If you want to reach more customers and increase your revenue generation, investing in an online store is the way to go. To build a good and profit-yielding online store, you want to invest in the best ecommerce platform. Our Shopify vs Etsy comparison can help you find the right software to build and grow your online business.
With software such as Shopify or Etsy, you are equipped with the right tools to set up and run your online store. You can do anything from controlling the smallest details such as themes and layouts to handling more comprehensive processes such as invoicing and payment collection.
Table Of Contents
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- What Is The Difference Between Shopify and Etsy?
- Design & Ease of Use
- Integrations& Add-ons
- Customer Support
- Pricing
- Feature Comparison Chart
- Final Verdict – Shopify vs Etsy
Our Pick
Shopify is our favorite eCommerce platform.
Try it for free and you won’t be disappointed.
Whilst you can find several ecommerce software options for your business, there’s no doubt that Shopify and Etsy are amongst the best and top rated options. So, to help you pinpoint the best option for your business, we’ve compiled an in-depth Shopify vs Etsy comparison to help you make your decision.
What Is The Difference Between Shopify and Etsy?
Shopify is an ecommerce platform designed to host online stores. The platform allows you to build the site from the smallest details to the most complex details without having to need coding skills. Amongst include building the site from scratch with different theme choices and stoke photography. Additionally, the platform offers feature options such as branding, business name generation, store setup, point of sales, email marketing, shipping, and payments.
Etsy on the other end is a global online marketplace where different people can make, sell, buy, and collect items. Unlike Shopify, Etsy doesn’t really allow you to build and have your own site –but rather, you can have a seller’s profile where people can find your product listings – sort of like Amazon.
The platform then manages most of your back end processes such as invoice generation and payment collection. All you have to do is to ensure your customers receive their products or services at the agreed time.
Design & Ease of Use
Shopify is built with an easy-to-use and intuitive interface that makes it anyone – even those with no coding experience to do so. The platform is built with a simple drop-down side menu that allows you to access all the features needed to build and later, manage your site. When building your site, you will notice the myriad of design options the site offers – with up to 170 themes.
For the creatives at heart, the platform offers a liquid template engine where you can create or buy a theme. To make it easy to manage your site from anywhere, the software offers a mobile-friendly interface as well. The site allows you to not only build your online store but, also offers domain services and even, a dedicated payment gateway for easy payment collection. To improve your online presence, the platform also comes with generous SEO features.
Etsy on the other end is also designed with a simple and navigable interface. To start selling your products, all you have to is set up an account, pick a store name, stock the site, and set up your payment. To make it easier to do so, Etsy offers a guided step-by-step process. Whilst Shopify allows you to build and customize your site from scratch, Etsy offers pretty simple design options.
Amongst the few things you can do during the setup process include uploading your business logo. However, this also comes with its advantage. This simplistic design makes it easy for business owners who don’t have experience or the time for web design – nonetheless, it doesn’t give you that much of the freedom to stand out.
Winner: When it comes to ease of use, both platforms do a great job. However, while Shopify allows you to build and run a site from scratch, Etsy only allows you to sell in its marketplace instead of creating your store from scratch – meaning that it doesn’t really offer the best option for you to make your online presence and stand out – making Shopify the winner.
Integrations& Add-ons
Shopify offers a serious number of native integrations. For one, to make it easy and convenient for a business owner, the software offers up to 100 online payment gateway integrations. Furthermore, Shopify integrates with marketing, social media, designs, shopping cart, and other apps to improve your experience and process. If you can’t find what you are looking for from native app integrations, its integration with Zapier gives you access to over 3,000 additional third party app integrations.
Etsy offers third party integrations with different apps as well. In fact, Etsy even integrates with Shopify – allowing you to import Etsy products to the Shopify store. Furthermore, Etsy integrates with third party app, automate.io, allowing you to connect to 200+ other apps.
Winner: With a higher integration option, Shopify definitely takes the lead.
Customer Support
Shopify offers reasonable customer support. The platform offers 24/7 live chat and phone support. Furthermore, they also offer other interactive support options such as email and social media. If you want to opt for self-help support, you will have a selection of resource-rich options such as the Shopify community forum and resources such as articles and video tutorials.
At higher plans, you will even have more advanced specialist support. Etsy offers reasonable support as well – including 24/7 live chat support with a real life advisor.
Winner: With a wider range of customer support resources, Shopify takes the lead, although Etsy offers a reasonable customer support service.
Pricing
Shopify offers a 14-day free trial, but, it doesn’t offer a free plan. Instead, it comes with a selection of pricing plans based on your needs and business size. The Basic Shopify plan costs $29 per month and offers up to 2 team member accounts. This plan works for new businesses that are new to in-person selling. The Shopify plan is ideal for businesses with a single store and costs $79 per month – accommodating up to 5 staff accounts.
For larger businesses with 2 or more retails stores, the Advanced Shopify plan is ideal. This plan costs $299 per month and caters to up to 15 staff accounts. The software offers a special Shopify Lite plan as well which allows business owners looking to sell in person (via Shopify POS Lite gateway) or to add a buy button on their existing website. The plan costs only $9 per month. Furthermore, for all the plans, if you opt to collect payment through Shopify’s dedicated payment gateway, charges are free.
Etsy on the other end doesn’t really follow any plan. Instead, it charges its users a listing fee, transaction fee, and offsite ads fee. Typically, listings are up for 4 months or until they sell and each product yields a $0.20 fee.
Once purchased, the product also yields a 5% transaction fee as a small commission, however, if a customer pays through PayPal, no commission fee is charged to the seller. Furthermore, you can opt for Etsy to advertise your products across the web through offsite ads. Whilst this service is free, a 15% commission is taken from each sale resulted from the advertised products.
ShopifyEtsyStores & Admin AccountsPricingPricingUsersBasic 1/ 2$29Each product sold$0.20 + 5% transaction feeShopify 1/15$79Advanced Shopify 2+/15$299
Winner: Etsy emerges to be the winner when it comes to the pricing – ensuring you only pay for what you sold. However, if your store sells a lot, this means that you will pay more.
Feature Comparison Chart
Both Shopify and Etsy prove to add value to any business – allowing you to effortlessly sell your products online and grow your presence. Nonetheless, each software is unique to the other. For example, Shopify and Etsy have an easy-to-use and intuitive interface. Yet, whilst Shopify allows you to build everything about your online store from scratch, Etsy only allows you to make a few changes and only sell from an existing marketplace.
To increase effectiveness, both platforms offer reasonable integration options – however, due to its more expansive design, Shopify connects with more apps – covering other areas such as email marketing and design. Price-wise, due to the setup, web design, domain, and selling, Shopify offers a little higher pricing plans (although they match their value) whilst Etsy only charges you for what you sell due to the less expansive ecommerce setup.
FeaturesShopifyEtsyDesign & Ease of Use4.84.8Integrations & Add-ons4.94.7Customer Support4.94.8Pricing4.64.7Rating 4.84.75
Final Verdict – Shopify vs Etsy
Our Pick
Shopify is our favorite eCommerce platform. The comparison proves just how impressive both platforms are. However, it also clearly outlines their differences. When it comes to the Shopify platform, this software is ideal for business owners who want to get more creative, manage everything about their business, as well as grow and increase their brand’s online presence.
Try it for free and you won’t be disappointed.
The Shopify vs Etsy comparison proves just how impressive both platforms are. However, it also clearly outlines their differences. When it comes to the Shopify platform, this software is ideal for business owners who want to get more creative, manage everything about their business, as well as grow and increase their brand’s online presence.
The site allows you to build everything from scratch and self-manage all areas including shipment and payment collection. However, this also means that you will spend more time on the building and managing process.
Etsy on the other end is designed for businesses who want to receive maximum support – so, all you have to do is add your products and let the marketplace do other back end tasks for you. However, the consequence of this option is that your freedom to increase your online presence is limited. After all, with over 50 million listings on the marketplace, it is difficult to make your brand stand out with the same designs Etsy offers.