Shopify's built-in CSV import works, but it's unforgiving. One wrong column name and nothing imports. No descriptions? You're writing them yourself. No SEO? You're adding it after. Here's how the available tools compare.
Shopify's built-in importer
Cost: Free
Best for: Small imports where you already have a perfectly formatted CSV
Shopify's native importer does exactly one thing: it takes a CSV with Shopify's exact column names and creates products. It doesn't help you format the CSV, doesn't generate descriptions, doesn't handle images, and gives cryptic error messages when something goes wrong.
If you already have clean data in the right format, it works fine. If you're converting from another platform or working from a supplier's price list, you'll spend more time formatting the CSV than it would have taken to add products manually.
Matrixify (formerly Excelify)
Cost: Free tier (10 products/import), $20/month and up
Best for: Power users who need bulk operations and ongoing imports
Matrixify is the most popular Shopify import/export app. It handles imports, exports, bulk updates, and scheduled syncs. It supports Excel files directly (no CSV conversion needed) and can map columns from other formats.
The downside: it's a technical tool. It expects you to understand Shopify's data model. It doesn't write descriptions, doesn't generate SEO content, and doesn't help you if your source data is messy. It's an import/export engine, not a catalog builder.
Using ChatGPT to write descriptions
Cost: Free or $20/month for ChatGPT Plus
Best for: Writing a few descriptions at a time
Many sellers paste their product names into ChatGPT and ask for descriptions one at a time. This works for 5-10 products. For 50+, you're spending hours copying and pasting, and the descriptions tend to be inconsistent — different lengths, different tones, different structures.
ChatGPT also doesn't know what a Shopify CSV looks like. It can write descriptions, but it can't format them into an import-ready file with handles, variants, SEO fields, and the right column structure.
Catalogd
Cost: Free (5 products), $49-$399 per run
Best for: Getting an entire catalog from spreadsheet to import file in one session
Catalogd takes a different approach. Instead of just importing/exporting, it builds your entire catalog: upload your spreadsheet or product photos, and Catalogd maps your columns, writes descriptions in your brand voice, generates SEO titles and descriptions, matches images to products, and exports a ready-to-import CSV for your platform.
It's not a monthly subscription — you pay per run based on how many products you're processing. The free tier lets you test with 5 products before paying anything.
Which tool should you use?
If you already have a perfectly formatted Shopify CSV with descriptions, SEO, and images: use Shopify's built-in importer. It's free.
If you need ongoing bulk operations, scheduled syncs, or complex data migrations: use Matrixify.
If you have a spreadsheet of products and need a complete, import-ready catalog with descriptions and SEO: try Catalogd.