Best Headless Commerce Agencies That Build Next.js Storefronts (2026): 12 Compared, Including Us

On 22 October 2026 we asked ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI answers the same question several times: “Who builds headless commerce storefronts with Next.js?” We collected 27 answers. They linked to 116 different pages; 71 of the 314 links went to list pages, and many others went to framework docs and templates rather than agencies.

So we went agency by agency. We started from the agencies those answers named and Vercel’s partner directory, and kept only agencies that show headless commerce work on Next.js and state where they are based. We dropped 17:

• Six state no base on their site or listing: Kryeo, Roboto Studio, Digital Applied, This Dot Labs, Delicious Simplicity and Orium.
• Six show no headless commerce on Next.js: Blazity, Lucky Media, Displace, Monogram, Bounteous and Rangle.
• Two now redirect to other companies: Trellis and Corra.
• One blocked our reader entirely: RMG Media.
• Two more agencies abroad, The JIBE and Mirumee, were left out to cap the non-US group at three.

Who wrote this. FactoryJet builds Next.js storefronts, so we are on this list. Nobody paid to be included, the order is not a ranking, and our entry uses the same format as every other agency.

A few terms in plain English. Headless commerce means the storefront is separate code that talks to the commerce platform behind the scenes. Next.js is a popular framework for building that storefront. Hydrogen is Shopify’s own headless framework, and Catalyst is BigCommerce’s, which is built on Next.js. A headless CMS is where your team edits pages and content. Vercel is the company behind Next.js, and it lists partner agencies by tier.

The shortlist at a glance

Find the rows that match the platform you run, then read those profiles in full.

How we built this list

1. Start from buyers’ searches. “Next.js ecommerce” gets about 90 US Google searches a month, and “headless e commerce development company” and “headless commerce development services” about 70 each (DataForSEO, October 2026). Google showed an AI answer on all six headless searches we checked.
2. Start from the agencies AI answers name. We took the agencies cited in those 27 answers and added commerce agencies from Vercel’s partner directory.
3. Keep only real headless commerce work on Next.js. A Next.js badge was not enough; the agency had to show or describe a headless store.
4. Prefer US agencies. We kept at most three based abroad, and only those that name a US client or office.
5. Directory tiers from the directory. Vercel tiers come from Vercel’s listing. Shopify or BigCommerce tiers an agency shows on its own site are labelled as its claim.
6. No scores we cannot prove. We have not hired these agencies. We say who each suits and one question worth asking.
7. Prices only from the agency. One agency publishes a figure, and we quote it.

What the platforms themselves ship for headless

Before you pick an agency, know what your platform already gives it. These rows come from each platform’s own pages, read on 23 October 2026.

In plain words: on Shopify, an agency can build in Hydrogen or in Next.js; on BigCommerce, Catalyst is already Next.js. Ask why an agency picks one for your store. MAK says it prefers the platform’s own framework where one exists; 1Digital defaults to Next.js.

The best headless commerce agencies for Next.js, profiled

The order is not a ranking. Agencies are grouped by where they are based and the platform they lead with, then us.

US headless commerce agencies that build Next.js storefronts on Shopify and other platforms

Four US agencies whose own headless pages name Next.js alongside Shopify. Only Epic Design Labs names the headless clients it built for, so ask the other three for live examples. Epic also sells its own commerce platform.

1. 1Digital Agency

Based: Miami, Florida. Type: Ecommerce development and marketing agency. Directory status: None shown in a platform directory we checked.

1Digital says its build standard for headless is Next.js with the App Router and React Server Components. It names Hydrogen for Shopify and Catalyst for BigCommerce where those fit better. It quotes 10 to 16 weeks for a storefront on an existing backend and does not publish price bands.

Best for:	Brands that want to keep the backend that works and replace the storefront that does not, in its words.
Clients it names:	Its homepage names Ladivine, Walker’s Shortbread, Steinway & Sons and MFA Boston, without saying which were headless builds.
Frameworks:	Next.js with the App Router and React Server Components, Shopify Hydrogen with Oxygen, BigCommerce Catalyst.
Commerce backends:	Shopify, BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce, commercetools, Medusa, Saleor, Swell.
CMS:	Its own WorkspaceCMS.
Worth asking them:	Which live headless storefronts on Next.js can you show us, since your headless page names no client?

Source: www.1digitalagency.com/headless-commerce-development/ | Location: www.1digitalagency.com

2. IWD Agency

Based: Austin, Texas, with offices in Barcelona, São Paulo and Warsaw. Type: Ecommerce development agency. Directory status: None checked in a directory. It claims Shopify Plus, BigCommerce Elite, Adobe and Salesforce partner badges on its own site.

IWD says it builds decoupled storefronts on Shopify Hydrogen, Next.js and BigCommerce Catalyst, paired with a headless CMS such as Sanity or Contentful. It says you get a firm, itemized quote on the first call.

Best for:	Brands whose themed storefront can no longer carry the experience they want.
Clients it names:	Logos include Rolex, Intel, YETI and Asics; case studies include Europa Eyewear, Inyo Pools and QC Supply, without saying which were headless.
Frameworks:	Shopify Hydrogen, Next.js, BigCommerce Catalyst.
Commerce backends:	Shopify and Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce.
CMS:	Sanity, Contentful.
Worth asking them:	Which brands on your logo wall run a headless storefront you built, and on which framework?

Source: iwdagency.com/pages/headless-commerce-development/ | Location: www.iwdagency.com

3. The Frontend Company

Based: Claymont, Delaware. Type: Frontend development company. Directory status: None shown in a platform directory we checked.

Its headless commerce page names Next.js and Hydrogen on Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, commercetools and Magento, with Payload, Contentful, Sanity or Strapi for content. None of its linked case studies is described as headless commerce. Pricing depends on scope.

Best for:	Stores that are slow, take months to update or keep breaking on plugins, in its words.
Clients it names:	Logos include Shopify, Deloitte and Leafworks, without saying which were headless commerce work.
Frameworks:	React, Next.js, Shopify Hydrogen.
Commerce backends:	Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, commercetools, Magento.
CMS:	Payload, Contentful, Sanity, Strapi.
Worth asking them:	Can you show a headless commerce storefront you shipped, since your case studies are other kinds of apps?

Source: www.thefrontendcompany.com/headless-commerce-development-services | Location: www.thefrontendcompany.com

4. Epic Design Labs

Based: Portland, Oregon. Type: Ecommerce agency with its own commerce platform, Throttle. Directory status: None shown in a platform directory we checked.

Epic Design Labs says it builds storefronts on Next.js 16 with the App Router. It offers Throttle, the commerce platform it builds and runs itself, with BigCommerce or Shopify as alternatives. It gives three to four months from kickoff to launch for a catalog under about 10,000 products.

Best for:	Merchants who have outgrown what a hosted platform will let them do.
Clients it names:	It names MEPSelect, Stockard Tool, RV Gear Pro and OffroadGearPro as headless clients.
Frameworks:	Next.js 16 with the App Router and React Server Components, Tailwind CSS, hosted on Cloudflare or Vercel.
Commerce backends:	Throttle, its own platform, or BigCommerce or Shopify in headless mode.
CMS:	None named.
Worth asking them:	If we start on Throttle, what does it take to move off it later?

Source: www.epicdesignlabs.com/headless-commerce/ | Location: www.epicdesignlabs.com

Large US agencies with headless commerce and Next.js practices

Two big agencies with Next.js listed in Vercel’s partner directory and commerce practices across several platforms. Americaneagle holds Vercel’s Platinum tier.

7. Codal

Based: Chicago, Illinois, with offices in the UK, India and Toronto. Type: Design and engineering agency with a commerce practice. Directory status: Vercel Solution Partner, Silver. It also claims Shopify Platinum and BigCommerce Elite status on its own site.

Codal’s Vercel listing names Next.js as a key technology and lists ecommerce and platform migrations as specialties. Its Shopify page lists custom headless builds and a case study on unified headless ecommerce for Cosori and its sister brands.

Best for:	Brands on Shopify or BigCommerce that also need enterprise system connections.
Clients it names:	It names Origin USA, Thermos, Cosori, GORE Wear and Cocktail Courier.
Frameworks:	Next.js on its Vercel listing; Hydrogen described on its Shopify page.
Commerce backends:	Shopify, BigCommerce.
CMS:	Contentstack.
Worth asking them:	Was the Cosori headless build on Next.js or Hydrogen, and why that choice?

Source: vercel.com/partners/solution-partners/codal | Location: www.codal.com

8. Americaneagle.com

Based: Des Plaines, Illinois, per its Vercel listing. Type: Full-service digital agency with 700+ staff, per its Vercel listing. Directory status: Vercel Solution Partner, Platinum. It also claims BigCommerce Elite and Shopify Premier status on its own site.

Its BigCommerce page says it offers Stencil, Catalyst and Makeswift development. Its Shopify page covers headless Shopify. Its Vercel listing shows the Platinum tier and Next.js certification, but no commerce case study.

Best for:	B2B and consumer brands on BigCommerce that want one large agency.
Clients it names:	Its Vercel case studies name United Airlines, Marvin and Mecum Auctions, none of them commerce builds.
Frameworks:	Next.js, BigCommerce Catalyst and Makeswift.
Commerce backends:	BigCommerce, Shopify, Adobe Commerce, OroCommerce.
CMS:	Storyblok, Sitecore, WordPress VIP.
Worth asking them:	Which Catalyst or headless Shopify storefronts have you launched, and who on the team built them?

Source: vercel.com/partners/solution-partners/americaneagle-com

What these agencies publish about price and timeline

Most headless commerce agencies quote after a call. On the pages we read on 23 October 2026, one of the 11 other agencies publishes a build price and two publish a timeline. We copied them exactly. They are each agency’s own figures, not FactoryJet prices.

The platform is a separate bill. Shopify lists Plus at $2,300 a month on a three-year term or $2,500 on a one-year term in the US, on its Plus plan page. For the cost and trade-offs side by side, read Shopify Plus vs custom headless Next.js and headless commerce pros and cons.

Which headless commerce agency fits your store

Find the line that sounds most like you.

How to choose a headless commerce agency: 7 steps

Speed is the usual reason, so measure it

Most brands go headless for speed. Google’s web.dev guidance sets good Core Web Vitals at Largest Contentful Paint within 2.5 seconds, Interaction to Next Paint at 200 milliseconds or less and Cumulative Layout Shift at 0.1 or less, measured at the 75th percentile of real page loads. Ask each agency for the field data from a live headless store they built, not a lab score from a test tool, and compare it with your current store.

What else ranks for "headless commerce agency", and how this guide differs

These are the business sites on Google’s first page for “headless commerce agency” in the US when we checked on 23 October 2026 (DataForSEO), with the title Google showed for each. We list them so you can compare; we have not reviewed their services.

Most of these are single-agency service pages or explainers. This page compares 12 agencies on the facts that decide a headless build: framework, commerce backend, CMS, where the team sits and what it publishes, each linked to the page we read.

What FactoryJet builds headless

We are FactoryJet. We have served 500+ businesses, most of them in commerce. Our founder, Bhavesh Barot, is involved in every project. We are a registered Shopify Partner.

• Storefronts. Next.js with the App Router on Shopify, BigCommerce or Commerceflo, with Sanity for content. See headless Shopify development and headless commerce.
• Back office. QuickBooks, NetSuite, Odoo and other ERPs. See ecommerce ERP integration.
• AI agents. Agents for order exceptions, purchase orders and returns, with approval steps. See Shopify AI agents.

A headless build usually takes 8 to 14 weeks. We quote a fixed price in writing after a short call, show a working draft built with your own products before you sign, and you own the code. Related reading: the best Shopify Plus agencies for US brands and the best BigCommerce agencies.