Drive Sales Through Personalized E-commerce Experiences.👉🏼 Discover now

No cc required

Start Shopify trial Try PageFly freeTry PageFly free

Table of Contents

Shopify vs Wix: A Comprehensive Comparison (2024)

Our operations are supported by commissions earned from affiliates. Details.

Introduction

Are you considering finding the best ecommerce solution for your business?

Due to their popularity, Wix and Shopify are often the go-to options for new merchants. Both are robust platforms, but deciding between them can be challenging, especially for those new to eCommerce.

In this blog post, we’ll analyze both platforms and answer the question: Shopify vs Wix for ecommerce? Between Wix vs Shopify, which one is better?

Platform Overview 

When it comes to building an online store, two popular platforms stand out: Shopify and Wix. Both offer powerful tools for creating and managing eCommerce websites, but they cater to different needs and preferences.

Shopify Overview

Shopify is a dedicated eCommerce platform designed specifically for online selling, offering a range of tools to help merchants manage their stores effectively.

shopify overview

Strengths:

  • Robust eCommerce Features: Extensive inventory management, payment gateways, and shipping options.
  • Scalability: Suitable for businesses of all sizes, from startups to large enterprises.
  • App Ecosystem: A wide range of third-party apps to enhance functionality.

Considerations:

  • Learning Curve: May require more time to master compared to Wix.
  • Monthly Fees: Generally higher costs, especially as you scale and add features.

Read moreShopify Review 2024: Is Shopify Worth It?

Wix Overview

Wix is a versatile website builder known for its drag-and-drop interface, making it easy for users to design visually appealing sites without coding knowledge.

Wix main site

Strengths:

  • User-Friendly: Ideal for beginners, allowing for easy customization.
  • Design Flexibility: A wide range of templates and design elements.
  • All-in-One Solution: Offers additional features like blogging, portfolios, and business websites.

Considerations:

  • Ecommerce Limitations: While it supports online stores, it may lack some advanced eCommerce features compared to dedicated platforms.
  • Scalability: If you have a question Shopify or Wix for small business? Wix is better suited for smaller businesses or those just starting.

    Start a free trial and enjoy 3 months of Shopify for $1/month
    Trusted by over 2,000,000 businesses worldwide

    Pricing Structure

    Shopify Pricing

    Shopify Pricing

    Shopify offers several pricing tiers designed for various business needs:

    Shopify’s pricing plans cater to businesses of all sizes, each offering distinct features and benefits.

    Basic Plan
    Price: $25/month
    For: Solo entrepreneurs or small businesses just starting out
    Features:

    • 10 inventory locations
    • Localized global selling in 3 markets
    • 24/7 chat support
    • POS Lite
    • 2% transaction fees with third-party payment providers
    • $1 for your first month trial

    Shopify Plan
    Price: $65/month
    For: Small teams looking to scale operations
    Features (Differences from Basic):

    • 5 additional staff accounts
    • 1% transaction fees with third-party payment providers
    • Enhanced analytics tools

    Advanced Plan
    Price: $399/month
    For: Growing businesses handling higher sales volume
    Features (Differences from Shopify):

    • 15 additional staff accounts
    • 0.6% transaction fees with third-party payment providers
    • Custom reports and advanced analytics
    • 10x checkout capacity
    • Ability to add additional markets for $59/month

    Plus Plan
    Price: Starting at $2,300/month
    For: Large enterprises and complex businesses
    Features (Differences from Advanced):

    • Unlimited staff accounts
    • Customizable checkout with 40x capacity
    • 200 inventory locations
    • Priority 24/7 phone support
    • Localized global selling in 50 markets
    • POS Pro for up to 200 locations
    • Wholesale and B2B sales tools

    Read more, check out: Shopify Pricing Plans 2024

      Wix Pricing

      wix pricing

      Wix offers several plans specifically for eCommerce:

      Light Plan
      Price: $17/month
      For: Small businesses starting their eCommerce journey
      Features:

      • Online payments
      • Unlimited bandwidth
      • 2 GB storage
      • Free domain for the first year

      Core Plan
      Price: $29/month
      For: Growing businesses needing more storage and tools
      Features (Differences from Light):

      • 50 GB storage
      • Additional marketing tools

      Business Plan
      Price: $36/month
      For: Businesses requiring advanced support and tools
      Features (Differences from Core):

      • 100 GB storage
      • Priority support
      • More advanced marketing tools

      Business Elite Plan
      Price: $159/month
      For: High-performing businesses seeking top-tier resources
      Features (Differences from Business):

      • Unlimited storage
      • Advanced marketing suite
      • Advanced site analytics
      • Free domain for the first year (same as Light)

      Compare Shopify and Wix Pricing

        • Wix: Offers lower starting prices, making it a cost-effective solution for small businesses or beginners. However, the features may be more limited compared to Shopify, especially for scaling operations.
        • Shopify: While it has higher pricing tiers, Shopify provides robust eCommerce capabilities that justify the investment, especially for businesses aiming for growth and advanced features.

      💸 Wix plans are more affordable

      Wix offers lower starting prices, making it a cost-effective solution for small businesses. However, the features may be more limited compared to Shopify.

      Shopify vs Wix Comparision

      When selecting a platform for your online store, Wix and Shopify are two of the most popular options. Each has unique features that cater to different business needs. 

      Here is the comparison table for quick reference: 

      FeatureWixShopifyWhich is better?
      Design and CustomizationHighly customizable with various templatesProfessional themes, template-driven customizationShopify
      eCommerce FeaturesBasic features, suitable for small storesComprehensive tools for advanced eCommerceShopify
      Ease of UseDrag-and-drop interface, beginner-friendlyIntuitive for eCommerce but steeper learning curveWix
      SEO and Marketing ToolsBasic SEO tools with guided optimization but lacks advanced features like structured data.Advanced SEO capabilities, including schema markup and a built-in blogging platform for content marketing.Wix
      App Ecosystem500+ Apps8000+ AppsShopify
      ScalabilitySuited for small businesses but limited in scalability for larger growth.Designed to scale seamlessly with businesses of all sizes. Shopify
      Support24/7 customer support, phone and email support , extensive help center24/7 support via chat, email, and phone, robust documentation, community Equivalent
      User Reviews 4.2/54.4/5Shopify

      Please check the content below to see the detail comparision:

      Design and Customization

      • Wix:
        • Highly customizable with a vast library of design elements.
        • Offers more flexibility in terms of layout and visual design.
        • Users can create a unique website tailored to their brand.
      • Shopify:
        • Provides a selection of professional themes focused on eCommerce functionality.
        • Customization is more template-driven, but you can modify code for advanced customization.
        • Emphasizes a clean and efficient shopping experience.

      🎨 Shopify offers better design options

      While Wix allows for extensive creative freedom with its flexible design tools, Shopify's themes are tailored to deliver a polished and professional eCommerce experience, ensuring an optimal shopping journey.

      ECommerce Features 

      • Wix:
        • Basic eCommerce functionalities such as product listings, shopping cart, and payment processing.
        • Limited options for inventory management and analytics compared to dedicated platforms.
        • Suitable for small businesses or simple online stores.
      • Shopify:
        • Comprehensive eCommerce tools, including advanced inventory management, shipping options, and multiple payment gateways.
        • Built-in analytics and reporting to track sales performance.
        • Supports selling on various channels like social media and marketplaces.

      🛒 Shopify offers better eCommerce features

      Wix provides basic SEO tools with guided optimization, but Shopify excels with its comprehensive features, including advanced inventory management, multi-channel selling, and detailed analytics for business growth.

      SEO and Marketing  

      • Wix:
        • Provides basic SEO tools, such as customizable URLs, meta tags, and alt text for images.
        • Integrated SEO Wizard helps users optimize their sites with step-by-step guidance.
        • However, it may have limitations in advanced SEO features, such as structured data.
      • Shopify:
        • Strong SEO capabilities, including customizable title tags, meta descriptions, and URL structures.
        • Allows for advanced features like schema markup for better search visibility.
        • Built-in blogging platform to help drive organic traffic and support content marketing.

      ️🎯 Shopify offers better SEO and Marketing

      Wix provides essential eCommerce tools for small-scale stores, Shopify provides Advanced SEO capabilities, including schema markup and a built-in blogging platform for content marketing.

      App Ecosystem

      • Wix:
        • Wix App Market offers around 500 apps, focusing on essential integrations for website customization, marketing, and basic 
      Wix App Market
      • Shopify:
        • Shopify’s App Store features over 8,000 apps, providing a wide range of advanced tools for marketing, inventory management, customer engagement, and scalability. Many users rely on the some best Shopify apps, to streamline their operations and enhance their store's performance.
      Shopify App Store

      📱 Shopify offers better App Ecosystem

      Shopify provides the app Ecosystem with 8000+ apps while Wix just provides 500+ apps.

      Ease of Use

      • Wix:
        • User-friendly drag-and-drop interface.
        • Ideal for beginners with no coding experience.
        • Offers a variety of templates to customize your site easily.
      • Shopify:
        • Slightly steeper learning curve, especially for advanced features.
        • Focused on eCommerce, making it intuitive for managing products and sales.
        • Provides guided setups to help users navigate the platform.

      💻 Wix offers better Ease of Use

      Wix is better with the User-friendly drag and drop interface.

      User Reviews 

      Wix:

      • Overall rating: 4.2/5 in G2
      wix rating on G2
      • Wix is frequently praised for its user-friendly interface and creative design flexibility, making it an excellent choice for beginners and small businesses looking to build visually appealing websites without technical expertise.
      • However, some users express concerns about its e-commerce capabilities, particularly for larger or more complex online stores.

      For example, you can refer to wix ecommerce review on Reddit. 

      Shopify:
      • Overall rating: 4.4/5
      Shopify rating on G2
      • Shopify is lauded for its robust e-commerce functionality, scalability, and extensive app ecosystem, catering well to serious online retailers.
      • Users appreciate its reliable customer support and streamlined management tools
      shopify review on reddit

      🌟 Shopify have higher rating 

      Shopify have higher user rating with 4.4 score on G2 while Wix have 4.2 score.

      Scalability 

      • Wix:
        • Better suited for smaller businesses or startups.
        • Limited scalability for larger operations as eCommerce features may fall short as you grow.
      • Shopify:
        • Designed to scale with your business, accommodating growth without compromising performance.
        • Offers various plans, including enterprise-level options, to meet diverse needs.

      💼 Shopify offers better Scalability 

      Shopify provides offers various plans, including enterprise-level options, to meet diverse needs.

      Support and Resources 

      • Wix:
        • Offers 24/7 customer support through various channels.
        • Comprehensive help center with tutorials and guides.
      • Shopify:
        • 24/7 support via chat, email, and phone.
        • Extensive documentation and a vibrant community for additional resources. 

      💸 Shopify and Wix offers Equivalent Support 

      Shopify and Wix offers Equivalent Support and Resources with 24/7 support and guidelines/documentation.

        Pros and Cons of Wix and Shopify

        Before going into details, let's take a look at this comparison table for better understanding of the PROs and CONs of each system.

        FeatureWixShopify
        Storefront Dashboard

        Pros: User-friendly, intuitive drag-and-drop interface.
        Cons: May feel limited for advanced users; less focused on eCommerce features.

        Pros: Comprehensive dashboard designed for eCommerce management.
        Cons: Steeper learning curve, especially for beginners.

        Storefront DesignPros: Over 500 customizable templates with high design flexibility.
        Cons: Can lead to inconsistencies if not managed carefully; mobile optimization requires manual adjustments.
        Pros: Around 70 professional themes focused on eCommerce, responsive design included.
        Cons: Limited customization options without coding knowledge; fewer themes to choose from.
        Products & CollectionsPros: Simple product setup with basic options for organization and presentation.
        Cons: Limited advanced inventory management; not ideal for larger catalogs.
        Pros: Advanced inventory management, bulk product imports, and organization into collections.
        Cons: Can be overwhelming for new users due to the breadth of options.
        Payment GatewaysPros: Supports multiple payment options, including PayPal and credit cards.
        Cons: Limited to a few gateways; may have transaction fees depending on the plan.
        Pros: Extensive range of payment gateways supported, including Shopify Payments, PayPal, and more.
        Cons: Transaction fees apply if using external gateways; may require more setup.
        AnalyticsPros: Basic analytics tools available, easy to understand for beginners.
        Cons: Limited depth of analytics compared to dedicated eCommerce platforms; lacks advanced reporting features.
        Pros: Robust analytics dashboard with detailed reports on sales, customer behavior, and traffic sources.
        Cons: Can be complex to navigate for users unfamiliar with data analysis.

        From this table, we can conclude that: 

        • Wix: Best for users who prioritize design flexibility, ease of use, and are looking for a simple solution for smaller stores. It is user-friendly but may lack depth in eCommerce features.

        • Shopify: Ideal for serious online retailers seeking advanced features, comprehensive management tools, and robust analytics. While it may have a steeper learning curve, its eCommerce focus provides significant long-term benefits.

        Now, let's go into details for each features of Wix vs Shopify.

        Storefront Dashboard

        Here is our Wix dashboard and I set ourselves as a merchant who sells t-shirts. From first glance the Wix dashboard looks a little bit messy, and it takes some time to get familiar and understand overall navigation.

        A screenshot of the dashboard with the Home page open.

        Source: Wix 

        Turning to the Shopify dashboard. After signing up with a 14 Days free trial, you’ll land on a short survey page and here you are… the Dashboard. With Wix we have seen it’s Store Products and Store Orders. With Shopify we clearly see that it’s designed for ecommerce. The following can be seen:

        • Home
        • Orders
        • Products
        • Customers
        • Analytics
        • Marketing
        • Discounts
        • Apps

        From the user end point of view it’s easy to navigate with Shopify.

        Shopify dashboard

        Storefront Design 

        The storefront design is one of the most important parts of any ecommerce online business. With both Wix and Shopify, you’ll find free and paid themes.

        Wix Themes & Templates

        When you create a new website there are over 500 templates to choose from. Seems to us most of them are free, some are paid. It's quite hard to actually filter which template is a paid one and which is free. There is no filter by pricing model, just for category.

        wix templates

        Wix templates are designed to be mobile-friendly, but adjustments are made manually. After creating a site, users must switch to the mobile view to make any necessary tweaks, ensuring that the design looks good on smaller screens. This hands-on approach allows for precise adjustments, but it may require additional time and effort to perfect the mobile experience.

        Shopify Themes & Templates 

        Shopify offers a more curated selection of around 200+ Shopify themes, many crafted by professional developers. These themes are specifically designed with eCommerce in mind, ensuring that they incorporate best practices for online selling. This includes features like product galleries, call-to-action buttons, and promotional banners, which help enhance user engagement and drive conversions.

        shopify theme store

        Shopify provides customization through its theme editor, where users can adjust colors, fonts, and layouts. For more advanced modifications, knowledge of Liquid (Shopify's templating language) and HTML/CSS may be beneficial. This level of customization ensures that users can tailor their storefront while still benefiting from a solid, well-structured design.

        Start a free trial and enjoy 3 months of Shopify for $1/month
        Trusted by over 2,000,000 businesses worldwide

        Products & Collections

        For any ecommerce stores, products and collections are tightly connected to each other. We’ll review each of them for Wix and Shopify. And we’ll keep in mind that we’re building an online store, not a website to showcase a product.

        Wix Product

        Wix product editor offers you basic and advanced fields to fill in. For any products you’ll need to fill the Product Title, Description, Image, Variants. The inventory setting is located here as well. Inside the Wix product editor you can customize SEO settings.

        wix product editor

        Wix Collection

        For Wix collection, you can build the collection by selecting the products only. It might be a little bit time consuming if you build a collection and pick the product one by one.

        wix product collection editor

        Shopify Product

        Like Wix product editor Shopify also has necessary fields for the product. However, since Shopify is built for ecommerce you can see additional settings such as Product Type, Vendor, and Tags. It helps merchants better configure the product to fit their business.

        shopify product

        Shopify Collection

        Shopify collections are “smarter” compared with Wix collections. Here you can build a collection based on product tag, product title, product price etc. The filter is very rich, so you can filter exactly the products you want to display on the collection. When you successfully select the products you can additionally sort products based on specific criteria, for example, best selling products like in the screenshot below.

        shopify collections

        Payment gateways

        When the store layout has been built, products are added and collections are configured there is another step to build your online business. The Payment gateway setup. 

        Both Wix and Shopify have their own payment gateway which accepts major credit cards. Both Wix and Shopify Payment gateways are available only in specific countries.

        • Countries Wix Payments support: 14.
        • Countries Shopify Payments support: 15.
        • Wix: 23 payment gateways.
        • Shopify: 100+ payment gateways.

        We clearly see that Shopify goes way beyond Wix with supported payment gateways numbers, reinforcing the need for considering Wix or Shopify based on your specific requirements for payment options. 

        An important thing to note is about PayPal. If you prefer to accept payments through it, please keep in mind that only business PayPal accounts are accepted on both platforms.

        Analytics

        As a business owner you have to play well with numbers and math. You invest the time and money into your online store, and you want to measure the impact of your investment. Both Shopify and Wix provide you Analytics functions to see visitors coming to your store and whether they buy products or not.

        Wix Analytics

        Wix Analytics

        Wix’s past as a website builder solution is clearly seen here. You can notice two tabs in the Analytics dashboard like Traffic & Store. To see the store’s data you’ll need to upgrade Wix to the premium business plan. However, if you migrate Wix to Shopify, you can access detailed analytics reports without needing such upgrades. 

        We’re looking for an ecommerce solution, and Wix gives us ecommerce general overview insights: visits, product views, cart, checkout, purchased. It’s called a Purchase Funnel. 

        Examples of the purchase funnel. This screenshot is directly taken from Wix official documentation. We don’t have a real store to show you the numbers.

        wix purchase funnel report

        Shopify Analytics

        The Shopify Analytics report can be found in the Analytics menu. The sales report from Shopify is very detailed and contains a lot of customers and sales insight. It’s easy to navigate between analytics reports and find the data you’re looking for. Depending on your Shopify plan, basic or advanced reports are available for access. 

        shopify analytics

        Find out more information about Wix vs Shopify comparison in this video. 

          In Conclusion, Is Shopify or Wix better?

          In conclusion, Shopify is the better choice for business owners who are focused on building and scaling a successful online store. Designed specifically for eCommerce, it offers robust features like advanced inventory management, seamless payment processing, and a vast app ecosystem, ensuring a streamlined and reliable experience for growing businesses.

          While Wix is suitable for general-purpose websites like portfolios or blogs, its eCommerce capabilities are limited compared to Shopify’s comprehensive tools. For those prioritizing professional online sales, Shopify’s eCommerce-first approach makes it the clear winner. Exploring Wix-Shopify integrations can also help leverage the strengths of both platforms if needed.

          When you start with Shopify you’ll get 14 days free trial, so it’ll be your learning time and to test drive the system. The good news is you don’t have to sign in any contracts or fill out credit card info, you just need an email. 

          To explore more Ecommerce Platform Comparision, check out:

          FAQs

          Explore Now