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Shopify vs Ecwid: The Ultimate Comparison

Last Updated on September 5, 2022 by

In this post, we’ll be comparing two of the main players Shopify vs Ecwid. Learn all you need to know to make the right decision for your business.

Choosing the right platform to set up your online eCommerce business can be challenging given all of the various options available. When choosing the right online business solution, you always want to keep your core needs and target goals in perspective.

By doing this, you will allow yourself to prioritize those things most important to the success of your online business so that you can further develop a plan of action in terms of reaching those intended goals within a very reasonable amount of time.

It will also help you develop an actionable plan by which you can continue to improve and innovate on the current structure and operation of your business. There are a lot of different e-commerce platforms and software solutions out there all of which offer different benefits depending on your intended goals and niche audience.

Given the various factors that you need to consider when choosing the right eCommerce platform, it’s best if you become educated about the options available to you in order to make the most educated decision. When it comes to running an online business, there are several different things that you’ll want to consider. Setting up a website and digital storefront alone will not bring you the results of engagement that your online business needs to thrive.

man typing on the computer

You will have to put a lot of work into other areas as well including social media marketing, e-mail outreach, website analytics, SEO optimization, and much more. Depending on which e-commerce platform you choose to use, you will gain access to intuitive integrations which allow you to carry out these essential tasks with ease and seamlessness.

Two of the most popular eCommerce solutions available right now are Shopify and Ecwid. Both of these solutions give you the ability to create high-quality e-commerce websites that are comprehensive and responsive. In addition to store design, both of these platforms give you access to innovative analytics and marketing tools which will help you increase the overall visibility and success of your business.

Safe Pick
Why Go With Shopify?

The short answer is that Shopify IS the market leader, with 2000+ integrations and a one of a kind third party APP MARKETPLACE. Upsells, downsells, crossells, emails, triggers, reviews....theres an app for that with Shopify!

Try Shopify Free
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

If you’re someone who is interested in opening a new online e-commerce, you’ve probably thought about choosing between one of these two platforms. For those that still haven’t been able to make a final decision about which platform will provide the most benefits to them, you have come to the right place.

In this guide, we’re going to go over all of the main factors that you need to consider when choosing between which one of these platforms will be best for you. To begin, we’re going to take a look at some of the main differences between these two platforms so that you will be able to make an educated decision about which solution will give the biggest overall boost to your online business.

Shopping Cart User-friendly Security Plans
Shopify- The customer can add an unlimited amount of products.
- Accepts credit cards, PayPal and more than 100 payment gateways
- Seamless shopping cart management and interaction
It is very easy to use on all levels. It allows you to configure specific website design elements This is one of the safest and most popular ecommerce platforms on the market.- Basic Shopify: $13/mo.
- Shopify: $54/mo.
- Advanced Shopify: $107/mo.
Ecwid- Friendly with bloggers, and even social media accounts.
- Minicart option
- Mobile-Responsive Shopping Cart
- Very easy to use, for both the customer and the owner of the ecommerce business.
Ecwid is completely safe for both your customer's information and for your business-Free: $0/mo.
- Venture: $15/mo. or $12.50/mo. (Billed Annually)
- Business: $35/mo. or $29.17/mo. (Billed Annually)
- Unlimited: $99/mo. or $82.50/mo. (Billed Annually)

The Main Differences Between Shopify vs Ecwid

The Main Differences Between Shopify vs Ecwid include:

  • Shopify is a comprehensive e-commerce platform, whereas Ecwid is a plug-in for existing commerce websites
  • Shopify is a website builder, whereas Ecwid has customizable design themes.
  • Shopify has 70 payment gateway integrations, whereas Ecwid has the option to sell on different websites
  • Shopify has seamless shopping cart management and interaction, whereas Ecwid has inventory management and tracking

These are some of the main differences between Shopify and Ecwid which you’ll need to consider before making your final decision about which platform will be best for your online business. as you can see from the table above, both platforms have very similar features and capabilities however they do vary in some key areas.

To help you better understand the core differences between both of these eCommerce platforms, you will need to understand what they are and how they function at their core.

What Are Shopify and Ecwid?

If you own a website and sell products via your online shop, you are essentially an online business owner. Ecommerce is no different than retail businesses the only difference is that customers do the shopping via their laptops or smartphones and get the products shipped to them instead of having to walk through a store, sort through the clothing options, and wait in line.

These two business models are significantly different however they do have to share the same core principles at heart, logistics.

The backbone of any successful business is how well that particular brand or company is able to promote their services to specific niche audiences which will have a vested interest in their products or services. In order to do that, businesses must use key information and data collection related to what interests their primary customers have, what products people want most, how they find those products, and how they make their final purchase decision on those products.

Marketing and analytics are the primary methods used to collect the data which is essential in furthering the ventures and success of virtually any business.

Both Shopify and Ecwid make that entire process easier by giving you access to premium eCommerce integrations that you can use to automate analytics gathering, content and product marketing, customer service, and much more. Below, we’re going to provide you with an in-dep explanation about the main features that you’ll get access to when using either of these platforms for your online business needs.

Shopify

shopify logo

Shopify is a complete website building and e-commerce platform that gives you the ability to create a new online business from scratch. The platform gives you access to a wide range of different 3rd party applications and integrations which will allow you to optimize the overall design, functionality, and operation of your website. With this e-commerce solution, you do not have to worry about coding as all of the back-end technical specifications are taken care of by the platform itself.

When using the platform, you have the ability to perform a wide range of different tasks such as creating blog posts, FAQs pages, testimonials input, and much more. It also gives you the ability to install a wide range of different professional themes which will help you boost the overall presentation of your online store.

This platform also gives you the ability to perform in-platform SEO that is very comprehensive and robust in terms of giving you access to industry-leading tools that you can use to increase the engagement and visibility of your online store. If you’re looking for an all-in-one eCommerce solution that will allow you to completely manage your business in one place, this is a great option.

Ecwid

Ecwid logo

Ecwid is a stand-alone software tool that puts a primary focus on giving you the ability to plug-in a well-built store into an existing website. Basically, it’s an add-on that extends eCommerce functionality to your existing website in order to get you to get started in the online business.

This platform allows you to set-up what is known as “catalogs” which are essentially categories for the various products that you may be selling. You can sell both digital and physical products with this e-commerce solution in addition to adding specific details such as pricing, photos, product weights, and more.

With this platform, you can also edit and configure specific website design elements including the navigation menus, forms, and more. For advanced users, you can also edit the entire CCS stylesheet of your website although the platform does not give you the ability to edit the HTML of your site.

The main difference between this e-commerce solution and other platforms is that it comes in the form of a widget instead of being a self-hosted option. That means that in order to use it you will need to already have an existing website set-up to begin the integration process.

Now that you understand what each platform is, it’s time to look at the various pricing options and plans that you’ll be able to choose from between them.

Pricing & Plan Options: Shopify vs Ecwid

While the functionality of your selected e-commerce platform is very important, it’s also important for you to consider how much each of these solutions will cost you over time. This can have a significant impact on your decision-making process when it comes to which online store solution will provide the most benefit to you. The best way to choose the perfect eCommerce solution for your needs is by assessing the current value and size of your business as it exists today.

If you have a rather small online business, you will not have to subscribe to the more expensive plan options offered by these platforms because it won’t make sense in terms of numbers. The vice versa applies for larger businesses which is why we’re going to breakdown all of the details surrounding the various plans and pricing options for you to choose from when deciding between these two online commerce business solutions.

Shopify Pricing & Plan Options

Shopify Pricing & Plan Options

Basic Shopify- $13/mo.

  • Unlimited Products
  • 2 Staff Accounts
  • 24/7 Customer Support
  • Sales Channel integration
  • Discount Codes
  • Manual Order Processing
  • Free SSL Certificate
  • Abandoned Cart Recovery
  • Online Store
  • 2.0% Transaction Fees

Shopify- $54/mo.

  • 5 Staff Accounts
  • All of the features included in the Basic Shopify plan
  • Gift card creation
  • 1.0% transaction fees
  • Professional Reporting

Advanced Shopify- $107/mo.

  • All of the features included in all of the above plans
  • 0.3% Transaction Fees
  • 3rd-party Shipping Rate Calculation
  • Advanced Reporting Builder
  • 15 Staff Accounts

Shopify Plus- Price is by quote depending on the size and needs of your enterprise business. This plan is reserved typically for high-volume sale stores and other larger online business owners.

Ecwid Pricing & Plan Options

Ecwid Pricing & Plan Options

Free- $0/mo.

  • Facebook Store Integration
  • Online Store Building
  • Free Starter Website
  • Personalized Onboarding Features
  • Ability to add storage to any website you currently have
  • Sell items on multiple different websites
  • Unlimited Bandwidth
  • Mobile-Responsive Shopping Cart

Venture- $15/mo. or $12.50/mo. (Billed Annually)

  • iOS and Android Store Management
  • All of the features included in the free plan
  • Abandoned cart saver
  • Coupon & Discount Code generation
  • Automated tax calculations
  • App Market Access w/ Extensions
  • Inventory management
  • Advanced SEO Tools
  • Chat Support
  • Social Media Integration

Business- $35/mo. or $29.17/mo. (Billed Annually)

  • Marketplace Access
  • Phone & Chat Support
  • All of the features included in the venture plan
  • Wholesale pricing groups
  • eBay Integration
  • Order creation and processing

Unlimited- $99/mo. or $82.50/mo. (Billed Annually)

  • Priority Support
  • Point of Sale Access
  • All of the features included in the business plan
  • Custom mobile store app
  • 12 hours of custom store development
  • Square POS Integration

Both platforms offer a wide range of different plans and pricing options for you to choose from which enables you to choose the right match for your exact needs. Now, it’s time to take a look at some of the core features and capabilities that you’ll gain access to when using either eCommerce solution.

Shopify Facebook Marketing

Core Mechanics: Shopify Vs. Ecwid

When choosing which e-commerce solution is right for you, it’s important to consider the core features and capabilities that you gain access to once you sign-up.

Both Shopify and Ecwid offer a variety of different features all of which will provide their own benefits to online business owners based upon their niche market and how large their business currently is. To help you make the best decision about which platform you should use for your e-commerce needs, we’re going to go through some of the core mechanics that you can expect to gain access to when using either of these online store solutions.

Make sure that you read this entire section in full so that you will be able to make an educated decision about which e-commerce solution meets your exact needs.

Safe Pick
Why Go With Shopify?

The short answer is that Shopify IS the market leader, with 2000+ integrations and a one of a kind third party APP MARKETPLACE. Upsells, downsells, crossells, emails, triggers, reviews....theres an app for that with Shopify!

Try Shopify Free
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Shopify Core Mechanics

Automatic Shipping Rates by Carrier

One of the most tedious and challenging tasks for online store owners is getting their physical items from the customer’s computer screen to their front porch. This can be done using several different methods as you may know and you also have a fair amount of reputable carrier provides to select from as well.

Shipping rates are based upon the original location of the item and it’ destination in addition to its weight and dimensions. All carriers will have different rates based upon these criteria which can vary quite drastically.

As an online business owner, trying to calculate the various rate differences between each shipping carrier can be quite challenging. That’s why Shopify has an integrated feature that will automatically calculate the accurate shipping price for a customer based on the details that they enter. This saves you time and stress from having to set individual tax rates per state or figure out carrier shipping prices on your own.

Integrated SEO & Marketing Tools

Setting up your online store is one thing, getting customers to interact with your business and products is something totally different. In order to attract customers and visitors to your website, you will need to create high-quality marketing campaigns that target your core niche audience. By doing this, you will be able to attract customers to your website by putting your content and products right in front of their face eliciting some sort of interaction.

Aside from strict marketing, you also have to take into consideration optimizing the search engine configuration of your online store so that you can rank high within search results from populate engines.

This will allow your products and storefront to be within the first page when someone searches for the keywords that are implemented onto your website. The platform makes it easy for you to integrate all of the most effective keywords for your niche into your website with ease and simplicity so that you can start seeing sales.

Analytics

Once you have all of your marketing setups, you’ll need a way to analyze the amount of interaction and overall results that you’re getting from your efforts to see if there are areas in which you can improve.

With built-in analytics and store monitoring, you will be able to stay updated on all of the latest trends and key data points which you can use to further advance the success of your business. Shopify’s integrated analytics system is very comprehensive and easy to use so you will be able to directly target customers interests and shopping behaviors.

ecwid shipping and in-store pickup

Ecwid Core Mechanics

Inventory Tracking

Knowing how much inventory you currently have on hand is critical in maintaining a successful online business. A lot of platforms leave you to handle inventory tracking and monitoring completely by yourself however Ecwid comes with an integrated inventory tracking feature that automatically keeps tabs on how many people have bought a particular item so that you never have to worry about running out of the products or supply.

This is a great feature for businesses of all sizes as keeping track of your inventory can be a real challenge for any online store owner.

Custom Themes

A well-designed store will make customers more likely to interact with your product or service. With most eCommerce solutions, you have to either store them yourself or choose from a set of pre-made templates, with Ecwid you gain access to free custom themes that you can use to add a more professional appearance and feel to your website.

Presentation is key for any business as it allows you to build customer loyalty and repeat sales, by using a custom theme you can set your store apart from others making it more enticing for customers to spend money with you.

Sales Boost

Similar to marketing and SEO integration, Ecwid’s sales boost service essentially works to entice customers to add more items to their carts. This is done by a unique algorithm that monitors the products and items that a particular customer has shown an interest in.

Once that data is collected, it is then used to help recommend certain related products at discounted rates or with special coupon codes so that customers can increase the volume of their orders. This is a very useful feature that can help you increase overall sales without doing too much work manually.

These are some of the core features and capabilities that you will get access to when using either of these platforms. Now, it’s time to look at some of the top pros and cons of both Shopify and Ecwid so that you will be able to have a summarized fact sheet to make an educated decision upon.

ecwid app market

Pros & Cons: Shopify vs. Ecwid

Both of these eCommerce platforms offer a wide range of benefits and disadvantages that can aid business owners in particular categories. In the following section, we’re going to take a look at some of the pros and cons about both of these online store platforms to give you a summary of the entire scope of how they operate and how you will be able to implement them into your online business for more sales and success.

Shopify Pros

  • Automatic tax calculations which make it easy for you to simply set prices and forget about it
  • Dedicated and built-in website hosting so you don’t have to worry about your site being subject to 3rd party servers
  • Refund processing which makes it easy to resolve customer disputes that you might have
  • 24/7 Support so you never have to worry about not having the answer to your most important questions
  • Integrated analytics tracking so that you can edit and configure your store to meet your customers’ needs as they change on an individual basis
  • Support multiple languages so that you are not limited to where you sell products

Shopify Cons

  • Only a free trial no free plan option
  • Interface can be a little challenging to get used to making it more time consuming to set up a store
  • A limited number of free theme options
  • Payment is required to access more advanced app add-ons and widgets

Ecwid Pros

  • Has a smart shipping calculator integrated into the platform which makes it easy for you to simply list the items then forget about them
  • You can sell items on multiple different websites which gives you more access to a larger customer base
  • Seamlessly integrated checkout system which makes it easy for your customers to pay you
  • Inventory tracker which will keep tabs on how many products have been sold in a certain amount of time to ensure that you never run out of stock
  • Boost sales feature which makes it easy for you to increase the number of products a customer adds to their cart in a single visit

Ecwid Cons

  • No standalone eCommerce solution only the plugin works with existing websites
  • Limited capabilities when compared to other e-commerce platforms
  • Requires more manual work than other online stores manage solutions

shopify inventory

FAQs

Now that we’ve gone over some of the pros and cons of both of these platforms, it’s time to answer some of the most commonly asked questions that people have in relation to them. If you have been asking yourself things like, how many products can I import? Or How much does each item cost when paid for with a credit card? This is the section for you because we’re going to answer these questions below.

How many products can I import into Shopify?

Shopify allows you to import an unlimited number of products with their paid plans so you are not limited.

How do I use Ecwid for my site?

You have to insert your customized code into an HTML page on your existing website for it to function correctly, there are also other integration options available.

How do I handle order fulfillment?

Every platform is different; some will automatically send shipping requests while others require you to verify payment before being able to fulfill.

Our Pick

When it comes to our choice about which e-commerce platform is best, Shopify wins this comparison hands down. This is largely due to its comprehensive platform nature and a nearly unlimited amount of configuration settings that you can adjust to make your website and overall experience something unique to only you.

Safe Pick
Why Go With Shopify?

The short answer is that Shopify IS the market leader, with 2000+ integrations and a one of a kind third party APP MARKETPLACE. Upsells, downsells, crossells, emails, triggers, reviews....theres an app for that with Shopify!

Try Shopify Free
We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Conclusion

We’ve covered all of the most important features, information, and facts that you need to know about Shopify and Ecwid. Assess the needs of your online store as it is right now in order to come up with an action plan which will allow you to use the platform of your choosing to further your success.

As long as you use all of the tips and information in this guide, you will be able to clearly see which platform offers the versatility and power that you need to run a dominant online business that your customers love.

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Marketing Satchel Team

The Marketing Satchel team is a group of business and marketing professionals that came together to help others struggling with these topics. We're here to make sure that you understand all of the important parts of marketing.