Choosing the right ecommerce platform can make or break your online store. With so many options available, Wix and Shopify stand out as two of the most popular choices. But which one is right for you?

Wix offers an easy-to-use website builder with ecommerce features, making it a great choice for beginners and small businesses looking to create their own ecommerce site. Shopify, on the other hand, is a powerhouse built specifically for online selling, packed with advanced tools for growing businesses.
In this comparison, we’ll break down their strengths, weaknesses, and key differences to help you decide which platform best fits your needs. Let’s dive in!
Wix vs Shopify: One-On-One Face-Off
Here is a head-on comparison between Wix and Shopify to help choose the best option for your needs.
Wix vs Shopify: One-On-One Face-Off
Feature |
Wix |
Shopify |
---|---|---|
Ease of Use |
Beginner-friendly, drag-and-drop editor |
More structured, requires some learning |
Best For |
Small businesses, personal brands, creatives |
Growing businesses, serious e-commerce stores |
Pricing |
Starts at $17/month |
Starts at $39/month |
Transaction Fees |
0% with Wix Payments |
0% with Shopify Payments, otherwise up to 2% |
Templates & Design |
800+ customizable templates |
100+ e-commerce-specific themes (some paid) |
E-Commerce Features |
Basic, good for small stores |
Advanced, built for scaling |
App Store |
Limited selection |
Large marketplace with 8,000+ apps |
SEO & Marketing |
Strong SEO tools, email marketing included |
Better for sales channels, advanced marketing tools |
Payment Options |
Wix Payments + third-party gateways |
Shopify Payments + 100+ gateways |
Dropshipping Support |
Limited, via apps like Modalyst |
Strong, with integrations like Oberlo & Spocket |
Scalability |
Best for small to medium businesses |
Ideal for medium to large businesses |
POS System |
Basic POS included |
Advanced POS with Pro version ($89/month) |
Customer Support |
24/7 support, but not as in-depth |
24/7 live chat, phone, and email support |
Comparing Pricing and Plans

Both Wix and Shopify offer various pricing tiers catering to different business sizes and needs, including a free trial option, a free plan, and access to free templates. While Wix offers ecommerce plans ranging from $29 to $159 per month, Shopify's ecommerce plans span from $29 to $299 per month. It's essential to note that Wix's prices are more cost-effective in the long run if you're a small to medium-sized business, while Shopify's comprehensive ecommerce features may provide better value for larger businesses and those planning to scale.
Wix Ecommerce Plans
Wix offers a variety of ecommerce plans designed to meet diverse budget ranges:
Ecommerce Plan |
Cost per Month (billed annually) |
Notable Features |
---|---|---|
Business Basic |
$23 |
20GB Storage, 5 Video Hours, Discounts Coupons, Recurring Payments, |
Business Unlimited |
$27 |
All Basic Features + 35GB Storage, 10 Video Hours, Subscriptions, |
Business VIP |
$49 |
All Unlimited Features + 50GB Storage, Unlimited Video Hours, Priority Support |
The 'Business Basic' plan provides all the essentials needed to start your online store. The 'Business Unlimited' adds extra benefits like additional storage and video hours while providing advanced ecommerce features like subscriptions and automated sales tax. The 'Business VIP' plan includes all the benefits of the previous plans with added premium support. Remember, the higher the plan, the more advanced the features and capabilities.
Shopify Ecommerce Plans
Shopify offers pricing plans that serve different business needs and are focused solely on ecommerce, including the Basic Shopify plan and the standard Shopify plan: the Basic plan is well-suited for new businesses.
Ecommerce Plan |
Cost per Month (billed annually) |
Notable Features |
---|---|---|
Basic Shopify |
$29 |
2 Staff accounts, Sales channels, Manual order creation, Discount codes |
Shopify |
$79 |
5 Staff accounts, Gift cards, Professional reports, and for those considering advanced solutions, Shopify Plus offers even more benefits. |
Advanced Shopify |
$299 |
15 Staff accounts, Advanced report builder, Third-party calculated shipping rates |
The 'Basic Shopify' plan offers the essentials needed to start selling online, including 2 staff accounts and sales channels. The 'Shopify' plan provides more advanced features such as gift cards and professional reports for better data analysis. Lastly, the 'Advanced Shopify’ plan brings in even more robust features, including an advanced report builder and calculated shipping rates.
Features Comparison
While both platforms offer numerous attractive features, their key strengths are quite distinct. Here is a table to expound on this further.
Feature |
Wix |
Shopify |
---|---|---|
Key Strengths |
Design flexibility, marketing tools, content management |
Robust ecommerce functionalities |
Best For |
Small businesses with blogging or portfolio needs |
Larger businesses with significant ecommerce operations |
Ecommerce Features |
Basic ecommerce capabilities |
Multi-channel selling, advanced inventory management, various payment options |
Ecommerce Capabilities
When comparing Wix and Shopify's ecommerce capabilities, several differences stand out:
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Inventory: Both allow unlimited products, but Shopify offers advanced inventory management and dropshipping integrations.
-
Payments: Shopify supports 100+ gateways, including Shopify Payments (no transaction fees), while Wix offers 70+, including Wix Payments.
-
Shipping: Shopify provides calculated rates, carrier integrations, and shipping label management, while Wix offers standard features.
-
Abandoned Cart Recovery: Both platforms support abandoned cart recovery for re-engaging customers.
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Multi-Channel Selling: Shopify excels with broader marketplace and social media integrations, while Wix is more limited.
Overall, it’s clear that Shopify's ecommerce capabilities are significantly more robust, making it the strong choice for businesses with large inventories or looking to scale.
Payment Options & Integrations
Wix supports 70+ payment providers, while Shopify offers 100+, including Shopify Payments, which removes extra fees. Both integrate with third-party tools, but Shopify’s 8,000+ apps far outnumber Wix’s 500, providing more flexibility.
Multichannel Selling
With the rise of social media shopping and online marketplaces, multichannel selling has become crucial for any ecommerce business. Both Wix and Shopify understand this need:
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Shopify: It excels in this area by integrating with various sales channels, including popular ones like Amazon, eBay, Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok. This broad reach allows businesses to meet their customers wherever they are in the digital space.
-
Wix: While Wix also provides options for multichannel selling, its range is more limited compared to Shopify's. You can sell through marketplaces like Amazon or through social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram, but it lacks newer platforms like TikTok.
In short, if a broad range of sales channels integration is vital for your business, Shopify emerges as the clear winner.
Security Aspects
Protecting confidential customer information is essential for any online store. Both Wix and Shopify prioritize security, ensuring safe transactions and protecting user data. Here’s how they compare:
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Secure Transactions: Both platforms ensure secure online transactions and provide free SSL certificates, which are vital for ecommerce stores.
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Shopify’s Security Advantage: Shopify is Level 1 PCI-DSS compliant, meeting the highest security standards required for businesses that accept credit card payments. This ensures customer data protection during transactions.
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Wix’s Security Measures: Wix follows industry-standard safety protocols, offering a secure payment environment and user information protection.
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Overall Protection: Both platforms take significant steps to defend against cyber threats, ensuring the security of your online store and customer data.
App Market & Integrations
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Shopify: Hands down, Shopify has one of the most comprehensive app markets among all ecommerce platforms. With over 8000 apps on offer, including Google Analytics, you’ll find everything from sales and marketing aids to inventory management tools. Some popular apps include Klaviyo for email marketing, Judge.me for product reviews, and Spocket for dropshipping.
-
Wix: With around 500 apps, Wix's App Market is smaller compared to Shopify's. However, it offers a good assortment of apps suitable for smaller businesses or creative professionals. You can find apps to boost SEO, enhance social media sharing, create customized forms, manage bookings, etc.
Despite the size difference, both provide quality integrations that can significantly enhance the functionality of your ecommerce platform.
Marketing and SEO

Marketing and SEO are critical in bringing traffic to your online store and converting visitors into buyers. Interestingly, the game gets tight here between Wix and Shopify. Wix brings forth its strength in content management and marketing tools, while Shopify burns bright with its ecommerce orientation, offering integrated email marketing options. For SEO, while both platforms offer basic features like meta tags, the offering differs with Wix’s personalized SEO checklist and Shopify’s multilingual SEO features.
In-built Marketing Tools
Both Wix and Shopify offer impressive in-built marketing tools:
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Wix: It provides built-in email and ad marketing for paid users. Automated workflows, lead-capture forms, site-chat functionality, and other features evolve as you upgrade plans. Also, the personalized SEO checklist and AI Meta Tag Creator are great assets for optimizing search engine presence.
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Shopify: Alongside built-in email and ad marketing, it offers a function to upgrade with integrations. Additionally, Shopify's Inbox functionality lets you answer customer queries quickly and efficiently.
In comparison, Wix’s marketing features seem more user-friendly, while Shopify may require some technical knowledge for more advanced features.
Social Media Integration
Integration with social media platforms is crucial for expanding your market reach:
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Shopify: It stands out by enabling you to link your online store with various social channels like Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok. Not just that, it's ‘Shopify Starter’ plan lets you start selling across these platforms without the need to create a fully-fledged ecommerce store.
-
Wix: While it also offers integration with major social media platforms, the list is shorter than Shopify, sticking to traditional platforms like Facebook and Instagram only.
Ultimately, if your marketing strategy heavily relies on social media presence, Shopify with its broader options might be the best fit.
Site Design and Templates
Design plays an essential role in representing your brand image and enhancing the user experience. Wix steals the show here with its user-friendly drag-and-drop editor and extensive template library, allowing great design flexibility. On the other hand, Shopify, although offering fewer templates, provides professionally designed themes that are fully responsive and look great on mobile devices.
Wix Site Design Flexibility
Wix offers a highly flexible design approach, allowing for full creative control.
-
Choose a template or use Wix ADI for an AI-generated custom site
-
Drag-and-drop editor enables complete design freedom
-
AI Theme Assistant enhances the design process
Shopify Customization Options
Shopify takes a structured approach to design, focusing on functionality and ease of use.
-
Recommends adding products before designing the site
-
Section-based editor for easy stacking and reordering of content
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Emphasizes simple, user-friendly navigation
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Offers a theme store with free and premium professionally designed themes
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Most themes require payment, unlike Wix, which provides all themes for free.
User Experience and Ease of Use
A seamless user experience is crucial. Shopify excels with its clean, user-friendly interface, simplifying store management. Wix offers flexibility with its drag-and-drop editor, but its creative freedom may take time to master.
Wix Building and Editing
Wix is known for its simple and intuitive website-building experience, offering full creative control through its flexible editor.
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Drag-and-drop editor allows free placement of elements
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Easy page creation and background customization
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Additional features like animations, video backgrounds, and scroll effects
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Intuitive interface for effortless content management
Shopify Platform Usability
Shopify is widely praised for its user-friendly platform, offering an intuitive interface that simplifies store management for users of all skill levels.
-
Well-organized dashboard with easy access to controls and settings
-
Straightforward product management with effective inventory tools
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Simplified yet powerful editing interface using sections and blocks
-
Faster and easier store customization, though with less creative freedom than Wix
Pros and Cons
While both Wix and Shopify offer remarkable features for creating and maintaining successful online stores, we talked to store owners about their experiences, highlighting each platform's aspects where they shine and areas where they could improve. Therefore, it's essential to consider both the strengths and weaknesses of each platform to make the best option for an informed decision. Here's a quick rundown of some pros and cons of using Wix and Shopify for your ecommerce needs.
Wix: Pros and Cons
Pros:
-
Ease-of-Use: Wix's straightforward drag-and-drop editor makes site-building an enjoyable process.
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Diverse Templates: With over 900 templates, you can find a design that fits your business perfectly.
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In-built Marketing Tools: Wix offers impressive in-house marketing tools such as email automation and SEO optimization.
Cons:
-
Limited Multichannel Integration: Compared to Shopify, Wix offers fewer options for multichannel selling.
-
Limited Payment Gateways: Wix only supports just over 70 payment gateways, thus limiting your options compared to Shopify.
Shopify: Pros and Cons
Pros:
-
Ecommerce Specialization: Shopify provides advanced ecommerce features like multichannel integration and robust inventory management, perfect for large-scale ecommerce operations.
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Extensive Payment Options: Over 100 payment gateways can be used with Shopify, providing flexible choices for businesses.
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24/7 Customer Support: Shopify provides round-the-clock customer support which can be invaluable in urgent scenarios.
Cons:
-
Less Design Freedom: Compared to Wix, Shopify's block-based editor offers less creative freedom and might take some time to get used to.
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Reliance on Apps: While Shopify's App Market is indeed robust, often, essential features require downloading additional apps, which may lead to added costs and complexity.
Wix vs Shopify for e-Commerce? The Ultimate Showdown
Wix is great for small businesses with its user-friendly editor, diverse templates, and built-in marketing tools. However, its ecommerce features may feel limiting as you grow.
Shopify, ideal for scaling businesses, offers robust ecommerce tools, extensive payment options, and advanced inventory management. But its higher cost and reliance on external apps may be a drawback for smaller stores.
Ultimately, both platforms cater to different needs. Consider your business goals and growth plans to make the best choice.
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Choosing the Right Platform for Your Needs
Deciding between Wix and Shopify ultimately depends on where your business is today and where you envision it to be in the future. If you're a small business or a startup just venturing into the ecommerce world, Wix is a fantastic choice due to its user-friendliness, affordability, and affordability. as a cheaper option. On the other hand, if you're looking to grow your online store and have more complex needs, Shopify's comprehensive ecommerce features and advanced capabilities will likely be the best solution for you. When making a choice, remember that while switching platforms is possible, it can be complicated and time-consuming. Therefore, consider your long-term goals and select a platform that can support your site's growth well into the future.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Wix more suitable for beginners than Shopify?
Yes, Wix is generally easier for beginners to use than Shopify. Its intuitive and versatile drag-and-drop functionality editor allows complete creative control, making it straightforward for even first-time users to design professional-looking websites. Additionally, Wix's stellar customer support ensures help is available whenever needed.
How easy is it to migrate from one platform to the other?
Migrating from one platform to another can be a complex process requiring significant technical knowledge. While there are tools and services available to assist with the migration, it's crucial to plan thoroughly to ensure a smooth transition and minimize disruption to your business.
Can I use both Wix and Shopify together?
While it's technically possible to use both Wix and Shopify together, it's generally not recommended. Such an arrangement could lead to complexities in managing separate platforms simultaneously. Instead, it's advisable to choose one comprehensive platform that best meets all your ecommerce needs.
Which platform is better for SEO: Wix or Shopify?
Both Wix and Shopify provide strong SEO functionality. Wix provides an SEO checklist along with AI-driven meta tags creation. As a plus, Wix offers keyword support, while Shopify excels with its multilingual SEO capabilities considering it automatically translates URLs into the user's language - which helps improve a site’s SEO performance for non-English speaking audiences.
Which platform offers better scalability for growing businesses?
For growing ecommerce businesses, Shopify is the clear winner. With its robust ecommerce features, such as advanced inventory management, multiple sales channels, and an extensive app store, Shopify is designed to efficiently scale with your business as it grows.