Yandex Kit or Frontbox: a free builder or a storefront you take with the code
Kit is Yandex’s free store builder: it replaces your backend and lives inside the Direct advertising ecosystem. Frontbox is a storefront for an existing store, run by an engineer on a subscription; the app is a separate option and custom systems require an API integration review. Here is where Kit does the job — and where it ends.
Three key differences
Free. Monetised through your Direct ad budget: programmes from 100k to 2M ₽/month, partners are paid 2% of it.
Subscription from 19,000 ₽/mo. No ties to an ad account.
Domain and data are yours; “the site code stays with Yandex” (Kit FAQ). You cannot take the site with you.
The backend and data are yours from day one; after the storefront is switched off you keep one month of cabinet access to export your catalog, blog and materials.
Kit is its own backend: catalog and orders live in the Kit dashboard, a CMS cannot be connected.
Connects to your Bitrix, ERP, Shopify, CRM — or manages the catalog itself if there is no backend.
Point by point
Left — Yandex Kit per kit.yandex.ru, Yandex help and reviews. Right — Frontbox per subscription terms.
- Яндекс Кит
- A free no‑code store builder (beta)
- Frontbox
- Storefront + app + service on top of your backend
- Яндекс Кит
- 0 ₽; acquiring 0.4–3.9%; bonuses and “programmes” depend on your Direct budget
- Frontbox
- Light / Standard / Premium 19,000–65,000 ₽/mo; White Label 95,000 ₽/mo × 18
- Яндекс Кит
- Code stays with Yandex; public API is a closed beta for agencies; the service may restrict access under its rules
- Frontbox
- Platform code is ours, data is yours; after the storefront is switched off you keep one month of cabinet access to export your catalog, blog and materials
- Яндекс Кит
- Replaces the backend; imports stock and prices from ERP/MoySklad, a Bitrix site cannot be connected
- Frontbox
- 1C‑Bitrix, Shopify, WooCommerce, ERP and any API — or no backend at all
- Яндекс Кит
- 7 section types and one of the ready themes; CSS/HTML on request for agencies
- Frontbox
- Component storefront under your brand — any block, any flow
- Яндекс Кит
- None
- Frontbox
- iOS + Android from the same code as the site
- Яндекс Кит
- Russian only, Russia only, Russian legal entities only
- Frontbox
- Any languages, currencies and warehouses — stores shipping worldwide
- Яндекс Кит
- Not for weighed goods or “complex attributes”; reviews advise against 50,000+ items
- Frontbox
- Elasticsearch: facets, variants and suggestions at 100,000+ SKUs
- Яндекс Кит
- Storefronts are server‑rendered, but structured data and hreflang are limited
- Frontbox
- Technical SEO and AI content included in the subscription
- Яндекс Кит
- Physical goods only
- Frontbox
- Goods, services, B2B with “price on request”
Based on kit.yandex.ru, Yandex help, partners.kit.yandex.ru and reviews as of August 2026. Kit is in beta; terms change.
When Kit is the right call
- You start from scratch with physical goods and no budget for a site
- Direct and Market are your main channel and budget bonuses matter more than flexibility
- A ready theme and a standard checkout are enough
- You have no ERP and do not plan one
When Frontbox
- The store already lives in Bitrix or an ERP — moving into someone else’s dashboard is not an option
- You need an app, your own design, languages or a large catalog
- Owning the code and not depending on platform rules matters
- You sell services, B2B or goods with complex attributes
Moving from Yandex Kit to Frontbox
From Kit you can export products (YML or Excel), orders and customers — but not the site itself, its code stays with Yandex. Frontbox rebuilds the storefront on top of your system, or manages the catalog itself.
- 01
Export the catalog
YML or Excel from Kit — into your Bitrix or ERP, or straight into Frontbox.
- 02
Build the storefront and app
Branded design, search, SEO structure and redirects from the old addresses.
- 03
Switch the domain
The domain is yours — we move DNS. The old Kit store stays until everything is verified.
Questions when moving from Kit
What Kit store owners ask. Everything else — on a demo.
Kit is free — why pay for Frontbox?
Kit is free while the site lives in Yandex’s ecosystem and you pay for Direct. Frontbox is your own backend, an app, languages, a large catalog and an engineer who runs the store. Compare not just the subscription price but what you currently pay for separately.
Can we move the site out of Kit?
Products, orders and customers — yes, via exports. The site code — no, it stays with Yandex. We rebuild the storefront under your brand.
Will Direct advertising keep working?
Yes. Metrica and e‑commerce events are set up from day one; Direct works with any site.
Our store is small — is Frontbox overkill?
Light at 19,000 ₽/mo is the entry plan for an existing 1C‑Bitrix store. If there is no budget for a site at all, Kit is an honest choice to start with — and you can move later when you hit its limits.
See what your store looks like on Frontbox
Send a link to your Kit store — we build a demo on your catalog and show search, the app and a branded design. No commitment.
Related sections - Go deeper
Frontbox
What the subscription includes, plans and White Label.
GuideMoving from Yandex Kit to Frontbox
What you can take and what you cannot — step by step.
ComparisonFrontbox vs Aspro
A template inside Bitrix or a storefront on top of it.
ComparisonFrontbox vs Shopify
Replatforming or an overlay on your own backend.