If you intend to start building a website for your business in 2021, you will have to draw comparisons between the web builders available online, like Shopify VS Wix. With so many website builders to choose from, it can be confusing for some to choose one that suits their website needs.

Shopify and Wix are some of the most popular website builders on the web right now, but which of these two should you choose?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer for this kind of question because the choice between the two will largely depend on what the website you intend to build is about and several other factors. If you are keen to learn which of the two suits your needs, this article is for you. We shall dig deep into what each of these two website building platforms is good at and the type of websites that are ideal for each.

Let’s get started.

1. Overview

Shopify

Shopify is a website-building software that allows anyone to build an online store/eCommerce website and sell their products online. All tools built within Shopify are meant to make it easier for anyone to create an eCommerce website. Shopify is currently among the top 5 eCommerce website builders in the world, according to Statista.

Wix

Wix is also a website building platform that helps anyone to create a website using their versatile templates. Unlike Shopify, Wix can create any type of website as long you choose the right template. With Wix, one can build an eCommerce website, a blog, an information site, a news website, and any other form of website they wish to.

2. Pricing Plans

Shopify

When it comes to the premium plans, Shopify has only five options to choose from, and these include;

The plans that Shopify offers vary in the following ways;

• Staff accounts: The number of users you can add to a single subscription varies based on which plan you choose. For instance, the Shopify basic plans allow only two users, where the advanced plan allows up to 15 users
• Store locations: The number of inventory locations that you can add also varies based on the plan.
• Shipping discount: The cheaper plans are given less discount on shipping than the more expensive plans
• Charges on payment: When you make a sale, Shopify charges you a fee based on the plan you subscribed for. Cheaper plans are charged a slightly higher fee than the more expensive plans.

Wix

Wix has 8 paid plans that one can choose from depending on the type of website they want to build and their budget. The premium plans of Wix are as follows;

Website plans

eCommerce/business plans

The plan you choose will affect you in the following ways;

• The features and apps you’re given access to: Plans that are more costly give you access to more features than the cheaper plan.
• Storage: The website storage you are given varies with every plan, with the more expensive plans getting more storage than the cheaper alternatives. So, if you intend to upload lots of videos and photos, you need to carefully look at the storage size of the plan you are about to choose.
• Customer support: More expensive plans are given priority in customer support than the cheaper alternatives.
• Video minutes: More expensive Plans allow you to upload longer videos than the cheaper ones.
• eCommerce features: These features are only available for business plans. So, if you intend to build an eCommerce website, you have to choose a business plan.

Before choosing any of these plans, you need to assess the amount of space you need carefully, the apps/features you will need to build your website and the length of videos you intend to post within a month. If you are building a new website, we recommend starting with the cheaper plans and later upgrade when your website starts to scale up.

Verdict

When you consider the overall pricing strategy, Wix gives users more options to choose from based on the type of website they want to build and the features they need. Shopify is also pricier than Wix, so if you don’t have a big budget, you will find Wix a much more friendly option than Shopify. Overall, Wix wins this category.

3. Credit card rates and transaction fees

Both Shopify and Wix will charge you a fee for every transaction you make, either using their in-house payment methods or third parties. Shopify charges 2.9% on each transaction, whereas Wix charges 2.4%. If you use a third-party payment method on Shopify, they will charge you an additional 0.5% to 2% based on the plan you subscribed for. On the other hand, Wix doesn’t charge extra fees for using third-party payment methods.

Verdict

As far as transaction fees and credit card rates are concerned, Wix charges less than Shopify. So, Wix wins this as well.

4. Ease of Use

Wix is one of the easiest website builders out there that even non-techy people find easy to use. Shopify is also not so complicated, but the features in Wix are way easier to learn than those in Shopify. If you are a beginner, you will most likely find it easier to get started with Wix than Shopify. This doesn’t mean Shopify is a complicated website builder; Wix is just much more straightforward.

Verdict

Wix wins this category as well for it’s easy to use interface.

5. Theme/website templates

Shopify

Shopify has over 60 quality templates that you can use to create your online store. All the themes on Shopify are straightforward to customize and responsive, so they automatically rearrange the content based on the device one is using to access your website. The downside is that only 10 of these themes are free. The rest of the themes will require to pay about $140 to $180 to get access to them.

Wix

On the other hand, Wix has over 800 hundred templates that you can choose from while creating a website, and over 80 of these are for building online stores. The upside about Wix templates is that over 60 of them are absolutely free. However, one of the major weaknesses of Wix is that their templates are usually not as responsive as those at Shopify.

Verdict

Shopify wins this category mainly because it has better quality and more responsive themes than Wix.

6. Product presentation and features

Wix

When it comes to presenting products on your online store, Wix gives more options that you can use to display each product on your store. For instance, if you are selling clothes, Shopify will only provide three options: size, material, and color. On the other hand, Wix gives up to 6 options, allowing sellers to show more details about the product to customers.

Shopify

However, where Shopify beats Wix is in the app market. Shopify has lots of apps in its app store that you can use to fully customize your storefront to make it much better and unique from your competition. Shopify also has an AR feature that allows customers to use their smartphones to view specific products in AR.

Verdict

When it comes to the overall quality of presenting products, Shopify does a much better job than Wix. So, Shopify wins this category.

7. Payment Options

Both Wix and Shopify have their own payment options, but they also allow third-party payment methods on their platforms. Let’s look at the payment options that you can add to each of these platforms.

Shopify

• PayPal
• Stripe (Only in regions where Shopify Pay is not supported)
• Apple Pay
• Amazon Pay
• Klarna
• Shopify payments

Wix

• PayPal
• Stripe
• Square
• Wix Payments

Verdict

It’s clear that Shopify wins for this category because it has more payment options than Wix.

8. Shipping Options

Shopify

Shopify helps you through the complex shipping process by allowing you quickly add free shipping and also sync with third-party shipping service providers. It also helps you to add contract-free shipping options like curbside pickup and local delivery.

Wix

On the other hand, Wix can help you set up tax rules and add the option to track orders. However, with Wix, you will need a third-party app to process global shipping payments.

Verdict

Shopify also wins this category thanks to its more versatile and easier to set up shipping options.

9. Marketing features and functionalities

The success of your website will largely depend on how well you market it. Both Wix and Shopify have various features and functionalities that you can use to market your website. The table below shows the marketing features supported by each and their level of effectiveness.

Each of these platforms allows marketing using various strategies, but Wix seems to be doing a better job, especially with blogging and SEO, as compared to Shopify. Remember SEO is responsible for over 50% of all website traffic.

Verdict

As far as marketing is concerned, Wix wins this category slightly over Shopify, especially with SEO, making it easier for sellers to grow their website’s traffic.

10. Customer Support

Both Wix and Shopify have relatively reliable customer support that merchants can count on to get help in case they face any challenges while using the platform. The table below shows how each of these platforms performs when it comes to implementing the different areas of customer support;

Verdict

Both Wix and Shopify have reliable customer support, but Wix wins slightly over Shopify when it comes to reliability.

11. Apps in their app stores

Both Wix and Shopify have app stores where you can download apps that can improve your website’s overall functionality and user experience. When it comes to eCommerce-related apps, Shopify has over 5700 apps, whereas Wix has just over 300 apps, with only 57 of these falling under eCommerce. The average cost of apps on Shopify is between $5 to $250 per month, whereas apps on Wix cost between $10 to $100.

Verdict

Shopify wins this category by far thanks to their rich app store that has apps that are over 10 times those on Wix.

Shopify VS Wix: Summary & Conclusion

Wix and Shopify are both robust website-building platforms that have been around for some time. The choice of which one to choose should largely depend on the type of website you intend to build.

If you are new to building websites, you will find Wix a much easier platform to adopt, thanks to its simplicity and reliable customer support. Wix is also a good option for small businesses that don’t have a big budget for building and promoting the website since its pricing is more friendly.

On the other hand, Shopify is a better platform for those who need websites with more eCommerce functionalities. Shopify’s app store allows users to add apps to their websites, which they can use to enhance the website’s user experience.