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Malachyte personalizes for every visitor in real time. See what changes when search, merchandising, and visual discovery are one product, built only for Shopify Plus.
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platform
| Feature | Layers | Malachyte |
|---|---|---|
| Native ingestion of Shopify taxonomy | Yes | Partial. Synced product copy, not native |
| Support for Shopify combined listings and bundles | Yes | Not publicly documented |
| Native Shopify Markets support: per-region catalogs, currencies, and availability | Yes | Not publicly documented |
| Multilingual catalog search without a separate index per locale | Yes | Not publicly documented |
search
| Feature | Layers | Malachyte |
|---|---|---|
| Semantic embeddings understand meaning without synonym lists | Yes | Partial. Semantic, but synonyms are manual |
| Multilingual model supports 100+ languages in a single index | Yes | Not publicly documented |
| Detects query intent and applies filters automatically | Yes | Not publicly documented |
| Keyword search with prefix, fuzzy, and typo tolerance | Yes | Yes |
| Behavior-based learning at the query level from clicks, adds, and purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Self-optimizes from behavior data, with manual tuning optional | Yes | Yes |
| Semantic search and natural language understanding | Yes | Yes |
| Acronym and abbreviation expansion | Yes | Partial. Only via manual synonyms |
| Multilingual query processing mapped to the catalog | Yes | Not publicly documented |
| Autocomplete and type-ahead suggestions | Yes | Yes |
| Camera or image-based visual search | Yes | No. Search API is text-query only |
| Price detection in queries with automatic filtering | Yes | Not publicly documented |
| Facet values and result counts computed per query and collection | Yes | Not publicly documented |
| Faceting and filtering beyond standard Shopify filters | Yes | Partial. Filter API and rule conditions |
| Query-to-result reranking using machine learning | Yes | Yes |
| Handles incomplete or ambiguous queries | Yes | Yes |
merchandising
| Feature | Layers | Malachyte |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple custom sort orders per collection | Yes | Partial. Dynamic sorting; saved sort orders not documented |
| Rules engine for boosting or demoting products | Yes | Yes |
| Drag-and-drop merchandising interface for pinning and sequencing | Yes | Partial. Pinning via rules; no drag-and-drop UI |
| Product sequences that keep paired or grouped items together | Yes | Not publicly documented |
| Blend multiple attributes and metrics into one weighted ranking score | Yes | Partial. Rules and AI ranking; no weighted metric formula documented |
| Contextual boosting by segment | Yes | Yes |
| Scheduled merchandising with time-based rules | Yes | Not publicly documented |
| Sort logic that varies by Shopify Market or UTM context | Yes | Not publicly documented |
| Visual preview of search and collection results before publishing | Yes | Yes |
| Business metrics such as margin, inventory levels, and return rate in ranking | Yes | Partial. Margin and inventory via rules; no return rate |
| Dynamic pinning or exclusion, such as removing products when they sell out | Yes | Partial. Rule conditions on availability |
company
| Feature | Layers | Malachyte |
|---|---|---|
| Built exclusively for Shopify Plus | Yes | No. Shopify and headless, not Plus-exclusive |
| Product documentation publicly available for merchandisers | Yes | Yes |
| Catalog updates propagate in near real time | Yes | Yes |
| Semantic search and AI ranking included without a plan upgrade or separate module | Yes | Not publicly documented. Pricing quote-only; bundling not documented |
Comparison based on Malachyte’s publicly available product documentation as of September 23, 2026, and on our own documentation. Features and plan availability change. Check each vendor’s documentation for current details.
What Layers customers say
”Layers punches well above its weight. The platform is powerful and the SDK is easy to use and gives us the flexibility to build any search experience a merchant can imagine. The team's Shopify dev agency roots mean they actually get what dev partners need.
~
Jason Hassold, Founder & Lead Developer, Negative Space
”Layers was the first time we were able to create the kind of sort orders we were used to having in Salesforce. We saw a pretty immediate impact on conversion rate.
”Layers doesn't just merchandise, it also finds the strategy and provides unparalleled control, all while saving us hours we didn't know we were losing. Not to mention, we’ve seen a massive lift in key KPIs
~
Brittany Csik, eCommerce Manager, Negative Underwear
”Layers punches well above its weight. The platform is powerful and the SDK is easy to use and gives us the flexibility to build any search experience a merchant can imagine. The team's Shopify dev agency roots mean they actually get what dev partners need.
~
Jason Hassold, Founder & Lead Developer, Negative Space
”Layers was the first time we were able to create the kind of sort orders we were used to having in Salesforce. We saw a pretty immediate impact on conversion rate.
The difference is clear
Save up to $200,000 annually
Switch to Layers and pay up to 40% less than other enterprise platforms, without losing a dollar in revenue.
Cost savings based on real-world onboarding data. Results vary by volume and features utilized.
