By ExpertahUpdated October 202613 min read

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BEST FOR SELLING
Shopify
Best for: stores where selling is the main goal
  • Purpose-built for ecommerce
  • Best checkout and Shop Pay
  • Biggest app ecosystem
  • Scales to large stores
Try Shopify →
Wix
Best for: small businesses that want a beautiful site with a shop attached
  • Flexible drag-and-drop design
  • Selling from $29/mo billed yearly
  • Strong for bookings and services
  • Good all-in-one website tools
Try Wix →
Quick verdict

Choose Shopify if your business is your online store. It has better selling tools, a stronger checkout and far more ecommerce apps. Choose Wix if your website comes first and selling is part of it: a portfolio, service business, restaurant or small shop where design freedom and an all-in-one site builder matter more than advanced ecommerce.

Shopify and Wix are both easy, hosted ways to sell online, and both start at similar prices. The difference is focus: Shopify is an ecommerce platform that also builds websites, while Wix is a website builder that also sells. That shapes everything from checkout to apps.

Shopify vs Wix at a glance

ShopifyWix
Built forOnline stores firstWebsites first
Cheapest plan that sellsBasic: $29/mo yearly ($39 monthly)Core: $29/mo billed yearly
Extra platform transaction fee0% with Shopify PaymentsNone with Wix Payments
Card processing (US online)2.9% + 30¢ on BasicTypically 2.9% + 30¢
DesignSection-based themesFree-form drag-and-drop
App ecosystemVery large, ecommerce-focusedSmaller, broader
Selling channelsSocial, Google, marketplaces, POSSocial, marketplaces, POS
Best forProduct brands and growing storesSmall businesses, services, creatives
Our pickSerious storesWebsite-first businesses

Pricing

Shopify

PlanBilled monthlyBilled yearly
Basic$39/mo$29/mo
Grow$105/mo$79/mo
Advanced$399/mo$299/mo

Wix

PlanBilled yearly (per month)Can sell?Storage
Light$17No2 GB
Core$29Yes50 GB
Business$39Yes100 GB
Business Elite$159YesUnlimited

Wix prices are for yearly billing as of 2026; monthly billing costs more, and multi-year plans cost less. Shopify prices are US list prices.

At the entry level, both cost about $29 a month billed yearly. Wix Core includes up to 50,000 products, abandoned cart recovery and subscriptions; Wix Business adds automatic tax calculation and advanced shipping. Shopify Basic includes unlimited products and most selling tools from the start. Neither adds a platform fee when you use its own payment system.

Winner: Tie

Ease of use and design

Wix is famous for its free-form editor: drag any element anywhere on the page. It is ideal if you want a unique, design-led website and enjoy hands-on control. The trade-off is that very free layouts take more care to look good on mobile, and switching to a different template after your site is live is not straightforward.

Shopify’s theme editor is section-based: you add and rearrange blocks within a theme. It is more structured, which makes it harder to create something unusual but easier to keep a store looking clean and consistent on every device.

Winner: Wix for design freedom, Shopify for consistency

Ecommerce features

This is where Shopify pulls ahead. Its checkout is one of the most trusted and fastest in ecommerce, especially with Shop Pay. It has stronger inventory and order management, better tools for selling internationally, a more capable point-of-sale system, and deeper integrations with marketplaces and social channels.

Wix covers the essentials well for a small store: product pages, abandoned cart recovery, subscriptions, loyalty programs, dropshipping (with limits by plan), and point of sale. It also shines for selling services, with built-in bookings, events and restaurant ordering.

Winner: Shopify

Apps and integrations

Shopify’s App Store is the largest in ecommerce, with thousands of apps for reviews, email, upsells, subscriptions, shipping and more. Wix’s App Market is smaller and more general, covering everything from forms to booking tools.

Winner: Shopify

SEO and content

Both handle SEO basics: editable titles and descriptions, sitemaps and mobile-friendly pages. Wix has a strong built-in blog and guided SEO setup, which suits businesses that rely on content. Shopify’s blog is more basic, but its product SEO is solid.

Winner: Wix, narrowly

Room to grow

Shopify scales from a first sale to large international brands without changing platforms, with higher plans and Shopify Plus for enterprise. Wix works well for small and medium stores, but businesses with large catalogs, complex operations or high order volumes tend to outgrow it.

Winner: Shopify

Shopify or Wix: which should you choose?

Choose Shopify if you…

Pros
  • are building a product business
  • expect your store to grow
  • want the best checkout and conversion tools
  • sell on several channels
  • want the biggest choice of ecommerce apps
Cons
  • want completely free-form design

Choose Wix if you…

Pros
  • want a design-led website first
  • sell services, bookings or a small range of products
  • want blogging and site tools in one place
  • prefer free-form drag-and-drop editing
Cons
  • plan a large or fast-growing store
Our verdict

Shopify is the better platform for selling online, with stronger ecommerce features, apps and room to grow. Wix is the better website builder for small businesses where selling is one part of a design-led site.

Read our full Shopify review, or see how Shopify compares with WooCommerce.

Frequently asked questions

Is Shopify better than Wix?

For online stores, yes. Shopify has better ecommerce features, a stronger checkout and more apps. Wix is better for design-led websites where selling is a smaller part of the business.

Is Wix cheaper than Shopify?

Their entry selling plans cost about the same, around $29 a month billed yearly. Total cost depends on apps and add-ons you need.

Does Wix charge transaction fees?

Wix does not add its own transaction fee when you use Wix Payments; you pay standard card processing rates.

Can I move from Wix to Shopify?

Yes. Products, customers and orders can be moved using migration apps or CSV exports. Your design will need rebuilding in a Shopify theme.

Which is better for dropshipping?

Shopify. It has far more dropshipping and print-on-demand apps and is the most common choice for dropshippers.

Expertah · Editorial team

Expertah compares the software that runs online stores, from ecommerce platforms to hosting and marketing tools, in plain English. How we review