Side-by-side comparison · Website & App Builders

Shopify vs Wix

Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.

Best overall

Shopify

4.4

From $29/mo

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Wix

3.8

From $17/mo

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At a glance

Shopify4.4

Best overallBest value

Pick it if: Anyone selling physical or digital products online, from first-time sellers to established brands.

Wix3.8

Pick it if: Small business owners and sole traders who want a site with bookings, payments and email without hiring a developer.

Overview

Attribute	Shopify	Wix
In one line	Online store platform with an AI assistant, Sidekick, that helps you build and run it.	Website builder that drafts your site from a prompt, with booking, shop and email tools.
Pricing model	Paid	Freemium
Starting price	$29/mo	$17/mo
Free plan	No	Yes
Works with Claude Code	Yes	Yes

Rating breakdown

Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.

Attribute	Shopify	Wix
Overall rating	4.4Winner	3.8
Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it.	4.5	4.5
FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together.	5.0	4.5
Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them.	4.0	3.5
Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan.	4.0	3.0
Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over.	4.5	3.5

Feature comparison

A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.

Attribute	Shopify	Wix
Access & platform
Free plan	No	Yes
Mobile app	Yes	Yes
Desktop app	–	No
Browser extension	–	–
API access	Yes	Yes
Teams & business
Team workspace	Yes	Yes
Enterprise plan or SSO	Yes	Yes
Connects to other apps	Yes	Yes
Open source or self-hosted	No	No
AI abilities
Works with your files	Yes	–
Understands images	Yes	–
Makes images	Yes	Yes
Makes video	No	–
Writes code	Yes	No
Runs agents or automations	Yes	Yes
Learns your brand or style	Yes	–
Works in many languages	Yes	Yes
Capabilities score	12/ 17	9/ 17

Pricing

Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.

Attribute	Shopify	Wix
Plans	BasicOur pick $29/mo billed yearly, or $39 monthly New and solo sellers.	Free Free Trying the builder before paying.
	Grow $79/mo billed yearly, or $105 monthly Small teams with steady sales.	Light $17/mo billed yearly A simple brochure site on your own domain.
	Advanced $299/mo billed yearly, or $399 monthly Bigger stores selling internationally.	CoreOur pick $29/mo billed yearly Small businesses taking bookings or payments.
	Plus From $2,300/mo High-volume and complex businesses.	Business $39/mo billed yearly Shops and service businesses selling regularly.
		Business Elite $159/mo billed yearly Larger stores and teams.
Which plan to pick	Start on Basic; Sidekick and the core store are the same on every plan. Move to Grow when you add staff or your monthly sales are high enough that its lower card rates cover the price difference.	Most businesses should start on Core, the cheapest plan that takes payments and bookings. Light only suits a plain information site. Prices vary by country, so check what Wix shows you at checkout and note the renewal date.

Key features

Attribute	Shopify	Wix
Standout features	Sidekick Shopify Magic Online store and checkout Sell everywhere Orders, stock and shipping App store	AI website builder Drag-and-drop editor Bookings and scheduling Online store and payments Marketing tools Developer platform and MCP

Pros and cons

Attribute	Shopify	Wix
Pros	Everything to run a store in one account, from website to shipping labels Built-in AI on every plan, not a paid add-on Huge choice of apps, themes and experts Reliable and fast checkout that shoppers trust Public APIs, a CLI and developer tools	Very easy for non-technical owners AI builder gets a draft live fast Bookings, store, payments and email in one place Large template and app library Free plan to try before you pay
Cons	Paid apps and card fees add a lot to the monthly cost Extra transaction fee if you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments Sidekick is for the store owner, not a chatbot for shoppers Bigger design changes still need theme code or a developer Support quality gets mixed reviews from merchants	Costs climb with domains, apps and add-ons, and renewal price rises are a common complaint Billing and refund support draws regular complaints Editor can lag on larger sites Hard to switch templates later and you can't export your site to another platform Designs are less flexible than Framer or Webflow

Who each one is for

Attribute	Shopify	Wix
Best for	Launching an online store Running products, orders and stock in one place Writing product descriptions with AI Selling online and in person Store reporting and discounts by asking Sidekick	Service business sites with online booking Small online shops Getting a first site live in an afternoon Owners who want site, payments and email in one place
You'll find it used by	Online stores Product brands Retailers Makers and creators Dropshippers	Small business owners Sole traders Coaches and consultants Local service businesses Small shops

Questions people ask

Which is better, Shopify or Wix?

Shopify scores highest overall in our ratings (Shopify 4.4/5 and Wix 3.8/5). Shopify is best for launching an online store and running products, orders and stock in one place. Wix is best for service business sites with online booking and small online shops.

Which is cheaper, Shopify or Wix?

Shopify: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $29/mo. Wix: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $17/mo.

Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.

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