Wix vs Shopify: Which Is the Best Choice for Your Online Business or Startup?

Wix vs Shopify...

Creating an online store today is easier than ever, but choosing the right platform can make the difference between just having a nice showcase or running a profitable and functional business. Two of the biggest names in the eCommerce world are Wix and Shopify, and although both promise to help you build a solid online store, their approaches, tools, and costs are quite different.

In this post, we'll guide you step by step through the key aspects you should consider before making a decision: from pricing and ease of use to eCommerce features, loading speed, customer support, and more. Our goal is not just to compare them, but to help you discover which one fits your business best—especially if you're just getting started or want a complete option without dealing with technical headaches.

💡 Spoiler alert: If you're looking for a platform that’s easy to use, flexible, visually appealing, and offers great value for money… you might be surprised by who comes out on top 😉

1. Pricing

Wix offers a range of plans to suit different needs and budgets. Its eCommerce plans start at around $29 USD/month, providing essential features for small and medium-sized online stores. Plus, Wix doesn’t charge additional transaction fees, which can mean significant savings for businesses that are just starting out.

On the other hand, Shopify has plans starting at $29 USD/month and going up to $299 USD/month for its advanced plan. While it offers an initial $1 USD trial for three months, it's important to note that Shopify charges additional transaction fees if you don’t use its own payment gateway, which can increase your operational costs.

Conclusion: If you're looking for a more affordable option with fewer extra fees, Wix is the right choice—especially for entrepreneurs and small businesses wanting to establish an online presence without a large initial investment.

2. Ease of Customization

Wix stands out for its intuitive drag-and-drop editor, allowing users to customize every aspect of their website without needing any technical knowledge. In addition, its Wix ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) tool can automatically create a website based on your answers to a few simple questions, making the design process even easier.

In contrast, Shopify offers a more structured customization experience. While it provides professional templates and a user-friendly interface, deeper customization may require coding skills or hiring a developer—especially if you want to make significant changes to the design or functionality.

Conclusion: For those who value creative freedom and an intuitive interface, Wix offers a more accessible and flexible option. It’s ideal for users who want full control over the design without relying on developers or learning to code.

3. eCommerce Features

Shopify was built specifically for eCommerce, and it shows. It offers advanced features such as abandoned cart recovery, inventory management, multiple payment gateways, and integration with major marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. It also supports international sales with multi-currency options and built-in tax and shipping tools.

Wix has made significant improvements in recent years and now includes many essential eCommerce features, such as product galleries, secure checkout, digital and physical product sales, discount coupons, and inventory tracking. However, it may fall short when it comes to scaling or managing large catalogs compared to Shopify’s more robust tools.

Conclusion: Shopify is the stronger option for businesses focused entirely on eCommerce or planning to scale quickly. Wix is a great choice for smaller stores or businesses combining content and commerce.

4. Loading Speed and Performance

Shopify’s infrastructure is optimized specifically for eCommerce performance, offering fast loading speeds and reliable uptime. This can significantly enhance user experience and improve your SEO rankings.

Wix websites can also perform well, but performance may vary depending on the template used, number of apps, and customizations. While Wix has improved its speed, it may not match Shopify’s performance consistency under high traffic.

Conclusion: If performance and speed are critical for your business—especially with high traffic—Shopify has the edge.

5. Point of Sale (POS)

Wix offers integrated POS solutions, although availability may be limited to certain regions. These solutions allow you to synchronize online and in-store sales, making inventory and transaction management easier.

Shopify provides a robust and widely available POS system, ideal for businesses with both physical and online presence. Its system enables smooth integration across different sales channels, offering a unified experience for the customer.

Conclusion: If your business combines physical and online sales, Shopify offers a more complete solution. However, for smaller businesses or those operating mainly online, Wix may be sufficient.

6. App Store

Wix features an app marketplace with around 1,000 options, many of which are free and developed by Wix itself. These apps allow users to add features like forms, live chat, social media integrations, and marketing tools.

Shopify has over 8,000 apps, though many require additional payment and are essential for expanding the platform’s basic functionality. This wide variety allows users to customize their online store according to specific needs.

Conclusion: If you prefer a platform with many built-in features and less reliance on third-party apps, Wix is the ideal choice. However, if you're looking for a wide range of integrations and are willing to invest in additional apps, Shopify offers more flexibility.

7. SEO and Marketing

Wix has significantly improved its SEO tools, offering beginner-friendly settings and integrated marketing tools like Wix Ascend. These tools allow you to manage email campaigns, automations, and contact forms, making it easier to promote your business.

Shopify also offers strong SEO capabilities, especially for growing stores, and integrates well with various marketing platforms such as Google Ads and Facebook Ads. Additionally, its structure is optimized for search engines, which can help with organic rankings.

Conclusion: Both platforms provide solid SEO and marketing tools, but Wix is more accessible for beginners looking for an all-in-one solution.

8. Multilingual Capabilities

Wix allows you to easily create multilingual websites, making it easier to expand into international markets. Its automatic translation tool and the ability to customize each language version make managing multiple languages intuitive.

Shopify also offers multilingual capabilities, though it may require additional apps for full implementation. This can add complexity and extra costs to the process.

Conclusion: For a more straightforward and hassle-free multilingual solution, Wix takes the lead.

9. Platform Capacity

Wix is ideal for small to medium-sized websites, with a maximum capacity of up to 50,000 products. Its infrastructure is designed to support stores with moderate traffic and transaction volumes.

Shopify is built to handle large volumes of products and traffic, making it more suitable for large businesses that require scalability and consistent performance.

Conclusion: If your business is small or medium-sized, Wix offers all the capacity you need. For larger companies with scalability needs, Shopify is the better fit.

10. Loading Speed

Wix has improved its site loading speeds, although performance can vary depending on the design and elements used. Its cloud infrastructure and recent optimizations have contributed to a better user experience.

Shopify generally delivers fast loading times, optimized for high-traffic online stores. Its focus on eCommerce ensures consistent and reliable performance.

Conclusion: Both platforms offer good loading speeds, but Shopify may have a slight edge for large-scale stores. For most small to medium-sized businesses, Wix provides sufficient performance.

11. Customer Support

Shopify offers 24/7 customer support via chat, email, and phone. It also has a large community and extensive documentation, making it easier to find solutions or support when needed.

Wix also provides 24/7 customer support through multiple channels, including a detailed help center and video tutorials. However, support quality can vary depending on the complexity of the issue.

Conclusion: Both platforms offer solid support, but Shopify’s specialized eCommerce assistance may be more valuable for complex stores.

12. Security

Wix includes free SSL certificates and complies with essential security standards to protect user information. Its cloud-based infrastructure ensures data availability and protection.

Shopify also offers high security standards, including PCI DSS compliance for payment processing and fraud protection.

Conclusion: Both platforms offer robust security measures, ensuring the protection of customer data and transactions.

Wix vs Shopify

Final Verdict: Wix is the Best Choice for Most Entrepreneurs

After thoroughly analyzing the features, advantages, and drawbacks of Wix and Shopify, we can conclude that Wix is the best option for most entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to establish an effective and affordable online presence.

Wix stands out for its ease of use, wide variety of free templates, built-in marketing and SEO tools, and accessible pricing. These features make it an ideal platform for those who want to create and manage their online store without technical complications or high costs.

Of course, Shopify is an excellent choice for larger businesses or those that require advanced features and scalability. However, for most users who are just starting out or managing small to medium-sized stores, Wix offers a complete and user-friendly solution.