Ecwid vs. Etsy

Looking for ecommerce software? Here's how Ecwid and Etsy stack up.

Daniel Adams
Mark Hammersley

Daniel Adams and Mark Hammersley

Last updated 2o July 2020


Ecwid

4.1  Stackupp rating


Pricing from

$ 15.00 / month

Free Plan?

Yes


Best for

All retailers that need a powerful store added to their existing site - without the need to change their CMS (content management system), site design, or hosting - will find Ecwid an attractive option.

Etsy

3.8  Stackupp rating


Pricing from

$ 10.00 / month

Free Plan?

Yes


Best for

small retailers that sell vintage items, handmade products, or craft supplies.

Ecwid or Etsy: Which is best?

Can't decide between Ecwid and Etsy?

Find the best platform for you with our side by side comparison of Ecwid and Etsy. See how each platform stacks up across ease of use, design, support and value for money.

Let the comparison begin. Don't worry, we'll guide you.

Is Ecwid right for you?

Ecwid fills a clear gap in the ecommerce solution market. It’s a fully-fledged platform for retailers that want to add a store to their existing site, whether it’s hosted on WordPress, Adobe Muse, Wix, Weebly, Squarespace or even Tumblr. Other platforms are also supported.

Ecwid also offers a number of industry-leading features. These include support for over fifty languages, in-built omnichannel selling (Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, eBay, etc.), and a raft of advertising and promotional features.

Ecwid ensures that your new store fits exactly with your current design and branding. If, however, you’re looking for a fully-hosted solution to build a new ecommerce site from scratch, alternatives like Shopify or BigCommerce are more feasible.

Advantages

  • Integrates seamlessly with existing websites.
  • Forever free plan.
  • Multiple languages and third-party channels supported.

Drawbacks

  • Not a fully-hosted solution.
  • Certain essential features only included in top-tier plan.
  • Unlimited product listings only on top-tier plan.

Looking for a robust ecommerce platform to add to your existing site? If you're also in the market for a solution that offers support for multiple languages along with in-built functionality for multi-channel listings, then Ecwid is a great option.

Is Etsy right for you?

Etsy is a well-known marketplace and ecommerce platform for retailers that offer vintage items, handmade products, and craft supplies.

It’s a straightforward, cost-effective option for small businesses and individuals with an inventory that meets Etsy requirements. By running your store on Etsy, you’ll avoid many of the challenges that come hand-in-hand with larger solutions like Shopify and WooCommerce, while also gaining access to one of the world’s largest third-party marketplaces. You can upgrade to Etsy’s separate solution, called Patterns, which enables you to build your own store and sell whatever you like on it while still using the Etsy engine.

Retailers with diverse inventories and high product turnover, however, will almost certainly need a more feature-rich platform.

Advantages

  • Inexpensive.
  • Easy to use.
  • Provides access to the Etsy marketplace.

Drawbacks

  • Limited inventory options.
  • High fees.
  • Limited feature-set.

you’re a small independent retailer specializing in handmade or vintage items (or craft supplies). Etsy has a forever-free plan, along with an inexpensive premium option, so it’s an incredibly cost-effective solution.

Ease of Use

Our first comparison criteria, ease of use. Why? Because it’s the most important.

Think about it. You don’t want to invest a lot of your precious time setting up an online store and tweaking the design only to find out that it’s a pain in the butt to manage day to day.

We take a look at how simple the Ecwid and Etsy platforms are to run.

How easy is Ecwid to use?

Rated 4/5 for Ease of Use

Ecwid’s central dashboard, from where users manage product listings, inventory, and shipping, is straightforward and intuitive. Because Ecwid is designed with multi-channel selling in mind, it’s also easy to list and manage products on third-party platforms like Facebook, Instagram, eBay, Amazon, and others. Installation on platforms like WordPress and Wix is also very streamlined.

What Ecwid customers are saying...

Clean and easy to interface with our website and Square for payment processing.
I have really enjoyed using Ecwid. Their customer service is very speedy and things are easy to use.
I've liked it so far. It's easy to use, and easy to add on new products.

How easy is Etsy to use?

Rated 5/5 for Ease of Use

You won’t find a platform that is easier to use than Etsy. This is partly due to the fact that there aren’t lots of complex features (which some might see as a downside) and partly due to the simple, intuitive design of the seller dashboard. Etsy makes essential tasks, like creating listings and generating reports, nearly effortless.

What Etsy customers are saying...

“Discovering Etsy and opening a shop enabled me to take control of sales.”
“Etsy has allowed me to build an international customer base that already appreciates handmade products.”
“Etsy has been an incredible experience for me.”
Etsy is our winner for ease of use

Design

Powerful features are great, but we all know first impressions count. So, do Ecwid and Etsy templates actually look any good? See for yourself. We outline each platforms design options, plus showcase a few real life examples.

How good are Ecwid's themes?

Rated 4/5 for Design

Because Ecwid integrates with existing sites, users don’t have access to any templates or a site-builder. In terms of look-and-feel, your Ecwid store will sit in the “wrapper” of your current design.

You can adjust individual page settings - such as the size of product images and the layout of elements like the “Buy Now” button and the product description - from the “Design” tab in Ecwid. It’s also possible to make CSS changes via the CSS editor.

Ecwid offers a library of apps which further extend the functionality of the Ecwid editor. A straightforward site-builder is available on the free plan (which is the only option that is fully hosted on Ecwid).

Ecwid Examples

  • JustSaiyan Gear
    JustSaiyan Gear
Item 1 of 3

How good are Etsy's themes?

Rated 2.5/5 for Design

Design flexibility and freedom isn’t one of Etsy’s strongest points. Most Etsy stores look very similar, and there’s a reason for this: Etsy only offers a limited number of customization options.

As a seller, you can change the colours, fonts, and photo styles in your store. You’ll also be able to upload a unique logo and banner - which has the option of a photo “carousel” - and set a homepage description.

Users of the Etsy Plus premium plan will have access to a handful of additional features, such as the option to highlight top-performing products on the homepage.

Customizing your store is a very fast and straightforward process. While design freedom is limited, this won’t be a problem for people with little development experience who already like the standard Etsy storefront.

Etsy Examples

  • Planner Kate
    Planner Kate
Item 1 of 3
Ecwid is our winner for design

How much do they cost?

Everyone’s favourite topic - pricing. Let's dive in to see if Ecwid or Etsy offers better value for money.

How much does Ecwid cost?

Rated 4/5 for Pricing

Ecwid is generally very competitive on price. The entry-level “Venture” plan is $15/month, and the top-tier business plan costs $99/month. There are discounts for paying annually.

What’s more, the “free forever” plan, which includes hosting by Ecwid (the other plans do not), is one of the best on the market.

Just remember, because Ecwid is an integration, rather than a fully-hosted solution, you will have to take care of hosting, domains, bandwidth, etc. This will certainly add extra costs to the overall price.

The one downside of Ecwid is that some features - like POS (point of sale), unlimited products, and priority support - are only available on the top plan.

How much does Etsy cost?

Rated 3.5/5 for Pricing

At first glance, Etsy looks like one of the most cost-effective ecommerce solutions on the market. It has a forever-free plan and even the premium option, Etsy Plus, only costs ten dollars per month. “Pattern by Etsy”, a service which allows you to run an “independent” online store on your own domain (in conjunction with your Etsy store) only costs $15 a month.

But it’s crucial to take account of fees. Retailers are charged $0.20 for every listing. When a sale is made, Etsy takes a 5% transaction fee, along with a 4% payment processing charge, which amounts to nearly 10% of the overall item price.

If you only process low sales volume, then these fees can be viable. With higher volumes, however, Etsy becomes less feasible.

Ecwid is our winner for cost

Help and Support

If things go wrong (and they often do) you need to know someone’s there to help get you back on track. So, how does Ecwid's and Etsy's support measure up?

How good is Ecwid support?

Rated 4.5/5 for Help and Support

The support options available depend on the plan that you subscribe to. Only support tickets are offered on the free plan (with a 24-hr maximum turnaround). Live chat is available on the “Venture” plan, and phone callbacks are included on the mid-tier “Business” plan. The “Unlimited plan” provides priority support which pushes your request to the front of the line. It’s a slight drawback that Ecwid doesn’t offer more support options on the lower plans.

How good is Etsy support?

Rated 4/5 for Help and Support

Etsy has an excellent support package, even on its free plan. Along with one of the largest seller communities on the web and extensive and in-depth training materials, users can also take advantage of live-chat and phone service.

Inexperienced retailers, in particular, will find a lot to like in the comprehensive tutorials and “seller handbook”. The online forum, through which users can join “teams” to exchange ideas and collaborate, is an excellent learning tool.

All support options are accessible from a tab in the seller dashboard, so assistance is easy to find when you need it.

Ecwid is our winner for support

The Bottom Line

The final say. Let's wrap up our thoughts on each platform.

Ecwid: Our Verdict

Overall, we were very impressed with Ecwid. It targets a clear section of the retail market - businesses that want to add a store to their existing site while maintaining their current design and backend - and offers a feature-rich, intuitive platform. It’s also difficult to argue with the “forever free” plan.

We also like the high degree of functionality for omnichannel sales, with native capabilities for Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, eBay, Amazon, and a host of other third-party marketplaces. Support for over fifty languages is another added bonus.

Finally, the central dashboard is intuitive and easy to use. While the overall look-and-feel of the store will be determined by the “parent site” (Wix, WordPress, Squarespace, etc.), making edits to templates for product listings, category pages, or the store homepage are simple processes.

So what about the downsides? While support options could be more varied, and certain features are not available on the lower-priced plans, there aren’t any major issues. Just remember, if you’re looking for a fully-hosted solution that allows you to build a new site from scratch and manage everything from one central dashboard, Ecwid isn’t suitable. If, however, you have an existing site, or you want to use your favourite CMS or website editor, then Ecwid is well worth considering.

Etsy: Our Verdict

Retailers considering Etsy should understand that it isn’t an ecommerce platform in the traditional sense. It’s not a standalone app like Shopify, WooCommerce, and BigCommerce. You should only consider it as an option if you’re planning to sell your products to the broader Etsy marketplace.

If you do fall into that category, however, then you’ll find a lot to like - it’s a streamlined, easy-to-use platform at a fantastic price.

Furthermore, Etsy “Pattern” enables retailers to have a store at their own domain that isn’t bound by typical Etsy restrictions but is still managed from the central store manager. If you think it might be for you, sign up for a free account and give it a whirl.

Overall, we found Ecwid to be the better ecommerce platform.

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