Shopify Vs Ecwid (Honest Review)

Today, we're gonna do a full comparison of Ecwid and Shopify, pros and cons.

Ecwid and Shopify. These two platforms offer you all the tools you need to build your very own ecommerce store easily. Dive into our deep comparison of Ecwid vs. Shopify, where we break down their pricing, features, user-friendliness, and more.

Ecwid vs. Shopify: 

They're designed for beginners and pros alike, giving you the power to sell various goods and services just from home. Both platforms come packed with tools to manage payments, products, inventory, customer orders, and more across all your selling channels.

Ecwid: The Budget-Friendly Choice

Starting with the money side of things, Ecwid offers a range of plans from free to $99 per month. It's a user-friendly platform. With Ecwid, you can set up your online store for free, and if you want, you can also add a store section to your WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, and other partnered websites and blogs. If you're looking to spread your wings even further, Ecwid's higher-tier plans let you sell on Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and eBay. You can even handle in-person sales using your phone with their mobile POS feature. And if you're running a physical store, Ecwid connects smoothly with systems like Vend by Lightspeed, Square, and Clover. You can easily use your preferred payment processor. While the Instant Site storefront looks nice, it's on the basic side. The free plan supports just ten items, which could be a bit limiting. And if you're not on the top-tier plans, you might find some features and product limits holding you back.

Pros:

• Have free plan (cost 0$ without credit card information)
• Add a shop to existing websites
• Use your own payment processor
• No added transaction fees
• Easier to use than Shopify

Cons:

• Instant Site storefront is very basic
• Free plan supports just ten items
• Limited products and features on lower-tier plans

Shopify: The All-Inclusive E-Commerce Solution

Shopify, on the other hand, starts at $5 per month. While it doesn't have a free plan like Ecwid, even its low-cost plan gives you a taste of what it can do. Most people opt for the plans ranging from $29 to $299 per month, which come with a bunch of cool features. But, with Shopify, you can add unlimited products. You can also sell on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, eBay, and more. Plus, there's the mobile POS feature for those in-person sales. Shopify Payments and Shopify Shipping make order processing a breeze. Shopify adds a transaction fee if you're not using their own payment system. Fancy themes come with a price tag starting at $180, and the higher-tier plans can get a tad pricey. Also, some folks find Shopify a bit less intuitive compared to Ecwid.

Pros:

• Advanced e-commerce features

• Many modern, mobile-friendly store themes

• Many dropshipping and print-on-demand integrations

Cons:

• Added transaction fee if you don’t use Shopify Payments

• Free store themes are basic and advanced themes start at $180

• Higher-tier plans are very pricey

• Not as user-friendly as Ecwid

	Ecwid	Shopify
Pricing	Free to $99 per month	$5 to $399 per month
E-Commerce Features	Sell physical goods and services on all plans, digital product sales are built in but only available on paid plans	Sell physical and digital goods, online courses and services on all plans; digital goods require an app to manage downloads
Sales Channels	Facebook and Instagram on all paid plans. Amazon, eBay and POS sales on higher-tier plans only	All store plans support sales on all social media and marketplace sales channels, plus in-person POS sales
SEO Tools	Basic SEO tools, but store can be added to sites on SEO-friendly WordPress, Squarespace, Wix and more	Built-in SEO tools are basic, but can be expanded using SEO apps

Comparison 

Ecwid ranges from free to $99 per month, while Shopify starts at $5 and goes up to $399 per month. Both platforms let you sell on social media, but Ecwid limits Amazon, eBay, and POS sales to higher-tier plans. Shopify's plans cover all those bases right from the get-go. Want to sell various kinds of stuff? Ecwid and Shopify both got you covered – physical goods, services, digital products, you name it. They also throw in features for online courses, webinars, subscriptions, and even service bookings with online payments. When it comes to showing off your products, both platforms offer detailed product pages with photos, videos, variations, and sale prices. They also let you organize collections, manage orders, and decide whether customers need to log in. But Shopify is kind of better in terms of product management and store menus. It's got a more robust system to organize your products, especially on mobile devices. And considering how much shopping happens on mobiles these days, this could give your sales a nice boost.

Moving on to SEO tools, both platforms offer the basics, but you can amp up your Shopify game with extra apps like Yoast SEO and Google. Ecwid's SEO gets a leg up when you nestle it into a WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace site. Ecwid's got a simpler option for blogging within its Instant Site, but if you're serious about it, pairing it with a WordPress, Wix, or Squarespace site might be more potent. On the email marketing front, both Ecwid and Shopify bring in the big guns with automated abandoned cart recovery emails. You can also connect various email apps to level up your marketing game.

Finally, for in-person sales, both platforms provide mobile POS tools, which are great for markets, fairs, and mobile payments. However, when it comes to retail store POS options, Ecwid plays nice with external systems like Vend by Lightspeed, Square, and Clover. Shopify has its own Shopify POS Pro, but the integration options with other systems are fewer.
The Wrap-Up So, your ultimate choice depends on your budget, your online store's needs, and how you want to integrate with other platforms. Ecwid's got a wallet-friendly starting point and a seamless fit with websites and blogs. Shopify shines in its full access to sales channels and its polished online store. If you're into endless integrations, Ecwid might be your cup of tea. If you're all about value and a robust store, Shopify's got the muscle to deliver more bang for your buck.
Now go forth and make your online selling dreams a reality!