Is Cardel an alternative to BookBub or Shopify?

Cardel is a home for your craft: a site of your own with a blog, newsletter, shop, community, and one inbox. It can replace BookBub or Shopify when you want your work, audience, and sales in one place. The feature list on this page shows where BookBub and Shopify are marked.

Can I use Cardel with BookBub or Shopify?

Yes. Cardel pages can link out to other products, so you can keep BookBub or Shopify for what it does best and bring the rest of your work to Cardel.

How much does Cardel cost compared with BookBub and Shopify?

You don't pay for Cardel until you publish. Choose Starter, Pro, or Studio when your site goes live. BookBub and Shopify set their own prices, so check their pricing pages on this page for current plans.

How do I switch from BookBub or Shopify to Cardel?

Start with Build Your Site, set up your home, and bring your work over at your own pace. You do not have to move everything on day one.

Compare

BookBubvsShopify

BookBub Author Websites builds a book-first site and simple newsletter for authors. Shopify is the commerce platform: storefront, checkout, inventory, POS, email, and inbox.

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How BookBub and Shopify compare

BookBub Author Websites is made for writers who would rather be writing. Import an ebook from Amazon or BookBub and its cover, description, and retailer links fill in, and each book gets its own page that you update in one place. Templates are designed around genres, the Author Bio, Blog, and Contact pages are ready on day one, and a built-in newsletter pulls your book details into every email. Pro adds series pages, a press kit and events, and reader magnets that trade a free download for a signup, and the Free plan has no time limit.

Shopify is what you use when the store is the business. World-class checkout, inventory and shipping, taxes, POS, thousands of apps, Shopify Email, Shopify Inbox, and a theme store make it the standard for merchants of every size. It scales from one product to a warehouse without changing platforms.

Where they are different

BookBub

BookBub's book pages send readers to Amazon, Apple Books, and other retailers, with no checkout on the site.
BookBub's newsletter sends 1,000 emails a month on Free and 10,000 on Pro, from a no-reply address on your domain on Pro, and replies go to your personal email.
BookBub's blog has an RSS feed but no comments, and its only automation is a welcome email.
BookBub's Events page lists your appearances.

Shopify

Shopify's blog and pages serve the store.
Shopify Inbox handles chat.
Shopify doesn't manage scheduling natively.

Choose BookBub when your books sell through retailers, you want a polished author site in an afternoon, and a simple monthly newsletter is all the email you need.

Choose Shopify when you sell products at volume and need inventory, shipping, tax, and apps.

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What's on BookBub and Shopify

A check means that capability is available. BookBub and Shopify are marked only when the offer is comparable, not the same product.

Site and brand

Workspace site
BookBub: Included
Shopify: Included
Custom domain
BookBub: Included
Shopify: Included
Editor Mode
BookBub: Not included
Shopify: Included
Theme and fonts
BookBub: Included
Shopify: Included

Public content

Blog
BookBub: Included
Shopify: Included
Reader engagement
BookBub: Not included
Shopify: Included
Showcase pages
BookBub: Included
Shopify: Included
Shop pages
BookBub: Included
Shopify: Included

Reach and quality

SEO
BookBub: Included
Shopify: Included

Audience and email

Audience
BookBub: Included
Shopify: Included
Email templates and From addresses
BookBub: Included
Shopify: Included
Marketing emails
BookBub: Included
Shopify: Included
Campaign workflows
BookBub: Not included
Shopify: Included

Messaging

Messaging Center
BookBub: Not included
Shopify: Included

Commerce

Shop payments
BookBub: Not included
Shopify: Included

Team

AI Assistant
BookBub: Not included
Shopify: Included

Feature comparison for BookBub and Shopify
Feature	BookBub	Shopify
Site and brand
Workspace site	Included	Included
Custom domain	Included	Included
Editor Mode	Not included	Included
Theme and fonts	Included	Included
Public content
Blog	Included	Included
Reader engagement	Not included	Included
Showcase pages	Included	Included
Shop pages	Included	Included
Reach and quality
SEO	Included	Included
Audience and email
Audience	Included	Included
Email templates and From addresses	Included	Included
Marketing emails	Included	Included
Campaign workflows	Not included	Included
Messaging
Messaging Center	Not included	Included
Commerce
Shop payments	Not included	Included
Team
AI Assistant	Not included	Included

* Note: This table does not capture every feature of BookBub or Shopify, and is not intended as a comprehensive list. We keep this page current, but BookBub or Shopify may add or remove features that are not shown here.