Ecwid vs Shopify: Which eCommerce Platform Is Better In 2023?

Are you new to the world of e-commerce and searching for the right platform? 

Shopify and Ecwid are two of the oldest eCommerce platforms preferred by users. However, choosing one that suits all your requirements isn’t easy. One platform helps you create an eCommerce website from scratch, while another plugs in your existing store. Selecting one isn’t easy when it differs greatly in terms of design, functionality, and cost. 

Let’s dive into the details of the two to make your decision easier. 

Ecwid vs Shopify: Main Differences

Here we have mentioned a few key differences between Shopify and Ecwid.

• Ecwid works as an eCommerce widget, meaning you can add it to any existing website to turn it into an eCommerce store, whereas you will need to create a new store from the very beginning on Shopify to get started.
• Ecwid comes with a free forever plan which allows you to sell a limited number of products in your store. You can get started with Shopify’s 3-day trial and take advantage of the ongoing 90-day offer at just $1 per month.
• You can sell physical and digital products using in-built tools on Ecwid, whereas Shopify requires you to download its “Digital Downloads” application to your store to sell digital products.
• You can connect Ecwid with platforms like WordPress, Tumblr, Weebly, Squarespace, Blogger, Joomla, and Wix. There is no way to connect your Shopify store to any of these platforms.

Ecwid vs Shopify: In A Nutshell 

Here are some Ecwid vs Shopify comparison factors in a glance to help you make a quicker decision. 

• Ease of use

Shopify is a more robust eCommerce platform. Its beginner-friendly interface makes it easy to use and allows eCommerce store creation from scratch. But it also has more advanced features like user accounts and multiple payment options.

• Quick setup 

Ecwid is a great alternative for those who don’t need all of the bells and whistles. Setting up your account requires only your credit card information. Go for this option if an easy setup remains a priority. 

• Free plans 

Shopify comes with a free 3-day trial. However, Ecwid has a free forever plan covering most of the basic requirements. 

• Budget-friendly option 

Ecwid remains a budget-friendly option when compared with Shopify.

• Expansion plans 

Some well-established brick-and-mortar businesses often consider switching to eCommerce. Shopify can help you set up a store from scratch with more ease. However, Ecwid has a more streamlined user interface, considered suitable for newbies. 

• Customization 

Shopify has far more customization options when compared to Ecwid. 

• Navigation 

Ecwid overtakes Shopify when it comes to straightforward navigation. 

• International selling 

Shopify remains a better option for selling internationally. However, Ecwid supports international shipping and payments in multiple countries. 

• Suitability 

Shopify works great for both beginners and established eCommerce businesses. However, Ecwid is mostly preferred by established businesses. 

• Marketing Features 

Marketing remains a core aspect when it comes to eCommerce businesses. Shopify provides more such features, including email and SEO-related tools. 

• Time-consuming option

Building a Shopify store takes more time as you need to create a store from scratch. Ecwid simply requires plugin installation to connect your online store. However, Shopify provides enough guidelines to start an online store without any hassle. 

• Transaction fee 

Shopify charges a transaction fee while Ecwid keeps its users free from this burden. 

Pros And Cons Of Shopify 

Let’s start by going through the advantages and disadvantages of choosing Shopify: 

Pros of using Shopify:

• Easy Sales Management: Manage sales across all shopping platforms without investing in other software for the same.

• No inventory-related restriction: Sell as many products as you want with Shopify’s massive inventory. 

• Premium sales tools: Shopify’s premium sales tools help increases sales for people with limited experience. 

• A plethora of design options: a wide variety of design options including 50+ visually-compelling themes. 

Cons of using Shopify:

• No free plan: Shopify doesn’t have any free plan for its users. However, it provides a free 14-day trial to help you get acquainted with the platform before investing. 

• Manual reformating: Shopify users benefit greatly from the many different visually-compelling theme options. But many users complain about the burden of manually setting up the store again from scratch after changing themes.  

• High transaction fees: Shopify charges more transaction fees compared to other platforms.

• Minimum trial period: it’s not easy to analyze the efficiency of a platform within 14 days. Customers will more likely be satisfied with an extended trial period. 

Pros And Cons Of Ecwid

Ecwid works excellently for established eCommerce businesses. But every platform comes with its benefits and weak areas. Let’s analyze the same in detail. 

Pros of using Ecwid:

• Multiple store creation: Users wanting to sell in multiple domains can easily create stores in a few minutes. 

• Turn your existing website into a store: Ecwid removes the hassle of buying new hosting by turning your existing website into your online store. Just add the plugin to get your online store ready for selling.

• Sell through multiple channels: the platform understands the importance of covering various social channels for selling. It doesn’t keep you restricted to selling through your store only. Navigate through popular social channels like Instagram to initiate selling. 

Cons of using Ecwid

• Limited design options: Ecwid has a limited number of theme options. It makes it difficult for niche-specific businesses to find something relevant. 

• Small-scale sales tools: beginners with limited sales knowledge often face problems growing their business using Ecwid.  

• Limited options in the free plan: a free forever plan often compels users to sign up. However, the limited feature availability pushes them to purchase a paid plan. 

Advantages Of Using Shopify Over Ecwid

Here are a few advantages users can experience when choosing Shopify over Ecwid: 

• Abundant free and paid templates 

The platform offers more than 170 free themes to its users. All the templates and themes are enough to create a premium-looking online store. The different categories make it easier to choose for niche-specific businesses. It also segregates themes and templates based on brand tone. 

• Provides a high degree of customization 

Shopify allows its users to create a unique page layout with a wide variety of customization options. There are no restrictions associated with rearranging different page elements. Ecwid, on the other hand, requires modifying the CSS stylesheets to get increased control over the design element. 

• Enjoy the benefit of both a website and an online store 

Shopify allows its users to create web pages along with selling products through an online store. You can easily create blog posts, contact forms, an about us page, testimonials, a resource center, etc.

• Access to many different payment gateways 

Shopify provides access to over 100 payment gateways. Providing different payment options often increases the chances of sales. Users will more likely purchase if you provide their convenient payment option. On the flip side, Ecwid provides only 55 payment gateways. 

• Build a fully-functional website using Shopify 

Shopify has all the required templates and features to create a fully-functioning website from scratch. The basic and higher plans also provide CSS and HTML editors for people with coding knowledge. However, you can only create a one-page site showcasing your digital shop using Ecwid. 

• Automatic shipping calculation 

Shopify eases the task with its shipping calculations based on the location and product weight. 

• Optimize your store for SEO 

Shopify provides complete freedom of editing meta descriptions, URLs, titles, subheads, etc. The URLs are often short and contain high-ranking keywords. AMP pages also ensure that the website loads quickly when accessed using a mobile device. On the other hand, you cannot edit your URLs using Ecwid as you need to use the ones generated by them. 

Additional info: Shopify is often frowned upon due to extremely high transaction fees. But you are free if your business operates in Australia, Canada, Germany, Singapore, Spain, the US, the UK, Hongkong, Ireland, Japan, or New Zealand. Users in these countries can access Shopify Payments and save their profits from spending on transaction fees. 

Advantages Of Using Ecwid Over Shopify

Here are a few advantages users can experience when choosing Shopify over Ecwid: 

• No limitations on product options 

Do you know that Shopify only allows listing three options per product? It works on the concept that customers will likely get confused if they have too many options. But if you plan to sell merchandise in variations then Ecwid remains a better choice. There are no restrictions on product options. 

• Provides a free forever plan 

Shopify doesn’t give you the option of accessing any plan for free after the trial period ends. But you can access Ecwid’s free plan until you decide to switch to a paid plan. 

• Present your store in 45 different languages 

Ecwid caters to the requirements of businesses targeting multiple countries. You can present your store easily in 45 different languages catering to your target segments. However, you cannot apply this easily on Shopify. 

• Easy to use 

Ecwid allows straightforward integration with your website to access top eCommerce features. It removes the requirement of learning a whole different platform to start or continue selling. Furthermore, you can also connect Ecwid to your Facebook, Instagram, or Etsy store. 

On the flip side, the work involved in building a Shopify store from scratch is comparatively more complex for beginners. 

Key Features/Tools Provided By Shopify and Ecwid

Here are some key features Shopify and Ecwid users often look for: 

Shopify

• Unlimited bandwidth displays a large amount of information without any delay. 

• No restriction on selling any type of physical or digital product. 

• Powerful inventory management makes the platform suitable for adding numerous products. 

• Sell unlimited products in different categories without any restriction. 

• Automatic shipping calculation makes the selling process quicker. 

• Abandoned checkout recovery help prevents losses when customers leave the cart before purchasing. 

• Provides multiple shipping options, including local delivery, pickup, and free shipping

• The dropshipping option allows you to add products based on your convenience. 

• Automatic tax handling ensures efficient tax handling. 

Ecwid

• Inventory tracking helps you track all the products in your catalog.

• A wide variety of product options provides more diversity.

• Promotion and discount creation adds the excitement needed to increase conversions. 

• No limitations on selling physical and digital products. 

• International shipping options help keep up with your expansion plans. 

Shopify Vs Ecwid: Pricing Plans

Let’s now delve into the pricing of the two platforms to help you make a suitable choice. 

Ecwid Pricing 

Ecwid provides its users with four different pricing options: 

• Free plan 

The free plan remains suitable for beginners wanting to start their eCommerce business. It provides access to some key features like unlimited bandwidth. 

• Venture plan (£15/month) 

It provides access to multiple features required for managing an online store. 

• Business plan (£35/month) 

It remains more suitable for eCommerce businesses looking for advanced features to suit their expansion plans. 

• Unlimited plan (£99/month) 

It provides all the required features to sell your products online on different devices and retail locations. 

Shopify Pricing 

Here are the plans provided by Shopify for successful eCommerce store creation and management: 

• Basic plan

This plan costs $39/mo, and it includes all the basic features required to kickstart your eCommerce business. 

• Shopify plan 

This plan costs $105/mo, and it is suitable for eCommerce businesses looking for growth and expansion. 

• Advanced Shopify plan

This plan costs $399/mo, and it’s the most comprehensive Shopify plan covering many different tools and features required for scaling businesses. 

Additional info: users can also access the cheapest Shopify plan with a monthly cost of $5. But remember that only new merchants can access the plan during their trial period. 

Shopify vs Ecwid: Payment Options

Shopify supports over 100 payment gateways, including Paypal, Stripe, Apple Pay, etc. It also allows users to get ahead with COD and cryptocurrency payments. Furthermore, Shopify Payments ensure you don’t deal with third-party services for handling payments. 

One drawback of Shopify is the heavy transaction fee on top of the processing fee. You can only avoid the fee if you are using Shopify’s in-house payment gateway.

Ecwid supports over 50 payment gateways (fewer options when compared to Shopify). It includes top payment platforms like PayPal and Square. You can easily accept payments from all your national and international customers. Furthermore, the platform also allows COD and wire transfers to the users. 

Related Read:

• Shopify vs Squarespace
• Ecwid vs WooCommerce
• Wix Vs BigCommerce
• WooCommerce vs Bigcommerce
• Ecwid vs WooCommerce

Ecwid vs Shopify: Which Is Better In 2023? 

Ecwid is a great option for those website owners who want to add an eCommerce option to their existing websites. You can quickly get started with its forever-free plan. The easy setup process ensures you don’t any technical expertise to begin. It remains highly suitable for small-scale sellers as the platform covers all the basic tools required to encourage online sales. 

Shopify is another great eCommerce platform that is designed to help you set up your store from scratch. The wide variety of themes and templates ensures you create a premium-looking site. Furthermore, the plethora of eCommerce features helps in systematically expanding your store over time. 

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