Wix vs Shopify: Which Should You Use in 2026?

A factual comparison of Wix and Shopify covering pricing, ecommerce features, and which platform fits small teams and growing stores better.

Updated 2026-10 · 2026

Wix

Drag-and-drop website builder with ecommerce built in

$17month

Strengths

+Easiest drag-and-drop editor for non-technical users
+Free plan available for basic sites (Wix branding, no custom domain)
+Good for content-heavy sites, portfolios, and service businesses

Weaknesses

-Ecommerce features are shallower than Shopify's (less inventory depth, fewer B2B tools)
-App marketplace is smaller and less mature than Shopify's
-Harder to scale into a serious multi-channel or high-volume store

Best for

Small businesses, freelancers, and service providers who need a website first and a simple store second.

Shopify

Dedicated ecommerce platform for stores of any size

$39month

Strengths

+Purpose-built for ecommerce: inventory, shipping, tax, and checkout depth
+Massive app ecosystem (Shopify App Store) for almost any integration
+Scales from one-person stores to large multi-channel brands

Weaknesses

-No free plan — paid from day one
-Transaction fees apply unless you use Shopify Payments
-Design flexibility requires Liquid/theme code knowledge for deep customization

Best for

Businesses selling products online who need serious ecommerce infrastructure and room to grow.

Feature Comparison

Feature	Wix	Shopify
Free plan	Yes (non-ecommerce, Wix-branded)	No (14-day trial only)
Starting paid price	$17/mo (Light plan)	$39/mo (Basic plan)
Ecommerce depth	Basic to mid-tier store features	Full ecommerce suite (inventory, POS, B2B)
App marketplace size	~300+ apps	8,000+ apps
Custom domain	Paid plans only	Included on all paid plans
Transaction fees (non-native payment)	None	0.5%–2% unless using Shopify Payments
Built-in blog/SEO tools	Yes	Yes, more basic
POS (in-person sales)	Limited	Native Shopify POS app
Multi-currency / international selling	Limited on lower plans	Built into Shopify Payments
Theme customization	Drag-and-drop, no code needed	Drag-and-drop + Liquid code for advanced edits
Abandoned cart recovery	Business plans and up	All plans
Best for	Websites with a small store attached	Stores where ecommerce is the core business

The Verdict

If your site is primarily a website with some products attached, Wix is cheaper and easier to run. If selling products online is the actual business, Shopify's deeper inventory, checkout, and app ecosystem make it worth the higher monthly cost. Don't pick Wix to save money if you plan to scale past a few dozen SKUs — you'll end up migrating to Shopify anyway.

How to switch from Wix to Shopify

1Export your Wix product catalog as CSV from Wix Stores (Dashboard > Products > Export), and separately export customers and orders as CSV from the Contacts and Orders sections.
2Sign up for a Shopify trial and use the built-in 'Import' tool under Products > Import to upload your Wix product CSV, mapping fields like SKU, price, and inventory.
3Manually recreate non-product pages (About, blog posts, custom layouts) in a Shopify theme, since Wix doesn't export site design or page structure.
4Reconnect third-party tools (email marketing, reviews, analytics) to Shopify and rebuild any automations or abandoned cart flows that lived in Wix.
5Set up Shopify Payments or your preferred payment gateway and test checkout end-to-end before going live, including tax and shipping rules.
6Point your domain's DNS to Shopify, keep the Wix site live in read-only mode for a few weeks as backup, then fully cut over once orders are confirmed working on Shopify.

Wix vs Shopify: common questions

How do I export my data from Wix before switching to Shopify?+

Wix lets you export your product catalog as a CSV via the Wix Stores dashboard under Products > Export. Customer and order data can be exported separately from the Contacts and Orders sections, also as CSV. There's no full-site export — pages, design, and blog content must be rebuilt manually or recreated in Shopify.

What do I lose moving from Wix to Shopify?+

You lose Wix's all-in-one site builder features like bookings, event pages, and drag-and-drop page design — Shopify is ecommerce-only, so any non-store pages need a separate approach or a page builder app. You'll also need to rebuild your site's visual design from scratch in a Shopify theme.

Is Shopify's free trial enough to evaluate it for a small team?+

Shopify's 14-day free trial (sometimes extended via promos) is enough to test product import, checkout, and theme setup, but not enough to validate real sales volume or app costs. Plan to run it in parallel with your live Wix store before fully cutting over.

Will my Wix integrations work the same way on Shopify?+

Most third-party tools (email marketing, reviews, analytics) have both Wix and Shopify versions, but settings, automations, and historical data don't transfer automatically. You'll need to reconnect each integration and rebuild any automation flows (e.g., abandoned cart emails, loyalty triggers) inside Shopify's ecosystem.

Is Shopify actually more expensive than Wix long-term?+

Base plan pricing is higher ($39/mo vs $17/mo), and Shopify costs grow faster as you add apps for reviews, subscriptions, or marketing — easily $100–300/mo total for an active store. Wix stays cheaper longer, but only because it caps out on functionality before you'd need those add-ons.