The RTL and Arabic gap
Shopify can run Arabic stores, but production-grade RTL — mirrored layouts, bilingual admin, Arabic checkout copy, and governorate shipping — often means a paid RTL theme plus translation and shipping apps that break after platform updates. Mrfqy ships Arabic-first RTL as the default across storefront, admin, checkout, and transactional email.
Shopify wins when your buyers are primarily in the US or EU and you need Shopify Payments, Shop Pay, and the widest global app catalog. Mrfqy wins when Arab markets drive revenue and you are tired of paying monthly app fees just to accept Fawry or fix RTL regressions.
Payments without app roulette
On Shopify, Paymob, Fawry, Tap, and Moyasar are typically separate apps — each with its own subscription, upgrade risk, and support queue. Mrfqy wires them through country packs with COD, InstaPay, and BNPL flows common in Egypt and GCC from one payments screen.
Shopify's own payment stack is strong where Shopify Payments is available; in much of MENA it is not, so Arab merchants carry gateway app cost that US stores avoid.
Total cost of ownership
A typical Arab Shopify stack: base plan + RTL theme + translation + local payment apps + shipping app + analytics. That often exceeds Mrfqy paid tiers before counting transaction fees.
Mrfqy Starter is free with core checkout, bilingual AI, and Arab shipping defaults included. Run a 12-month spreadsheet: Shopify plan + app line items vs Mrfqy tier + gateway rates for your SKU count and order volume.
Bottom line
Stay on Shopify if you sell globally to Western markets and depend on Shopify's app ecosystem. Choose Mrfqy when Arab markets are your core revenue, you need local payments and RTL without stacking apps, or you want store and ERP on one subscription.
