3.8

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• Sellers start with listing, transaction, and payment processing fees
• Features a built-in marketplace for handmade and vintage products
• Gives sellers access to Etsy Ads and Offsite Ads for promotion

BEST OVERALL

2.9

Visit Site Start for free, then enjoy €1/month for 3 months

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• All In One Solution For Creating and Managing Your Online Store
• A Safe and Efficient Platform Trusted By Millions Of Users Worldwide
• Customizable Templates, Domain Names, Affordable Prices & A 14-Day Free Trial, No Credit Card Required

Shopify vs. Etsy: Quick Summary

After testing both, Shopify wins for its flexibility, scalability, and advanced tools. It lets you fully customize your store, manage products easily, and even sell in person with its POS system.

Etsy is great for handmade or vintage sellers who want to start fast, but it limits design control and long-term growth.

If you’re building a real brand and want full control, Shopify is the better pick.

What Is Shopify?

Shopify provides an all-in-one solution for those who want to build and maintain an online store. It is easy to use and suitable for both beginners and more advanced users. Shopify comes with all the features and tools you need to build a fully-functioning online store.

Shopify also has its own Point of Sale (POS) system that Shopify users can utilize to their advantage. With Shopify’s POS system, you will be able to manage your physical and online sales in one place. Other excellent features and tools that you can get with Shopify include powerful analytics tools with which you can track and analyze metrics like sales, customer behavior, etc., the ability to automate repetitive tasks like transactions and inventory management, and more. If you want to learn more about all the features and tools that Shopify offers, you can do so by reading our expert review on the builder.

What Is Etsy?

Etsy is an online marketplace website that was founded in 2005. It is a marketplace where users can sell handmade products, vintage items, and craft supplies. Thus, Etsy is not your traditional platform for building a website. Namely, it is a marketplace filled with millions of sellers who share the space and sell to millions of people. For example, Amazon and eBay are companies like Etsy since all of them work in similar ways. Those two companies and other similar ones are direct Etsy competitors and are usually the most-used Etsy alternatives.

Recently, Etsy developed its own all-in-one website-building solution called “Etsy Pattern,” with which people can create and host a website. If you want to read more about everything that Etsy offers, you can check out our expert review on the builder, where we cover all of its features, services, and more.

Shopify vs. Etsy: A Quick Preview

Before we get to the main part of this comparison and dive deeper into what sets the two platforms apart, here is a quick preview of what’s to come from the full Shopify vs. Etsy comparison:

Shopify vs. Etsy: Full Comparison – Who Will Take the Win?

Value for Money (Pricing): Which Platform Provides Better Prices?

Shopify’s Prices

Even though Shopify does not offer a free plan, it does offer a 14-day free trial which you can try out before committing to one of its plans. To use the 14-day free trial, you will only have to abide by the following Shopify requirements: provide the company with an email address and a name for your store; no credit card information is needed. So you can try out its services completely risk-free.

Shopify offers three premium plans to its users, starting from $29/month and going up to $299/month. The builder also provides enterprise-grade solutions suitable for large businesses called Shopify Plus. Also, you can get its Shopify Lite plan which allows you to add products to any existing website or blog and accept credit card payments. So, in total, you can choose from five different pricing plans with Shopify.

Each Shopify plan (except for Shopify Lite) offers all the essential features one might need to create and maintain an online store, including a free SSL certificate, free web hosting, a Shopify branded subdomain, and the ability to sell unlimited products, unlimited storage, and more. Shopify Lite comes with the Shopify Buy Button, Shopify POS Lite, and 24/7 support.

Shopify offers discounts to those who choose to pay for an entire year or two years up front. So, if you pay for a whole year upfront, you will get a 10% discount, and if you pay for two years upfront, you will get a 20% discount.

Etsy’s Prices

Selling on Etsy is pretty straightforward. Namely, if you get its Standard plan, you will only have to pay a $0.20 listing fee for each product you add to your shop, a 6.5% transaction fee, and a 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee for each sale you make. So, you won’t have to pay fixed monthly fees with Etsy’s Standard plan, as you would with Shopify’s plans.

You can also get Etsy’s Plus plan which costs $10/month. With the Plus plan, you will get an expanded set of tools, including customization tools (banner templates, features listing options, etc.), email options, a custom .com or .store address free for one year, 15 listing credits, and $5 advertising credits.

Winner

It’s a draw! Etsy is the cheaper platform that is ideal for businesses and individuals who are on a tighter budget, while Shopify is more expensive but offers excellent value for money thanks to its numerous powerful features. So, the platform you choose in this case all depends on your budget!

Ease of Use: Which Platform Is More Beginner-Friendly?

Shopify Ease of Use

Shopify is an excellent platform for beginners. With it, you will get everything you need in one place and won’t have to get things like hosting or a domain name from another provider. Shopify will also manage your whole website for you, including backups, updates, security, and more.

Other beginner-friendly features that Shopify offers include:

• Easy sales, product, and inventory management – with Shopify, you will be able to manage and track every element of your online store in one place. Also, Shopify’s user interface is pretty straightforward and easy to understand, so beginners won’t have much trouble navigating through it and finding what they need.
• Drag-and-drop functionality – with Shopify, you can easily create, design, and edit your website, thanks to its excellent drag-and-drop functionality. Namely, you can do everything you want and design your website by simply dragging and dropping elements where you want them to be on your website.

Etsy Ease of Use

Etsy is even more simple and easy to use than Shopify! It is a super simple platform that everyone and their mom can learn how to use in a matter of minutes. Thus, it is excellent for beginners.

All you have to do with Etsy is set up an account, choose a name for your store, add products, and add your billing details and prices. Also, Etsy will guide you through the whole process and make sure that you complete all the steps before you launch your store. Furthermore, you can track your progress and see how close you are to completing your store setup!

Etsy will also help you choose a name for your store if the name that you want is not available. You don’t have to create a whole website to sell on Etsy like you would with Shopify. So, with Etsy, you can become an online seller within minutes!

Winner

Even though both platforms are beginner-friendly and easy to use, Etsy is much more straightforward than Shopify! It also takes a lot less time to set up and guides you through the whole process. So, Etsy is the winner of this category!

Templates (Design Flexibility): Which Platform Offers Better Design Options?

Shopify Templates and Design Flexibility

With Shopify, you will get to choose from over 100 high-quality eCommerce templates. Each Shopify template was carefully designed to fit a certain business sector and look just as great on mobile as it does on desktop. So, you will have an excellent-looking store that will grab your customers’ attention no matter which device they are accessing it from.

You can find templates that fit all kinds of industries with Shopify, including clothing & accessories, food & drink, art & entertainment, electronics, toys & games, hardware & automotive, pet supplies, home & garden, health & beauty, and more.

You can customize your template whenever you want with Shopify. Also, you can switch your template even after your site is live if you want to. Shopify also has its own Theme Editor, with which you can edit your templates and add color and elements that match your brand image.

Etsy Templates and Design Flexibility

Etsy falls short when it comes to design flexibility and customization. Namely, it does not allow you to customize your store, add templates, colors, or any other kind of customization features.

You will have to meet all the Etsy requirements if you want to create a shop and sell on the platform. These include a predetermined design and layout which cannot be changed or altered in any way. The only things that will differentiate your Etsy store from the others are the products that you offer.

But don’t worry, it is not as bad as it sounds. All Etsy stores have a clean and attractive design that will emphasize your products and is familiar to millions of customers. So, the good side is that you won’t have to worry about designing your store and whether or not people will like it. The bad side is that you won’t be able to stand out from the millions of sellers on the platform and create a name for yourself.

Winner

When it comes to design flexibility and templates, Shopify is a much better choice. With Etsy, you won’t be able to customize your store at all, and the only things that will differentiate you from other sellers will be your products. With Shopify, on the other hand, you will be able to choose from 100+ high-quality eCommerce templates and customize your store whenever you want. Thus, Shopify is the clear winner of this category!

Features and Tools: Where Can You Get More?

Shopify’s Features and Tools

Before I dive in and list some of Shopify’s best features and tools, we want to preface this by saying that Shopify is a feature-packed platform that not many others can match. It offers some of the best tools for selling online on the market, along with other powerful features suitable for all kinds of purposes.

One of its most unique is its Point of Sale (POS) system. Shopify’s POS system allows you to offer a smooth shopping experience for all your customers, including your online and in-store ones. With it, you can integrate the sales, orders, inventory, and everything else of your online and physical stores and manage everything in one place. Also, Shopify’s POS system offers all kinds of valuable features, including omnichannel selling, smart inventory management, staff management, checkout, reporting and analytics, and more.

In addition to the POS system, Shopify also has a buy button with which you can add products to any site or blog. It is an excellent tool for those who want to add some extra functionality to their blog and promote products there.

Shopify also has an App Store that is filled with powerful eCommerce-specific apps, including apps that allow you to add a customer wishlist to your website, set up drop shipping, add product reviews, and more. Also, Shopify lets you integrate your online store with Facebook, Instagram, Google, TikTok, the Walmart Marketplace, and eBay.

Etsy’s Features and Tools

Etsy comes with a few unique features that you can use to your advantage. Namely, it has an app called “Sell On Etsy,” which you can use to run your shop on the go. With the Etsy app, you will have quick access to stats & orders, the ability to create & manage listings, and the ability to share milestones on social media. You can download the Etsy app from the App Store and Google Play.

Other tools and features that you will get with Etsy include:

• The ability to buy and print discounted postage for your orders right from your Etsy account;
• Boost your visibility with Etsy’s advertising tools – Etsy Adds and Offsite Adds.
• The ability to create sales and coupons;
• Create a custom website that is powered by your Etsy shop;

There are many marketing tools that you can use to manage and promote your Etsy shop, including “Outfy,” “Mad Mimi,” “Marmalead,” “LeadDyno,” “ReferralCandy,” “Vela,” “Etsy On Sale,” “TaxJar,” and more!

You can integrate your Etsy shop with Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Bing, and Google. Also, you can use Google Shopping to get found by more people online.

Winner

Both platforms offer their own unique features and allow you to integrate your shop with various social media platforms. However, Shopify offers many more eCommerce features than Etsy and has everything that a growing business could possibly need! Thus, Shopify is the winner of this category!

Performance: Who Offers Better Speed?

Shopify’s Performance

In this section of the comparison, we will test how our Shopify and Etsy sites perform using a speed testing tool. That way, we can see which one is faster and offers better load speeds. We tested both our Shopify and Etsy shops from the same location so that we could compare the builders fairly and accurately. Also, we used the same speed testing tool so that we could receive more accurate and comparable results. Our Shopify website received the following results:

• Performance grade D 61;
• Page size 1.9MB;
• Load time 2.91s;

Our Shopify website’s load time was 2.91 seconds, which is considered a great load time. It took up 1.9MB of space and received a performance grade of D 61. In the photo below, you can see how our Shopify website performed in other metrics as well.

Etsy’s Performance

We did the same test on our Etsy shop as we did with our Shopify shop. The website’s results are as follows:

• Performance grade D 67;
• Page size 2.6MB;
• Load time 2.86s;

As you can see, our Etsy shop performed better than our Shopify shop even though it is larger in size. It had a loading time of 2.86 seconds and took up 2.6MB of space. In the photo below, you can see how our Etsy shop performed in other metrics as well.

Winner

Even though it is a very close call, Etsy takes the win in this category. Both platforms showed great results, but Etsy proved that it provides better performance than Shopify. Thus, Etsy is the winner of this category.

Help and Support: Which Platform Offers Better Customer Support?

Shopify’s Help and Support

Shopify has plenty to offer when it comes to help and support. It has a Help Center filled with all kinds of helpful documents. Namely, you can find articles on topics like Migrate to Shopify, Your account, Online Store, POS, Sales channels, Shopify checkout, Domains, Products, Payments, Locations, Shipping and Delivery, Customers, Orders, Shopify Flow, Discounts, Metafields, Apps, Analytics, and many more.

You can reach Shopify’s customer support team at all times via live chat, phone, and email. Also, Shopify has an extensive knowledge base and an excellent marketing blog where you can find information on how to grow your business. You can also signup to Shopify’s online forum and ask questions to other Shopify users.

Etsy’s Help and Support

Etsy also has a Help Center where you can find articles that show you how to sell and shop on Etsy. You can also learn more about topics like communicating with buyers, offering free shipping, getting paid, categorizing & tagging, your shop’s appearance, getting started with Etsy, stats & analytics, Etsy marketing, and more.

You can reach Etsy via email or by requesting a phone call if you prefer to talk to an agent instead of communicating via text.

Etsy also has its own Seller-Handbook, where you can find various business tips. You can also join Etsy’s online forums and communicate with other Etsy sellers. Furthermore, Etsy has its own newsletter called the “Etsy Success” newsletter, which offers tips on improving your shop.

Alt-Text: You can contact Etsy via email or request a phone call, get its Seller Handbook to learn tips for success, subscribe to its seller newsletter, and communicate with other sellers via its online forums

Winner

Even though both platforms offer great customer support, Shopify’s help and support are much more comprehensive and personal than Etsy’s. Thus, Shopify takes the win in this category.

Shopify vs. Etsy: Final Remarks and Recommendation

When Should You Choose Shopify?

Shopify is an excellent and powerful website builder which is ideal for those who:

• Run a larger business – since Shopify offers users the ability to sell unlimited products and storage, it is excellent for those who want to build a website for a business that already has an established customer base and larger sales volumes.
• Need multi-channel selling – with Shopify, you can sell on many different social media platforms and marketplaces, including eBay, the Walmart Marketplace, Facebook, Instagram, and more.
• Want to customize their online store – Shopify offers more than 100 high-quality eCommerce templates that are fully customizable and can be edited at any time. You can also switch your template even after your site is live and change its colors, fonts, etc.

When Should You Choose Etsy?

Etsy is a vast marketplace that allows you to sell your products at super low prices. You should choose it over Shopify if you:

• You are a new online seller – if you are a new online seller that does not have an already-established customer base, Etsy is an excellent platform that can satisfy your needs. With Etsy, you will be able to reach millions of customers right off the bat and sell your products on a well-known and popular marketplace.
• Want to sell handmade products – when people want to buy handmade products, vintage items, or craft supplies, they automatically go to Etsy to find what they need. So, if you want to sell such products, Etsy is an excellent solution for you since it provides you with a marketplace full of people that want to buy what you sell.
• Are on a tighter budget – selling on Etsy won’t cost you a lot of money. Namely, with its Standard plan, you will only have to pay for listing, transaction, and payment processing fees. You won’t have to pay a fixed monthly price, and your total costs will depend solely on the number of sales you make. Its Plus plan is also pretty cheap and only costs $10/month.

Our Recommendation

Both Shopify and Etsy are suitable for selling online and can be used by both beginners and more experienced users. However, in the end, only one can be the winner. And in this case, the overall winner and best platform between the two is Shopify.

Companies like Shopify that pay such attention to detail and provide everything a seller needs in one place are hard to come by on the market! Not only does Shopify allow you to create a unique and personalized online store, but it also offers some of the best eCommerce features and tools on the market. Furthermore, it offers excellent customer support services available at all times via multiple channels.