Four ways to let customers combine
23 features in 4 groups. Every entry says what the approach actually does, not just whether it can.
covered partly, or with effort not provided
| Feature | Shopware standard | Bundle extension | External configurator | This configurator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structure and maintenance | ||||
| The customer combines it themselves | only picks a variant | can deselect parts | yes | yes |
| One product instead of many combinations | one variant per combination | one package | yes | one parent product |
| The choice follows a condition, not a list | no | fixed contents | depends on the service | dynamic product group |
| Build once, use many times | no | again per package | depends on the service | templates with inheritance |
| Data stays inside the shop | yes | yes | with the third party | own tables in the shop |
| Choice and rules | ||||
| Mandatory groups | a variant is always required | no | yes | per group |
| Several products from one group | no | fixed quantity | yes | multiple selection |
| A fixed quantity (“choose six”) | no | no | depends on the service | four set rules |
| Groups appear only after a decision | no | no | yes | hidden or disabled |
| Quantity per line, not per cart row | no | fixed quantity per part | depends on the service | quantity selectable |
| Free text on the individual part | no | no | yes | input field per group |
| Validating that text for length or format | no | no | depends on the service | mandatory only |
| Visual preview of the result | no | no | often the core of the offer | images per choice, no preview |
| Prices | ||||
| The price adds up live | per variant | fixed package price | yes | yes |
| Show a surcharge instead of a full price | no | no | depends on the service | relative prices |
| A price valid only inside this choice | catalogue price | through the package rebate | depends on the service | prices per stream |
| A rebate above a quantity or sum | tier prices per product | package rebate | depends on the service | threshold with a hint |
| A percentage surcharge on the whole | no | no | depends on the service | set on the product |
| Shop and operations | ||||
| A price in the category | from price of the variants | package price | often only the base product | from price or fixed price |
| Category pages stay fast | yes | yes | an extra request | own listing cache |
| Save and share a combination | no | no | yes | a link of its own |
| Individual parts in the order | one variant | depending on the setting | depends on the integration | depending on the setting |
| Usable from a frontend of your own | Store API | depends on the extension | its own interface | Store API |
Where the line runs
The honest answer to “which one do I need” starts with a question back: who decides what goes together? If you do, and the customer only takes it or leaves it, that is a bundle. If the customer decides, and their decisions build on one another, that is a configurator.
That is not a matter of taste. A bundle has one price, one bill of contents and one cart line. A configurator has a range of prices, a set of rules and a result that only exists once the customer is done. Everything else - dependencies, thresholds, quantities per line - follows from that difference.
For a ready-made package with a price advantage there is a separate extension and a separate site. It is the better tool when nothing has to be decided.
What variants still do best
Nothing here argues against variants. A T-shirt in three sizes and four colours is a variant product, full stop - with stock per variant, its own picture and its own product number. The configurator starts where a combination is no longer a product: where five decisions produce a hundred results that nobody wants to maintain.
The two also work together. A stream can fan out variants, so the variant product keeps doing its job inside the configurator.
Configurator, bundle or parts list?
We build three extensions for combined products. They solve different problems, and the wrong one costs you time. Here is which fits when.
The customer decides what goes in
Several decisions building on one another, mandatory steps, quantities, conditions - and a result that only exists once they are done.
Then take
Product configurator
The extension this page is about.
You tie the package, the price advantage is fixed
A ready-made set with a rebate that sits in the bundle. The customer takes it or leaves it, and at most removes a part.
The set is an article of its own
Stock, price, delivery time and dimensions of the parent follow from its parts - the set is sold like a normal product.
| Feature | Product configurator | Product bundles | Parts lists |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who assembles it | |||
| The customer assembles it themselves | that is the point | can only deselect | only if selectable |
| Mandatory steps and a fixed order | per group | no | no |
| Dependencies between groups | four condition types | no | no |
| A fixed quantity (“choose six”) | four set rules | no | no |
| Quantity per line chosen by the customer | quantity selectable | maintained fixed | if quantity selectable |
| Free text on a part | input field per group | no | no |
| Price | |||
| The price follows from the selection | sum of the chosen products | fixed package price | sum of the parts |
| A price advantage in the package | rebate, also above a threshold | three rebate types, fixed in the bundle | surcharge or discount |
| Show a surcharge instead of a full price | relative prices | no | no |
| The parent product | |||
| Stock derived from the parts | own stock | own stock | calculated |
| Delivery time, dimensions, properties taken over | no | no | nine switches |
| Structure reusable across many products | templates with inheritance | general bundles | one list per product |
| Cart and order | |||
| Structure in the cart | parent and components | container, parts, rebate line | container, children, balance line |
| Parent-child relation can be dissolved | depending on the setting | dissolved by default | depending on the setting |
| Extends the order view in the admin | yes | yes | yes |
The three can also stand side by side in one shop: a configurator on the products that are assembled, bundles on the ones you tie yourself, parts lists where the set is an article of its own.