Ecwid vs Shopify: I’ve Compared Both Ecommerce Platforms

The Winner

Ecwid’s pricing plans are cheaper than Shopify’s, but Shopify’s features are better value

The winner depends on your unique needs. Ecwid’s free plan is fantastic for businesses on a budget, but Shopify’s powerful sales features on all plans are best for scaling businesses with more money to spend.

Between the two platforms, Ecwid is the most affordable. You can access a free plan with no setup or transaction fees, while its three pricing plans are cheaper overall:

Though Ecwid’s free plan sounds appealing, I don’t recommend staying on it for long due to its limited features. You’ll only be able to sell up to five different products on your website at a time, and you can’t add any additional pages to your site.

That said, the free plan does include Ecwid’s website builder, so it’s a great place to start and test the platform out first.

When choosing a paid plan, I’d suggest the Venture plan as a minimum. For $21 per month (billed annually), this affordable entry-level plan enables you to sell 100 products and add more pages to your website.

In comparison, Shopify’s pricing is more expensive and is split into three main plans:

Despite Shopify’s steep prices, its powerful sales features do make its plans a worthwhile investment for your online store, meaning that the platform is better value for money overall. For instance, you can sell unlimited products on any plan, get shipping discounts, and trade across global markets – all features that are brilliant for expanding stores.

Additionally, if you’d like to test the platform out for less before committing to a plan, Shopify’s introductory offer means it’s only $1 per month for your first three months. 

What About Transaction Fees?

On Ecwid and Shopify, you can avoid paying transaction fees on each sale you make. Ecwid automatically doesn’t charge any fees, but with Shopify you’ll need to sign up to Shopify Payments, its native payment gateway, to unlock 0% transaction fees.

If you’re not using Shopify Payments, the transaction fees are:

1. Basic plan: 2.9% + 30¢ for online transactions
2. Shopify plan: 2.7% + 30¢ for online transactions
3. Advanced plan: 2.5% + 30¢ for online transactions

Do note that on both Ecwid and Shopify, most payment methods you integrate with your site – such as popular credit and debit cards – will likely come with a payment processing fee that’s taken from each sale.

The Winner

Setting up is a breeze on both Shopify and Ecwid

Shopify and Ecwid both have simple onboarding processes, dashboards with clear steps to follow, and straightforward, section-based editors.

I found that both platforms made it easy for me to set up a website. To sign up to both platforms and start the onboarding process, I could quickly create a new account with my Gmail without having to fill in any card details.

Additionally, the onboarding process on each platform was simple to follow from start to finish. They both asked me key questions about my store, including the kinds of products I wanted to sell, and if I already had a store on another platform or not.

Once I’d completed the onboarding process on Shopify and Ecwid, I could then access my dashboard. They both came with clear instructions on what to do next, be it uploading my products manually or via CSV, or setting up selling options.

After getting the hang of Ecwid and Shopify’s interfaces, I started to create my websites. Both platforms have an uncomplicated, section-based editor that enables you to add and delete new sections, re-arrange the order of each page, and tweak your website’s color scheme, font, and photos.

💡 If you’re unfamiliar with the term, sections are blocks of visual content that make up your website’s pages.

The Winner

Shopify has a wider range of templates to choose from

While most of Shopify’s themes come at a cost, their striking designs make up for it. Its designs are modern, mobile responsive, and often come with unique design features like sticky menus or quick view.

Out of the two platforms, Shopify’s themes impressed me the most. All of its designs are mobile-friendly, while many themes come with sophisticated features like:

• Age verifiers for age-restricted products
• Back-to-top buttons
• Quick view buttons 
• Automatic EU translations for stores selling internationally

However, though Shopify has around 235 themes in total (at the time of writing), only 13 of those themes are free to use. You can use one of the paid themes for a one-off payment, with prices varying between $100 and $500.

If you want to change your Shopify theme further down the line, you can. To do so (without losing your store’s content), refer to our video below: 

Play

In comparison, Ecwid has just over 40 templates to choose from, though all of these themes are free and included in your plan. 

When browsing Ecwid’s selection, I found the themes presentable and suitable for basic ecommerce websites, but I was disappointed by the limited number of design features available. Most of the templates I previewed had standard navigation bars with little variation.

The Winner

Shopify’s sales tools are the best you’ll find

Shopify is the clear winner here thanks to its powerful sales tools, like its AI-powered assistant, variety of payment options, and extensive app market, which has a large number of integrations to choose from.

During our in-house testing, we found that Shopify had the best sales tools on the market. Ideal for large or scaling stores, the platform allows you to sell unlimited products on all of its plans and has powerful inventory management tools to help you manage your stock.

That said, if you’re at the helm of a much smaller business and only need to sell a few products, Ecwid’s simple yet effective sales tools may be a better choice. 

Key Sales Features

Ecwid and Shopify both have useful sales tools to assist you when running your store. This includes the ability to create different product variants, set up shipping methods with carriers like FedEx and UPS, and download a mobile app to manage your business on the go. 

However, Shopify’s sales features stand out more because of its AI-powered tools. 

As part of Shopify’s “Boring” 2025 product update, the company rolled out its Shopify Sidekick tool, a handy assistant that can answer questions related to your store and its progress. Sidekick features include the ability to visualize your store’s data and edit products in bulk.

You can also use the Shopify Magic tool to speed up time-consuming tasks with the help of AI, like writing product descriptions, generating blog posts, or making adjustments to your photos.

Ecwid has fewer AI tools than Shopify, and you’ll need to access them by downloading apps from its store since they’re not already built in. For instance, if you’re on the Venture plan and above, you can install the MercuryAI app to start generating AI product descriptions.

Payment Options

Whether you choose Ecwid or Shopify, each platform comes with numerous ways to take payments online, giving your customers plenty of choice.

Out of the two, Shopify has the largest selection of payment methods available with over 100 different options to choose from, while Ecwid has just over 70. Both platforms offer popular third-party methods like PayPal, Stripe, and Square.

Alongside third-party payment methods, you can use each platform’s native payment solution to streamline the process. By signing up to Shopify Payments, you can set up payment methods for all the major providers in one place, with the added bonus of zero transaction fees for you to pay. 

With Ecwid, you can sign up for Lightspeed Payments to enable major credit and debit cards on your website, including MasterCard, Visa, and American Express.

App Market

If you’d like to add additional functionality to your store, both Shopify and Ecwid have their own app marketplaces. The Shopify App Store is home to over 8,000 third-party integrations, spanning marketing, website design, sourcing products, and other important aspects of your website.

8,000 may sound like an impressive number, but this scope does come with its downsides. For one, downloading too many apps at once can slow down your website’s performance. It can also get expensive over time, since many of Shopify’s apps also come with a monthly fee.

Ecwid only has over 300 apps. While this is far from Shopify’s range, you can still find useful integrations for your store. In fact, you’ll find a mixture of free and paid apps for shipping, marketplaces, analytics, accounting, dropshipping, and more.

Security

To protect company and customer data, you can’t choose a website builder that cuts corners on security. Luckily, both Ecwid and Shopify have vital security measures in place to protect your page from malicious attacks. All websites come with an SSL Certificate for a secure HTTPS connection, two-factor authentication, and PCI-complicance.

However, only Shopify has an in-built fraud detection system to help you flag any suspicious transactions. When using Ecwid, you’re encouraged to download the “Block Orders” app for fraud protection, but it’s only available on the Venture plan or higher. This means that any websites on the free plan won’t be as secure.

The Winner

Shopify’s built-in marketing tools will help you reach a wider audience online

From its email marketing tool to its extensive SEO options, Shopify makes it easy for you to reach out to different audiences and bring more visitors to your website.

Marketing Tools

Shopify comes with solid marketing tools, spanning email marketing and marketing channels like social media.

If you’re interested in setting up newsletters, I used the Shopify Email app to create polished email campaigns. I was able to set up email template branding, which included adding a logo, picking a font, and choosing an eye-catching color palette.

Unfortunately, Ecwid doesn’t come with a similar email marketing tool on its platform. Though you can connect your site with Mailchimp, this option is only available on the Business plan and above – in comparison, Shopify’s email feature is available on all plans.

On both platforms, I could connect my store with different sales channels. With Shopify, I could integrate my website with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and download the Shopify Marketplace Connect app to sync my products on online marketplaces like Amazon and Etsy.

Though Ecwid allows you to connect your store with platforms, you have fewer options available (and even more so on the free plan). For instance, I could add products to a Facebook page via the dashboard, but I had to upgrade to the Venture plan and above if I wanted to promote products on TikTok too.

SEO

It’s no secret that solid ecommerce SEO (search engine optimization) is one of the main ways to boost traffic to your online store. During our hands-on testing, we were most impressed by Shopify’s SEO tools, which enable you to:

• Redirect URLs
• Generate your website’s sitemap
• Add meta titles and meta descriptions to products
• Add hreflang tags to your content, optimizing your website for different languages
• Add alternative text 

Unfortunately, Ecwid’s SEO tools pale in comparison. When trying out the platform, I wasn’t able to customize product URLs, change meta data, or create a URL redirect unless I was on the Business plan and above. Additionally, I couldn’t edit the alternative text for different images, since Ecwid generates this for you.

The Winner

Shopify’s responsive live chat and help center packed with resources offers valuable support

When in need of help and support, Shopify beats Ecwid because it has an impressive live chat, alongside an in-depth help center with plenty of resources at your disposal.

For additional support as you build your online store, Ecwid and Shopify both have help centers that are filled with useful resources. From these, I could access:

• Helpful articles on key topics, like account details and domains
• Video tutorials showing you how to use each platform
• Academy style lessons that can help you advance your skills further

However, only Shopify’s help center has community forums. This provides you with another way to find the information you need, either by looking through previous threads or initiating a new discussion.

If you need to reach out to staff members for assistance, both platforms provide different options.

Shopify’s main support option is its AI-powered live chat. From the help center, I could type a question directly into the chat for an AI-generated response, or click on the “Contact Support” button to be put in contact with one of Shopify’s support advisors.

During our hands-on website builder testing, Shopify’s live chat response times were speedy, with an average response time of under ten seconds. This makes the chat a reliable source of support when you’re in need.

When using Shopify, I was disappointed to find that it no longer offers support over the phone or via email on its three main plans. You can only access priority phone support on the Plus plan, Shopify’s custom plan that’s catered to more complex businesses.

In comparison, Ecwid does offer great support options, but you do need to upgrade to a paid plan to access them:

1. Live chat: Venture plan and above (available Monday to Friday, 24 hours a day)
2. Call-back phone support: Business plan and above (available Monday to Friday, 5:00am to 4:00pm UTC)

Currently, the only form of assistance available on Ecwid’s free plan is via email. 

The conclusions in this article are informed by our ecommerce website builder research, specifically on Ecwid and Shopify. This involved the hands-on testing of both platforms, which gave us a chance to evaluate key features and weigh up their pros and cons.

When trying out each builder, we identified seven key areas of investigation based on what readers value the most when looking for an ecommerce platform. These areas were then weighted based on importance:

1. Sales features – 40%
2. Website features – 15%
3. Help and support – 12%
4. Design functionality – 10%
5. User experience – 10%
6. Customer score – 8%
7. Value for money – 5%

Since sales features are very important for users, this area of investigation played a huge role in our final verdict.

Now that I’ve compared both ecommerce platforms, I can confidently say that Shopify is the best option for online stores. Its outstanding sales tools, huge app store, and wide range of payment options makes it a tough platform to beat. Overall, it’s ideal for stores with significant inventory, or those who hope to scale up their business.

While Shopify is a fantastic platform, Ecwid does also have its perks. With its beginner-friendly interface and affordable pricing plans (including its free plan), the platform may still be a suitable option for you – especially if you’re running a smaller store and selling a limited number of products.

Still not sure which platform to go for? Take a look at our list of the best ecommerce website builders to see how other platforms compare to Ecwid and Shopify.