8 Headless Commerce Platforms for 2023

Whether you’re launching soon or experiencing growing pains, choosing a headless commerce platform is a major step in your brand’s journey. 

Online shoppers demand faster experiences across a broader range of touchpoints, and those demands aren’t slowing down any time soon as eCommerce surges. In fact, by 2025, eCommerce sales are expected to account for 24.5% of all global retail sales. 

The onus is on your eCommerce brand to meet those expectations, and adopting a headless commerce platform is an essential first step. With that in mind, here are eight headless commerce platforms worth checking out.

We’ve provided an overview of each of these platforms and even highlighted some of the likes and dislikes of customers already using them to help you select the best option for your business. 

1. Shopify Plus

Shopify is a cloud-based commerce platform for small and medium-sized businesses. Shopify Plus, meanwhile, is the version for high-growth enterprise customers and offers headless commerce. Shopify Plus allows you to transform any device into a potential sales channel and offers unlimited extensibility with a host of integrations. 

Developers have the freedom to choose the frontend frameworks that work best for a particular channel and can also integrate third-party tools and systems. Established enterprise businesses will find the pricing for Shopify Plus right up their alley, but growing brands in between the traditional Shopify and Shopify Plus may find it expensive. 

2. BigCommerce

BigCommerce is a SaaS-based eCommerce platform that provides merchants with the flexibility to build and grow their stores online. It offers enterprise-grade functionality and ease of use and can be customized to suit. BigCommerce is a headless-ready platform that can use any frontend to create content-rich experiences. 

In addition, it includes flexible APIs and a multi-storefront option that enables companies to grow their business in multiple regions or launch multiple brands. While BigCommerce comes with all of the features an eCommerce platform could need, it can sometimes be challenging to integrate with any necessary tools. 

3. Salesforce Commerce Cloud

Salesforce Commerce Cloud is part of the Salesforce suite of products. It provides an agile commerce platform on top of Salesforce CRM, meaning that connecting with other products within the suite is effortless. Salesforce Commerce enables you to embrace API-first commerce to improve the shopping experience for customers.

Plus, eCommerce stores can leverage Salesforce’s library of prebuilt integrations to enhance their websites further and even develop mobile applications. While Salesforce Commerce Cloud is great for connecting a powerful suite, it can lead to challenges integrating tools outside of the suite and maintaining a lightweight tech stack that allows eCommerce stores to remain flexible and adaptable. 

4. Adobe Commerce

Adobe Commerce, formerly Magento, is part of the Adobe suite of products. The platform enables you to build multi-channel commerce experiences for any business. Featuring native integrations with other parts of the Adobe Suite, including Analytics, Experience Manager, and Creative Cloud, Adobe Commerce provides a solid foundation for creating personalized shopping experiences.

A fully scalable and extensible platform, Adobe Commerce allows you to incorporate new technologies into your eCommerce store, even if they haven’t been invented yet. However, a major drawback of the platform is the high total cost of ownership that comes with using a suite eCommerce system. 

5. Commercetools

Commercetools is a leading commerce platform built using MACH principles. The microservice-based, API-first, cloud-native, and headless solution enables eCommerce stores to tailor customer experiences to their needs.

Commercetools seeks to differentiate itself from legacy suites by using MACH architecture and embracing a best-of-breed approach and composable commerce. While Commercetools advocates for headless commerce, it does so in a way that can be difficult for some eCommerce stores to grasp as additional tools and features need to be coded and integrated to get the most out of the platform. 

6. Elastic Path

Elastic Path is a composable and API-first headless commerce solution. It enables brands to launch and deliver digital commerce experiences across multiple touchpoints and markets. Elastic Path supports omnichannel commerce that seamlessly unifies the shopping journey across any touchpoint.

With APIs, the platform can also connect to other tools within the commerce tech stack including ERP systems, search and merchandising tools and more. As a modern tool highlighting the benefits of headless commerce, Elastic Path offers several advantages, but it can lack user-friendliness and can have a steep learning curve for business customers. 

7. Kibo Commerce

Kibo Commerce is a cloud-based eCommerce platform that enables you to launch personalized commerce experiences on top of a future-proof and modular architecture. Kibo Commerce’s API-first and microservices-based architecture aligns with modern headless commerce platforms and can help businesses meet customer demand while staying agile.

Kibo also includes additional solutions as part of a suite of products, including Order Management and Point of Sale. The platform is also highly extensible and supports various customizations for any business. While Kibo offers plenty of features, it can also require extensive developer support and customization to get the most out of the platform. 

8. Spryker Commerce Cloud

Spryker Commerce Cloud is a platform as a service (PaaS) solution that uses API-based and composable architecture. This enables developers to use Spryker’s Glue API to connect to any frontend and create a unique headless experience. If you want to connect to a voice assistant or smart shelf that detects when a product has left the shelf using sensors. Spryker has a steep learning curve for those unfamiliar with the platform, which can lengthen implementation times. 

Get Started On Your Headless Commerce Journey With Instant Commerce

The tools we’ve mentioned are all future-proof headless commerce platforms that can help eCommerce stores deliver shopping experiences on any device. However, headless commerce can still be difficult to grasp for some businesses. Also, not every solution provides the user-friendly capabilities you need to get going on your headless journey. 

With Instant Commerce, you can enjoy the benefits of headless commerce in a simplified way without the high costs and developer dependencies. Our frontend as a service solution can easily integrate with any eCommerce platform, allowing you to have a powerful backend solution managing your inventory, orders, and payments. At the same time, you can leverage our no-code headless storefront builder to launch a high-converting storefront on any device. Instant Commerce enables you to increase conversions and site speed to take your eCommerce store to the next level. 

Are you itching to start your headless commerce journey? See the signs that help you know you’re ready: When are you ready for Headless Commerce? Top 7 signs.