Shopify vs Ecwid

by Gralio Feb 03, 2025

Shopify and Ecwid are both e-commerce platforms catering to different needs. Shopify is better for businesses anticipating growth and requiring a wide range of features and integrations, while Ecwid is better for smaller businesses prioritizing simplicity and affordability.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 5898 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 day, 9 hours, 16 minutes of reading.

Shopify

Website LinkedIn Twitter

Ecwid

Website LinkedIn Twitter

About

Shopify is a popular e-commerce platform that provides businesses of all sizes with the tools to create and manage online stores. From website design and product listings to payment processing and shipping, Shopify offers a comprehensive suite of features. It also provides additional tools for marketing, inventory management, and customer relationship management. Shopify is known for its user-friendly interface, scalability, and extensive app store, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced online retailers.

Ecwid is an e-commerce platform designed for small to medium-sized businesses. It allows you to easily add an online store to your existing website or social media pages. You can manage sales, inventory, payments, shipping, and marketing from a single platform. Ecwid offers a free plan with paid options available for expanded features and sales volume. They are known for their ease of use, strong customer support, and integrations with popular platforms.

Summary

Main difference

Shopify offers a more comprehensive and scalable platform with a larger app store and more advanced features, making it suitable for businesses expecting significant growth. Ecwid is a more budget-friendly and easier-to-implement solution ideal for small businesses prioritizing simplicity and seamless integration with existing websites or social media.

Relative strengths of Shopify (compared to Ecwid)

Larger app store with more extensive integrations and functionalities.
More scalable platform suitable for growing businesses.
More comprehensive features for marketing, inventory management, and customer relationship management.

Relative weaknesses of Shopify (compared to Ecwid)

Higher monthly fees compared to Ecwid.
Can require more technical expertise for advanced customization.
App reliance for certain features can lead to additional costs.

Who should use Shopify VS. Ecwid

Shopify is a user-friendly e-commerce platform suitable for businesses of all sizes. Its intuitive interface, extensive app store, and scalability make it a popular choice. Users praise the platform's ease of use and variety of themes, while some note concerns about cost and limited customization.

Ecwid is a user-friendly e-commerce platform ideal for small and medium businesses looking to expand online. Its seamless integrations and affordable pricing make it easy to get started. However, users have noted sudden price increases and limitations on product listings with the free plan. Many appreciate the responsive customer support.

Best for small to enterprise-level businesses.
Ideal for E-commerce, Retail, Consumer Goods, and various other industries.

Best for small to medium-sized businesses.
Suitable for a wide range of industries, including retail, e-commerce, and consumer goods.

Shopify and Ecwid features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Online Sales

Supported

Shopify supports online sales via websites, social media, and marketplaces.

Supported

Ecwid supports online sales across websites, social media, and marketplaces.
International Sales

Supported

Shopify supports international sales via currency conversion, translations, and shipping logistics.

Supported

Ecwid supports international sales with multi-currency pricing, translations, and shipping logistics.
POS System

Supported

Shopify offers a comprehensive POS system, integrating online and offline sales channels.

Partially supported

Ecwid integrates with existing POS systems but does not offer one itself.
Website builder

Supported

Shopify allows the creation of a product catalog website with its native features and integrated apps. It provides features for catalog creation, assignment to companies/customers, custom B2B pricing, and app integrations for enhanced catalog management, online/PDF catalog generation, automated updates, and more.

Supported

Ecwid allows creating a website with a product catalog. They offer an Instant Site feature, product catalog management tools, and customization options like catalog mode.
One-click checkout

Supported

Shopify supports one-click checkout through its Shop Pay feature.

Supported

Ecwid streamlines checkout through features like direct checkout links, support for digital wallets, and automated processes, although it might not be explicitly labeled as "one-click checkout."
Team Collaboration

Supported

Shopify enables team collaboration on order management through features like customizable order views, bulk actions, real-time visibility, and integrations with third-party tools.

Supported

Ecwid enables team collaboration for order management via granular access control, centralized order view, and task delegation.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

-0.42

Rather negative sentiment

-0.26

Neutral sentiment
Customer Service

+0.18

Neutral sentiment

+0.61

Rather positive sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.91

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.8

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.4

Rather positive sentiment

+0.14

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.72

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.82

Strongly positive sentiment
Scalability

+0.35

Rather positive sentiment

-0.67

Rather negative sentiment

Shopify and Ecwid Pricing

Shopify offers a 3-day free trial and several pricing plans for businesses of all sizes. All plans include features like online store creation, sales channels, analytics, and app integrations. Shopify also offers solutions for in-person selling with Shopify POS and a Starter plan for selling through social media and messaging apps.

Plans

User sentiment

Neutral

-0.25

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Neutral

-0.26

See full Pricing page

Shopify and Ecwid review insights

5781 reviews analysed from and

Users love

User-friendly interface praised for its ease of use.
Wide variety of themes and templates available.
Extensive app store for added functionality.
Shopify Payments integrated for seamless transactions.

Seamless integration with existing websites and social media platforms is frequently praised.
User-friendly interface and ease of use are consistently highlighted.
Strong and responsive customer support is a recurring positive.
Affordable pricing, especially the free plan, is appreciated by many.
Flexibility and customization options are praised, especially regarding product variations and shipping.

Users dislike

High monthly fees are a common complaint.
Limited customization options, especially without coding knowledge.
App reliance for key features leads to additional costs.
Customer support can be slow and unresponsive.

Sudden price increases are a common complaint, with users feeling nickel-and-dimed.
Limited product listings on the free plan (10 products) is a frustration for many.
Account closures without notice or explanation have been reported.
SEO functionality needs improvement, particularly for multilingual stores.
Slow loading speeds for the storefront are a recurring issue.

Shopify and Ecwid Ratings

G2

4.4/5

(2547)
Capterra

4.5/5

(2373)
Glassdoor

3.3/5

(3293)

G2

4.7/5

(400)
Capterra

4.6/5

(501)
TrustPilot

3.2/5

(117)
Glassdoor

3.6/5

(879)

Company health

Employee growth

18% increase in the last year

7% increase in the last year

Web traffic

10% increase in the last quarter

9% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

September 2013 - $122M

May 2021 - $1B

How do Shopify's customization options compare to Ecwid's flexibility with existing websites?

Shopify's customization options are generally considered more limited than Ecwid's flexibility with existing websites. While Shopify offers themes and an app store for added functionality, deeper customization often requires coding knowledge. Ecwid, conversely, is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing websites, allowing businesses to add e-commerce functionality without significantly altering their current site structure. This makes Ecwid a more flexible option for businesses wanting to retain their existing website design and simply add a shopping cart and product listings.

Which platform, Shopify or Ecwid, offers better scaling potential despite initial ease of use?

Shopify offers better scaling potential. While Ecwid excels in ease of use and affordability, especially for beginners, its scalability is limited, as reflected in its negative scalability score. Shopify, despite a slightly steeper learning curve, provides a more robust platform with a wider range of features, apps, and integrations to support growth, making it more suitable for businesses anticipating significant expansion.

What are the advantages of Shopify?

Shopify offers a comprehensive suite of features for e-commerce businesses, including website building, payment processing, shipping, marketing, and inventory management, making it a one-stop shop for online retailers. It is known for its user-friendly interface, making it accessible to users with varying technical skills, and its extensive app store provides a wide range of integrations and added functionalities. Shopify also demonstrates strong growth, indicating a healthy and evolving platform.

What are the disadvantages of Shopify?

Shopify's disadvantages include higher monthly fees compared to some competitors, limited customization options without coding knowledge, reliance on apps (which can increase overall costs), and potentially slow customer support. Users also mention limited customization options without coding.

Alternatives to Shopify and Ecwid

WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a free and popular platform for building online stores, specifically designed to work with WordPress websites. It's a popular choice, powering a large portion of all online shops. WooCommerce is known for being highly customizable and adaptable, offering a wide range of extensions and themes to tailor the functionality and design of your store. While it's free to use, additional extensions and themes may come with costs. WooCommerce is suitable for both small businesses starting out and larger companies needing more advanced features.

Salesforce Commerce for B2C

Salesforce Commerce for B2C is an e-commerce platform designed to help businesses of all sizes sell online. It offers tools to create and manage online stores, connect with customers across multiple channels (web, mobile, social media), and streamline operations like marketing, order fulfillment, and customer service. The platform stands out with its focus on personalization, using data and AI to tailor shopping experiences. Salesforce Commerce for B2C promises to help businesses grow profitability by increasing sales and improving customer satisfaction.

Magento Open Source

Magento Open Source is a free and adaptable platform for building online stores. It gives businesses complete control over their website design, functionality, and data. While technically skilled to set up, it's a popular choice for companies who want a customized online store without being locked into a rigid software solution.

ikas

ikas is an e-commerce platform designed for small to medium businesses looking to create and manage online stores. The platform allows you to sell products across multiple channels like marketplaces and your own website, all managed from a central dashboard. ikas boasts a user-friendly interface that requires no technical expertise to set up, along with features like integrated shipping, marketing automation, and multilingual support for international sales. They offer 24/7 customer support and promise no hidden fees for services like bandwidth and software updates.

Shopware

Shopware is a flexible e-commerce platform designed for mid-sized and larger businesses. It allows you to manage your online store, personalize shopping experiences, and scale your business. Shopware is open-source, meaning you can customize it extensively. It's known for its user-friendliness and focus on automation, helping you streamline operations. Shopware is a global company with a strong presence in Europe and a growing footprint in North America.

Salesforce Commerce for B2B

Salesforce Commerce for B2B is an e-commerce platform designed to help businesses sell to other businesses online. It offers features such as quick storefront setup, automated ordering, and customizable pricing and promotions. With a focus on efficiency and automation, it aims to simplify complex B2B sales processes and help businesses generate more revenue. It's suitable for companies of all sizes, boasts high reliability, and can be customized with additional apps and integrations.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

How are we doing?

Is this information helpful to you? Is there anything we are missing?

Did this help you select your product?

Other issues? Vote & Let us know