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Build Guide

Build a Multi-Vendor Marketplace Without WordPress

Dokan costs $499/year and still feels like WooCommerce with extra steps. Build a marketplace that competes with Etsy, not one that imitates it poorly.

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The Old Way

The WordPress Approach

Required Plugins

1Dokan ($499/year) — multi-vendor marketplace for WooCommerce
2WCFM Marketplace ($249/year) — WooCommerce frontend manager
3WC Vendors ($199/year) — vendor management for WooCommerce
4YITH Multi Vendor ($299/year) — WooCommerce multi-vendor
5WooCommerce itself (free but required as base) — core e-commerce

Limitations

Requires WooCommerce as a base, adding its 20+ queries per page on top of marketplace plugins
Vendor dashboard is a WordPress frontend form — not a real dashboard experience
Split payments handled by the plugin, not Stripe Connect — creates accounting complexity
Commission calculation is basic — no tiered commissions or category-based rates
Plugin updates frequently break vendor-facing features and payment flows

Typical Cost

$500-800/year in plugins + $50-150/month hosting for the database load

The Modern Way

The Modern Approach

Next.js + Payload CMS + Stripe Connect + Algolia

Payload CMS manages vendors, products, and orders with proper access control per vendor. Stripe Connect handles split payments natively. Algolia provides instant product search across all vendors.

Stripe Connect handles split payments, vendor payouts, and platform commissions natively
Vendor dashboard is a proper web app, not a WordPress page template
Per-vendor access control — vendors only see their products and orders
Instant search across all vendor products with Algolia
Platform takes commission automatically via Stripe — no manual accounting

WordPress vs. Modern Stack

WordPress

  • Requires WooCommerce as a base, adding its 20+ queries per page on top of marketplace plugins
  • Vendor dashboard is a WordPress frontend form — not a real dashboard experience
  • Split payments handled by the plugin, not Stripe Connect — creates accounting complexity
  • Commission calculation is basic — no tiered commissions or category-based rates
  • $500-800/year in plugins + $50-150/month hosting for the database load

Modern Stack

  • Stripe Connect handles split payments, vendor payouts, and platform commissions natively
  • Vendor dashboard is a proper web app, not a WordPress page template
  • Per-vendor access control — vendors only see their products and orders
  • Instant search across all vendor products with Algolia
  • Platform takes commission automatically via Stripe — no manual accounting

Recommended Tools

Payload CMS

Products, vendors, orders, and admin with per-vendor access control

Free (self-hosted) or $50/month cloud

Stripe Connect

Split payments, vendor payouts, and platform commissions

2.9% + 30¢ per transaction + 0.25% Connect fee

Algolia

Instant search and filtering across all vendor products

Free up to 10,000 requests/month

Cloudinary

Product image hosting and optimization

Free up to 25,000 transformations/month

Vercel

Hosting with ISR for product listings

Free hobby tier, $20/month pro

Step-by-Step Build Guide

1

Set up Payload CMS with collections for Vendors, Products, Orders, and Reviews with vendor-scoped access control

2

Integrate Stripe Connect — create connected accounts for each vendor during onboarding

3

Build the vendor dashboard — product management, order tracking, payout history, and analytics

4

Create the customer-facing marketplace with product listings, vendor profiles, and a unified cart

5

Implement checkout with Stripe Connect for automatic payment splitting — platform fee + vendor payout

6

Add Algolia for instant search with filtering by vendor, category, price, and rating

7

Build the platform admin dashboard for vendor approval, dispute resolution, and commission management

Frequently Asked Questions

How does Stripe Connect handle vendor payouts?
Stripe Connect creates a connected account for each vendor. When a customer pays, Stripe automatically splits the payment — your platform fee stays in your account, the vendor's share goes to theirs. Payouts happen on a configurable schedule.
How do I handle returns and disputes?
Build a dispute resolution flow in your admin panel. Stripe handles chargebacks at the payment level. Your platform mediates between buyer and seller, and you can initiate refunds programmatically via the Stripe API.
Can I have both physical and digital products?
Yes. Design your product schema with a type field (physical/digital). Physical products need shipping fields, digital products need download links or access rules. Stripe handles both.

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