Wix vs Shopify – Which Ecommerce Platform Suits Your Online Store?
Choosing the right eCommerce platform for your online store can be a bit of a struggle, especially when all of the platforms are offering more or less the same features. There are numerous website builders and eCommerce platforms available in the market to choose from. And, Shopify vs Wix for eCommerce stores certainly come under this category.
This comprehensive Shopify vs Wix comparison guide will help you evaluate both platforms and select one that meets your eCommerce requirements and that which is easier to use and manage.
We have taken a close look at Wix vs Shopify comparison to help you clearly see what both platforms to offer. Comparing Wix vs Shopify, our guide will help you identify the key differences between both platforms so that you can choose the right one for your online store. Let’s take a look.
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Wix VS Shopify
Wix – Suitable for Smaller eCommerce Stores
Wix is a well-known website builder that is not only capable of building websites but also eCommerce stores. Over the years, it is constantly enhancing its eCommerce and online store functionalities. Wix is an ideal solution for small, boutique online stores. When talking about website design, the platform is really outstanding. It has numerous design features and allows for full visual customization because of its straightforward what-you-see-is-what-you-get editor.
Shopify – Best Choice for Large Online Stores
Shopify is perfect for selling products online on a large scale. It offers out-of-the-box sales and reporting features, along with support for sales in physical stores. Shopify might not offer the same level of design customization as Wix, however, it still provides you with professional-looking websites designed exclusively for eCommerce stores. Hence, you can focus more on your eCommerce business and earning revenue, rather than tweaking the visual elements of your website.
Wix
| Ease of use | 8.5 |
| Features & flexibility | 8.5 |
| SEO & Mobility | 8.0 |
| Help & Support | 9.5 |
| Pricing | 8.5 |
| Overall Score | 8.6 star rating |
|---|---|
Shopify
| Ease of use | 9.0 |
| Features & flexibility | 9.5 |
| SEO & Mobility | 8.5 |
| Help & Support | 9.0 |
| Pricing | 9.0 |
| Overall Score | 9.0 star rating |
|---|---|
Wix
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Ease of use | Limited scalability for larger stores |
| Great design/template options | No template switching after publishing |
| Superior selection of Sales & Marketing Apps | 75+ individual products make management tricky |
| Highly effective Mobile editor | Storage could be a little more |
| Excellent Value | |
| Supports physical as well as digital products sales | |
| Competitive pricing plans | |
| Excellent help and support | |
| Ideal for small stores |
Shopify
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Out-of-the-box sales and reporting features | Can become more expensive than its competitors due to multi-3rd party apps |
| Simple and easy to set up, use, and edit your online store | Charges transaction fees unless you use Shopify Payments |
| Reliable and varied support options | The entry-level price feature-set is limited as compared to its rivals |
| Excellent design options | A photo editor app for product images is required or else the uploaded images may be displayed in different aspect ratios. |
| A photo editor app for product images is required or else the uploaded images may be displayed in different aspect ratios. |
Wix
- Beginner-friendly
If you have no to little technical knowledge, Wix is an ideal option as its powerful template editor gives you full control over your website’s design and functionality. However, if you’re technically stronger, things will become easier for you. - Easy yet sophisticated
Although Wix offers the drag-and-drop flexibility to set up your website and/or online store easily, it also comes with sophisticated website functionality. - CMS flexibility
Content Management Systems (CMS) is an important tool for fast, flexible, and relevant changes to your website. Wix provides you with all these and more with a very simple, easy-to-use inventory management system. - Ecommerce store capabilities
You can easily set up an eCommerce store in just 7 simple steps.
Not all of us are technical wizards. The ease of use is an important factor to consider when choosing the eCommerce platform for your store. This ensures you get the website and selling platform capabilities required to set up and run your store quickly. If you do not have technical skills, then you may opt for a platform that is simple, and easy to use.
Here are some key points to consider when comparing Shopify vs Wix in terms of ease of use:
Shopify
- Flexibility
Shopify provides excellent, flexible functionality for those planning to build an online store and sell products. - Little technical or design knowledge
Little technical or design knowledge and skills do not prevent you from creating your online presence. Shopify offers plenty of themes and those who are familiar with HTML and CSS will have better control relating to website design preferences. - Web hosting solution
With a hosted solution, you need not worry about anything related to web hosting, software installations, data security, or technical maintenance and upgrades. Since Shopify is Software as a Service (SaaS), you get access to manage your online store as long as there’s internet connectivity.
Winner -Shopify
When talking about ease of use, Shopify is the clear winner. While Wix is known for its editing simplicity, you get less backend control than with Shopify. If you’re planning to build an advanced eCommerce store, Shopify is the best platform available.
When comparing Shopify vs Wix, both platforms offer themes that work well on multiple devices.
Wix
Wix offers more than 500 templates. Most of the templates might not be specifically designed for eCommerce, however, there are about 57 templates designed for online stores. All the templates do cover almost every industry vertical.
Wix Code enables you to customize everything ranging from web applications to page scrolling. You can access this functionality by clicking ‘Code’ then ‘Developer Tools’ in the Wix Editor. After this, you get complete control over how your Wix website looks.
One demerit of Wix templates is that they can’t be changed or switched after you’ve selected one. This can create a problem if you want to rebrand your store later.
Shopify
Shopify offers 60+ themes that are up-to-date and cover a wide range of industries. The highest price of Shopify’s paid themes is $180, which is considered to be expensive. However, it’s a one-off payment which you should take it as an investment in your online store. Shopify allows for easy customizations. You just need to click ‘Edit HTML/CSS’ on the Shopify Admin page, and you can get started with coding.
Winner – Wix
When comparing Shopify vs Wix in terms of design, Wix wins this battle. Its simplicity in design makes it an ideal platform for small-scale retailers. Wix’s templates help you get started with the basics right away. However, if you need an online store fully optimized for sales, then Shopify’s themes are the best choice for you.
Sales features are the strength of Shopify. It is a one-stop-shop eCommerce solution. Wix, on the other hand, is not as powerful as Shopify, however, you can still enjoy an excellent range of eCommerce features.
| Features | Wix | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product types | You can sell physical, digital, and service products; you need an app to sell service products. | You can sell physical, digital, and service products; Shopify requires a third-party integration to sell digital products | |
| Product representation | It comes with a built-in product video function to enhance your customer’s experience. You can also add a product zoom feature easily. | You can add unlimited products with multiple variants. You need to install the app to enable product zoom functionality, and product videos. | |
| Payment options | Wix supports all the standard payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, and Square. It doesn’t support digital wallet payments like Apple Pay and Amazon Pay. Wix imposes zero transaction fees on any price plans. | It accepts over 100 different payment gateways, excluding Square. You will have to pay transaction fees unless you use its gateway, Shopify Payments. It also allows merchants to enable tipping/donations during checkout, | |
| Shipping options | Wix allows you to track orders, set tax rules for each product, and leverage dropshipping. You’ll still need to install apps to support global shipping payments. Wix also provides app integration with ShipStation, a shipping tool that streamlines the process of sending products out to customers. | Shopify helps you with everything from offering free shipping to syncing up with alternative shipping providers. Shopify also helps you to offer more flexible and zero-contact shipping options, such as curbside pickup and local delivery. | |
| Inventory management | Wix offers limited inventory management. You need apps to help with revenue reports and visitor analytics. You can even add multiple products, which is really useful. | Shopify allows you to upload single or multiple products, get revenue reports, use stock management tools, and navigate your way around easily. | |
| Abandoned cart recovery | Supports abandoned cart recovery | Supports abandoned cart recovery | |
| Tax settings | Allows you to enable and disable taxes, include tax in the product price, and more. You can install the Avalara app to calculate real-time tax rates. | Gives more control over your tax settings. You can even set up Shopify to automatically manage common tax calculations to save time and reduce stress. If you’re a Shopify Plus customer, you can also access Avalara AvaTax, to automate both your tax calculations and the tax filing process. | |
| Winner – Shopify | |||
| Shopify is the clear winner in this round, however, context is what matters. Wix offers everything you need to sell online. If you’re not selling tons of products, you will appreciate the simplicity of Wix, but for large-scale online stores, Shopify is the best option. | |||
Shopify depends largely on third-party apps for marketing. While this gives you more flexibility, it’s difficult to compare the two eCommerce platforms with plenty of apps available. Wix, on the other hand, has become a game-changer with Wix Ascend. Ascend is an all-inclusive marketing solution available as a separate subscription, allowing you to manage your marketing campaigns easily in one place.
| Features | Wix | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social media integration | Likewise, Wix also allows you to sell on Instagram which helps you take your eCommerce store to a new level. | Shopify’s multi-channel integration allows you to connect your store to social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram, and huge marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. | |
| Email campaigns | With Wix Ascend, you get complete control over all things marketing, all in one place. Without Ascend, you can still send three email campaigns a month. However, if you go for an Ascend subscription, you get premium features and a much higher campaign quota. | Shopify allows you to create email campaigns from the admin page. However, you can integrate many apps like Omnisend Email Marketing, and Privy for more flexibility. | |
| Blogging | Wix offers you decent blogging functionality. However, it doesn’t offer archive functionality | Shopify is weak in the blogging sphere. It has no built-in social bookmarking, analytics features, and blog-specific search feature. | |
| SEO |
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| Winner – Wix | |||
| Wix is the clear winner in the marketing round. Wix has the edge here because it offers more SEO features than Shopify, especially when it comes to blogging and the simplicity and power of Wix Ascend that offers superior marketing tools in one place. | |||
Wix
When it comes to eCommerce-specific apps, the Wix app store cannot match Shopify’s app store. Wix App Market has a search bar that extracts related apps based on what you’re looking for so you will always get the best-suited options for your store. We advise you to use Ecwid for your Wix online store that gives you access to powerful and effective features like abandoned cart emails, global shipping payments, and more.
Shopify
Shopify’s App Store provides you greater scope to enhance your store. You can add a customer wishlist, set up drop shipping, add product reviews, and use currency conversion. Additionally, the Shop App, a personal shopping app, allows customers to view their favorite Shopify stores, track orders, get product recommendations, and so on. Over 16 million users are already using the app!
Winner – Shopify
When comparing Wix vs Shopify’s app stores in terms of eCommerce integrations, Shopify beats Wix in this round as Shopify has more options to choose from. Wix app store is good enough for smaller eCommerce stores. However, for large-scale and better eCommerce functionality, like global shipping payments, you need to integrate the Ecwid app.
When talking about monitoring performance with analytics, both Wix and Shopify platforms give access to Google Analytics that provides you with a fantastic insight into your customer behavior patterns. This helps you customize your website accordingly and increase revenue.
However, with Wix, you need to be on an eCommerce price plan to leverage Google Analytics. On the other hand, Shopify offers Google Analytics on all of its plans. Moreover, Shopify offers various built-in analytics features including conversion tracking, customer behavior, stock levels, etc.
Winner – Shopify
Since Shopify offers more built-in features than Wix, it’s clear that Shopify wins this round as well. With Wix, you need to upgrade to an eCommerce plan to access Google Analytics as you’ll need a personalized URL without a subdomain.
| Wix | Shopify |
|---|---|
| 24/7 Phone and email support | |
| Dedicated help accounts on social media | |
| Online forums and a help center | |
| With Wix, you can get help directly within its editor. | Online forums and a help center |
| Wix’s Help Center offers plenty of articles and videos with a clearer layout to help you. | With Wix, you can get help directly within its editor. |
| Winner – Wix | |
| As compared to Shopify, Wix provides better customer support. While Shopify offers 24/7 support, it’s the quality of Wix’s customer support that gives it an edge. Moreover, with a more comprehensive help center and its in-editor, Wix becomes the clear winner in this round. | |
Wix
Wix comes with three pricing plans which include:
- Business Basic – $20/month
- Business Unlimited – $25/month
- Business VIP – $35/month
All of the three plans come with unlimited bandwidth, $300 in ad vouchers, and 20GB-50GB storage. With Wix’s Business VIP plan, you get immediate response and VIP support.
Shopify
Shopify’s three pricing plans include:
- Basic Shopify – $29/month
- Shopify – $79/month
- Advanced Shopify – $299/month
Shopify’s plans are a little expensive than Squarespace, however, Shopify provides value for money. Shopify Basic plan is sufficient unless you have a bigger store. You’ll get unlimited products and storage, discount codes, multi-channel integration, and more. Switching to Shopify or Advanced Shopify provides you better analytics and reporting.
Wix’s Business Unlimited and Shopify Basic are similarly priced. These two plans are fine if you’re building your first online store. Wix Business Unlimited comes at a cheaper rate of $25/month, while Basic Shopify comes at $29/month.
Winner – Wix
Wix offers more value for money than Shopify. However, if you have an advanced store, you’ll appreciate being on a Shopify plan. Though, Wix still offers greater scalability for less cost. Both plans offer great benefits to get you to sell online. Which platform is perfect for you will depend on the scale of your business, your requirements, and your goals.
What is the Shopify Ecommerce Platform Best Used for?
When comparing Wix vs Shopify, you need to understand that Shopify is a dedicated eCommerce platform that offers a wider range of functionality for medium to large-scale eCommerce businesses. It may be more expensive than Wix, but the truth is that you get what you pay for. If you’re looking to build a more advanced store, then you should definitely go with the Shopify.
Here are the top reasons to choose the Shopify platform:
- Ideal for large-scale businesses
- Superior-quality sales features on the market
- Built-in analytics tools
- Supports more payment methods
What is the Wix Ecommerce Platform Best Used for?
Wix focuses more on web building than eCommerce. However, its decent web builder functionality and e-commerce capability make it a suitable option for small-scale businesses and personal websites. For those who want to create an online presence with a strong focus on branding and marketing, then Wix is an ideal solution to go for.
Here are the top reasons to choose the Wix platform:
- Ideal for businesses selling a few products
- More design/templates
- More creative control
- Better blogging features
- Set up a store for free
Shopify or Wix – It’s Completely Your Decision!
We hope our comprehensive Shopify vs Wix comparison has clarified most of your doubts related to both platforms and helped you learn what both of them have to offer to make the right decision.
Always remember; every business has different needs and goals. So, when it comes to choosing between Wix and Shopify, you need to do your own research based on your business requirements. If you’re still unsure about the platforms, you may try their 14-day trial versions to see which platform fits your business model perfectly. Two weeks would be enough to decide which one suits your needs best. If you still have confusion related to Shopify or Wix, you may reach out to us for further consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions
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