If you’re thinking of opening an eCommerce store, the question of Wix or Shopify often comes up. In the United States, Shopify is more popular, offering many features that help businesses succeed online Wix, on the other hand, provides ease of use and affordable pricing for beginners.
This comparison will help you decide whether Wix or Shopify is a better choice in terms of features, themes, sales channels, payment options, and other factors that matter when scaling eCommerce options for your eCommerce store.
The main difference between Wix and Shopify is that Wix is best for those who want a fuss-free setup process for a smaller business, while Shopify is more geared towards those with higher sales volumes and dropshipping needs.
In terms of plans and pricing, both offer three different plans that come with unlimited products and key basic features.
| Wix | Shopify |
|---|---|
| Business Basic Plan - $17 per month Unlimited products 20 GB storage space 5 hours on video 24/7 customer care Unlimited products Abandoned cart recovery No subscriptions No ads | Shopify Basic – $29 per month Unlimited products 2 staff accounts 24/7 support Up to 4 inventory locations Discount codes Free SSL certificate Abandoned cart recovery Gift cards No reports133 currencies |
| Business Unlimited Plan - $25 per month Unlimited products 35 GB storage space 10 video hours 24/7 customer care Subscriptions Multiple currencies Dropshipping by Modalyst 1000 product reviews by Kudobuzz | Shopify – $79 per month Unlimited products 5 staff accounts 24/7 support Up to 5 inventory locations Standard reports Up to 88% shipping discount 133 currencies International domains |
| Business VIP Plan - $35 per month Unlimited products 50 GB storage space Unlimited video hours Customized reports Priority customer care 3000 product reviews by Kudobuzz Loyalty program by Smile.io | Shopify Advanced – $299 per month Unlimited products 5 staff accounts 24/7 support Up to 8 inventory locations Advanced reports Up to 88% shipping discount 133 currencies International domains and per variant pricing |
Overall, Wix provides more affordable pricing but Shopify comes with more advanced features for your eCommerce store.
Compared to Shopify, Wix is arguably better in terms of user-friendliness. However, it offers limited customization options.
| Wix | Shopify |
| Wix provides a fantastic user experience with a drag and drop interface and a clear step-by-step guide for beginners. Starting an eCommerce store is easy, and you can even use artificial intelligence to create a template in seconds. | Shopify is also easy to set up and it is possible to quickly add products and descriptions to your store. Although there are so many options to choose from, you may have to spend several hours setting up your store to your liking. |
Overall, Wix wins for ease of use but this is because Shopify generally offers more customizable options to work with.
Having the right template can take your website to the next level. Is Wix better than Shopify in terms of themes and functionality?
| Wix | Shopify |
| Wix offers 60 free templates that are visually appealing and have a modern touch. They’re especially well suited for galleries and photography. However, they may not function as well on smartphones as they do on desktops. They also lack in-depth HTML and CSS customization unless you use Wix Velo. | Shopify offers only 13 free themes and 71 paid ones on their store and they’re all geared towards eCommerce stores. However, you may have to pay between a single fee of $150 to $300 for most themes if you’re looking for something specific. The good news is that the live editor works well with CSS and HTML and they offer good desktop and mobile compatibility. |
Overall, Shopify takes the lead in terms of the quality of eCommerce themes for website building, even though Wix may win in terms of cost.
To increase your sales, it’s important to present your products in a visually appealing way for users. Let’s take a look at Wix vs Shopify.
| Wix | Shopify |
| Wix offers 6 variations for product presentation and plenty of colors to work with, as well as a useful zoom feature, carousel videos, size charts, wishlists, and product customizations. There are also over 300 apps on the App Market to help you customize your site further. | Shopify offers lots of free and paid add-ons even though certain features like carousel videos aren’t compatible with all their themes. They also offer AR for products and over 6000 apps on their market. |
In general, Shopify is more customizable when you consider apps, but Wix also helps you display your products well.
Consider accessibility and reachability offered by Wix and Shopify. Increased sales channels can help your business reach a wider audience.
| Sales Channels | Wix | Shopify |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Yes | Yes | |
| Messenger | Yes | No |
| Amazon | Yes (amazon.com and amazon.ca) | Yes (amazon.com on Business Unlimited plan) |
| eBay | No (unless you use the App store) | Yes (only on Business Unlimited plan) |
| Customized Buy Button | Yes | No |
| Handshake | Yes | No |
Overall, in Wix vs Shopify for sales channels, Shopify is the clear winner unless Wix adds more to its lineup.
A POS system can help your business accept payments and track inventory in-store.
| Wix | Shopify |
| Wix offers a free POS app and special features like curbside pickup, unlimited staff accounts, and local delivery which are only supported in the US. Wix’s hardware also costs a minimum of $550 which can be quite pricey. | The Shopify POS app allows you to send digital receipts, track sales, and customize checkout screens. The POS lite plan is free but advanced features cost $89 a month. Hardware is also free unless you want advanced models. |
As a POS system, Shopify is better than Wix in terms of features, though American merchants should also explore the benefits of Wix.
Is Wix better than Shopify in terms of payment options? Check out the table below.
| Payment Options | Wix | Shopify |
| PayPal | Yes | Yes |
| Credit Cards | Yes | Yes |
| POS | Yes | Yes |
| Apple Pay and Google Pay | No | Yes |
| Offline payments | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple currencies | Can only display currencies but you cannot sell in them. | Possible if you use a plug-in |
| Others | Instagram and Facebook | Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Amazon, Etsy |
Overall, Shopify offers a wider range of options for payments compared to Wix, although it is only available in certain countries. Other countries may incur higher transaction fees.
Offering customer accounts and more checkout can boost customer loyalty and convenience.
| Wix | Shopify |
| Wix allows customers to create wishlists, view order status, track orders, and save payment information to save time for buyers. | Shopify provides similar features to Wix and also allows users to create an account after making a purchase based on their email account. |
Overall, Shopify and Wix have comparable customer accounts and checkout features.
Providing affordable shipping prices and efficient carrier services can help boost customer sales. See the table below to
| Shipping Costs + Carrier Integration | Wix | Shopify |
| Free shipping | Yes | Yes |
| Flat rate | Yes | Yes |
| Weight-based rate | Yes | Yes |
| Shipping rules availability | Yes | Yes |
| Print & buy labels | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time shipping | Only USPS (USA) and Correios (Brazil) | USPS, FedEx, and UPS (only on Advanced plan) |
| Dropshipping carriers | Yes via Modalyst, 365 Dropship, and Spocket | Yes via Amazon fulfillment, Rakuten, Shipwire, and Oberlo via app |
Overall, Shopify provides a wider variety of delivery options compared to Wix, especially in terms of dropshipping.
Taxes can be complicated to figure out depending on your country of operation.
| Wix | Shopify |
| Wix lets calculate tax rates automatically through the free Avalara app and define special products for tax rates through the Business Unlimited plan. | Shopify also supports automatic tax rates for various countries and can allow you to include or exclude tax rates for in-store products. |
Overall, Shopify and Wix are relatively equal in terms of tax settings.
Offering different languages in your store is great for a global audience.
| Wix | Shopify |
| Wix offers a multilingual feature although the SEO of it can be improved. | Shopify allows up to 20 language versions on all their plans but you’ll need to pay around $20 a month for translations through a third-party app. |
Overall, Shopify’s multilingual sites provide greater functionality than Wix.
Both Wix and Shopify provide SSL encryption on all their plans to protect payment information.
Both Wix and Shopify are effective in terms of search engine optimization for websites since you can edit metadata and redirects.
The loading speed of your store can significantly impact your site’s retention rate, which you should take into account during the website design process.
| Wix | Shopify |
| Wix takes up to 9 seconds to load according to some tests which could be improved. | On average, Shopify takes between 1 to 4 seconds to load. |
Overall, Shopify seems to have faster load times than Wix.
Apps can help you customize your eCommerce store to your specific needs.
| Wix | Shopify |
| Wix provides apps for eCommerce stores but with limited selection. | Shopify offers almost 6000 paid and free eCommerce apps. |
Both Shopify and Wix provide a wide variety of apps that can benefit your website.
Good customer support can help you if you run into any tech or payment issues.
| Wix | Shopify |
| Wix provides clear tutorials, live chat, and phone support in different languages. | Shopify also provides 24/7 support and a strong community for users. |
Overall, both Shopify and Wix provide high-quality support for users.
To help you decide between Wix eCommerce vs Shopify, here are more insights.
Yes. You can go to the “My Domains” page and select the “Transfer away from Wix” tab.
Yes. Wix Payments takes 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction, which is average for most processors without additional fees.
Yes. Shopify charges between 2.4% to 2.9% plus 30 cents transaction depending on the plan you choose.
The bottom line of our Wix eCommerce vs Shopify analysis dictate that both are suitable for your eCommerce needs. Wix can provide an easier and more affordable avenue to build an online store, while Shopify is best for larger stores with multilingual support, multiple currencies, and POS features.
If you’re interested in switching between eCommerce platforms, check out our guide on Page Kits!
