WooCommerce vs. Wix Stores

Looking for ecommerce software? Here's how WooCommerce and Wix Stores stack up.

Daniel Adams

Daniel Adams

Last updated 10o July 2020


WooCommerce

3.8  Stackupp rating


Pricing from

N/A

Free Plan?

Yes


Best for

If you want to run your store on WordPress, then WooCommerce is hands-down the best choice. It’s ideal for small and medium-sized retailers, but larger enterprises might struggle.

Wix Stores

4.3  Stackupp rating


Pricing from

$ 4.50 / month

Free Plan?

Yes


Best for

Wix is a versatile solution. Even though it seems targeted at small businesses, a powerful feature-set and high level of customizability make it a viable choice for larger retailers too, though full-fledged enterprise stores will struggle.

WooCommerce or Wix Stores: Which is best?

Can't decide between WooCommerce and Wix Stores?

Find the best platform for you with our side by side comparison of WooCommerce and Wix Stores. 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 WooCommerce right for you?

WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce platform for WordPress users. It’s one of the world’s most popular ecommerce platforms, and retailers can add unlimited products.

WooCommerce has a lot of great features, including an intuitive management dashboard, an extensive integration and theme library, and an active community. What’s more, WooCommerce is completely customizable and completely free.

While WordPress users won’t find a better solution than WooCommerce, there are downsides.

Because WooCommerce isn’t a hosted solution like Shopify or BigCommerce, you are responsible for taking care of backend tasks like hosting, security and maintenance. Some features that larger retailers require are also missing.

Advantages

  • Integrates seamlessly with WordPress.
  • Open-source and customizable with unlimited products.
  • Comes with an extensive library of themes, integrations, and add-ons.

Drawbacks

  • Because it’s not a hosted solution, you have to take care of maintenance and security.
  • Costs for themes, customer support, and integrations can add up.

Use Woocommerce if you like WordPress and want an easy-to-use ecommerce solution. It’s ideal for smaller retailers that are familiar with WordPress and are looking for a cost-effective platform.

Is Wix Stores right for you?

Wix is a comprehensive ecommerce solution for retailers of all sizes. It comes with a fantastic set of features, including multichannel selling, a library of nearly one hundred templates, real-time shipping estimates for customers, and (of course) Wix’s fantastic website builder.

While enterprise stores will likely need a bigger “engine” to manage large amounts of sales, employees, and multiple languages, medium-sized retailers may find the ease-of-use of Wix attractive.

Because of its powerful website builder, Wix is an excellent choice for retailers without any advanced coding skills that still want full control over the look-and-feel of their store.

Advantages

  • Lots of customization features for users without any coding experience.
  • A wide set of features - like “Related Products”, abandoned cart retargeting, and templates - at a relatively low price.
  • Multichannel sales and global shipping options.

Drawbacks

  • POS is not available in all countries.
  • The apps and integrations library is a little sparse.
  • The Wix editor, whilst easy-to-use, does require getting used to.

Use Wix if you’re an individual or small business that requires a feature-rich solution that’s easy to use without any coding abilities. Because the website builder is suitable for all types of websites, Wix is also a good 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 WooCommerce and Wix Stores platforms are to run.

How easy is WooCommerce to use?

Rated 3/5 for Ease of Use

WooCommerce is very easy to use. A set-up wizard walks you through the initial process of setting up your store.

Carrying out typical ecommerce tasks, like adding product inventory, processing orders, and launching promotions and discounts, is straightforward. WooCommerce offers a simple and intuitive dashboard that WordPress users will find familiar.

Choosing a theme and integrating with third-party services (like shipping providers, payment gateways, and email marketing apps) is also relatively straightforward. WooCommerce utilizes “extensions” to offer an array of features, although some of these extensions are quite pricey.

If you have any problems, you can pay for dedicated support or consult the large community of WooCommerce users.

What WooCommerce customers are saying...

“The best eCommerce platform available!”
“Such a good product running perfect for 6 months now. Thanks and keep up the good work.”
“This is incredible shopping cart. So professional solution with huge amount of add-ons. Thank you for your work!”

How easy is Wix Stores to use?

Rated 4/5 for Ease of Use

When it comes to ease-of-use, there are two sides to Wix.

Updating your product catalog, managing orders, and running email marketing campaigns through the central dashboard is straightforward.

The star of the show, however, is the Wix website editor. Users can make a myriad of changes to their site’s look-and-feel (along with individual pages)via a wide array of customization features.

The only issue is the sheer number of features. There’s a lot! So while Wix’s editor is intuitive and easy-to-use once you’ve wrapped your head around the feature-set, there is a small learning curve initially.

What Wix Stores customers are saying...

“Great website builder! I think a lot of people writing reviews are inexperienced and haven't put the time into learning how to use Wix extensively and as a result I see a lot of frustration.” Tobi
“I love Wix! I’ve never once had a problem with Wix. The SEO has improved over the years and the ease of duplicating and creating new pages is unbeatable. The mobile response is fantastic.
“It is the easiest, most equipped, most high quality website builder ever. I asked for customer support's help three times and have always received an answer within 24 hours (in English).”
Wix Stores is our winner for ease of use

Design

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

How good are WooCommerce's themes?

Rated 4.5/5 for Design

WooCommerce is one of the most customizable ecommerce platforms on the market. The WordPress editor makes it easy for users with no coding experience to tweak their storefront.

Deeper backend changes are also possible because WooCommerce is built on open-source software. Plugins allow for a host of minor changes, while more experienced developers can alter virtually any aspect of the core files.

If you don’t have any coding experience but want to make more complex changes, you can always enlist the help of a WooCommerce developer.

Along with a handful of free themes, WooCommerce offers a number of paid themes, most of which cost $39.

WooCommerce Examples

  • All Blacks Shop
    All Blacks Shop
Item 1 of 3

How good are Wix Stores's themes?

Rated 5/5 for Design

Few other website builders on the market offer the same level of design flexibility as Wix. For retailers that want a high level of design freedom without the need to interact with any code, Wix is a no-brainer. Because of the broad feature-set, retailers can control the branding and look-and-feel of their store to a very precise level.

All of that said, Wix isn’t limited to “non-developers”. Code-savvy webmasters can make deeper backend changes and take advantage of a powerful set of APIs. So the platform isn’t just limited to people without coding experience.

Users also have access to a library of nearly 100 free templates.

Wix Stores Examples

  • Plastic Freedom
    Plastic Freedom
Item 1 of 3
Wix Stores is our winner for design

How much do they cost?

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

How much does WooCommerce cost?

Rated 4/5 for Pricing

WooCommerce operates a unique revenue model. The basic plugin is free. Assuming that you have a WordPress site already, you can get up and running without having to pay anything.

WooCommerce makes money by selling plugins, themes, and support. So it’s important to account for these costs. Certain features that many retailers would consider essential, such as customer reviews, geo-targeting, customer services, and discount codes, can only be added through extensions that often cost several hundred dollars.

What’s more, customer support is only offered for WooCommerce products and via support tickets. For customization support, you’ll need to hire a WooCommerce developer, which can be costly.

How much does Wix Stores cost?

Rated 4.5/5 for Pricing

Wix is very competitive on price. The basic plan costs $20/month and includes access to the online store builder, shopping cart with multiple shipping rules, multichannel sales, and Wix payment gateway.

Wix also offers a handful of sweeteners, including a free domain (for one year), ad credit, and professional logo design.

The whole ecommerce feature set is available on all plans. The more expensive plans - “Business Unlimited” and “Business VIP” - provide extra storage and (in the case of the VIP option) first-in-line customer support. If you need more than 50GB of storage, you’ll have to speak to Wix directly.

Wix Stores 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 WooCommerce's and Wix Stores's support measure up?

How good is WooCommerce support?

Rated 3.5/5 for Help and Support

WooCommerce support is a mixed bag. Because it’s a free WordPress plugin, customer service is not included as part of the core package.

If you need dedicated technical support, you’ll have to hire a “WooExpert”. WooCommerce provides basic general support and dedicated support for paid products like themes and extensions through help tickets.

That said, WooCommerce has an active community of users that are happy to help solve minor problems, along with extensive documentation.

How good is Wix Stores support?

Rated 3.5/5 for Help and Support

While the quality of support provided by Wix is generally excellent, users only have the option of submitting a support ticket or requesting a callback. No live chat options are available.

English-language support is available 24/7 and support is also offered in a limited number of foreign languages during business hours.

VIP support, which essentially pushes you to the front of the line, is available on the Business VIP plan.

It's a draw!

The Bottom Line

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

WooCommerce: Our Verdict

WooCommerce has many positives and only a handful of negatives.

If you’re thinking about WooCommerce, first make sure you wouldn’t prefer a fully-hosted solution like Shopify or Big Commerce. Out-of-the-box solutions come with dedicated customer service, an array of features, and all backend tasks are taken care of.

If, however, you’re looking for a cost-effective solution that integrates seamlessly with WordPress, and don’t mind looking after hosting yourself, then WooCommerce is ideal. A large library of extensions means that you won’t miss any features, and an active community of users is on hand to help you troubleshoot any issues.

What’s more, as an open-source platform, WooCommerce allows for almost unlimited customization.

Evaluate the cost of extensions and hosting before you decide to go all-in. And don’t be afraid to give WooCommerce a test-drive. It’s free, after all.

Wix Stores: Our Verdict

One of the big positives about Wix is that it provides all necessary core ecommerce features, including multichannel selling and shipping rules, on all of its plans. You don’t need to sign up to the most expensive package to get the functionality you need.

What’s more, many secondary features are offered. Related product listings, cart abandonment emails, and access to Modalyst dropshipping (to add extra products to your store) are available to all users.

But the standout feature is the drag-and-drop website builder. While there is a slight learning curve, this powerful tool enables you to customize your store without any previous coding experience.

So if you’re looking for a comprehensive solution with a high degree of design freedom, Wix is the way to go.

Overall, we found Wix Stores to be the better ecommerce platform.

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