Shopify vs Wix: Which Platform is Right for Your Online Store?

Shopify vs Wix may seem like comparing an athlete with a yoga instructor. Both are powerful platforms, but they solve different problems for different requirements. Shopify is a popular eCommerce store builder, and Wix is an efficient platform to create attractive websites.

The main question is not which platform is objectively better. It is the one that fits your specific needs. This article breaks down both platforms simply. We will compare their strengths, limitations, costs, and design capabilities. After reading this article, you will be able to make a clear decision about which one to choose for your store.

Shopify vs Wix – The Main Difference

Before going into the details, it is important to know the main difference. Wix is a no-code website builder that also comes with eCommerce features. Shopify is an eCommerce platform that manages websites and online selling.

This difference is nothing but the purpose for which both platforms were made. Wix started as a drag-and-drop website builder and later added eCommerce features. You can build a portfolio, blog, booking website, and small shop all in one place.

Shopify was built specifically for online eCommerce stores. Its architecture is made around managing products, orders, payments, and inventory. Everything else follows that purpose.

Choosing the right platform is the first step to using professional eCommerce web design services to build a high-converting store.

Both work great, and both are legitimate. But this foundational difference affects how they handle design, websites, and advanced features.

Shopify vs Wix at a Glance – A Quick Comparison Table

Feature	Shopify	Wix
Best For	Dedicated online stores, large businesses, and retailers.	Beginners, portfolios, light eCommerce, and creative websites.
Ease of Use	Simple for beginners, more controls for advanced sellers.	Highly intuitive drag-and-drop editor.
Design Freedom	A structured editor is better for theme changes and growth.	Excellent creative freedom, AI design tools.
Starting Price	~$29/month minimum (Basic plan).	~$14.5-19.5/month (Basic plans).
Scalability	Built to manage businesses from the small to the enterprise level.	Limited to very large stores.
Built-in Features	Advanced inventory, multiple payment gateways, POS, and global selling.	Basic product listings, limited inventory tools.
App/Add-ons	Massive ecosystem with 6,000+ apps.	Moderate selection.
Payment Processing	Shopify Payments, multiple gateways.	Wix Payments, Stripe integration.
Learning Curve	Low for basics, steeper for advanced features.	Very low, and anyone can start today.

Shopify vs Wix – In-Depth Feature Comparison

Ease of Use and Setup

Shopify: It is also beginner-friendly for basic setup. The Shopify dashboard is clean and concise. However, learning Shopify apps, automations, multi-channel sync, and other features takes more time.

Wix: Get started in 30 minutes. Choose a template, drag elements, add products, and go live. The learning curve is almost zero, and even if you have never built a website, it is simple.

Winner: Wix.

Design and Customization

Shopify: Themes are pre-built for performance. Changes are easier to reverse, but you are working within templates rather than a blank canvas. Developers can create custom themes using Liquid (Shopify’s templating language).

Wix: You get exceptional creative freedom. Every element is movable and resizable. If you want a unique design made from scratch, it is easy with Wix Studio. But switching themes after launch is risky, and there’s a risk of losing custom work.

Winner: Wix for pure design freedom. Shopify for customization (specifically for eCommerce).

Product Management and Inventory

Shopify: Built for this. Manage unlimited products with complex variants (size, color, and material combinations). Track inventory across warehouses and sync with dropship suppliers. Handle backorders and pre-orders easily in Shopify.

Wix: Handles basic catalogs well. If you are selling under 100 products with simple variants, it works fine. However, adding a large inventory, multiple warehouses, or dropshipping makes Wix eCommerce limited.

Winner: Shopify by a large margin.

Payment Options and Transaction Fees

Shopify:

• Shopify Payments: 2.7% + $0.30 per transaction.
• External gateways (PayPal, Stripe): Shopify charges 2.2% transaction fee.
• Using PayPal costs you 2.9% + $0.30 + 2.2% = ~5.4%+ per transaction.

Wix: 

• Wix Payments: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
• External gateways (Stripe, PayPal): Wix eCommerce charges an additional 2% transaction fee.
• Using PayPal costs you 2.9% + $0.30 + 2% = ~5%+ per transaction.

Note: Shopify supports payment methods that Wix does not, and integrates better with international payment systems.

Winner: Shopify, because it is cheaper and available globally, although Wix POS systems are also highly praised.

Customer Support

Shopify: Extensive learning resources, 24/7 chat support, video tutorials, and a huge community (Reddit, Facebook groups, forums). More third-party educators provide Shopify training.

Wix: It offers good documentation. Chat support is available 24/7 on paid plans, and community forums exist, but are smaller.

Winner: Shopify has deeper resources. But Wix also has good customer support.

Growth and Scaling

Shopify: Shopify grows with you. Sell 10 products or 100,000, the platform responds the same way. Your limiting factors are bandwidth and customer service, not the platform.

Wix: Wix hits a wall around 500-1,000 active products with regular updates. Performance degrades, theme switching becomes risky, and advanced features are not available.

Winner: Shopify, decisively.

AI Capabilities

Shopify: It offers an AI-powered assistant, Shopify Magic, to generate product descriptions, create high-quality images, build custom themes, or get help in daily store operations.

Wix: It provides a broad range of AI tools, especially for website creation and content generation. It also offers tools to automate image generation and SEO tasks.

Winner: Wix for general AI-powered website building and content creation. Shopify for AI tools tailored specifically to eCommerce workflows and automation.

Is Shopify really better than Wix?
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Shopify Pros and Cons

Shopify also offers ease of use, quick setup, a large app store, built-in marketing/SEO, hosting, and payment options. It is great for new store owners and growing businesses. There are cons as well, such as potentially high subscription, app, theme, and transaction fees (if not using Shopify Payments), among others. Here are more pointers:

Shopify Advantages

• Built for eCommerce: Every feature is made for running a serious online business. Inventory, shipping, returns, and taxes are all native.
• Unlimited Scalability: Sell 10 products or 10,000, the platform handles it easily.
• Large App Ecosystem: Over 6,000 apps allow you to add specialized features, including marketing automation, customer service, and accounting integrations.
• Advanced Inventory Management: Manage stock across multiple locations, warehouses, and sales channels in real-time.
• Multi-Channel Selling: Sync your store with Facebook Shop, TikTok, Amazon, or offline POS systems.
• Dashboard Analytics: Track customer behavior, conversion rates, and sales trends with detailed reporting.
• Global Selling Tools: Built-in support for multiple currencies, languages, and tax calculations in 150+ countries.
• Security and Compliance: PCI compliance, SSL certificates, and fraud detection.
• Developer-Friendly: Full API access, custom theme development, and easy integration for technical teams.

Shopify Disadvantages

• Higher Cost Entry: Monthly fees start higher. Add apps, and costs climb quickly for small stores.
• Transaction Fees: Shopify charges per-transaction fees unless you use Shopify Payments.
• Less Design Freedom: Themes are more structured, and extensive customization requires hiring a developer.
• Steeper Learning Curve for Advanced Features: Basic setup is easy, but optimizing sales funnels and automation takes time.
• Monthly Ongoing Costs: Unlike Wix, costs don’t add up all at once, but premium apps and services can increase expenses over time.

Who Should Use Shopify?

• New store owners and small businesses.
• Businesses need an integrated online/offline (POS) solution.
• Dropshippers or print-on-demand sellers.
• Those prioritizing ease of use over deep customization.

Wix Pros and Cons

Wix is known for its easy-to-use editor and large template collection, making website building simple. But it is criticized for platform lock-in (difficulty migrating or changing designs), SEO limitations, and rising costs for advanced features. Its major advantages are:

Wix Advantages

• Low Prices: Lower starting costs make it best for testing ideas or running a small business without major investment.
• Design Customization: The drag-and-drop editor offers full creative control. AI tools can also generate designs automatically.
• All-in-one Platform: You can build a website, add a blog, create a contact form, and embed social feeds, all on Wix Studio. It comes with hosting and maintenance as well.
• No Coding Required: It is truly beginner-friendly. Non-technical users can launch a complete website in hours using the Wix editor.
• Beautiful Templates: Professionally designed starting points for various industries.
• App Market: Many integrations are available to add features such as eCommerce and bookings.
• Email Marketing Built In: Create newsletters and automate customer communications from the dashboard.
• Support: Unified support, like chat and phone, is helpful for beginners.

Wix Disadvantages

• Limited eCommerce: Inventory management, advanced analytics, and order fulfillment become clunky at higher volumes.
• App Ecosystem is Smaller: Fewer third-party integrations compared to Shopify.
• Performance Limits: Can slow down with large product catalogs (1,000+ items).
• Less Room for Developers: Limited API access and customization for advanced needs.
• Transaction Fees: Wix charges additional fees if you use payment methods outside Wix Payments.

Who Should Use Wix?

• Beginners or non-technical users who need a code-free setup.
• Small businesses and startups with a tight budget.
• Creative professionals who need full design freedom.
• Businesses with small product catalogs (under 100-200 items).

Shopify vs Wix Pricing Comparison

Wix Pricing:

Feature	Light	Core	Business	Business Elite
Price	$17/mo	$29/mo ($14.5/mo with 50% discount offer)	$39/mo ($19.5/mo with 50% discount offer)	$159/mo ($79.5/mo with 50% discount offer)
Free domain	1 year	1 year	1 year	1 year
Storage space	2 GB	50 GB	100 GB	Unlimited
Hosting	Multi-cloud	Multi-cloud	Multi-cloud	Multi-cloud
Marketing suite	Light	Basic	Standard	Advanced
Accept payments	✗	✓	✓	✓
eCommerce	✗	Basic	Standard	Advanced
Scheduling & services	✗	✓	✓	✓
Site collaborators	2	5	10	100
Developer platform	✗	✗	✗	Advanced

Add transaction fees: 2.9% + $0.30 if using Wix Payments, or 2% extra if using external gateways.

Example: Running a store with $50,000 monthly revenue on Wix Business Plus:

Cost Component	Amount	Calculation
Platform fee	$79.50/mo	(Discounted Business Elite plan)
Transaction fees (Wix Payments)	$1,480	2.9% + $0.30 per transaction*
Total monthly cost	$1,559.50	~3.1% of revenue

*Assumes average transaction size. For example, if you have 100 transactions averaging $500 each:

• Processing fees: ($50,000 × 2.9%) + (100 × $0.30) = $1,450 + $30 = $1,480.

Shopify Pricing:

Feature	Basic	Grow	Advanced	Plus
Target audience	Solo entrepreneurs	Small teams	Scaling businesses	Complex businesses
Monthly price	$39/mo	$105/mo	$399/mo	$2,300/mo (3-year term)
Yearly price	$29/mo (billed yearly, save 25%)	$79/mo (billed yearly, save 25%)	$299/mo (billed yearly, save 25%)	$2,300/mo (billed yearly, 3-year term)
Promotional offer	$1/mo for first 3 months	$1/mo for first 3 months	$1/mo for first 3 months	$399 for first month
Earn back on sales	1%	1%	1%	–
Credits	Up to $5,000	Up to $7,500	Up to $10,000	–
Online card rates	2.9% + 30¢ USD	2.7% + 30¢ USD	2.5% + 30¢ USD	Competitive rates
In-person card rates	2.6% + 10¢ USD	2.5% + 10¢ USD	2.4% + 10¢ USD	Competitive rates
3rd-party payment fees	2%	1%	0.6%	–
Shipping discount	Up to 77%	Up to 88% + insurance	Up to 88% + insurance + 3rd-party rates	Up to 88% + insurance + 3rd-party rates
Inventory locations	10	10	10	200
Staff accounts	–	5	15	Unlimited
Support	24/7 chat	24/7 chat	Enhanced 24/7 chat	Priority 24/7 phone
Local storefronts	✗	✗	✓	✓
POS locations	✓ (by phone/device)	✓ (by phone/device)	✓ (by phone/device)	Up to 200 POS Pro
Customizable checkout	✗	✗	✗	✓
Wholesale/B2B	✗	✗	✗	✓

Add transaction fees: 2.7% + $0.30 if using Shopify Payments, or 2.2% extra if using other gateways.

Example: Same $50,000 monthly revenue on Shopify Basic:

Cost Component	Amount	Calculation
Platform fee (yearly billing)	$29/mo	Shopify Basic annual plan
Transaction fees (Shopify Payments)	$1,480	2.9% + $0.30 per transaction*
Total monthly cost	$1,509	~3.0% of revenue

*Assumes average transaction size. For example, if you have 100 transactions averaging $500 each:

• Processing fees: ($50,000 × 2.9%) + (100 × $0.30) = $1,450 + $30 = $1,480.

Breakeven point: Shopify costs less than Wix, with monthly revenue of $20,000-$30,000+, and you pay lower transaction fees while getting advanced features that justify the investment.

So, Shopify is worth it if you have an already established business.

Who Should Choose Wix?

Choose Wix if:

• You are just starting out and want to test ideas without spending more money.
• Your store has under 100 products with simple variants.
• You need a beautiful website and a small shop (not just eCommerce).
• You value design simplicity and creative freedom.
• You want minimal technical overhead.
• You are not planning major growth in the next 1-2 years.

Real examples/Case scenarios: A freelance designer selling a few digital products, a photographer selling prints, a small local bakery taking online orders.

Who Should Choose Shopify?

Choose Shopify if:

• You are serious about growing an online business.
• You sell 100+ products or plan to build inventory.
• You need multi-channel selling (marketplace, social, and offline POS).
• You require advanced inventory, order fulfillment, or subscription features.
• You want access to thousands of specialized apps and integrations.
• You plan to hire staff or create team workflows.
• You operate internationally or need multi-currency support.
• You need detailed analytics and customer insights.

Real examples/Case scenarios: Growing apparel brands, drop-shippers, SaaS companies, subscription box services, multi-location retailers.

Can You Use Wix and Shopify Together?

Technically, yes. But it is not preferred, and no one does that. Some businesses run a Shopify store while maintaining a Wix portfolio site. However, managing two platforms doubles costs, complicates analytics, and fragments customer data.

Better approach: Start with Wix for quick validation. When you hit Wix’s editor limitations, migrate to Shopify, as both platforms offer migration tools.

What Can Shopify Do That Wix Cannot?

1. Headless Commerce: Decouple the storefront from the backend to create custom experiences. It can be done in Shopify Plus.
2. Advanced Subscriptions: Sell recurring products natively with any billing cycle.
3. B2B Selling: Manage wholesale accounts, custom pricing, and bulk ordering online or via Shopify POS.
4. Multi-Location Inventory Sync: Get real-time stock updates across warehouses, retail locations, and online channels.
5. Marketing Automation: The Shopify app store has many integrations with email platforms, SMS, and customer data platforms.
6. Custom Apps and Plugins: Can hire Shopify developer to build specialized solutions for your store.
7. API-First Architecture: Integrate with accounting software, inventory systems, and other fulfillment networks with Shopify eCommerce.

Big Companies Using Shopify or Wix

Notable Wix Users: While Wix powers over 9.1 million websites. Most of which belong to SMBs and creative professionals. Large enterprises typically outgrow Wix once eCommerce becomes central to their revenue. Popular Wix websites include Daikin Australia, Bleacher Report, Melbourne City Fan Club, and Unicity.

Notable Shopify Users: Premium brands like Kylie Cosmetics, Allbirds, Gymshark, and Ride Bikes run their entire operations on Shopify.

Final Notes on Choosing Between Shopify and Wix

The best platform is not the one everyone uses. It is the one that solves your problem at the right price.

Choose Wix if you want simplicity, design freedom, and a lower price. With Wix, you get a professional website and basic selling tools. You are paying for ease and speed to launch.

Choose Shopify if you are building a large business that requires advanced inventory management, multi-channel selling, and integrations. You are paying for streamlined operations, support, and scalability.

Will your choice help you reach your business goals without outgrowing the platform in 6-12 months? If yes, go with it. If you are unsure, we recommend starting with Wix, validating your model, then investing in Shopify when you have enough revenue.

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