Amazon Go Alternatives in 2026: Zippin, AiFi, Trigo and Scan and Buy

The real alternatives to Amazon Go in 2026, what separates them and which kind of business each one suits.

The alternatives to Amazon Go, in one sentence

The most cited alternatives to Amazon Go and its Just Walk Out technology are Zippin, AiFi, Standard AI and Trigo —all built on computer vision— and Scan and Buy, which solves the same problem another way: mobile app, QR access and operational AI, with no biometric cameras. The practical difference is not the brand, it is the model: some recognise what you pick up with computer vision, others let you scan it yourself. The first costs far more and takes months; the second deploys in weeks on the premises you already have.

The two models, and why the difference matters

Almost everything called a cashierless store falls into one of two families:

• Computer vision (Just Walk Out, Zippin, AiFi, Standard AI, Trigo): a ceiling full of cameras and, in some cases, weight sensors on the shelves recognise which product you take. The customer does nothing: walk in, pick up, walk out. The experience could not be better, and neither could the investment: infrastructure has to be installed and calibrated for every square metre, and that means months and a figure that only makes sense above a certain volume.
• Mobile self-scanning (Scan and Buy and similar models): the customer enters with a QR code, scans what they pick up with their phone and pays in the app. There is one extra gesture —scanning— and in exchange no building work and no vision infrastructure: it goes on top of the existing premises in weeks.

It is worth saying plainly: if what you want is for the customer to do absolutely nothing, computer vision wins. That is its real advantage and there is no point denying it. The question is whether your business can pay for it and wait for it.

Comparison

Factor	Just Walk Out and computer vision	Scan and Buy
How the product is registered	Cameras and sensors recognise it	The customer scans it with their phone
Upfront investment	High: infrastructure per square metre	Accessible: software plus standard hardware
Time to deploy	Months	Weeks
Building work	Usually yes	Not in most cases
Biometric data	Camera profile of the shopper	None: no facial recognition
Best fit	Chains and large-format stores	SMEs, franchises, hotels and campuses
Customer effort	None	Scanning each product

Where each one fits

If you run a chain with dozens of stores and the volume justifies the investment, computer vision gives the best experience available, and the providers listed above have spent years refining it.

If you have one shop, two or fifteen —a minimarket, a hotel store, a campus point or a franchise that wants to grow without multiplying headcount— self-scanning opens a door that used to be reserved for the big players: selling at night with nobody on shift.

The European factor

There is one difference that weighs more in Europe than in the United States. A system that identifies the shopper with cameras processes biometric data, which places it in the most demanding category under GDPR, with an impact assessment and reinforced disclosure. A self-scanning model does not generate that data: the customer identifies with their account and their phone, not with their face. It is not a technical advantage, it is an advantage in regulatory simplicity — and for a small business, that sometimes decides it.

A concrete case

The first 24/7 autonomous store in Malaga opened with Scan and Buy in six weeks and has run without checkout staff since day one. It is not a pilot or a trade-show demo: it is a street-level shop you can walk into.

If you want the detail of how one gets built, it is in the guide on how to set up a 24-hour store without cashiers, with costs broken down.

Frequently asked questions

What are the alternatives to Amazon Go?
Zippin, AiFi, Standard AI and Trigo in the computer-vision model, and Scan and Buy in mobile self-scanning. The first group replicates the Just Walk Out experience with more investment; the second approximates it with one extra gesture from the customer and no building work.

Which is cheaper?
Self-scanning, by a distance. It does not require camera and sensor infrastructure per square metre, which is the line item that drives the budget in vision systems.

Do I need facial recognition?
Not with Scan and Buy: no biometric data is used or stored. With computer-vision systems, processing the shopper's image is part of how they work.

How long does it take to open?
Weeks with self-scanning —the Malaga store took six— against the months needed to install and calibrate a vision system.

Does it work for a small shop?
That is exactly where it fits. Vision systems need volume to pay for themselves; self-scanning works from a single fifteen-square-metre unit.