Best eCommerce Website Builders
Top Picks
| Platform | Best for | Key strength | Starting price | Typical transaction fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | Getting up and running quickly | Fast onboarding + huge app/theme ecosystem | From $39/mo | 2.9% + $0.30 (Shopify Payments) |
| Square | Selling in-person & online | Native POS + unified offline/online sales | Free (branded) · From $29/yr to remove branding | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Ecwid (Lightspeed) | Start for free, then scale | Solid free tier; easy integrations | Free · Paid from $25/mo | Depends on payment gateway |
| BigCommerce | Large-volume sellers | Enterprise-caliber features for SMBs | From $39/mo | Depends on payment gateway |
| WooCommerce | Add cart to WordPress site | Full WordPress flexibility & extensions | Free plugin (self-hosted) | Depends on payment gateway |
| Wix | Build full site + store | Best site builder + eCommerce features | From $43/mo | 2.9% + $0.30 (Wix Payments) |
How we evaluated platforms
| Criteria | What we checked |
|---|---|
| Ease of setup | Speed of onboarding and store creation for non-developers |
| Design & customization | Theme quality, editor power, branding flexibility |
| Product & order management | Inventory, variants, shipping, tax handling |
| Payments & fees | Supported gateways, card fees, transaction/hidden fees |
| Integrations & apps | Plugins, marketplaces, Zapier and third-party support |
| Scalability & pricing | Upgrade paths, limits, long-term cost predictability |
| Support & docs | Help resources, community, support hours/quality |
Feature comparison snapshot
| Feature | Shopify | Square | Ecwid | BigCommerce | WooCommerce | Wix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drag-and-drop builder | Yes | Yes (Weebly) | Yes | Yes | Dependent on theme | Yes |
| POS / in-person selling | Add-on | Native | Optional | Add-on | Via extensions | Add-on |
| Inventory & multi-channel | Strong | Good | Good | Excellent | Excellent | Good |
| Shipping & tax automation | Built-in/apps | Built-in | Built-in | Advanced | Via extensions | Built-in |
| Marketplace integrations | Yes | Limited | Yes | Extensive | Via plugins | Via apps |
| App/extension marketplace | Huge | Modest | Modest | Large | Massive (WP) | Healthy |
| Best for non-devs | Very good | Very good | Very good | Intermediate | Intermediate | Excellent |
| Good for enterprises | Shopify Plus | No | No | Yes | Yes (self-hosted) | Limited |
Pros & cons
| Platform | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify | Fast setup, huge ecosystem, best support & resources | Apps add cost; can become expensive |
| Square | Seamless POS integration; great for brick-and-mortar | Fewer themes/customization choices |
| Ecwid | Real free plan; easy to add to any site | Less polished than Shopify; fewer advanced features |
| BigCommerce | Feature-rich for high volume; excellent channel management | Can be overkill for tiny stores; paid themes |
| WooCommerce | Full WordPress control; flexible & cost-effective | Requires WordPress know-how & maintenance |
| Wix | Best all-in-one site + store builder; AI tools | Not as specialized for high-volume eCommerce |
Pricing & fee considerations
- Monthly plan vs gateway fees: Add the monthly plan + payment gateway fees (e.g., 2.9% + $0.30) when estimating cost per sale.
- Transaction fees: Some platforms (Shopify, Wix) charge extra if you use third-party gateways; others rely only on gateway fees.
- Hidden costs: Premium themes, paid apps, shipping labels, and integrations can add materially to monthly spend.
- Scale check: BigCommerce and Shopify provide easier upgrades for higher volume; WooCommerce may be cheaper at scale if you manage hosting well.
Quick recommendations
- If you want speed + apps → Shopify.
- If you sell mostly offline & online → Square.
- If you need a free starter store → Ecwid.
- If you sell high volume or across marketplaces → BigCommerce.
- If you already use WordPress → WooCommerce.
- If you want a full website + store with minimal fuss → Wix.
