Shopify Alternatives | The Top 5 Competitors Compared

In recent months, Wix has made significant improvements to its ecommerce offering. For example, users can now track their stock through the inventory management tool available. Not only this, but Wix also offers new integrations with marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Etsy.

Although Wix doesn’t have quite as many payment options as Shopify, it still has 40 different payment gateways to choose from, including Stripe, PayPal, Square, Klarna, and the platform’s own processor, Wix Payments. Vendors can also sell a variety of products, both physical and digital.

While Wix has plenty of sales features to keep its users happy, there’s still room for improvement. Besides the marketplaces we’ve mentioned, its multi-channel integrations are limited to Facebook and Instagram. This is disappointing given that Shopify allows users to connect with 11 platforms such as Messenger, Buzzfeed, Snapchat, and Tik Tok, to name but a few.

While Wix supports discounts and promotional banners, it currently doesn’t allow users to insert promotional pop ups. However, given that Shopify doesn’t offer this, either, it’s a lack that can be forgiven. If this is something you’re specifically interested in for your online store, we’d recommend checking out Squarespace or BigCommerce, instead.

In addition to its sales features, Wix also performs well when it comes to ordinary website functionality. It comes joint first place with Shopify in this category, scoring 4.6 out of 5. Wix comes with an impressive app market to help users boost their site’s capabilities, as well as supporting 180 languages, and allowing owners to create members’ only areas. It also helps out with SEO, too, its Wix SEO Wiz giving you the tools to increase the possibility of your customers finding your website through search engines.

Wix offers an impressive array of templates to choose from, with an option for pretty much every industry. In addition to this, Wix also allows users a high level of personalization. Not only can you customize your product pages, allowing users to filter their view, you can also add your brand’s stamp to your checkout pages, too.

If you’re interested in multi-channel selling, Wix also gives you the tools to design branded content for platforms such as Facebook Ads and Instagram Stories. This means you can ensure a consistent aesthetic across all your marketing posts.

Although there’s lots to love about Wix’s design functionality, the platform still doesn’t allow users to switch templates once their site is live. This means that if you want a new look, you’ll need to start from scratch.

When researching this category, we paid close attention to the number of features you get for the price you pay, which is why Wix scored so well. Although its overall pricing plans have increased, with its Basic Business plan going up by 17% over the last year, so too have the features it offers.

Wix has three ecommerce plans to choose from:

• Business Basic – $27 per month, billed annually
• Business Unlimited – $32 per month, billed annually
• Business VIP – $59 per month, billed annually

Unfortunately, Wix doesn’t offer a free plan that allows you to sell online. If this is something you’re looking for, we recommend Square Online.

It features a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor, so if you make any changes in the backend of your site, you’ll already know what it’s going to look like on the live version without having to preview it first.

Adding products and managing your pages is all super easy and the editor search bar allows you to find features and tools in just a few clicks. Plus, if you get stuck, Wix has loads of helpful hints tucked away to help you out. Just look for the little question mark icon.

Despite this, some users found Wix’s editor to be a little overwhelming, with one commenting that ‘There are so many menus, subsections, and windows that pop-up anytime you click something.’ Wix aims to appeal to a wide variety of users, so it’s jam-packed with tools. The busyness of the editor can take some getting used to.

Wix scores 4 out of 5 for ease of use, ranking in joint second place overall alongside Shopify and GoDaddy. This means you don’t need to worry about sacrificing Shopify’s simple set up by choosing an alternative builder.

If your budget doesn’t stretch that far, don’t panic. Wix still comes with a number of support options to help if you get stuck. No matter which plan you choose, you can get in touch with them via phone, email, social media, or live chat if you need to.

If you’d rather find the solution to your problem on your own, Wix also has a well-stocked knowledge base, with tons of help guides and videos to steer you in the right direction.

Users loved how easy and intuitive Wix was to use, with one customer commenting, ‘It really has the most customization of any builder I’ve tested. You want something? It can do it.’ Thanks to its many templates and dozens of help guides, Wix emerged as a firm customer favorite.

It’s not just a pretty face either. Squarespace offers some high-quality sales tools. SSL security is included, making your site safe for visitors to trust. Abandoned cart recovery and customer accounts make for a speedy and easy shopping experience in your store. Users can also now sell across Facebook and Instagram, as well as marketplaces such as Etsy.

Previously, Squarespace’s inventory system was functional but a little limiting. Although Users could upload products one at a time, or in bulk, as well as track stock levels through email alerts, they couldn’t do this on the go. However, users can now use the Squarespace app to track their stock, setting up notifications on their phone to alert them when product levels are getting low.

Squarespace has also broadened its payment gateway offering. Customers can now pay using Stripe and PayPal. Users can also offer Buy Now Pay Later thanks to a new integration with AfterPay.

Although Squarespace’s ecommerce offering is good, it’s important to point out that the platform is a website builder first and foremost, with ecommerce functionality included. This is why in our research it only scores 3.7 out of 5 in the sales features category, putting it significantly below Shopify and alternative builders such as Wix and BigCommerce.

This means that if you’re running a large store, you’re likely to find Squarespace unable to accommodate your needs. For this reason, we recommend Squarespace for smaller stores, or those selling digital products or subscriptions.

As well as being beautiful to look at, Squarespace’s templates are fully customizable. Previously, if you were using Squarespace 7.0, users could switch their template once their site was live, but with Squarespace’s newest version, 7.1, things are a little different. All design elements are universal, which means no matter what template you choose at the beginning, you can redesign your site any way you like. This flexibility really sets Squarespace apart from competitors like Shopify.

If there isn’t a template that you feel suits your needs, fear not, because Squarespace’s newest innovation, Blueprint, allows you to create a fully custom template using a guided website design system. This is ideal for those amongst you who want something with an angle that’s unique to your brand.

Squarespace’s templates are also all mobile friendly, however you won’t be able to edit your website from the app – this must be done from a desktop.

Despite being one of the most attractive builders, Squarespace has fallen slightly behind its competitors in this category, scoring 3.8 out of 5. This is due to the fact that Squarespace only offers omni-channel design for Facebook and Instagram, in comparison to Shopify which also integrates with Tik Tok, Pinterest, and Snapchat.

Additionally, it doesn’t offer the same level of personalization that Wix does, especially on checkout pages. Its product page customization is more limited, too.

Again, this shouldn’t be a deal-breaker, especially for small stores or those just starting out, but if you’re looking to grow and expand your brand, Squarespace might not be the best fit.

If it’s aesthetics you’re after, though? This platform is the winner.

Squarespace has three ecommerce plans to choose from:

• Business – $23 per month, billed annually
• Business Commerce – $27 per month, billed annually
• Advanced Commerce – $49 per month, billed annually

It’s worth noting that although Squarespace’s Business plan is its cheapest ecommerce option, it does come with limited features as well as a 3% transaction fee. We recommend skipping this one and jumping straight to the Business Commerce plan which is better value for money and gives you access to a wider range of ecommerce features.

Like Wix, Squarespace is a WYSIWYG editor, making it simple to visualize changes on your site. Where Wix can sometimes be a bit overwhelming, though, Squarespace’s grid layout makes it easy for users to drag and drop components where they want them.

If the thought of navigating the editor is still too much for you, though, Blueprint is the ideal solution to put your worries to rest. Squarespace’s newest tool allows you to build your own custom template with the help of its design system. With just a few clicks, you can have your website up and running in no time – it’s perfect for beginners!

Aside from the overall design experience, users particularly commented on how simple it was to add products to their site, pointing out that ‘the product management and inventory pages are super sleek and allow you to add so much info to each product; it’s easy to bounce between the frontend editor and backend info.’ ‘ This means that setting your store up won’t feel laborious, and you won’t need to go rummaging around for the features you want – they’re all right there within easy reach.

Overall, Squarespace is perfect for beginners or for those businesses that don’t have reams of time to dedicate to building a website.

You can get in touch using social media, live chat, and email. Unfortunately, Squarespace doesn’t offer telephone support and its contact channels aren’t available 24/7, however it boasts an awesome knowledge base featuring thorough help guides and video tutorials.

Its popularity is down to a number of things, but mostly how easy it is to use and how beautiful the results are when you’re done. One user even commented that it was so simple, their mom could have built a website with it! In fact, after Wix, Squarespace is the website builder our users were most likely to recommend overall.

Unlike Shopify, BigCommerce won’t make you install extra third-party apps to add advanced features to your site. This means that the price you pay up front covers all of those bases, and you won’t have to worry about paying extra for features down the line. The only feature Shopify provides on its cheapest plan that BigCommerce doesn’t provide on its cheapest plan is abandoned cart recovery.

Everything from checkout customization to social media integration is built into the BigCommerce platform. It will even help you get started with product fulfillment and other shipping necessities. And if you ever do need to add extra functionality to your site, BigCommerce’s app marketplace offers over 1,100 apps! While maybe not as much as Shopify’s 1,500+ apps, keep in mind that BigCommerce gives you much more tools built in from the get-go, such as being the only platform that allows you to send transactional emails. And let’s be honest, you won’t be using ALL 1,100+ apps, so having that variety is crucial for building the perfect site! (If you do manage to use all 1,100, let us know!)

BigCommerce even helps you expand your customer base through partnerships – users in the US can now sell products directly on Walmart Marketplace, which means access to the 120 million+ customers visiting Walmart.com each month. BigCommerce merchants receive an expedited application review to start selling on the marketplace as quickly as possible.

Offering over 100 themes to choose from, BigCommerce should have something to appeal to everyone. It also allows users to switch their themes while the site is live and, even better, you won’t need to do a ton of reformatting either because BigCommerce does a lot of the hard work for you.

All of BigCommerce’s themes are optimized for mobile, but you won’t be able to easily edit your mobile layout. This is because all of the themes are automatically adapted for smaller screens. There is a way to do it, but you’ll need to feel comfortable diving into your theme’s basic code.

At the moment, although BigCommerce allows you to sell across a wide number of platforms, it only offers omnichannel design for Facebook Ads. This means you won’t be able to build ads for platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, or Snapchat, like you can with Shopify.

Another slight drawback to BigCommerce is that it doesn’t provide stock images or clipart. This means that when you’re building your website, you’re going to need to come fully prepped with your own set of unique images.

However, one design area where this platform does stand out is on its product pages. Out of all the builders we’ve tested, BigCommerce supports the most advanced filtering system. That means your users will be able to use up to 12 filters to find which of your products really suits their needs.

Due to its bigger clients and focus on scalability and growth, BigCommerce has always been more expensive than its competitors. As a result, it still suffers in our value for money rankings, coming in joint last place, alongside GoDaddy, with a score of 3.4 out of 5.

BigCommerce offers three main ecommerce plans:

• Standard – $29.95 per month, billed annually
• Plus – $71.95 per month, billed annually
• Pro – $269.96 per month, billed annually

Although BigCommerce isn’t necessarily good value for money, it is worth bearing in mind that, because it offers such a wide range of built-in tools, you won’t need to worry about factoring in costs for additional apps, like you do with Shopify. Additionally, it doesn’t charge transaction fees on any of its plans.

Despite this, however, we’d still only really recommend shelling out for BigCommerce if growth and scalability is your main aim.

Users struggled with this platform particularly when it came to editing their design. Split between two areas, it can be quite a frustrating process to flick between the two.

Ultimately, BigCommerce is designed for bigger businesses that have plenty of time to invest in creating the perfect online store. It’s a complex platform, with lots of amazing tools and functionality, but that makes it a more difficult beast to wrangle, especially if you aren’t tech savvy.

You won’t be able to reach BigCommerce through social media, but its knowledge center is on hand to help, complete with video tutorials, too.

However, that’s not to say that there aren’t users out there that found BigCommerce to be their perfect match. Because of its huge level of ecommerce functionality, this platform is better suited to larger, tech-savvy stores with a huge inventory.

Square Online’s dashboard keeps track of product sales, customer journeys, and abandoned cart recoveries, all in one place. Other noteworthy sales features include easy inventory management, shipping options, automatic tax calculation, and email marketing tools.

In recent months, Square Online has made a number of improvements to its feature offering that have boosted its overall appeal. Users can now fully customize their checkout pages, amending the logo and headers to suit the store’s overall branding. Promotional popups are easy to add and users can also advertise buy one get one free on their products.

However, there are certain areas that let Square Online down. For example, we were disappointed that it doesn’t offer many payment gateways. On the free plan, users will only have access to AfterPay and Apple Pay, but you’ll need to subscribe to the $29-per-month Plus Plan if you want to enable PayPal.

This isn’t the only thing that comes with limitations. Square Online’s omnichannel integrations aren’t as extensive as Shopify’s. Users will only be able to connect with Facebook Ads and Instagram. Plus, Square Online’s site speed has declined since last year’s testing, meaning that slow loading times could lead to frustrated customers and increased bounce rates.

If, further down the line, you do decide that you want to shake things up, it’s easy to switch your templates. Even better, because the themes are so simple, you won’t need to spend ages reformatting, either. Instead, everything should slot nicely into place.

For those stores designing content for external channels, Square Online allows you to integrate with Facebook Ads and Instagram. This should make building your brand even easier, although in order for Square Online to truly compete with Shopify, we hope to see a wider range of platform integrations available in the future.

Although it ticks most of the basic boxes, Square Online’s design functionality isn’t the best we’ve seen, which is why it only scores 2.6 out of 5 in our research. Its templates are basic in design and have stayed largely the same, so can sometimes feel a little outdated. This is only further highlighted by the lack of creative control it affords users as a result of its block-based editor.

If you want to get to these, you’re going to have to upgrade to a paid premium plan.

Square Online has two paid plans to choose from:

• Plus – $29 per month, billed annually
• Premium – $79 per month, billed annually

Although all builders have increased their prices in the past year, Square Online has seen the biggest jump with a whopping 143% rise. Its premium starting price is now more expensive than Wix’s. Although Wix doesn’t offer a free plan, if you’re looking to subscribe to a premium plan, Wix gives users better bang for their buck in terms of value for money and sales features than Square Online.

This is because our users found the platform harder to navigate now that the dashboard has grown and more features have been added. It seems that greater complexity has come at the cost of simplicity.

Square Online doesn’t ease you in gently, either. Getting through the introductory questionnaire is a bit of a slog, so make sure you come prepared with all of your business details ready. However, once you’ve finished with this, setting up your website is an easy process.

Thanks to its clean and simple layout, Square Online’s editor is really easy to navigate, making it simple to find everything you need to build your store. One of our users commented that it was, ‘so smooth when navigating between the editor and the backend.’ However, this simplicity comes at the cost of your design freedom.

It can be frustrating to create a store that really represents your brand when you’re limited in what you can change and where you can move things. One of our users pointed out that ‘only being able to have one font throughout the site really limits how customisable you can be’. This isn’t helped by an editor that can sometimes be frustratingly slow, backing up the whole process.

Unfortunately, recent developments and updates mean that Square Online is no longer as easy to use as it used to be.

Square Online allows users to get in touch via phone, social media, live chat, and emails. It also has a ton of community forums that are useful for troubleshooting if you’d rather figure it out yourself. It is worth bearing in mind, though, that Square Online’s phone lines aren’t open 24/7. You’ll only be able to get through Monday to Friday, between 6am and 6pm EST.

Even though ecommerce isn’t its speciality, GoDaddy still has a basic but functional set of sales features on offer. It scores 2.8 out of 5 in this category, the lowest of any builder we tested.

Unlike the other providers in this list, GoDaddy can only support up to 5,000 products. You will still feel the benefit of ecommerce essentials like abandoned cart recovery and pre-scheduled promotional discounts, but don’t expect anything too fancy. Promotional popups, banners, and dropshipping aren’t part of its remit.

GoDaddy does offer multichannel selling, integrating with Facebook and Instagram, both of which are essential in today’s social media-driven world. But that’s not all – GoDaddy doesn’t neglect more traditional methods of marketing, giving its users 25,000 email marketing sends per month.

Although this platform ticks most of the basic boxes you’d expect for an online store builder, GoDaddy isn’t the most efficient when it comes to shipping. If you use this platform, expect to have to ship everything yourself, without built-in integrations with delivery service like UPS. If you’re only selling a couple of products, though, this shouldn’t be too much of a stumbling block.

This ADI editor makes GoDaddy seriously fast to build with – the fastest we’ve tested so far! This is great if you’re in a rush or you aren’t particularly tech-savvy, however it can be a little frustrating if you’re looking for more creative control. Don’t get us wrong, you can tweak the design slightly if you want to, and GoDaddy does offer a range of alternative designs in case you don’t like the first one, but that’s where your creative freedom ends.

Because of this lack of creative freedom, and the fact that the designs are all so-so at best, GoDaddy scores an underwhelming 1.9 out of 5 in this category.

GoDaddy offers one ecommerce plan, at $24.99 per month, billed annually. This is quite steep when you consider the features it offers. At this price, we’d only recommend GoDaddy for those who want a website before an online store, or those who want a quick, hands-off building experience.

Our users were very impressed with how quick and easy the platform was to use, commenting that it felt like everything effortlessly clicked into place. The product pages were a particular favorite, because they allow users to amend all product details in one place.

However, the downside of this simplicity is that, at times, the interface and building experience can feel somewhat dull, with one user commenting that the experience felt ‘boring from start to finish.’ Because you have very little say in how the site looks, it can mean you don’t feel that it’s truly yours. This is something that our users picked up on, with one saying that ‘I didn’t feel connected to my site.’

Unfortunately, it’s not the best help and support on the market, which is why GoDaddy only scores 2.3 out of 5 in this area, the lowest support score on this list. The editor doesn’t offer onsite help and there’s no advanced support available. In addition, the knowledge center isn’t the strongest we’ve come across and could definitely use some improvement.

That doesn’t mean it’s all bad, though. There’s no email support available, but users do have access to 24/7 phone support, as well as social media and live chat.

This is due to the limited design functionality, and the lackluster sales tools, which aren’t impressive enough to support growth for ecommerce businesses. On top of all that, GoDaddy doesn’t deliver on value for money which is especially important for small stores just starting out.

That’s not to say that GoDaddy doesn’t have its niche. If you’re a hobbyist that wants to sell a couple of products on their website, this platform is a great choice.