Shopify's native theme editor has improved significantly with Online Store 2.0, but there are still scenarios where a dedicated page builder adds genuine value. Campaign landing pages, seasonal promotional pages, and custom product showcases often require design flexibility beyond what standard theme sections provide.
PageFly and Shogun are the two most popular page builder apps on Shopify. Both offer drag-and-drop editors, template libraries, and conversion-focused elements. But they differ in pricing, editor experience, performance impact, and target audience. Having used both in Shopify store builds, here is what actually matters when choosing between them.
Why use a page builder?
Not every Shopify store needs a page builder. If your theme provides sufficient section variety and your design needs are straightforward, the native theme editor is faster and lighter. Page builders make sense when you need to create landing pages quickly without developer involvement, when you want A/B testing capabilities built into your page design, when your marketing team creates campaign-specific pages regularly, or when you need design elements that your current theme does not support.
The key consideration is that every page builder adds code to your store, which has a performance cost. This trade-off between design flexibility and page speed should inform your decision. For brands where custom theme development is feasible, a purpose-built theme will always outperform a page builder solution in terms of speed and design consistency.
Platform overview
PageFly: value-focused page builder
PageFly is one of the most installed page builder apps on Shopify, with over 180,000 stores using the platform. It offers a drag-and-drop editor with a large library of elements, templates, and integrations. PageFly has built its reputation on competitive pricing and a generous free plan that allows stores to publish up to three pages without paying.
Shogun: premium page builder
Shogun positions itself as a premium page building and landing page platform for ecommerce. The company has raised venture capital funding and invested in features like built-in A/B testing, content analytics, and a polished editor experience. Shogun targets mid-market to enterprise Shopify merchants who prioritise conversion optimisation alongside page design.
Pricing comparison
PageFly: The free plan supports up to 3 published pages of each type (regular, product, collection, blog). The Pay As You Go plan is $24/month for unlimited pages. The Unlimited plan is $99/month and adds priority support and additional features.
Shogun: The free plan supports 1 published page. The Build plan is $39/month for 15 pages. The Measure plan is $149/month and adds A/B testing and content analytics. The Advanced plan has custom pricing with enterprise features.
PageFly is consistently cheaper, particularly for stores that need unlimited pages. Shogun's premium pricing reflects its A/B testing and analytics features, which are genuinely useful for conversion-focused teams.
Editor experience
Shogun's editor is more polished and intuitive. The drag-and-drop interface feels refined, element placement is smooth, and the preview accurately reflects the published page. The learning curve is gentle, and most users can create a professional-looking page within an hour of first using the tool.
PageFly's editor is feature-rich but can feel more complex. The element library is extensive, which is both an advantage (more options) and a potential drawback (more to learn). The editor has improved significantly over recent versions, but Shogun's interface is generally regarded as the more polished of the two.
Templates and sections
PageFly offers a large template library covering various page types and industries. Templates are generally well-designed and provide good starting points for customisation. PageFly also supports section templates that can be inserted into existing pages.
Shogun provides curated templates that tend to be more design-forward. The template library is smaller than PageFly's but the quality per template is arguably higher. Shogun's templates are designed with conversion principles in mind, incorporating proven layout patterns.
Performance impact
This is a critical consideration that many page builder comparisons underplay. Both apps add JavaScript and CSS to your store that can impact page load speed.
Shogun has invested in performance optimisation, including lazy loading, code splitting, and minimising render-blocking resources. Pages built with Shogun typically perform reasonably well, though not as fast as native theme sections.
PageFly has also worked on performance improvements, but pages with many elements can accumulate significant additional code. The performance impact varies based on page complexity — a simple landing page performs well, while a heavily customised page with many interactive elements may see noticeable speed degradation.
For both platforms, the best practice is to use page builders selectively rather than building your entire site with them. Use native theme sections for your core pages (homepage, product pages, collection pages) and reserve the page builder for specific landing pages and promotional content. This approach minimises the performance impact while leveraging the design flexibility where it is most needed. Your Shopify development partner can advise on the right balance.
SEO capabilities
Both platforms generate HTML that search engines can crawl and index. Both support custom meta titles, descriptions, and URL slugs. Both generate semantic HTML with proper heading hierarchies when configured correctly. Neither platform creates significant SEO problems when used properly, but neither replaces dedicated SEO optimisation of your product and collection pages.
Conversion features
Shogun's standout feature is built-in A/B testing. On the Measure plan and above, you can create variations of pages and test them against each other with statistical significance tracking. This is genuinely valuable for landing page optimisation and is rare among page builder apps.
PageFly does not include native A/B testing. For conversion testing with PageFly, you would need a separate A/B testing tool like Google Optimise (now sunset) or a dedicated testing platform. This is a meaningful gap for brands focused on systematic conversion optimisation.
Responsive design
Both platforms support responsive design with separate controls for desktop, tablet, and mobile layouts. Both allow you to show or hide elements on specific devices and adjust spacing, sizing, and layout for different screen sizes. The responsive design tools in both apps are adequate for creating mobile-friendly pages.
Integrations
Both platforms integrate with popular Shopify apps including Klaviyo, Judge.me, Yotpo, and others. Both support custom HTML and JavaScript blocks, which enables integration with virtually any third-party tool. PageFly has a slight edge in the number of pre-built integrations, while Shogun's integrations tend to be deeper on a per-integration basis.
Online Store 2.0 compatibility
Both platforms have updated their products to support Shopify's OS2 architecture. Both can create sections that work within OS2 themes, though the implementation approaches differ. For stores on OS2 themes, both page builders can create content that integrates with the theme's section architecture rather than replacing it. Understanding the relationship between page builders and OS2 themes is important — our custom theme development guide covers this in detail.
The verdict
Choose PageFly if:
- Budget is a primary consideration
- You need a generous free plan to get started
- You want unlimited pages at a reasonable price
- You need a wide variety of page elements and templates
- Your team does not require built-in A/B testing
- You are comfortable with a feature-rich but slightly more complex interface
Choose Shogun if:
- Editor polish and ease of use are top priorities
- Built-in A/B testing is important for your conversion strategy
- You want content analytics alongside page building
- Your team values a refined, intuitive design experience
- You are willing to invest more for a premium tool
- You create landing pages frequently and need conversion data
For most UK Shopify brands, PageFly offers the better value proposition. Its pricing is more accessible, its feature set is comprehensive, and it handles the core page building task well. For brands with dedicated marketing teams that run systematic landing page tests, Shogun's A/B testing capabilities justify the premium.
If you need help building high-converting pages for your Shopify store, get in touch. We can advise on whether a page builder, custom theme development, or a combination of both is the right approach for your brand.