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Whether it’s buying a physical product or booking a salon appointment, customers are getting used to purchasing more products, services, and memberships online.
As of Q1 2022, ecommerce sales make up 14.3% of retail sales in the United States. Yet, 28% of small businesses in the U.S. don’t have websites, making it hard for their customers to shop with them and, in turn, causing them to lose out to competitors that are using dedicated ecommerce platforms to create a seamless shopping experience.
We reviewed over a dozen popular ecommerce platforms based on price, range of features, ease-of-use, scalability, and more. Here are our top picks.
Best Overall: Shopify
Started in 2004 by three entrepreneurs trying to start an online snowboarding equipment store, Shopify has grown to over 5,000 employees worldwide serving millions of businesses in 175 countries. We chose it as the best overall because it’s an affordable, robust, and easy-to-use platform for both beginners and growing businesses.
Shopify offers some of the most advanced inventory management features of all the platforms we reviewed. Users can easily view stock levels and orders at a glance and create detailed product pages with custom metadata, images, pricing rules, and more. Shopify also streamlines shipping tasks including printing labels and sending tracking information to customers.
Shopify has a built-in payment processor that works with major credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. Users can choose from third-party payment processors like PayPal for an additional fee.
Designing a Shopify ecommerce store is easy with a drag-and-drop store builder, around 100 paid and free store themes, and the ability to customize anything without needing design skills. Finally, Shopify integrates with thousands of marketing, sales, inventory, accounting, and other apps to expand its already extensive ecommerce capabilities.
Shopify Pricing
Basic Plan
- $29 per monthAll the basics for starting a new businessOnline credit card processing at 2.9% plus 30 cents
Shopify Plan
- $79 per monthEverything you need for a growing businessOnline credit card processing at 2.6% plus 30 cents
Advanced Plan
- $299 per monthAdvanced features for scaling your businessOnline credit card processing at 2.4% plus 30 cents
All Shopify plans come with a 14-day free trial and 24/7 support through multiple channels.
Runner-Up, Best Overall: BigCommerce
Built originally as an online shopping cart by two developers in 2009, BigCommerce now boasts over 1,000 employees and serves over 150 countries. We chose it as the runner-up because it is comparable to Shopify with a focus on larger businesses and more robust SEO capabilities.
One place where BigCommerce differs from Shopify is in payment processing. Unlike Shopify, which charges 0.5% to 2% per transaction for using third-party payment processors, BigCommerce lets users choose from over 65 processors, including PayPal, Square, and Stripe, without extra fees. This is great for businesses that want to stick with their established merchant accounts.
Where BigCommerce pulls away from Shopify is with SEO and analytics. BigCommerce’s SEO increases page load times for better customer experiences and also lets users customize page titles, metadata, and product URLs to improve the chances of products showing up in Google search results. Many of these advanced SEO features are only available from Shopify as add-ons.
BigCommerce provides advanced reporting and analytics with every plan, unlike Shopify, which only offers this on its more expensive plans. In addition to getting real-time data on orders, customers, and conversions, users can also drill down and create custom reports on revenue, customer habits, order details, and more.
BigCommerce Pricing
Standard Plan
- $29.95 per monthUp to $50,000 online sales per yearBranded online storeBigCommerce mobile appIntegrated social and marketplace sellingProfessional reporting toolsReal-time shipping quotesAnd much more
Plus Plan
- $79.95 per monthUp to $180,000 online sales per yearAll Standard Plan featuresAbandoned cart saverCustomer groups and segmentationAnd more
Pro Plan
- $299.95 per monthUp to $400,000 online sales per year*All Plus Plan featuresGoogle customer reviewsCustom product filteringAnd more
- +$150/month for each additional $200,000 in online sales.
Enterprise Plan
- Custom pricingCustom sales limitsAll pro Plan featuresPrice listsMulti-StorefrontAnd more
All BigCommerce plans come with a 15-day free trial and 24/7 live agent support.
Best Budget Solution: Volusion
Started in 1999 by a 16-year-old coder building websites for clients, Volusion has grown from a simple online shopping cart to a full-featured ecommerce platform processing $28 billion in sales through over 30,000 merchants. We chose it as the best budget solution because it gives businesses everything they need to sell online without all the bells and whistles.
Volusion makes it easy to design a professional ecommerce site with dozens of themes and a drag-and-drop page editor. Order and inventory management are simple and sufficient for smaller sellers. Volusion also sticks to the basics when it comes to reporting and analytics, allowing users to check traffic, product performance, and abandoned shopping carts.
Volusion Pricing
Personal Plan
- $35 per monthGross merchandise volume of up to $50,000 per year100 products1 staff accountPlatform transaction fees of 1.25%
Professional Plan
- $79 per monthGross merchandise volume of up to $100,000 per year5,000 products5 staff accountsPlatform transaction fees of 0.65%
Business Plan
- $299 per monthGross merchandise volume of up to $400,000 per yearUnlimited products15 staff accountsPlatform transaction fees of 0.35%
Prime Plan
- Pricing based on salesGross merchandise volume of over $400,000 per yearUnlimited productsUnlimited staff accountsCustom platform transaction fees
All Volusion plans come with a 14-day free trial and 24/7 online support.
Best User-Experience: Wix
Wix was founded in 2006 by three developers frustrated with the expense and difficulty involved in building an ecommerce website. Today, the company has a staff of over 3,000 employees worldwide and over 200 million users in 190 countries. We chose Wix for the best user experience since it lets businesses create an ecommerce site easier and more affordably than any of the other platforms we reviewed.
Wix comes with hundreds of professional templates and a drag-and-drop editor, making it easy to create a beautiful ecommerce site in just minutes. Setting up and running a basic personal website is free, but upgrading to a paid plan is the only way to unlock Wix’s ecommerce features.
Wix offers over 50 payment gateways worldwide including the in-house Wix Payments. Managing inventory and orders and getting revenue and conversion rate reports is handled through Wix’s clean and simple dashboard.
It’s important to note that, while Wix’s limitations make it appear to be a lesser platform to Shopify, BigCommerce, or Volusion, the number of ecommerce features you get for the money makes Wix a great option for small online sellers.
Wix Pricing
Business Basic Plan
- $27 per monthAccept online paymentsCustomer accounts50GB storageCustom domainRemove Wix ads5 video hoursUnlimited productsFree domain for 1 yearAd vouchersAnd more
Business Unlimited Plan
- $32 per month100GB storage10 video hoursAll Business Basic Plan featuresSubscriptionsSell on marketplacesAnd more
Business VIP Plan
- $59 per monthUnlimited storageUnlimited video hoursAll Business Unlimited Plan featuresLoyalty program by Smile.ioAnd more
All of Wix’s paid plans include a 14-day free trial, free hosting, and the ability to link a custom domain.
Best Free Platform: Weebly
Weebly was created in 2007 with the goal of making it easy for anyone to build a personal website with just a single platform. In 2018, Weebly was acquired by Square, further expanding its ecommerce capabilities. Today it powers more than 50 million sites around the world. We choose it as the best free platform since it is the only platform we reviewed that lets users create a simple, functional ecommerce site for free.
Weebly’s intuitive drag-and-drop editor rivals that of Wix, allowing users to create a beautiful online store in minutes. The platform walks users step-by-step through setting up a store, including choosing a basic layout, selecting fonts and colors, adding pages, and choosing a site name. Inventory items can be added right away or once the rest of the site has been built.
All of Weebly’s plans feature a fully integrated shopping cart and secure checkout. Users have a choice of a few different payment processors including PayPal, Stripe, and Square. Weebly’s Personal, Professional, and Performance plans also support a shipping calculator for customized shipping rates based on geographical locations.
Weebly keeps inventory management and reporting simple and hassle-free, with easy bulk importing and exporting, search engine optimization, and site performance tracking features. Apps and integrations are available, adding even more marketing, sales, and promotion capabilities to any Weebly store.
Weebly Pricing
Free Plan
$0 per monthFree SSL securityAdd third party codeShopping CartUnlimited ItemsInventory ManagementSEOAnd more
$6 per monthAll Free Plan featuresConnect a custom domainDigital goodsShipping calculatorAnd more
Professional Plan
- $12 per monthAll Personal Plan featuresFree domainUnlimited storageRemove Square adsPassword protectionAdvanced site statsAnd more
Performance Plan
- $26 per monthAll Professional Plan featuresItem reviewsAbandoned cart emailsAdvanced ecommerce insightsPriority supportAnd more
All of Weebly’s plans offer chat and email support with the two more expensive plans adding phone support. While no free trials are available, a full ecommerce store can be built using the free plan with the option to upgrade later.
Best for Creatives: Squarespace
Squarespace was built in a dorm room at the University of Maryland in 2003 as a basic platform for building and hosting blogs. In 2013, it added ecommerce features and a simple drag-and-drop interface, making it a strong competitor alongside Wix and Weebly. We chose it as the best for creatives because it makes it easy to create sleek, visual, portfolio-style sites for showcasing and selling creative works.
In addition to selling products, Squarespace makes it easy to sell services and gift cards, create subscriptions and membership programs, and for customers to book appointments online. Integrated email marketing features let users build loyalty by offering discounts and deals. The platform also supports a number of third-party integrations, including Printful and ShipStation, so custom products can be easily created and shipped.
Squarespace keeps payment processing simple as well, allowing customers to pay via PayPal, Stripe, Apple Pay, and Afterpay. Checkout is streamlined and simple for quick transactions, and users can customize the checkout process by adding surveys or gift messages, setting custom tax rates, and alerting customers when inventory is low. Easy social integrations allow products to be shared on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, and LinkedIn.
Squarespace’s intuitive dashboard allows users to quickly check and manage inventory, fulfill and ship orders, and get valuable insights on site traffic, sales trends, and customer data. In short, Squarespace is an ideal ecommerce platform for creatives who don’t want to mess with complex data sales tools.
Squarespace Pricing
$14 per month, billed annuallyUnlimited bandwidth30 minutes video storageSEO features for site visibilityBasic website metricsSquarespace extensionsAnd more
$23 per month, billed annuallyAll Personal Plan featuresProfessional email from GoogleComplete customization with codeAdvanced analyticsGoogle Ads creditsSquarespace transaction fees: 3%And more
Basic Commerce Plan
- $27 per month, billed annuallyAll Business Plan featuresSquarespace transaction fees: 0%Customer accountsEcommerce analyticsSocial integrationsProduct reviewsAnd more
Advanced Commerce Plan
- $49 per month, billed annuallyAll Basic Commerce Plan featuresSquarespace transaction fees: 0%Sell subscriptionsAbandoned cart recoveryAdvanced shippingLimited availability labelsAnd more
All Squarespace plans come with a 14-day free trial, a custom domain, and 24/7 support. Squarespace has four pricing tiers. However, ecommerce functions are only available with the Business and Commerce plans.
Best for WordPress Sites: WooCommerce
WooCommerce was developed by WooThemes in 2011 as an ecommerce extension for the popular WordPress content management system. We choose it as the best for WordPress sites since it is the most popular, flexible, and affordable extension for WordPress users who want to create a full-featured ecommerce site.
WooCommerce is a free plugin that can be used to add ecommerce functions to any WordPress site. Because WordPress is one of the best SEO platforms on the market, WooCommerce makes it easy to create a scalable online store of any size.
WooCommerce offers basic inventory management that, while useful for basic stock management, isn’t well suited for high-volume businesses. Order management is more robust, however, allowing users to drill down to view products sold, billing and shipping addresses, and customer records.
Although WooCommerce is completely free to use, some of the more useful extensions that bring the platform close to the standards of Shopify or BigCommerce can cost upward of $300.
How We Chose the Best Ecommerce Platforms
We looked at over a dozen ecommerce platforms on the market to come up with our top picks. While many newcomers have made a splash and scaled quickly, we focused on software that has been around for at least 10 years and has grown with the rise of ecommerce. Other important considerations were cost and scalability, flexible payment processing options, the option to sell on social media and online marketplaces, good reporting and analytics, and the ability to expand the platform with third-party add-ons.
