Shopify vs Etsy: Which is best for you?

Since the market is crowded with online selling platforms, Shopify vs Etsy differ in focus areas to satisfy their users. As an open source eCommerce platform, Shopify allows someone to build their own website without any coding while Etsy is more niche as a platform that deals with handmade, vintage, and unique products. In this comparison, I’ll be covering the four areas or categories which demonstrate their main distinctions, including the cost of both platforms, usability and interface, available marketing tools, a variety of accepted payments, delivery, inventory management and support of customers in choosing the best platform for the successful work of your business.

Introduction to Shopify and Etsy

Shopify is an eCommerce platform for businesses and is currently listed as one of the most widely used across the globe. Even for those who do not have programming skills, the software can be deployed by individuals and companies to establish an exclusive online shop where they can introduce products and deal with client’s orders. Currently, there are around 4 million eCommerce stores created by merchants using the Shopify store builder software in approximately 175 countries every year.

Etsy is an online store selling unusual, vintage, and handcrafted goods. It offers a venue for independent craftspeople and small companies to list and market their goods. Etsy gets a cut of every transaction in addition to a minor listing fee. The platform makes it simpler for merchants to connect with potential clients by providing a pre-made audience interested in specialized items.

Shopify vs Etsy: The comprehensive comparison

Key differences	Shopify	Etsy
Pricing	$29, $79 or $299 per month (paid annually)	Free or $10 per month
Additional costs	Transaction fees	Listing costs, conversion fees, transaction fees for each sale, advertising fees, and transaction processing fees
Each of use	Shopify offers an intuitive, user-friendly interface with drag-and-drop tools, making it easy to build and customize an online store	Etsy simplifies the selling process with straightforward listing and management tools
Design and customization	Shopify provides extensive design and customization options with a wide range of themes and a drag-and-drop editor	Etsy offers limited design customization, focusing on a standardized marketplace format
Marketing tools	Shopify offers robust marketing tools, including SEO features, email marketing, social media integrations, and various apps	Etsy provides basic promotional tools, such as Etsy Ads and social media integration
Payment options	Shopify supports a wide range of payment options, including its own Shopify Payments, PayPal, Stripe, and various other third-party payment gateways	Etsy primarily handles transactions through Etsy Payments, which includes options like credit and debit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and some regional payment methods
Shipping and inventory management	Shopify provides advanced shipping and inventory management tools, including integrations with major carriers, real-time shipping rates, and automated inventory tracking	Etsy offers basic shipping and inventory management features, allowing sellers to set shipping profiles, calculate shipping costs, and manage stock levels within the platform’s simplified interface
Customer support	24/7 via email, phone, and live chat	Promotes email, phone, and chat, yet the most of issues can only be resolved by email

Pricing

Shopify provides a free three-day trial followed by a $1 monthly fee. Multichannel retailers may find the monthly payment of $79 (paid yearly) more appealing. Stores that need sophisticated reporting can take advantage of its $299 monthly (yearly) subscription. Shopify Lite is available for $9 a month if you already have a website or blog and just need to add a way to take credit card payments for orders.

The Etsy Plus plan, which includes 15 listing credits and $5 in monthly ad expenditure, is available for free for thirty days. Following the trial, $10 will be paid each month. Discounts, client refill requests, and other banner possibilities are also included in this.

Additional costs

With Shopify, transaction costs for online sales begin at 2.4% + 30 cents and increase significantly for the more affordable plans. Etsy doesn’t charge a monthly fee unless you choose to subscribe to the Plus plan, in which case you will pay additional costs for each transaction. Because of these costs, a plethora of third parties have developed profit calculators for merchants.

To get a product uploaded into your store, you must first pay 20 cents for each upload. You must pay the 20 cents once more if you choose to use auto-renew to renew this listing after four months. Suppose you have the same object in numerous amounts. You must pay an additional 20 cents to maintain the listing live if you sell one. However, there is no cost associated with amending the listing.

A transaction fee of 5% of your listing price is paid for each Etsy sale, in addition to the amount you charge for shipping and gift wrapping. For sellers located in the United States, payment processing costs are 3% + 25 cents for each transaction. If Etsy wants to change foreign currencies into US dollars, there are currency conversion costs.

Ease of use

It is not necessary to have years of coding or website-building experience to succeed with Shopify versus Etsy. It’s simple for new company owners to use both platforms.

If you have no prior experience selling on the internet or even if you’ve previously sold things on another eCommerce system, selling on Shopify is incredibly easy to do when it comes to creating an online business. Shopify helps you start by engaging clients as soon as possible for an excellent reason; it has all you need. You may make an aesthetically pleasing website with the use of plugins, eye-catching themes, and useful information. Shopify will walk you through much of the building process when utilizing the drag-and-drop builder, and you can get customer support when you need it.

Etsy, on the other hand, offers a simpler method for opening an account and putting goods for sale. Comparatively speaking to Shopify, it has less complexity in terms of product categories and listings because of its emphasis on handcrafted, vintage, and unique things. For certain users, Etsy’s costs and rules on what may be sold on an established marketplace, however, may be more onerous.

Design and customization

It won’t be difficult for Shopify users to create a stunning website. With so many eye-catching themes to choose from, you can get started designing straight away even if you have no experience with coding. Additionally, this SaaS interfaces with several third-party apps and services, offering even greater personalization choices. Shopify’s design options are adaptable and intuitive, enabling customers to customize the appearance and feel of their websites.

Etsy, on the other hand, has a variety of design tools and features to assist sellers in creating a shop that looks professional, while having a smaller range of customizable templates. Etsy’s design possibilities are more tailored to its concentration on handmade, vintage, and unusual items; they might not be as adaptable as Shopify for other product kinds.

When it comes to design and customization, Shopify beats Etsy since it provides more options and flexibility. That makes it a more favorable option for the businesses which desire to establish a unique and professional appearance web-based store. It is not bad, it is just simple and perhaps aligns better with the concept of things that can be sold on Etsy if they are hand made, vintage or unique.

Marketing tools

Shopify provides content marketing and SEO capabilities, allowing you to create a blog and improve item information, title tags, and meta descriptions to make your items easier to locate for shoppers. Additionally, you may integrate your business with other marketing tools thanks to this SaaS. You may design social media cross-channel marketing strategies to encourage consumers to sign up for email newsletters.

There are more than 90 million active users on the well-known marketplace Etsy. Etsy advertising on other Etsy sites and in search results may be used to advertise your items. The marketplace optimizes your spending to concentrate on Etsy locations where your listings will do the best.

In general, Etsy provides simple, yet possibly more effective, marketing strategies for entrepreneurs opening a store. Shopify offers a wide range of marketing tools to complement different methods for seasoned business owners who are at ease with different marketing approaches.

Payment options 

Shopify Payments, which can be used for payment processing through credit and debit cards as well as through PayPal, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and others, is also provided for the integrated payment processing by Shopify. In a bid to make it even easier for companies to collect payments, their platform integrates multiple third-party payment gateways.

However, Etsy allows sellers to pay using PayPal, direct checkout, and other methods. Buyers may pay straight via Etsy using its own payment system, called “direct checkout,” which accepts both credit and debit cards. Additionally, vendors can accept payments using PayPal.

When comparing Shopify’s payment choices with Etsy, the software-as-a-service provider has a greater variety of integrated payment processing alternatives, including connections with external payment gateways and its own payment gateway, Shopify Payments. Although there are fewer payment methods on Etsy, PayPal and direct checkout are still available. The particular requirements and preferences of the business will determine which solution is best.

Shipping and inventory management

Shopify offers solutions concerning merchant shipping and inventory most of which are real-time; printing of shipping labels and finding affordable shipping prices from major shipping companies are some of the features offered by Shopify. Various shipping and inventory management applications are available on this platform, so organizations will have even more options to choose from to manage their shipping and inventory.

While Etsy provides shipping and inventory management features such as shipping profiles for configuring shipping prices, generating mailing labels, and tracking inventory, these features might not be as extensive or adaptable as those provided by Shopify.

Customer support

Shopify offers live online chat and phone support around the clock, so you may contact them at any time if you need help in the middle of the night. In addition, they assist via email, video lessons, forums, social media pages, and emails; these are useful for resolving more often requested questions and issues.

Not to add, the Shopify Help Center has a plethora of instructions to assist you with most problems. You may access this resource using the Shopify editor. You can find a help menu here that will lead you to the relevant help center page.

You can discover answers to your problems in the Help Center, where information is shown in a very clear and easy-to-understand manner. There are discussions and useful advice available from other users in Etsy’s vibrant community. For assistance, you may reach out to them via phone or email as well. But, if you value good seller support, you could consider choosing another site, like Etsy, as merchants have recently faced bad customer service.

Overall, it can be said that Shopify offers customers better and faster assistance than Etsy, which is why when choosing the platform for the company’s activity, one should consider the fact that even though Etsy is known for its highly efficient customer service, some companies may require more help and support, and Shopify will be better for them in this sense.

Shopify vs Etsy: Which is best for you?

	Shopify	Etsy
Pros	Highly customizable design and branding options Extensive range of marketing tools and apps Supports numerous payment gateways, including Shopify Payments Advanced shipping and inventory management features Scalable for businesses of all sizes Comprehensive analytics and reporting	Access to a large, built-in audience interested in handmade and unique items Simple setup and easy-to-use platform Lower upfront costs with the pay-as-you-sell model Basic promotional tools to increase visibility within the marketplace A community-oriented environment with a focus on niche products
Cons	Monthly subscription fees can add up, especially with premium plans Requires more effort to drive traffic compared to marketplace platforms Additional costs for premium apps and themes Greater responsibility for managing customer service and fulfillment	Limited design and customization options Fees for listings and a percentage of each sale can accumulate Less control over branding and store presentation Higher competition with similar products in the same marketplace Basic shipping and inventory management features may not suffice for larger businesses

Esty is suitable for:

• Etsy ought to be your first port of contact if you’re a novice retailer with a modest collection of unique and handcrafted goods. When you manufacture your own goods, each one might be one-of-a-kind, and your initial catalog will probably be small.
• Because Etsy offers a reduced transaction charge and no monthly fees, it can be a more affordable choice if you are on a tight budget and make fewer transactions. This makes this a low-risk strategy if you’re not sure how well your items will do.

Shopify is suitable for:

• Shopify can be a better alternative if you have more money and resources because it gives more control and customization choices along with a greater selection of services and integrations.
• Shopify is certainly something to consider if your goal is to grow your business and sell hundreds of different items.
• Furthermore, Etsy will be too restrictive if you want to start selling anything other than crafts and other items, in which case Shopify is the ideal option.

Wrap-up 

To sum up, Shopify and Etsy provide unique benefits for online retailers. Shopify is the best option for companies looking for scalable solutions, sophisticated marketing capabilities, and a high level of flexibility. It offers a thorough platform appropriate for expanding companies with a variety of product offerings. Conversely, Etsy serves small companies and craftsmen that specialize in handcrafted, antique, and unusual products; it provides a more straightforward establishment process and access to a specific market. Your budget, degree of control, and preference for customization for your online store should all be taken into consideration when deciding between Shopify and Etsy.