Choosing between Wix and Shopify? Dive into our detailed analysis to make an informed decision for your design and frontend needs.
Irvin Zhan
•
2025-01-13
When it comes to building online stores, Wix and Shopify are two popular platforms that often come up. Both offer robust features but serve different needs. In this article, we'll compare their key features, pricing, limitations, and user reviews to help you make an informed decision.
Wix: Overview and Key Features
Wix is a widely-used website builder known for its user-friendly interface and extensive customization options.
Drag-and-Drop Editor: Wix offers an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, allowing users to place elements like text, images, and videos anywhere on the page without coding.
Template Selection: Users can choose from over 500 designer-made templates, catering to various industries and styles, ensuring a professional look for any website.
App Market: Wix's App Market includes a wide range of plugins such as Wix Forms for custom forms, Wix Chat for live chat, and Wix Bookings for appointment scheduling.
SEO Tools: Wix provides built-in SEO tools, including customizable meta tags, alt text for images, and a personalized SEO plan to improve search engine rankings.
Mobile Optimization: Websites created with Wix are automatically optimized for mobile devices, ensuring a seamless user experience across all screen sizes.
eCommerce Capabilities: Wix supports online stores with features like product galleries, inventory management, and multiple payment options, suitable for small to medium-sized businesses.
Blogging Platform: Wix includes a robust blogging platform with features like categories, tags, and social media integration, making it easy to manage and share content.
Customer Support: Wix offers 24/7 customer support through various channels, including phone, email, and a comprehensive help center with tutorials and FAQs.
Wix's Reviews
Overall, user feedback on Wix highlights its ease of use and extensive features, but also points out some areas for improvement.
G2 Rating: 4.2 out of 5 stars based on 1,695 reviews.
Andrew C. (1.0 out of 5): "Loved it until I started using the SEO" - Liked the ease of website functionality and real-time updates. Disliked the SEO functionality and support.
Dave M. (0.0 out of 5): "Fraudulent renewal scams - and way harder to use than Webflow or Tilda" - Appreciated the integrated marketing platform and template library. Criticized the overall tech quality, hidden upcharges, and renewal practices.
Juan S. (5.0 out of 5): "Wix - a simple, no-code solution to design and host your own website." - Praised the simplicity and ease of use, especially for beginners. Mentioned misleading initial pricing.
Tom R. (5.0 out of 5): "The simplicity is key" - Highlighted the ease of use and management of multiple sites. Found the pricing to be a bit high.
Beth L. (5.0 out of 5): "I've done two different sites in Wix and I love it." - Liked the user-friendly interface and ease of creating a site. Had issues with SEO customization.
Positive Aspects:
User-friendly interface with a drag-and-drop editor.
Extensive template library.
Advanced SEO and eCommerce features.
Integrated marketing tools.
Responsive customer support.
Common Concerns:
Limited customization and template options.
High pricing and hidden costs.
Issues with SEO functionality and support.
Customer support concerns, particularly with billing and renewals.
Shopify: Overview and Key Features
Shopify is a leading e-commerce platform designed to help businesses of all sizes create and manage online stores.
Comprehensive Store Management: Shopify offers a centralized dashboard for managing products, orders, and customer data. Users can easily add new products, track inventory, and process orders.
Customizable Themes: Shopify provides a wide range of professionally designed themes. Users can customize these themes to match their brand identity without needing to code.
Payment Processing: Shopify supports multiple payment gateways, including Shopify Payments, PayPal, and Stripe. This allows businesses to accept various payment methods securely.
SEO Tools: Shopify includes built-in SEO features such as customizable title tags, meta descriptions, and alt text for images. It also generates a sitemap.xml file to help search engines index your site.
App Store: Shopify's App Store offers thousands of plugins to extend functionality. Examples include Oberlo for dropshipping, Yotpo for customer reviews, and Klaviyo for email marketing.
Mobile Optimization: Shopify ensures that all stores are mobile-friendly. The platform automatically adjusts the layout for optimal viewing on smartphones and tablets.
24/7 Customer Support: Shopify provides round-the-clock support through various channels, including live chat, email, and phone. Users also have access to a comprehensive help center and community forums.
Shopify's Reviews
Overall user feedback on Shopify highlights its ease of use and comprehensive features, but also notes some areas for improvement.
G2 Rating: 4.4 out of 5 stars.
Shimonta D. (5.0 out of 5): "Love this software for my business. Shopify is relatively easy to use and provides a professional look for my business."
Verified User (5.0 out of 5): "The only real option to start up an ecommerce site. Scales with the business and relatively easy to set up."
Ashley C. (2.5 out of 5): "It's fairly easy to use. The page is very easily learned and trained."
Keyan S. (5.0 out of 5): "Comprehensive Ecom Platform for Small Businesses. The features and built-in functions are just so comprehensive and helpful."
Eric W. (5.0 out of 5): "Ease of use, integrates with everything, and has a huge community."
Positive Aspects:
Ease of use and professional look.
Scales with business growth.
Comprehensive features and built-in functions.
Integration capabilities.
Strong community support.
Common Concerns:
High cost, including additional fees for apps and themes.
Limited customization options.
Reports of poor customer support.
Data privacy concerns.
Feature Comparison: Wix vs. Shopify
Similarities
Despite targeting different audiences, Wix and Shopify share several important features:
User-friendly Interfaces: Both platforms offer intuitive, drag-and-drop editors and built-in AI tools for easy website creation.
Hosted Platforms: Each provides secure, managed hosting with high uptime and enterprise-grade security.
E-commerce Functionality: Both support online selling, inventory management, and multiple payment options.
SEO and Marketing Features: Each platform includes built-in SEO tools, customizable metadata, and social media marketing integrations.
Extensibility: Both offer extensive app markets for third-party integrations and additional functionalities.
Customer Support: Each provides 24/7 customer support through various channels, including live chat, email, and phone.
Differences
Understanding the biggest differences in features between Wix and Shopify can help you decide which platform suits your needs best.
Primary Focus: Wix is primarily a website builder with a broad range of customization options, while Shopify focuses on e-commerce, optimized for selling products online.
Customization and Design Flexibility: Wix offers extensive design freedom with over 900 customizable templates and advanced design features like animations and scroll effects. Shopify provides design flexibility through themes but generally requires code customization for advanced changes.
Business Tools: Wix includes a variety of business tools such as scheduling, portfolio, blog, online courses, and events management. Shopify, on the other hand, excels in e-commerce tools, supporting both online and offline sales, international shipping, and B2B commerce.
App Integrations: Wix supports hundreds of app integrations available through the Wix App Market, including popular tools like Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel. Shopify offers access to over 13,000 commerce apps in its App Store, covering needs from marketing to inventory management.
SEO Tools: Wix provides built-in SEO tools with AI-generated meta tags and instant homepage indexing. Shopify includes SEO features for optimizing product listings, creating SEO-friendly URLs, and integrating with marketing tools to enhance online visibility.
Pricing Comparison: Wix vs. Shopify
Wix Pricing
Wix offers a variety of pricing plans to cater to different business needs and budgets. Here's a breakdown of their pricing structures:
Business Elite: $159 per month
Free domain for 1 year
Unlimited storage space
Multi-cloud hosting
Advanced marketing suite
Accept payments
Advanced eCommerce
Advanced developer platform
100 site collaborators
Customized reports
Events Calendar app free for 1 year
Priority customer care
75 lead-capture forms
100 fields per form
Google Ads with Wix
Get Found Today app by Uberall free for 1 year
Customer accounts
Plans and recurring payments
Sell on marketplaces
Sell on social channels
Automated sales tax (500 transactions per month)
Product catalog (50,000 products)
Abandoned cart recovery
Automatic discounts
Accept pre-orders
Accept manual orders
Loyalty program
Loyalty tiers
Loyalty points expiration
Referral program
Dropshipping by Modalyst (50,000 products)
Product reviews
Branded eGift cards (Advanced)
Back in stock notifications (Unlimited)
Multiple currencies (Primary plus 10)
Business: $36 per month
Free domain for 1 year
100 GB storage space
Multi-cloud hosting
Standard marketing suite
Accept payments
Standard eCommerce
10 site collaborators
Events Calendar app free for 1 year
24/7 customer care
25 lead-capture forms
75 fields per form
Google Ads with Wix
Get Found Today app by Uberall free for 1 year
Customer accounts
Plans and recurring payments
Sell on marketplaces
Sell on social channels
Automated sales tax (100 transactions per month)
Product catalog (50,000 products)
Abandoned cart recovery
Automatic discounts
Accept pre-orders
Accept manual orders
Loyalty program
Referral program
Dropshipping by Modalyst (250 products)
Product reviews
Branded eGift cards (Advanced)
Back in stock notifications (Unlimited)
Multiple currencies (Primary plus 5)
Core: $29 per month
Free domain for 1 year
50 GB storage space
Multi-cloud hosting
Basic marketing suite
Accept payments
Basic eCommerce
5 site collaborators
Events Calendar app free for 1 year
24/7 customer care
10 lead-capture forms
50 fields per form
Google Ads with Wix
Get Found Today app by Uberall free for 1 year
Customer accounts
Plans and recurring payments
Sell on marketplaces
Sell on social channels
Product catalog (50,000 products)
Abandoned cart recovery
Automatic discounts
Accept pre-orders
Accept manual orders
Loyalty program
Dropshipping by Modalyst (25 products)
Product reviews
Branded eGift cards (Basic)
Back in stock notifications (10 per month)
Light: $17 per month
Free domain for 1 year
2 GB storage space
Multi-cloud hosting
Light marketing suite
2 site collaborators
24/7 customer care
4 lead-capture forms
10 fields per form
Google Ads with Wix
Shopify' Pricing
Shopify offers a range of pricing plans to accommodate businesses of all sizes and needs.
Basic: $29 per month (billed yearly)
Up to 77% shipping discount
10 inventory locations
24/7 chat support
Localized global selling (3 markets)
POS Lite
Shopify: $79 per month (billed yearly)
Up to 88% shipping discount and insurance
10 inventory locations
24/7 chat support
Localized global selling (3 markets)
5 additional staff accounts
POS Lite
Advanced: $299 per month (billed yearly)
Up to 88% shipping discount, insurance, 3rd-party calculated rates
10 inventory locations
Enhanced 24/7 chat support
Localized global selling (3 markets) + add markets for $59 per month each
15 additional staff accounts
10x checkout capacity
POS Lite
Plus: Starting at $2,300 per month (on a 3-year term)
Up to 88% shipping discount, insurance, 3rd-party calculated rates
200 inventory locations
Priority 24/7 phone support
Localized global selling (50 markets)
Unlimited staff accounts
Customizable checkout with 40x capacity
Up to 200 POS Pro locations
Sell wholesale/B2B
Starter: $5 per month
Retail: $89 per month
Enterprise Commerce: Custom pricing (available upon request)
Subframe, a Better Alternative to Wix and Shopify
Subframe is a UI design tool that makes it easy to create and code interfaces. We offer a drag-and-drop editor that syncs with real components, ensuring your designs are pixel-perfect and responsive. With Subframe, you can quickly turn your designs into clean, production-ready React and Tailwind code, speeding up your workflow and eliminating the need for handoff.
Subframe's Features
Subframe is a UI design tool tailored for the AI era, offering a seamless blend of design and code.
Component-Based Design: Subframe allows you to create user interfaces with real, reusable components instead of static mockups, ensuring your designs are immediately usable in development.
Pre-Built UI Templates: The platform offers a library of customizable templates inspired by established design patterns, helping you speed up the design process with reusable components.
Code Export: Subframe generates clean, production-quality React and Tailwind code, allowing you to copy designs directly into your codebase and reduce time spent on handoff and manual CSS adjustments.
Free to Get Started: Subframe offers free access to its visual design tools with no credit card required, making it easy to start designing without any initial cost.
Real-Time Collaboration: The tool supports real-time collaboration, enabling teams to work together seamlessly and make instant updates to designs.
Subframe's Pricing
Subframe offers flexible pricing options to suit different needs:
Free: $0 per user/month
1 project
Up to 3 page designs
Up to 3 team members
100s of UI templates
Limited AI features
Pro: $29 per user/month
Up to 3 projects
Unlimited page designs
Unlimited team members
Custom components
100s of UI templates
Full AI beta access
Custom: "Let's talk"
Unlimited projects
Unlimited page designs
Integrate your components
Dedicated Slack support
Figma plugin
Unlimited AI
For more details, visit our Subframe Pricing page. Book a demo with us to see how Subframe can transform your design workflow.
Subframe's Reviews
Users have shared positive feedback about Subframe, noting its user-friendly interface, time-saving tools, and the quality of the UI designs it produces. The platform has earned a 5/5 rating on Product Hunt. Customers especially value the visual editor, drag-and-drop functionality, and AI features that help refine designs based on user input.
"Without Subframe, the frontend build of this tool would've taken a lot longer and a lot more financial resources." - Erin Kim
"Subframe helped us make a super clean UI for our console without designers." - Carl Peterson
"Huge shoutout to Subframe guys! Super easy to create UI, and the support is great." - Amartya Jha
Wix, Shopify or Subframe? Which is The Best Tool For You
Wix is ideal for those who prioritize extensive customization options and a user-friendly interface for building a variety of websites. Shopify excels in providing comprehensive e-commerce solutions, making it the go-to choice for businesses focused on online selling and inventory management. However, if you seek a seamless integration of design and code, Subframe stands out by offering real component-based design and production-ready React and Tailwind code.
If you prioritize design flexibility and ease of use, Wix is a great fit. For robust e-commerce capabilities, Shopify may be the better choice. But for those looking for a tool that combines design and code seamlessly, Subframe is the optimal solution.
Get started on Subframe for free to see how it can streamline your workflow and elevate your design process.
Join thousands of happy builders.
Subframe lets you build stunning UI with beautifully crafted components and a drag-and-drop visual editor.
