Shopify Vs WIX: Which Is The Best ECommerce Platform?

By Andy Chu

08 Feb 2022

When it comes to the development of eCommerce stores, Wix and Shopify are battling head to head. But there has been a big conflict and argument between the e-commerce owners and the general audience, upon which one is liable to hold the title of being the best.

As per the ratings and reviews are concerned, both Shopify and Wix have positive reviews for producing quality eCommerce platforms.

Shopify Vs Wix For E-commerce Businesses

Shopify has the leading edge in terms of ratings over its platform, but Wix has also implemented creative freedom for the users to design their eCommerce platforms. Wix eCommerce is accountable to be a better website builder than that Shopify, especially for small businesses.

Shopify is scalable at better levels, which makes them ideal for larger stores. But, they are also quite expensive and clunky for the rookies to get their hands stable over it. But, if you are looking for high-end eCommerce functionality, then Shopify is your website builder for the purpose.

To help you get a better idea of which website builder has the better eCommerce functionality, here is a detailed comparison of Wix vs Shopify. This will eventually help you make a thoughtful decision between the Wix eCommerce website builder and Shopify website builder.

Difference in Ease of Usability

As per the scores tallied by the reviews and ratings upon this Wix vs Shopify factor, Wix is leading over Shopify. You don’t need any kind of coding knowledge for either of these platforms. The estimated time for building an eCommerce platform with Wix is around 1 day, whereas with Shopify it is 3 days.

The drag & drop format of Wix is what makes it easy for the users to build new eCommerce platforms easily. It is probably the best website builder for beginners to start with their new online store.

Shopify also has a store setup that is perfect for established merchants. But the miss out element which makes it lag behind in this comparative Wix vs Shopify factor is its clunky editor. The editor is not at all intuitive and drops its popularity.

How does Wix have a Better Ease of Usability than Shopify?

Shopify store can be a powerful e-commerce platform, which has a specific design for creating an impactful online store. But this power is what creates a barrier for the platform in some instances! The editor of Shopify is pretty much complex to operate for beginners.

The Wix website building platform has everything in exactly one convenient place. When you get hold of the editor of this platform, then you will realise that you can create websites in a matter of minutes with just the drag & drop feature. If you are making a simple online store, then you might not even need a day to complete your website building process.

The best thing is that, when you make changes to the Wix website by using its editor, you can see the preview in real-time, before finalising that change.

When you start to design your online store, Wix will immediately take you to the chosen template. Now, you can work on customising the existing elements for reflecting the brand with just your mouse.

All of the Wix eCommerce templates that you see, come with store pages included in them. For adding up the products, you need to click on demo listings and then edit them. Add up a collection of products by grouping them as well for a better User Experience.

Shopify themes are perfect for larger stores and let you add up a large number of products at a faster rate. It is because this platform is one of the dedicated website builders that emphasises its tools and eCommerce features for product and selling management.

The bulky editor needs you to learn the right utilisation of its tools for perfectly designing an eCommerce website.

Verdict: So, in this Wix vs Shopify comparison for ease of usability, the winner is undoubtedly Wix! The eCommerce features and functionalities are definitely higher in Shopify, but the mass beginner online store owners are preferring Wix for its seamlessness of use.

Difference in Design Functionalities

This is going to be a big Wix vs Shopify comparison that will give you the maximum clarity upon which is better. The comparison of this factor will proceed in different sections, which include:

Mobile Responsiveness Design Aspect

Every online store owner intends to know if their website is running seamlessly on mobile phones or not. It is because a large chunk of their target audience is using mobile phones for online shopping.

The statistics state that around 45% of all consumers say that, they prefer mobile phones over desktops or bulky devices, to shop online.

Both Wix and Shopify themes have mobile responsiveness functionality. It means that your online store will work fine with whichsoever device the customer uses. So, you can be assured of this factor for both Wix and Shopify themes.

Template Price, Availability and Choice

Both Shopify and Wix has several themes on their store builder platforms. But Wix scores a bit extra in this design factor comparison. Shopify store builder comes with 73 themes that are trending in the market and are up-to-date.

These themes of Shopify eCommerce store builder are covering a wide range of industries within its options. It is truly a USP for Shopify that it has themes that have multiple styling aspects. Therefore, you can go ahead and pick the ideal version that you think is suitable for your brand.

Even with the best of themes, the price of a few of the options is on the higher end at around $180. There are both free and paid theme templates available with Shopify, but the paid ones are quite expensive for beginners to even opt for.

Wix on the other hand offers 114 templates that are specifically designed with eCommerce features. All of the 114 templates are free over Wix. As of true figures, Wix has over 800 total templates over the platform. But not all of them are for eCommerce online stores.

The online store templates at Wix are quite easy to edit and allow beginners to convert them into functional online business stores.

Verdict- In this battle of Wix vs Shopify, Wix takes the leading edge yet again. The design simplicity, availability of templates and pricing is what makes this verdict legit. Even though it wins the comparison, the Wix online stores are more straight away. But, if you want an online store that has better optimisation for higher sales, then the Shopify themes are best for the purpose.

The difference in Pricing Factor

The price is not that big a difference in the comparison of Wix vs Shopify. The pricing for Wix starts at $28/month, whereas the price for a basic Shopify plan starts at $29 per month.

The difference is when you go for an annual plan of Wix! You get a free domain name for the first year, with your annual plan purchase with Wix.

Shopify puts up transaction charges unless you are using its in-house payment gateways named, Shopify Payments. But Wix doesn’t charge you for anything as such! Both Wix and Shopify have no advertisements on their platforms.

You can sell unlimited products on both Wix and Shopify. If you are looking for recommendations, then you should preferably go with the annual plans of Wix for adding up more value to the money you invest. When you do that, you will get a monthly cost reduction of $23.

Apart from that, it also unlocks a plethora of features that you won’t get on the monthly plan such as free domain and others.

Both Shopify and Wix allow you to sell on social media and have free plan/trial options. But there is a difference in the free offerings from Wix and Shopify. With Wix, you have a specific free plan, where you cannot use the paid features.

But with Shopify, you get a free trial of only 14 days, where you will have access to some of the paid features while some will still be locked for you to avail yourself only with a subscription.

Wix vs. Shopify- Which is Cheaper?

Wix is the cheaper platform in terms of monthly price variation by $1. The transaction charges levied by Shopify is around 2%, whereas for Wix it is free. The monthly price for Wix and Shopify, when your bill annually, will be $23 and $26.10 respectively. The savings aspect is also higher with Wix than with Shopify.

Verdict– Therefore, it is better if you plan on designing your online store with Wix, if you want to save costs. But, if this minimal cost difference doesn’t bother you and you want the best high-end eCommerce functionalities, then go with the Shopify app store. Wix also wins in the value for money considerations between the two.

The difference in Product & Inventory Management Features

Shopify app store flexes its potential with its e-commerce muscles. Therefore, in the category of inventory management and product management, Shopify has a leading edge over Wix users. Wix is somehow behind Shopify but is not too far away.

Wix still offers you the best range of various eCommerce features for working with the Wix store. The sales feature prospects helps Shopify win the Wix vs Shopify battle for this specific factor.

Even though Shopify has a better leading edge for making sales for the owners of online stores, Wix has precise features that are useful for them to sell online. If you are not eyeing a big business or selling a big range of products, then you will eventually enjoy the simple aspects of Wix stores.

But for the people who want big rising businesses with powerful selling potential, you need Shopify’s product and inventory management features on priority.

Verdict- Shopify wins the Wix vs Shopify battle here in this factor and has more high-end product features than that of Wix. The inventory management potential is quite more powerful than Wix. Wix does the necessary job for small online stores, but Shopify is going to help you build bigger businesses.

The difference in Payment Options

Here are the points that will explain to you a clear understanding of the better option between the two website builders. If you want to run your online stores successfully, you need to know the payment gateways that are available for you. The points include:

Both Shopify and Wix have PayPal.
Both Shopify and Wix have Stripe.
Wix has Square, whereas PayPal doesn’t have it.
Shopify has Apply Pay, but Wix doesn’t.
Shopify has Amazon Pay, but Wix doesn’t.
Shopify has Klarna, but Wix doesn’t.
The in-house payment gateways for Wix and Shopify are Wix Payments and Shopify Payments respectively.

Stripe with Shopify is available only in areas where there is no support for Shopify Payments. Shopify is a winner in this scenario as it has more payment options than Wix. Shopify offers permits for over 100 payment gateways. But if you are not using the Shopify payments gateway, you will have to pay 2% transaction fees.

Shopify allows the merchants for enabling ‘tipping during checkout’. You can customise this text to ask for charity, business donations or others.

Wix payments do not impose any kind of transaction fees, irrespective of the payment gateways that you choose. Hence, it means that you will have $2 more to keep with you over Shopify.

Verdict- Shopify is a clear winner for this Wix vs Shopify factor over Wix. Even with transaction fees, the online store owners prefer Shopify for its diverse payment options which attract more customers over Wix.

Conclusion

Hence, these are the vital differences that explain the true efficacy of these two website builders. There are both strong and weak points in both the platforms, but ultimately they both are best for different business minds in different ways.

Therefore, to wind things up, Wix is an ideal website builder for anyone who is about to start up a new or small business. It is for everyone who is planning to get an affordable plan for entering into the eCommerce world, but without compromising on any of the best features. Wix provides you with creative freedom and makes it perfect for entrepreneurs who are conscious of their brands.

Shopify is ideal for the larger businesses who are willing to avail a more powerful platform, for long-term growth support. You will definitely need a larger budget in order to get started with this platform. But this investment is worthwhile, as you will open up to a humongous app store and sales tools.

In the end, it is you who has to decide which platform can be accountable as best for you and the e-commerce store owners in general. Along with the differences, there are many similarities in them as well. Both have beautiful templates on their platform, they share some similar payment options, they offer social media support and much more.

This guide has brought to you a detailed comparison with similarities, differences and verdict considerations. So, go ahead and choose your eCommerce website builder among the two! Irrespective of what you choose, the results are definitely going to stand out!