Shopify gives you two ways to build a storefront. A native theme runs on Shopify's own Liquid templates and is edited in the theme editor. Hydrogen is Shopify's React framework for headless storefronts, usually hosted on Shopify's Oxygen platform. Both use the same Shopify checkout, products and orders. What differs is who builds and maintains the front end, and what that costs every month after launch.
Where the money goes on a Hydrogen build
Engineering time
Every page, section and template is code. Changing a homepage layout or adding a landing page usually needs a developer, so most Hydrogen stores carry a monthly retainer or an in-house team.
A content system
Many headless builds add a separate CMS, such as Contentful or Sanity, so marketers can edit content. That is another license, another login and another integration to maintain.
Apps
Many Shopify apps are built for themes and drop into a native store with a few clicks. On Hydrogen, an app often needs custom integration through its API, if it supports headless at all.
Upgrades
Hydrogen and its dependencies release new versions regularly. Keeping up is a recurring engineering task.
Where the money goes on a native theme
The theme build
A custom Online Store 2.0 theme is a one-off project. After launch, your team edits pages, sections and content in the theme editor without a developer.
Apps
Most install directly. Subscriptions, reviews, loyalty and search apps are built for native themes first.
Development as you grow
New features still need developers. Routine marketing changes don't.
When Hydrogen is worth it
Hydrogen earns its cost when you serve several front ends from one catalog, need interactions a theme can't deliver, or already run a large in-house engineering team. For most direct-to-consumer and B2B brands, a native theme does the job for less and gives the marketing team control.
How to compare the two for your store
List what you pay each month beyond Shopify itself: hosting, CMS, developer retainer and the time your team spends waiting on releases. Then list what you'd pay on a native theme after the build. Our Shopify Plus cost calculator covers the platform side. We moved Allbirds' Canada and South Korea stores from headless to a native Shopify Plus theme. Read how we approach a move off headless.
