When you are starting an Ecommerce Business, one of the most daunting tasks is choosing which ecommerce platform is going to be the best option for building your online store.
This is because there are many many options out there and the more research you do, the more confused you end up getting (been there, done that!), so to help you out, we decided to list what we think are the best ecommerce platforms for building an online store.
But what makes our list different to the other best ecommerce platform lists out there?
Well, I go through and test every single platform from the perspective of someone looking to build an ecommerce store as I have been in your position and the platforms on this list are ones that I think are viable options.
Shopify came top overall due to:
• Being easy-to-use
• Offering a good selection of features
• Great theme customization
Squarespace is best for small businesses due to:
• Being very easy-to-use
• Having a great website builder
• Having a good selection of features
Ecwid is the best for flexibility as it can:
• Be used to build an online store
• Add a cart to existing websites
+ it is very easy-to-use
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1. Shopify
Best All Round Ecommerce Platform
Shopify is one of, if not the biggest name in the world of ecommerce and for good reason as they offer the best overall platform for building an ecommerce website.
This is because they do everything well, there may be others that excel in certain areas but none of them offer a better overall package than Shopify, very few also come close to being as easy to use as Shopify as the admin dashboard and user interface are very well designed.
Out of the box, Shopify offers a good set of features that allow you to build a basic ecommerce store for physical or service-based products but it is the Shopify App Store that takes Shopify to a whole different level.
This is because the Shopify App Store contains over 3,000 apps that offer all different features, functionality and integrations, below is a summary of some of the things that you can do:
Obviously, we can only put a summary in here as 3,000+ apps is way too much to cover but hopefully, it gives you an idea of what can be achieved with Shopify but not all of these apps are free, many offer a free trial or package but if you want all the features, you will need to pay for them and prices can range from a few dollars a month to over $100 a month.
While Shopify’s features and app options are very good, it is the design options that help Shopify stand out from its competition due to a large selection of themes combined with one of the best theme customizers in the industry that allows even people with no experience in web design, the tools to build a very good looking website, even with one of the free themes.
But as with all things Shopify isn’t perfect as you will need to install apps for some features that are included with other platforms such as being able to sell digital products or printing invoices directly from the order dashboard and the best options for these are paid apps but overall it offers a very good package.
Shopify Pricing
| Basic | Standard | Advanced | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $39 | $105 | $399 |
| Number of Products | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Turnover Limit | None | None | None |
| Transaction Fee | 2% | 1% | 0.5% |
| Admin Accounts | 2 | 5 | 15 |
Shopify pricing is almost the industry standard as many other platforms have very similar pricing structures but Shopify does differ from most of its competition in 2 ways:
- Shopify doesn’t have annual turnover limits on any plan
- Shopify does charge a transaction fee on all payments received using third-party payment gateways such as PayPal or Amazon pay
And it is this transaction fee that can make Shopify more expensive on a monthly basis but these transaction fees can be avoided if you use Shopify Payments, which is their in-house payment gateway, which is powered by Stripe. These transaction fees also don’t apply to offline transactions such as bank transfers.
Shopify Pros and Cons
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Who Is Shopify Best For?
With Shopify being a good all-round ecommerce platform, it is suitable for everything from start-ups to enterprise-level stores.
This is because Shopify is easy-to-use, comes with a good selection of features, a large app store and very good customization.
If you want to learn more, then check out our Full Shopify Review.
2. Squarespace
Best Ecommerce Platform for Small Businesses
Many small businesses are looking for a feature-rich and easy-to-use yet cost-effective platform to help them start selling online and Squarespace ticks all of these boxes and is our pick if something like Shopify is a bit too much.
What impressed us most with Squarespace is that it performs well in all areas when it comes to selling online and is also one of the easiest platforms to use, which is great if you haven’t built a website before.
It also comes with a great selection of features, including:
While Squarespace doesn’t offer the same level of features as some dedicated ecommerce platforms, it still offers more than enough tools to help you start, market and grow your business and many of these are built into the platform, meaning they are available to use from day one.
One of the things that makes Squarespace great for people new to building websites is its website builder as not only is it very easy to use but it offers a great selection of design and customization options that can easily be applied when using the drag and drop builder.
There are a few drawbacks to Squarespace, with the most notable one being the limited payment gateway options as it only really offers PayPal and Stripe, which is fine for most businesses but some may find this a bit restrictive.
Squarespace Pricing
| Business | Basic Commerce | Advanced Commerce | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $33 | $36 | $65 |
| Number of Products | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Turnover Limit | None | None | None |
| Transaction Fee | 3% | None | None |
The prices listed above are if you pay for your Squarespace subscription monthly but if you choose to pay annually, they do offer a significant discount that makes the monthly cost a lot lower.
The transaction fee that is included with the Business plan combined with fewer features means that for most, the Basic Commerce plan is going to be the one to go for if you are just getting started.
Squarespace Pros and Cons
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Who Is Squarespace Best For?
Squarespace is a great option for small businesses looking for an easy-to-use but feature-rich ecommerce platform that won’t break the bank.
The website builder also makes creating a good-looking but functional website very simple, even for people new to building websites.
If you want to learn more, then check out our Full Squarespace Review.
3. Ecwid
Best Ecommerce Platform for Flexibility
Ecwid is one of the more unique options on this list because while it can be used to build a stand-alone ecommerce website and a pretty good one at that, Ecwid really shines as an ecommerce checkout that can be integrated with highly popular website builders such as WordPress and Wix.
This means it can be a great choice for bloggers who want to start selling products or services through their site along with additional sales channels such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Google Shopping and manage them all from one dashboard.
But Ecwid also offers a host of additional features to help you start selling, however, you choose to use the platform and below is a quick summary of these but some features are only available on the business and unlimited plans.
Ecwid is also very dialed into its target market, which is small and medium-sized businesses and this is reflected in the features and pricing of the platform.
If you want to use Ecwid to build a stand-alone ecommerce website, they offer a nice customizer and selection of templates, although they are limited in terms of content options such as being able to create custom pages and lack of a blog.
But the integrations with WordPress and Wix are excellent and in many cases offer more and perform better than native plugins or apps.
Ecwid is also one of the easiest platforms to get started with, the interface is well-designed and easy to navigate and all of the dashboard pages are simple and easy to use, which makes it a great option for businesses looking for a reasonably priced, easy-to-use shopping cart.
Ecwid Pricing
| Venture | Business | Unlimited | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $25 | $45 | $105 |
| Number of Products | 100 | 2,500 | Unlimited |
| Turnover Limit | None | None | None |
| Transaction Fee | None | None | None |
| Admin Accounts | 1 | 2 | Unlimited |
Ecwid also offers a completely free package and is one of the best free ecommerce platforms out there but the plan is limited in terms of only being able to sell up to 5 products and not having access to all of the platform’s features.
Ecwid also doesn’t have turnover limits or transaction fees, which makes the pricing very straightforward and they offer a selection of over 30 payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe and Square.
Ecwid Pros and Cons
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Who Is Ecwid Best For?
Ecwid is a great option for people or businesses that want to add an online store to their site without moving platform.
This is because Ecwid offers excellent integration with popular website builders such as WordPress and Wix along with all the tools needed to start selling online.
If you want to learn more, then check out our Full Ecwid Review.
4. SureCart
Best for WordPress Ecommerce
WordPress is the most popular platform for building websites and many like to use it for online stores but for you need a plugin and SureCart is our highest-rated plugin and the one that we would use if we built an online store with WordPress.
Even though it is relatively new, SureCart has evolved to become arguably the most complete ecommerce plugin for WordPress, mainly due to the way it works because, unlike traditional plugins like WooCommerce, SureCart uses headless ecommerce technology.
This means that all of the processes, such as the checkout pages are done on SureCart’s secure servers, not directly on your WordPress site, which makes life easier for you as the site owner and more secure for your customers.
SureCart also comes with a very good selection of features, including:
And these are all built into one plugin, which reduces the number of plugins you need on your site (which is always a good thing) and it works with every theme and page builder, which provides much more flexibility when it comes to the design of your site.
We also feel that SureCart is a lot easier to use than something like WooCommerce as everything is built into the one plugin and the design and interface is much more modern.
Like all plugins, SureCart isn’t perfect and we would like to see more payment gateways added as it is basically limited to PayPal and Stripe. The addition of bulk editors for the inventory and order management would also make it much easier to use for physical products than having to manage them all individually.
SureCart Pricing
SureCart is also very well priced, especially when compared to other WordPress ecommerce plugins and the cost of the additional plugins required to give WooCommerce the same level of features and they offer three plans:
| Launch | Grow | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $0 | $29 | $59 |
| Number of Products | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Turnover Limit | None | None | None |
| Transaction Fee | 1.9% | None | None |
These are the prices if you choose to pay monthly, if you choose to pay for your subscription annually you save the equivalent of $10 a month.
SureCart Pros and Cons
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Who Is SureCart Best For?
SureCart is best for businesses who are looking to or are already using WordPress for their site and want a feature-rich ecommerce plugin.
It is also one of the few options that includes a fully secure checkout for WordPress sites but doesn’t impact on site performance.
If you want to learn more, then check out our Full SureCart Review.
5. Square Online Store
Best Ecommerce Platform for local business with a Physical Store
If you have a physical location or sell face-to-face but also want to have an online presence, then Square is one of the best options out there as you can manage everything in one place.
But Square can be used just for building an online store as they offer a feature-rich platform and website builder, which is a great option for small and medium-sized businesses and some of these features include:
In terms of a straight up head to head, the Square Online Store doesn’t offer the same depth of features as some of the bigger platforms on this list but it is more than enough for many small businesses and even includes some premium features such as subscriptions and memberships with every package.
There are also some good design options when creating an online store with Square, which makes creating a simple, good-looking website very easy to do and overall the dashboard is very easy to use but they do lack some bulk editors, which might not be ideal for businesses who have a large product inventory.
Square Pricing
| Free | Plus | Premium | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $0 | $29 | $79 |
| Number of Products | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Turnover Limit | None | None | None |
| Transaction Fee | None | None | None |
Square’s Online Store is one of the cheaper options on this list, which once again ties in with it being great for small businesses, with the free package being very attractive to budget-conscious businesses but you can’t use your own domain name and the site will have a Square ad in the footer, even so, it is still one of the best free ecommerce platforms out there.
One of the main drawbacks of the Square Online Store is the lack of payment gateway options as even the Premium Package only includes Square, PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay and while this might be fine for smaller businesses, it may be limiting for larger ones.
Square Pros and Cons
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Who Is Square Best For?
Square is a great option for businesses that are or are looking to sell in-person and online but only want to use a single platform to manage their sales and inventory.
This is because Square offers a very good Point-of-Sale and a simple website builder to help you achieve this.
If you want to learn more, then check out our Full Square Review.
5. Bigcommerce
Best Ecommerce Platform for Large Businesses
Bigcommerce are one of the biggest (no pun intended) names in the world of ecommerce and one of the main alternatives to Shopify for building online stores.
While the main focus of Bigcommerce is enterprise level ecommerce businesses, they do also cater to small and medium-sized businesses with their Essentials plan that offer users a great selection of tools to help them start selling online, including:
One of the great features of Bigcommerce is that it feels scalable due to the features and also tools such as bulk editors and that it will grow with your business. It is also very easy to use, the dashboard is well designed and a lot of work has been put into making the workflow of the platform nice and efficient.
Bigcommerce also has its own app store, with over 1,100 apps covering a wide variety of categories but as with Shopify, many of these are paid options but there is a nice selection of free offerings as well.
They also are no slouch when it comes to theme selection with over 190 free and paid options to choose from and a page builder to help you build a custom store for your business.
The only real negative with Bigcommerce is the performance of their hosting environment, which didn’t perform well in our annual performance testing but this does seem to be an area where they are trying to improve.
Bigcommerce Pricing
| Basic | Standard | Advanced | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $29.95 | $79.95 | $299.95 |
| Number of Products | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Turnover Limit | $50,000 | $180,000 | $400,000 |
| Transaction Fee | None | None | None |
| Admin Accounts | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
As you can see, Bigcommerce is very similar to Shopify in terms of monthly cost but the big difference is that they have annual turnover limits and they are some of the smallest in the industry with the entry-level basic package only having a $50,000 per annum limit.
For larger stores, you can choose to use the Advanced Package and pay an additional $150/m for an additional $200,000 limit per year or choose to upgrade to a custom enterprise package.
Bigcommerce doesn’t charge any transaction fees and offers a selection of 65 pre-installed payment gateways, including PayPal, Stripe, Amazon Pay and Apple Pay.
Bigcommerce Pros and Cons
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Who Is Bigcommerce Best For?
Bigcommerce is best for larger ecommerce businesses as this is where the main focus of the platform is as it offers a great selection of in-built features that make managing a large store easier.
It is still a viable option for smaller stores with their Essentials plans.
If you want to learn more, then check out our Full Bigcommerce Review.
7. Payhip
Great Easy-to-use Platform for Digital Products
While every platform on this list offers the ability to sell digital products, none of them are designed specifically to do this and that is why we include Payhip on this list.
But Payhip isn’t just for selling digital downloads such as eBooks, they allow users to sell a range of digital products, including:
- Digital Downloads
- Online Courses
- Online Coaching
- Memberships
It can also be used to sell physical products, which is great if you have any additions to your digital content but the platform also offers a good set of features to enable you to grow your business, including:
Simplicity is another key feature of the Payhip platform from the admin dashboard to adding products and customizing your storefront, every interface is well laid out and easy to use, whether you are a beginner or an experienced website builder.
It does lack some features that some of the other platforms on this list offer but for businesses or content creators who want an easy-to-use and secure platform to sell their digital products, it will definitely do the job.
Payhip Pricing
One of the things that makes Payhip a very attractive proposition for online businesses is their pricing structure as they offer the following:
| Free Forever | Plus | Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Price | $0 | $29 | $99 |
| Number of Products | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Turnover Limit | None | None | None |
| Transaction Fee | 5% | 2% | None |
And with the free package, you get access to all of the features that Payhip offers but if you want to host your course videos with Payhip, you will need to pay $5 for up to 16 hours worth of video content.
Payhip Pros and Cons
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Who Is Payhip Best For?
Payhip is for individuals or businesses looking for a simple, easy-to-use platform to sell digital products including downloadables, virtuals product and also online courses.
It also offers the ability to sell physical products, which might be add-ons for your digital products.
If you want to learn more, then check out our Full Payhip Review.
What to Consider When Choosing an Ecommerce Platform
Choosing an ecommerce platform can be daunting, so before you start building your store, here are some things you should consider before making a choice:
1. Hosted or Self-Hosted
There are lots of ecommerce platforms out there but they generally fall into one of two categories and deciding which one is best for you, will make the choice easier.
Hosted
- Hosted ecommerce platforms, sometimes known as SaaS (Software as a Service) include a website builder, web hosting and in most cases support
- Most hosted platforms are subscription services, meaning you pay a monthly or annual fee for using the platform
- All technical aspects such as hosting setup, performance, security etc are taken care of for you
Self-Hosted
- Self-hosted platforms require you to buy your own hosting and then install your chosen software
- While the software itself may be free to use, you will need to pay for your hosting and possibly an SSL certificate
- Little to no support and you will either have to manage it yourself or employ the services of a developer
This is just a brief summary but for most people new to ecommerce, I would recommend going for a hosted platform as the start-up and day-to-day running is much easier and it is for this reason that very few self-hosted options appear in this list.
2. Support
Support is an important thing to consider when choosing an ecommerce platform as you may run into issues when setting up or running your store and you want to know that there is someone you can contact who will be able to help.
With support, you also want to consider the contact times for the support teams, where they are based and how easy they are to contact.
3. Features
This one can be quite challenging when just getting started as you don’t know exactly what features you are going to need (this becomes more evident as your business grows) but some things you want to consider:
- Inventory Management – how easy is it to create and manage your inventory? can you sell different types of products (physical, digital etc)
- Order Management – how easy is it to manage your orders
- Marketing Tools – what can you manage directly from the dashboard? can you easily integrate with other marketing tools (Google or Facebook ads etc)
- Payment Gateways – can you offer a variety of different payment options for your customers?
- Shipping Methods – does the platform offers different shipping options and/or integrations with third-party shipping companies
This is just a basic list but you want to try and create a list of features you need in order to be able to find the platform that will best suit your business.
4. Theme Customization and Design
Design is an important part of your online store as first impressions do count and you want to be able to create a good-looking but also easy-to-use store for your customers.
On your part, customization should also be easy to do and there should be options for design elements, such as:
- Page Layout
- Site Colours
- Font Style and Size
- Header and Footer Options
The more you are able to yourself and the easier it is, the less reliance you will have either on platform support or developers.
5. Price
Many people lead with price but this can be false economy as you may go for a cheaper or free option, only to find that you can’t achieve what you need to and then you need to go through the time-consuming and often costly process of moving to a platform that works for you.
Instead, it is best to pick the platform that best works for you and your business, even if the cost is slightly higher as it will be better paying a few dollars extra a month and choosing the platform that you like using the most but also offers all of the features and support you need.
Conclusion
As already mentioned, choosing which ecommerce platform to use isn’t easy but all of the platforms on this list will definitely get the job done and are ones that we would be happy to use to build an ecommerce store and in some cases have actually used.
The great thing is that with all these options, you can try before you buy, to see whether or not they will work for you and your business, except for WooCommerce as you need to buy hosting to try it I highly recommend trying multiple options to find the platform that is best for YOU and YOUR business as each store has its own requirements.
Editors Choice: Shopify
Shopify comes out top for use as it offers the best all-around ecommerce platform in terms of:
- Pricing
- Ease-of-use
- Features
It is also suitable for businesses of all sizes from start-ups to large online stores.
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Hi, I'm Paul, the Owner and Founder of EcommerceGold.
I ran my own Ecommerce Business for over 7 years and now help others start their own online retail empires!