Wix vs Shopify: Which Should You Choose to Sell Online?
Wix vs Shopify is a match-up between two popular ecommerce website builders.
In the blue corner, Shopify: a dedicated ecommerce heavyweight that’s helped 600,000 businesses generate combined revenues of over $55 billion.
In the red corner, Wix: website building’s drag-and-drop king, with the ability to sell online.
Wix is a website builder first and foremost, whereas Shopify is designed purely to help people set up their own online stores. Both are beginner-friendly, although Wix is easier to use because it’s less powerful than Shopify. Wix is better for small businesses, while Shopify can handle much larger sales.
Spoiler alert – Shopify is the best overall ecommerce platform on the market, and is today’s winner. But of course, it’s not for everyone.
For one, Shopify’s powerful tools makes it both more expensive and slightly trickier to use than Wix, meaning it can be a lot to take on for small startups. However, Wix can’t deliver the same level of control and specialized sales tools as Shopify, so for serious online selling Shopify wins out.
In this detailed comparison, we’ll break down our in-depth research we carried out on each platform, covering pricing, SEO, customer support, ease of use, and much more. We’ll tell you exactly what Wix and Shopify can do, and reveal who each is best suited to.
By the end, you’ll know whether Wix or Shopify is right for you.
First, here’s a quick snapshot of Wix vs Shopify. You can compare each platform and sign up for a free trial.
Find out more:
- 5 Best Online Store Builders – a side by side comparison of the best website builders for your ecommerce store.
- Top 7 Ecommerce Platforms – a deep dive into the best ecommerce platforms on the market today, and how to go about choosing yours.
Wix vs Shopify: Pros and Cons
Shopify Pros and Cons
| Shopify Pros | |
|---|---|
| #1 | 24/7 Support Shopify offers round-the-clock support over the phone and live chat. You’re never left alone when running your store. |
| #2 | Powerful ecommerce tools Shopify is one of the market leaders when it comes to in-built ecommerce features. For example, Abandoned Cart Recovery is included with every plan. |
| #3 | Over 100 payment options Wide range of payment options available, including PayPal, Stripe and Shopify’s own fully-integrated payments system. |
| Shopify Cons | |
|---|---|
| #1 | Can be expensive Apps, premium themes and your monthly subscription can add up. Plans are transparent and fairly priced, though, and should be seen as an investment in your store. |
Wix Pros and Cons
| Wix Pros | |
|---|---|
| #1 | Really simple editing interface Thanks to Wix’s drag-and-drop functionality, putting your own stamp on any of its 500+ templates is easy. |
| #2 | Cheap ecommerce plans Wix lets you get your store up and running for as little as $20/month. There’s no hidden costs, and plans include everything you need to sell online. |
| #3 | Useful apps Apps such as Ecwid can be added and ‘plugged in’ to your store, giving you more ecommerce tools. Things like global shipping payments and abandoned cart emails can be used this way. |
| Wix Cons | |
|---|---|
| #1 | Limited scalability Wix isn’t designed for you to sell in bulk. It’s an incredible website builder, but its sole purpose isn’t ecommerce. |
Ease of Use
If you’re selling online, time is money. The easier you find running your store, the more time you can spend attracting and serving new customers.
So is Wix or Shopify easier to use?
Let’s cut to the chase: ease of use is central to Wix’s business model. It’s a drag-and-drop builder; to create an online store, you click on a feature (an image, for example) and drag it to where you want. It’s that simple.
That’s fine when you want to get a website up, but when it comes to online stores, more structure can be helpful.
We tested Wix and Shopify by getting everyday people to build their own online store. The general consensus was that although it’s incredibly easy to edit Wix’s templates, it’s a little harder to actually get the ecommerce side of things set up.
Here are some of their thoughts:
Wix was good because it provided more creative freedom, but was slightly more confusing when adding products and creating categories in comparison to Shopify.
I had no real issue with Shopify as a platform – it was super easy and effective to add products. I can’t imagine it being as simple as Wix’s drag-and-drop interface, but sometimes you just need more structure – and this is where Shopify works better.
Further information:
How to Start an Online Store – Our complete step-by-step guide on setting up your online store
How to Start an Online Clothing Store – A closer look at the things to consider when selling clothes online
12 Best Drag and Drop Website Builders – Discover a dozen of the easiest-to-use platforms around
Shopify keeps its editing interface and dashboard separate. You can add products, manage sales, and create email marketing campaigns, all away from the editor. And although Shopify’s editor is more restrictive than Wix’s, the themes are already set up to help you sell.
You’ll find Shopify has a steeper learning curve than Wix. But in the long run, that extra structure will actually make the process of creating your entire online store easier.
Wix vs Shopify – Ease of Use: The Verdict
Wix and Shopify are pretty equal for ease of use. For pure editing simplicity, Wix is hard to beat. The trade-off is that you get less backend control than with Shopify, which makes the overall process harder. If you’re looking to build an advanced online store, Shopify is the best platform available.
Template Design and Customizability
Design matters. If you walked past a disordered shop window, you’re less likely to go in the shop, right? It’s no different with online stores.
Both platforms provide a great range of free and paid templates. The big advantage to Shopify’s themes is that they’re geared towards helping you sell.
39% of online shopping in the US is now done on a mobile, and this number is only going up. Both Shopify and Wix’s themes are mobile responsive, meaning your store will work just as well whatever device your customer is using.
Independent designers ensure Shopify’s 60+ themes are up-to-date and cover a range of industries. At $180, some of Shopify’s paid themes are on the expensive side, but it’s a one-off payment that you should see as an investment in your store.
Wix, meanwhile, offers over 500 templates. Most may not be designed for ecommerce specifically (there’s still 57 that are!), but they do cover nearly every industry imaginable. They’re also super easy to edit (more on this in our next section), so you can turn any of them into an online store.
The downside of Wix templates is, unlike Shopify, you can’t switch after you’ve chosen one. This can make it hard if you want to rebrand your store further down the line.
It’s worth noting both Shopify and Wix offer industry-specific features on their templates, which makes designing your online store much quicker and easier.
Can you make custom edits?
Don’t feel like you’ve got enough scope for customization on your template? You can make custom edits on Shopify and Wix using HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).
Wix Code allows you to customize everything from web applications to page scrolling, and can be accessed by clicking ‘Code’ then ‘Developer Tools’ in the Wix Editor. After this, you’ll have total control over how your Wix website looks.
With Shopify, it’s really easy to make custom edits. Simply click ‘Edit HTML/CSS’ on the Shopify Admin page, and you’re ready to code.
Wix vs Shopify – Design: The Verdict
Wix just beats Shopify for design. Its simplicity in design makes it a great option if you’re a small trader. Wix’s templates are packaged to help you do the basics straight away. But if you want a more powerful online store that’s optimized for sales, Shopify’s themes are for you.
Sales Features
This is where Shopify flexes its ecommerce muscles. Shopify is like an ecommerce Swiss Army knife – it’s a one-stop-ecommerce-shop.
Wix isn’t quite as powerful as Shopify, but you still have an impressive range of ecommerce features. We’ll dive into the platforms’ differences below…
Product Types
Both Wix and Shopify allow you to sell physical, digital, and service products. As you can see, it’s a close start to the sales features race.
However, with Wix, you will need an app to sell service products, while Shopify requires a third party integration to sell digital products. The ability to sell the other two product types is built into each platform.
Product Presentation
If your products look good, so will your sales figures. Would you buy something online which was shown in a blurry photo? We doubt it.
Shopify gives you loads of freedom when it comes to how your products look. You can add unlimited items with multiple variants, which is a huge plus. However, you’ll need to install apps to enable product zoom functionality, as well as product videos.
Wix really lets your products shine. It offers a built-in product video function to improve your customer’s experience, and you can easily add a product zoom feature.
What’s more, in May 2018, Wix brought out new checkout customization functionality. Building a distinctive checkout page is great for your brand and your bottom line.
Payment Options
Shopify covers nearly all areas. It permits over 100 different payment gateways, but it doesn’t currently support Square. On top of that, you will have to pay transaction fees – unless you use its own gateway, Shopify Payments.
Wix supports all the traditional payment options, including PayPal, Stripe, and Square, but doesn’t allow digital wallet payments like Apple Pay and Amazon Pay. Wix does pull one back on Shopify, though, by imposing zero transaction fees on any price plans.
Shipping Options
Shopify runs a tight ship. It helps you every step of the way in the complicated shipping process, from offering free shipping to syncing up with alternative shipping providers. In summary, you’re never left stranded when organizing shipping with Shopify.
Wix doesn’t quite match Shopify here. For example, while you can track orders and set tax rules for each product, Wix doesn’t offer printable shipping labels, and you’ll need apps to help with global shipping payments.
Inventory Management
As you’d expect, Shopify is the full package when it comes to inventory. You can upload single or multiple products, use stock management tools, get revenue reports, and navigate your way around easily.
Wix is designed for smaller online stores. This means the inventory management is more limited than Shopify, in that you need apps to help with revenue reports and visitor analytics. However, you can add multiple products, which is really useful.
Abandoned Cart Recovery
Shopify knows what helps merchants like you sell online. Take abandoned cart recovery – this lets you email customers who have left your website with items still in their cart before checking out.
By recovering lost sales, research claims you can increase revenue by 25%! Think of it like sealing the holes in a leaky boat.
Currently, abandoned cart recovery is only available with Wix through a third party app. It’s far simpler to integrate with Shopify.
Basic Shopify plans provide Abandoned Cart Recovery, discount code creation, and multi-channel integration (more on that last point coming up).
Upgrade your Shopify plan and you’ll unlock gift cards and detailed reporting, plus sophisticated third-party shipping rates.
Tax Settings
Wix allows you to enable and disable taxes, include tax in the product price, and more. It’s best if you install the Avalara app, which is an automated tax software program that helps you calculate real-time tax rates.
As you’d expect, Shopify gives you tons of control over your tax settings – you can even set up Shopify to automatically handle common tax calculations to free up your time and reduce brain-ache.
Shopify Plus customers can also access Avalara AvaTax, which automates both your tax calculations and the tax filing process.
Wix vs Shopify – Sales Features: The Verdict
Shopify is the clear winner for sales features, but context is key. Wix includes what you need to sell online. If you don’t want to build a business or sell heaps of products, you will enjoy the simplicity of Wix – but for more complex online stores, Shopify is best.
Shopify Review – for a deeper look into Shopify
Wix Review – to get to know Wix inside out
Marketing Features
Shopify relies heavily on third party apps for marketing. While this does give you lots of flexibility, it’s hard to compare the two platforms fairly with so many apps flying around.
On the other hand, Wix has changed the ecommerce marketing game with Wix Ascend. An all in one marketing solution, Ascend is available as a separate subscription, letting you manage your marketing campaigns easily in one place.
Social Media Integration
One deal-breaker between Shopify and Wix is Shopify’s multi-channel integration. This is where you can connect your store to social media accounts like Facebook and Instagram, as well as marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.
These days, 48% of people’s searches for products begin on marketplaces. It’s great that Shopify allows you to sell across different channels, and it’s something that Wix can’t match.
Email Campaigns
As we mentioned earlier, Wix Ascend gives you control over all things marketing, all in one place. While you can still send three email campaigns a month without an Ascend subscription, you get premium features and a much higher campaign quota if you do subscribe.
With Shopify, you can create email campaigns from the admin page. However, for more flexibility, you can integrate a number of apps like Omnisend Email Marketing, and Privy.
Blogging
Wix lets you build beautiful blogs with ease. In reality, the only hurdle it stumbles over is archive functionality (saving old posts for users to read). If you really wanted this relatively unique function, though, you’re better off using a blogging specific tool like WordPress anyway.
Shopify does poorly in the blogging sphere. It has no built-in analytics features, no social bookmarking, and no blog specific search feature. Overall, its blogging offerings are bleak.
SEO
Search Engine Optimization is the practice of making sure your store appears in a strong position in search engine rankings.
Both Shopify and Wix make it easy to:
- Add and edit meta titles/descriptions – the headline and text that appears in Google
- Customize URL slugs – the text that comes after your domain e.g. www.websitebuilderexpert.com“/ecommerce-website-builders/comparisons/wix-vs-shopify/”
- Attach alt text to images – text that Google reads to understand what your images actually depict
- Get further guidance with ‘SEO best practice’ prompts
However, Wix has the edge here. It offers keyword support, suggesting popular words or phrases worthusing – something which Shopify does not offer.
Wix vs Shopify – Marketing Features: The Verdict
Wix wins the marketing round! It’s very close, but Wix simply offers more than Shopify – particularly when you consider the superior blogging features and the power and simplicity of Wix Ascend, offering all your marketing tools in one manageable place.
App Stores
Integrating apps can benefit your online store by giving you access to more tools and features to help bolster your store’s performance. Both Shopify and Wix have app stores, offering various free and paid integrations to help with all areas of ecommerce.
Shopify’s App Store gives you even greater scope to grow your store. You can add a customer wishlist, set up dropshipping, add product reviews, and use currency conversion – and that’s just the start!
For ecommerce-specific apps, the Wix store cannot match Shopify. However, we thoroughly recommend Ecwid for all Wix online stores. This app gives you access to powerful features, such as abandoned cart emails and global shipping payments.
Wix vs Shopify – App Stores: The Verdict
Shopify has a better app store than Wix in terms of ecommerce integrations, in that it simply has more to choose from. Wix is fine for smaller online stores, but for bigger and better ecommerce functionality (like global shipping payments), you can integrate the Ecwid app.
Monitoring Performance with Analytics
Keeping track of your website’s performance is important. It helps you grow your business by showing you what is and isn’t working!
Both platforms provide access to Google Analytics, which gives you superb insight into what your customers are doing. This means you know exactly how to customize your website to earn more cash.
It’s worth noting that for Wix, you’ll need to be on an ecommerce price plan to use Google Analytics – but with Shopify, it’s available on all plans.
Shopify goes the extra mile with plenty of built-in analytics features, including customer behavior, stock levels, and conversion tracking. So it doesn’t take much analysis to see which platform wins here.
Wix vs Shopify – Analytics: The Verdict
Shopify provides more built-in analytics features than Wix, and so clearly wins this round. Wix also doesn’t grant access to Google Analytics on the free plan because you need a personalized URL without a subdomain, so you’ll need to upgrade to an ecommerce plan.
Customer Support
If you’re stuck between Wix and Shopify, think about the level of support you’ll need.
Both platforms offer:
- Phone and email support
- Dedicated help accounts on social media
- Forums and a help center
Shopify’s phone support is 24/7, though. It also offers live chat support – a feature Wix currently doesn’t have.
If your store experiences problems at 4am, having support available immediately is crucial.
One massive point in Wix’s favor is its in-editor help. It can be frustrating having to click back and forth between a guide and your store, but with Wix, you can receive help directly within the editor.
Hover your mouse over the editor’s question marks and you bring up small speech bubbles, which answer common problems. In Shopify, this process is clunkier and requires you to visit a separate page.
Wix’s Help Center has hundreds of articles and videos to support you. The layout is clearer than Shopify’s Help Center, which doesn’t include videos. That said, both hubs have more than enough information to answer your questions.
Wix vs Shopify – Customer Support: The Verdict
Overall, Wix has better customer support than Shopify. Having around-the-clock support with Shopify is great, but it’s the quality of Wix’s support which makes it the winner. A more comprehensive help center and support directly in the editor mean Wix edges Shopify here.
Value for Money
No Wix vs Shopify comparison is complete without a look at pricing. Let’s find out which one offers better bang for your buck.
Wix Pricing
The three Wix plans which let you sell online are:
- Business Basic – $20/month
- Business Unlimited – $25/month
- Business VIP – $35/month
All come with unlimited bandwidth, 20GB-50GB storage, and $300 in ad vouchers. Upgrading to Wix’s Business VIP plan gets you priority response and VIP support.
Shopify Pricing
Shopify’s three main pricing plans are:
- Basic Shopify – $29/month
- Shopify – $79/month
- Advanced Shopify – $299/month
Unless you’re a large store, Shopify Basic will be able to cater to your needs. You’ll get discount codes, unlimited products and storage, and multi-channel integration. Upgrading to Shopify or Advanced Shopify gets you better analytics and reporting.
How do They Compare?
The fairest comparison is between Wix’s Business Unlimited and Shopify Basic as they’re similarly priced. These are the two plans you should be looking at if you’re building your first online store. Wix Business Unlimited comes in cheaper at $25/month versus $29/month for Basic Shopify.
Both plans are a great way to get online and selling. Which one is right for you will depend on the scale of your business, and your ambition.
Wix offers fantastic value for money. For the price of a few Starbucks coffees and a sandwich, you get ecommerce tools, hosting, security, storage, and enough bandwidth to handle 2 million visitors per month. If you’re working to a budget or want to keep things simple, Wix is a stellar option.
Wix vs Shopify – Value for Money: The Verdict
Shopify offers better value for money than Wix. Because of the tools included as standard, Shopify is the better investment if you plan to grow a fully-fledged online store. The more advanced your store, the more you will enjoy being on a Shopify plan. But Wix eCommerce is a great entry level platform for fresh online sellers.
What About Alternatives to Wix and Shopify?
When it comes to building your online store, Wix and Shopify are both great options. But if neither are calling out to you, there are plenty of alternatives to explore, too. Below, we’ll quickly introduce three great alternatives…
BigCommerce
Big business ambitions? BigCommerce is for you. It’s best for fast growing companies, providing the most and best built-in features of any platform we tested. It can help turn your online store into an ecommerce empire, with the highest price plan suitable for stores generating up to $1 million in annual revenue.
Squarespace
Delighted by design? Squarespace has the sleekest templates around to help your online store really stand out. It also has awesome built-in features and a strong inventory system, but it’s relatively tricky to use compared to other website builders with ecommerce functionality because it demands more creative skills.
Weebly
Cost conscious? Weebly is the best value for money option. It’s also really easy to use, so it’s perfect for users without much tech skill who want to create a nice website and sell a few products on the side. For anything more complex, though, you should look elsewhere.
Why not check out our comparison of the 5 best ways to build a online store, or the top 7 ecommerce platforms?
Or, if you’re keen to see how Wix and Shopify fare against other competitors, check out some of the reviews below:
- Wix vs Weebly – the battle of the builders.
- Shopify vs Squarespace – sophisticated inventory meets sophisticated design. Who will win?
Wix vs Shopify: Overall Winner
Wix vs Shopify is a battle between two excellent online store builders. Which one you pick depends on what you want from your ecommerce business.
Ask yourself: are you a regular user, or an aspiring ecommerce entrepreneur?
Shopify works with some of the world’s biggest businesses, such as Budweiser and Tesla Motors. It’s better for full-time businesses.
Wix is better for individuals looking to shift a limited number of products, while Shopify can support small stores all the way up to large businesses. Shopify is only suitable for building online stores, whereas Wix is also suitable if selling online isn’t the main focus of your site.
With that in mind, which one should you choose? Let’s have a quick recap of which builder performed better through our comparison, before giving you some final pointers on choosing the best one for you.
| Wix vs Shopify | Wix | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use | With Wix, editing the front end of your website couldn’t be easier, but you lack some creative control in the backend | Shopify is easy to use in all areas, particularly when managing your inventory |
| Design | Delightful templates which are really simple to edit; ideal for smaller online stores | Offers excellent templates designed purely for helping you sell online |
| Sales Features | Lets you sell physical, digital, and service products, lets your products shine, but overall has pretty simple sales tools | The market’s best sales features, including excellent built-in analytics and inventory management tools |
| Marketing Features | Marvellous marketing features, particularly with blogs | Shopify’s social media integration is a fantastic offering, and it performs strongly for SEO |
| App Stores | Huge app store, but offers less ecommerce specific integrations than Shopify | Another massive app store, with endless ecommerce integrations to help boost your site’s sales |
| Analytics | Simple in-house analytics, plus access to Google Analytics tracking | Access to Google Analytics, as well as more advanced built-in analytics features to keep track of your store’s success |
| Help and Support | Email, social media, and phone support, plus an incredibly helpful forum. It also has a unique onsite editor | 24/7 phone and live chat support, but doesn’t have any onsite editor help |
| Value for Money | Can build a store for free, but users will need to upgrade to three affordable ecommerce plans to actually sell | Great value for money if you’re looking to grow your business. It also offers a 14-day free trial |
Wix is best for small online stores with a strong focus on branding and marketing. It’s ideal for websites expanding into ecommerce, combining solid sales tools with great customization. Shopify, on the other hand, is designed to drive stores of all sizes towards success, and has the power-tools to prove it!
Shopify costs more, but you’re paying for a much better range of sales features, specialized ecommerce templates, and ultimate control over your store. Wix is cheaper, making it an affordable option for smaller businesses, but you’re not getting the same tailored service for your store.
So how do you decide whether Wix or Shopify is right for you?
Here’s a quick rule of thumb to help:
- If you want to keep things simple and sell fewer than 10 products, pick Wix.
- If you want to sell over 10 products or generally grow your ecommerce business, go with Shopify.
Why Choose Wix instead of Shopify?
- Suited to websites selling a few products
- Lots of creative control
- More templates
- Better blogging features
- Can build a store for free
Why Choose Shopify instead of Wix?
- Suited to bigger businesses
- Multi-channel selling across Facebook and more
- Best sales tools on the market
- Built-in analytics tools
- Supports more payment gateways
As an all-round ecommerce platform, Shopify is the better website builder. It has better quality sales features, more payment options, and its easier to build an online store with.
This is a top-of-the-table ecommerce match-up. Whichever one you choose can, and will, help you sell online.
Wix vs Shopify: FAQs
Is Wix or Shopify better for businesses?
If you’re planning on building a website for the sole purpose of selling online, Shopify is the better choice. Wix is brilliant for basic websites which sell the odd product here and there, but for true ecommerce excellent, you need a powerful platform like Shopify.
What’s cheaper, Wix or Shopify?
You can sell online with Wix at lower cost than with Shopify. With Wix’s Business Basic plan, you can sell online for as little as $20/month whereas Shopify’s cheapest plan is $29/month. Shopify do have a 14-day free trial though, so you can try before you buy.
Can I code on Shopify and Wix?
Yes! Shopify has its own template language called Liquid which you can access to make advanced customizations to Shopify’s themes. Wix code can be accessed through Wix’s editor and also lets you make advanced changes to its templates.
Do Wix and Shopify have a multilingual capacity?
Wix allows you to set up multiple versions of the same page in different languages – in fact, it makes it very easy to do so. You can translate text, links, SEO settings and Wix Stores with a click of a button. Shopify also offers multilingual apps, such as GTranslate, but they aren’t quite as user-friendly.
Do Wix and Shopify have a discount functionality?
Yes! With both Wix and Shopify you can create discount codes for your customers. With Wix, this has to be a specific amount of money, though. Shopify is a bit more advanced here, in that you can offer percentage discounts.
Can I sell products on Wix?
Yes. While you can build your Wix online store at no cost, you’ll need to upgrade to one of the three ecommerce plans to sell products. These premium plans are: Basic ($20/month), Unlimited ($25/month), and VIP ($35/month).
Which is better for SEO, Wix or Shopify?
Wix just edges it. Both platforms will allow you to edit meta titles, meta descriptions, and URL slugs – however, Wix goes the extra mile by offering keyword support. Wix also provides stronger blogging features than Shopify, which can help your site appear in more searches online.
Are Wix and Shopify themes mobile responsive?
Yes. Wix has 71 templates with ecommerce capabilities, while Shopify has 10 free themes and 50+ paid options which you can buy for $140 – $180. Every theme provided by each platform is mobile responsive, so your store will look good on any sized screen.
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