It’s hard to go wrong with either Shopify or Wix. Each is an excellent choice for building your online store, and both make it very easy to get started. Both offer everything you need to launch your site and start selling. The best part is, you don’t need any special technical skills to use Wix or Shopify.

Both platforms offer a wide variety of marketing, sales, and web design tools for online stores of any size. For this reason, many people find it difficult to choose between Wix vs Shopify.  The answer to which platform is best for you really depends on your business priorities and what you expect from your website in the future.

In this Shopify vs Wix comparison review we will attempt to address the key points and help you make the leap from thinking about starting your own online store to actually setting it up in no time at all.

First, let’s take a quick look at the key differences between Wix & Shopify.

When it comes to building an ecommerce store, two of the biggest names around are Wix and Shopify. Both are very popular, and for good reason, but there are some key differences between the two platforms that you should be aware of before you commit to either one.

Wix Vs. Shopify at a Glance

Though Wix and Shopify are similar in many respects, they differ in several ways. Wix gives you a free plan; Shopify does not. Shopify doesn't allow you to use one of their domains for your store, but Wix does. Shopify has a built-in gift card feature; Wix does not.

Shopify and Wix both allow you to sell digital goods, but Shopify allows files of up to a 5-gigabyte limit compared with Wix’s 1 gigabyte. Shopify offers more real-time shipping options than Wix, though Wix offers more product options and variations.

Wix does not charge transaction fees, and neither does Shopify (if you use Shopify Payments). If you use another payment gateway, Shopify charges 0.5% to 2%.

Ease of Use

Wix and Shopify are both made to be easy to use, but both still have their own quirks and limitations.

There are people who need a professional online presence but don't know how to code or design websites. Wix is made for people like this. Wix has a lot of tools that make it easy for you to make website content, like "About Us" business descriptions, blogs, and articles for your site. When Wix was made, it was not meant to be used to run an online store. It's really for making a website.

Meanwhile, Shopify is and has always been a tool for building online shops. With Shopify, you can add additional tools like blogs and business description pages to your content.

In terms of how easy it is to use, both Wix and Shopify aren't bad. If you're creating an online store, Shopify is the best option, especially if you intend to expand it. You can use Wix if you want to build a content-heavy website that also has basic e-commerce functions, like collecting payment for services or selling a limited number of items.

If all you need is a website and not an actual store where customers purchase products, then Wix may be the website for you. Because when it comes to building an eCommerce store, you'll have to make decisions about payment gateways and tax calculations. You'll also have to think about product variations, shopping cart functionality and shipping options, return policies and procedures, and so on.

Pricing

Wix offers a free plan as well as seven paid plans, plus customized enterprise plans. The free plan comes with limited features, contains Wix branding and is not e-commerce-enabled.

If all you want is to have a professional website but don't need to accept online payments, Wix has four basic website plans that are just right for you. People who sign up for these plans will get a free custom domain, an SSL certificate and storage space from 3 GB to 35 GB. VIP and Pro plans also come with a professional logo and a calendar app for events.

That's not all. There are three premium Wix plans for small businesses that want to take their business online or add an e-commerce element to their basic website plan. Each of these plans includes the capacity to accept online payments and up to 20 GB of storage. They also have extra features, like an email marketing tool and tools to look at business intelligence.

Wix Basic Plans:

• Combo $14 per month
• Unlimited $18 per month
• Pro $23 per month
• VIP $39 per month

Wix eCommerce and business plans (if you want to accept payments):

• Business Basic $27 per month
• Business Unlimited $32 per month
• Business VIP $59 per month

All Wix eCommerce plans come with the following features:

• Accept secure online payments (single payments and recurring)
• Customer accounts
• Free custom domain
• 20 GB to 50 GB of storage
• Unlimited products
• Abandoned cart recovery

Shopify has 4 pricing plans in total, with the lowest plan starting at $9 per month and the most expensive one at $299 per month. The lowest-priced plan is called Shopify Lite and includes features such as a Buy Button that lets you sell products on your existing website. 

The next tier up is the Basic Shopify plan, which costs $29 per month. This plan includes all of the features of Shopify Lite plus a full e-commerce website (with a blog) and the ability to accept credit card payments online or in person (using Shopify POS).

The Shopify plan costs $79 per month and comes with everything included in Basic Shopify plus additional professional sales reports, abandoned cart recovery and the ability to provide customers with professional gift packaging during checkout.

The Advanced Shopify plan costs $299 per month. You get everything included in the previous plans, plus advanced report building (for larger stores), third-party calculated shipping rates at checkout and 15 staff accounts.

Here is a quick comparison of Shopify’s plans:

Design options

For free, Shopify only has ten free design templates. Each of those comes with two to three variations, giving you a little more room for design. Another 70+ Shopify themes are available, but you'll have to pay a one-time price ranging from $150 to $350 (or more) to use them.

That means that when it comes to design options, Wix has a lot more options than Shopify does. In this case, this is because it has more than 800 pre-made design templates. Wix's drag-and-and-drop editor makes it easy to customize your site to meet your specific business requirements. You can also use the Wix Artificial Design Intelligence (ADI) editor if you like. To use the ADI, you only have to tell the ADI what kind of website you want to make, as well as what kind of fonts and colors you like. Then, the Wix ADI makes your website for you, all by itself.

Integrations

Even though Wix and Shopify have some overlap in their app marketplaces, the majority of Wix apps aren’t designed for online stores. Most of Shopify’s third-party apps are designed specifically for ecommerce and so Shopify also has a lot more integrations than Wix.

**Integrations can help you collect leads, analyze traffic, improve visitor interaction, sell more online, or improve your website's design.

The Wix App Market offers over 300 third-party integrations that enable you to extend the functionality of your Wix website. While many of these applications are free, some have hefty price tags.

In general, Shopify offers a far greater number of third-party integrations than Wix. The platform currently supports over 6,000+ Shopify integrations for marketing and maintaining an online business.

Customer support

When it comes to picking a website builder, customer support is a key factor to consider. After all, you want to make sure that you have someone on hand to assist you with any technical difficulties that may emerge as you develop your website. Wix and Shopify, the two most popular website builders, both provide similar customer care offerings, but Shopify has the upper hand.

The Wix Help Center has a large knowledge base that can be used to discover answers to frequently asked questions and troubleshoot common technical problems. All Wix paying plan customers receive call-back and email support. Monday through Friday, between the hours of 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. PT, support is accessible in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Except on weekends, customer inquiries are normally responded to within 24 hours. Customers who purchase the Wix VIP package receive priority assistance.

Meanwhile, Shopify provides actual live assistance via email, chat, and phone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You'll also have access to Shopify's large online help center, which includes guides, FAQs, and tutorials. In addition, Shopify's online community has approximately 900,000 individuals to whom you may turn for help.

CONCLUSION

In the end, your choice will largely depend on your project needs. Shopify has the advantage if you want an all-in-one e-commerce solution, but Wix is a fantastic option if you simply want to build a website to showcase content.

Shopify has a higher price tag and can be more difficult to use and set up, but it's the best technology for powering an e-commerce store, period. This is because it’s geared towards selling products and services online with an abundance of pre-built e-commerce integrations. If you want a one-stop-shop solution to create a mobile-optimized site with an online store and payment processing system, Shopify will likely give you the most value for your money.