Ecwid vs Shopify
A source-aware comparison of pricing, documented capabilities and workflow fit.
Short answer
- Price: not directly comparable — Ecwid is free tier available, Shopify is from $19/mo billed annually.
- How to start: Ecwid is free tier available, Shopify is from $19/mo billed annually.
- Where they differ: only Shopify has sso (saml); both offer public api and mobile app.
These lines are generated from the pricing we track, not from a paid placement. How we score tools.
What Ecwid is
What Ecwid isEcwid adds a store to an existing website, working as a widget rather than replacing your site. It suits a business that already has a site it does not want to rebuild: the catalogue and checkout drop into the existing pages. The limit is that your storefront is only as good as the site hosting it, and deep commerce customisation is not on offer.
What Shopify is
What Shopify isShopify is the world's most powerful e-commerce platform, designed for everyone from individual sellers to billion-dollar global brands. It lets you open a professional store without worrying about server management or security updates. The 'Shopify App Store' adds thousands of extra features, while 'Shop Pay' offers the world's fastest checkout experience. Shopify is not just software; it is the operating system for global internet commerce.
Side by side
| Ecwid | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | E-commerce | E-commerce |
| How to start | Free tiernot a monthly price | $19/moverified |
| Public API | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes |
| Open source / self-hostable | No | No |
| SSO (SAML) | No | Yes |
| Visit | Ecwid ↗ | Shopify ↗ |
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What Ecwid is built to do
- Embeddable storefront
- Adds catalogue and checkout to an existing site without replacing it.
- Multi-channel selling
- Syncs the same catalogue to marketplaces and social channels.
- Hosted checkout
- Handles payment, tax and shipping calculation in the embedded cart.
What Shopify is built to do
- Online Store Builder
- Design professional, SEO-friendly stores using drag-and-drop tools.
- Shop Pay
- Reduce cart abandonment by offering customers a one-click checkout experience.
- Shopify Audiences
- Use AI data to spend your ad budget on the most accurate potential buyers.
- Global Commerce
- Instantly translate your site into different languages and local currencies.
Choose Ecwid if
- Small sellers adding a shop to an existing website for $5/month (Starter, 10 products)
- Shops up to 100 products that want Instagram and Facebook selling: Venture $35/month or $29 yearly
- Businesses that want 0% transaction fees at every tier
Skip Ecwid if
- You have more than 2,500 products: only Unlimited ($149/month) removes the cap
- You need POS or more than 2 staff accounts below the Unlimited tier
- You want a free trial period — the pricing page did not state one
Choose Shopify if
- Selling online without running your own infrastructure
- Starting cheaply — $1/month for the first 3 months after a 3-day trial
- Stores that will use Shopify Payments, which avoids the extra platform cut
Skip Shopify if
- You are budgeting from the offer — $1/mo lasts 3 months; Basic is $19/mo annual ($27 monthly) after that
- You use an external payment provider: Shopify takes an extra 2% on Basic on top of your processor's fee
- You want to own the platform; you are renting a hosted store
Evidence and freshness
Where a claim on this page comes from a vendor page, it is linked here.
Ecwid: pros & cons
- Adds commerce without rebuilding your site
- Free tier for a few products
- Works with most site builders
- Storefront is constrained by the widget model
- Product limits per plan
- Less control over checkout design
Shopify: pros & cons
- Rapid Start: Launch a professional store in minutes with no technical hurdles.
- Huge Ecosystem: There is a Shopify app for virtually every feature you might need.
- High Reliability: Your site remains stable even during the heaviest shopping holidays.
- Shopify POS: Manage your physical and digital stores from a single unified inventory.
- Transaction Fees: Charges extra commission if you don't use Shopify Payments.
- App Costs: Monthly subscription costs for apps can add up very quickly.
- Customization Limits: Deep design changes require knowledge of the 'Liquid' code.
Our verdict on Ecwid
The least disruptive way to add a store. Serious commerce deserves a proper platform.
Our verdict on Shopify
The world's best platform for starting, growing, and scaling an e-commerce empire.
Published plans, side by side
Every figure below was read from the vendor's own pricing page and is shown with the sentence it came from. Where a vendor publishes no plan prices, we say so rather than guess.
Ecwid
- Starter$5/mo
Starter $5/month: 10 products
- Venture$35/mo billed annually
Venture $35/month or $29 yearly: 100 products, Instagram and Facebook selling, live chat support
Shopify
- Basic$19/mo billed annually
Basic $19/mo annual, $27 monthly
- Grow$54/mo billed annually
Grow $54/mo annual, $72 monthly
- Advanced$299/mo billed annually
Advanced $299/mo annual, $399 monthly
Ecwid vs Shopify: common questions
- Does Ecwid or Shopify have a free plan?
- Ecwid has a free tier with limits, while Shopify has no free plan listed.
- Which is cheaper once you start paying, Ecwid or Shopify?
- Ecwid has the cheaper first paid step: Starter at $5/mo, against Basic at $19/mo billed annually for Shopify. Both figures come from the vendors' own pricing pages.
- What is the difference between Ecwid and Shopify?
- On the criteria we check, only Shopify has sso (saml); both offer public api and mobile app. The table above lists every criterion side by side.