4 (20)
Ease of Admin 4.8 (12) 4.4 (19)
Ease of Use 4.5 (963) 4.3 (32)
Product Direction 4.7 (33) 4.0 (31)
Customer Service 4.5 (11) 4.3 (20)
Meets Requirements 4.4 (31) 4.2 (32)

A Features Comparison

Simply looking at merchant reviews of these POS options is insufficient if you need certain features. Here is a comparison of the feature sets for each platform:

Shopify  Vend POS
Credit Card Payments  Yes Yes
E-Commerce Yes No
E-Commerce Integrations No Yes
Offline Payments No Yes
Sales Tracking Yes Yes
Employee Accounts  Yes Yes
Customer Profiles  Yes Yes
Customer Account Profiles Yes No
Gift Card Management  Yes No
Data Synchronization  Yes No
Accounting Integrations  No Yes
Ordering Automation Yes No
Layaway Management  Yes No
Guest Counts  No Yes
Shift & Log Notes No Yes
Inventory Notifications Yes Yes
Inventory Management  Yes No
Inventory Management Integrations No Yes
Inventory Tracking Yes Yes
Multi Location Inventory Tracking No Yes
Partial Payments Yes Yes
Split Payments Yes Yes
Self-Ordering Yes No
Return Tracking Yes No
Daily Reports Yes Yes
Multi Device Payments Yes Yes
Product Organization  Yes Yes
Permissions No Yes
Barcode Scanning Yes No
Touch Screen Yes No
Discounts Yes Yes
Discount Management Yes No
Store Credits No Yes
Loyalty Memberships No Yes
Payment Refunds & Voids Yes Yes

Based on the above information, you should have a clear sense of whether Shopify POS or Vend is right for you. The key reason we prefer Shopify over Vend is that Shopify gives you a fully integrated in-person and online platform, while Vend is a standalone POS. Plus, our Shopify eCommerce Development services specialize in leveraging the technology’s powerful features – such as omnichannel selling capabilities – to expand your business.

 

Shopify POS vs. Square

< Previous

Shopify POS vs WooCommerce

Next >