Here is a 2500+ word in-depth blog post on ecwid alternatives:
Ecwid is a popular hosted ecommerce solution that makes it easy to add an online store to any website. With over 1 million active users, it‘s a great choice for many small business owners and solopreneurs looking to sell products online.
However, Ecwid isn‘t perfect. It has some limitations that may make you want to look for an alternative ecommerce platform instead.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll be exploring the best Ecwid competitors and alternatives on the market right now. By the end, you‘ll have all the information you need to decide if it‘s best for you to stick with Ecwid or switch to another provider.
Top 9 Ecwid Alternatives
1. Shopify – Best Overall Alternative
Shopify is our #1 recommendation for most Ecwid users looking to switch platforms. As the world‘s most popular all-in-one ecommerce solution, it simply offers the best combination of easy setup, powerful features, and room to scale.
While Ecwid makes it simple to add buy buttons and an online store to any site, Shopify lets you create an entirely customized online shop tailored to your brand from the ground up.
And with over 7,000 apps and integrations available in the Shopify App Store, you can easily extend your store’s functionality to meet your needs as your business grows. No code required.
Some of Shopify’s standout features include:
- Intuitive drag and drop store builder
- Top-rated themes and templates
- Robust ecommerce functionality out of the box (inventory management, shipping, reporting, etc)
- Ability to scale to enterprise-level
- Powerful marketing features
- 24/7 award-winning support
The only real downside is the transaction fees Shopify charges if you want to use a third-party payment gateway. But otherwise, it beats Ecwid hands down.
2. BigCommerce – Feature-Packed Enterprise Solution
BigCommerce is another excellent Ecwid alternative, especially for established ecommerce businesses looking to scale.
While Ecwid offers a nice basic toolkit for selling online, BigCommerce provides enterprise-grade power under the hood.
It comes packed with advanced built-in functionalities so you can manage complex ecommerce operations with ease. We‘re talking intelligent merchandising, advanced promotion capabilities, powerful analytics, granular user permissions, and more.
And with 250+ native integrations and 1,000+ app store extensions, you can easily expand your capabilities to unlock new revenue channels as you grow.
Overall, BigCommerce simply offers more robust tools and customization potential out of the box than Ecwid. The only downside is the learning curve is a bit steeper.
3. Wix – Best for Beginners
If you like Ecwid for its simplicity but want more design freedom and customizability, Wix is an excellent alternative to consider.
It makes launching an online store incredibly easy thanks to its user-friendly drag and drop editor and ADI website building assistant.
You don‘t need any design or technical skills to create a beautiful, functional ecommerce site with Wix. Just pick a template, customize it, add products, and start selling. It’s as simple as that.
Plus, it has some helpful features Ecwid is missing, like built-in shipping calculators, tax automation, and powerful SEO tools.
The only limitations are a lack of advanced functionalities found in enterprise-grade platforms. But for small shops, Wix more than gets the job done.
4. Squarespace – Beautiful Templates
Squarespace is another user-friendly alternative for anyone who values beautiful design but still wants simplicity.
It stands out for its gallery-quality templates created by world-class designers. So you can launch a sleek, visually-stunning online store with minimal effort.
While its ecommerce features don’t run quite as deep as Ecwid or Shopify, Squarespace still provides everything you need to sell online successfully – secure checkout, inventory management, automatic taxes, coupons, etc.
So if killer aesthetics are important to you, Squarespace is a solid pick. Just don‘t expect tons of built-in customizations and advanced capabilities.
5. Volusion – Marketing Automation
Volusion is a smart choice for anyone wanting more built-in marketing tools than Ecwid provides.
It makes running ad campaigns, setting up email funnels, leveraging social channels, and tracking performance metrics like ROI a breeze. So you can better promote your products and analyze success.
Volusion also provides excellent SEO control and analytics straight out of the box. So you can gain more organic visibility in search and benchmark growth over time.
The interface isn‘t quite as polished as Shopify or other alternatives. But when it comes to marketing, Volusion packs some serious capabilities Ecwid lacks.
6. 3dcart – Optimized Checkout
3dcart is an often-overlooked but excellent Shopify alternative specializing in enterprise-level ecommerce functionality.
It shines when it comes to converting visitors into paying customers thanks to its ultra-optimized checkout and built-in tools for recovering abandoned carts.
You also get access to advanced promotion capabilities, detailed sales analytics, and robust shipping solutions for fulfilling orders efficiently.
3dcart even offers lifetime commission-free transactions and free SSL certificates. So you keep more of what you earn while ensuring optimal security.
If you want more advanced ecommerce performance straight out of the box than Ecwid, 3dcart is a superb choice.
7. Shift4Shop – True All-In-One Platform
Shift4Shop is arguably the most full-featured ecommerce platform available today. It quite literally comes with everything you need to start, run and grow an online business built entirely in-house.
We’re talking enterprise-grade web hosting, an SEO-optimized site builder, integrated payment processing, email marketing tools, member access portals, and advanced software integrations.
Even abandoned cart and customer retention capabilities come pre-loaded. Plus, absolutely everything is commission and transaction-fee free.
For unfettered functionality without needing multiple platforms or subscriptions, Shift4Shop beats Ecwid hands-down. Just be prepared for a learning curve tackling the immense feature set.
8. Big Cartel – Lean & Lightweight
If feature bloat is a turnoff for you, Big Cartel is a fantastic lean alternative to Ecwid.
It provides just the core tools needed to sell products online, with no unnecessary bells and whistles getting in the way. We‘re talking an intuitive interface, seamless checkout, easy inventory management, and hassle-free selling.
The lean approach also makes Big Cartel extremely affordable. Plans start at only $9.99 a month with no transaction fees or sales caps.
Just don‘t expect the advanced capabilities more robust platforms provide. But for straightforward selling, Big Cartel perfectly fits the bill.
9. Sellfy – Easy Digital Downloads & Print on Demand
Lastly, Sellfy stands out as the best Ecwid alternative for anyone wanting to sell digital downloads or print-on-demand products with ease.
It makes creating an online store and uploading digital files like ebooks, courses, art, music, etc incredibly simple. No need to mess with external fulfillment platforms or solutions.
Even better, you can set up entire print-on-demand product lines right within Sellfy without needing Shopify apps or third-party integrations.
After uploading your artwork or designs, Sellfy handles printing, shipping, and customer service automatically when orders come in.
For creator-entrepreneurs, Sellfy provides functionality and convenience Ecwid sorely lacks out of the box.
Ecwid vs. Alternatives: Key Differences
Now that you know the top alternatives, let’s explore how Ecwid compares to other popular ecommerce platforms across some key areas:
Ease of Use
Ecwid shines when it comes to simplicity. Adding products, checkout buttons, and an online store to any site is very straightforward. Less technical users will appreciate its intuitive interface.
That said, while Shopify and BigCommerce have steeper learning curves, Wix and Squarespace match Ecwid when it comes to beginner-friendliness. They make launching an online store extremely easy even with no experience.
Design Customization
One of Ecwid’s biggest weaknesses is its lack of store design control out of the box. You don’t have much ability to customize the look and feel natively.
In comparison, Shopify and Wix provide excellent store design flexibility. You can fully tailor everything to match your brand using their visual editors and themes.
Squarespace also excels here. Its gallery-quality templates created by world-class designers provide incredible design potential right off the bat.
Features
Ecwid offers a nice core feature set that covers the ecommerce basics you need to sell products online. However, its capabilities don’t expand much deeper than that.
For advanced tools right out of the box – like powerful analytics, enterprise-level reporting, automated inventory receiving, and gift card capabilities – Shopify and BigCommerce are much better equipped.
Shift4Shop even bundles enterprise-grade web hosting, email marketing, and membership portals with its ecommerce platform.
But for simplicity, Sellfy and Big Cartel match Ecwid by providing just the essential commerce features most small merchants need.
Scalability
Ecwid positions itself as an solution suitable for small merchants all the way up to large enterprises. However, expanding with it can get costly.
For example, features like gift card support, advanced reporting, and API access require higher-tier “Business” plans. And additional monthly fees apply for add-ons like accounting integrations.
With Shopify and BigCommerce, serious scaling capabilities either come included out of the box or are easily accessible via App Store extensions. Large enterprises can manage huge catalogs and sales volumes with ease.
Wix, Squarespace, and Volusion can also handle decent growth. But they lack the robust enterprise-grade tools top-tier platforms offer for managing extremely high complexity.
Support
One area where Ecwid unquestionably falls short compared to rivals is customer service. Currently, email support is only provided during East Coast business hours – not 24/7. And there’s no live chat or phone support.
Shopify sets the gold standard, with 24/7 live chat and phone assistance from knowledgeable agents. Wix, BigCommerce, and Volusion also offer multiple real-time support channels, including live chat and phone.
For the best possible help whenever needed, Ecwid disappointingly fails to match competitor standards.
Price
Pricewise, Ecwid offers decent value. Its entry-level plan only costs $15/month (when billed annually) for core selling capabilities. Shopify’s cheapest option is slightly pricier at $29/month by comparison.
But free trial limitations are tighter on Ecwid. You only get 14 days and can only list up to 10 products, for example.
Squarespace provides a very generous 14-day free trial without product, bandwidth, or revenue caps to test drive its platform. Volusion does as well.
For growers needing advanced features fast though, Ecwid’s pricing can get prohibitively expensive. Extra fees pile up quickly for add-ons like gift cards and multi-currency.
Whereas BigCommerce bundles enterprise-level tools more cost effectively into its mid-tier plans out of the box. And Shopify’s extensive App Store makes easily expanding platform capabilities more affordable.
But for sheer value, Shift4Shop beats every other provider hands-down. It offers completely free stores with enterprise-grade included features for merchants willing to process payments through its integrated solution.
The Verdict: Should You Stay on Ecwid or Switch?
So when all’s said and done, should you stick with Ecwid? Or is it better to switch to an alternative provider?
For most merchants, we think the pros of platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce outweigh Ecwid’s benefits for long-term success.
The main reason is scalability. As your store grows, lackluster support, limited features, clunky customizations, and semi-rigid pricing hold you back considerably on Ecwid.
Whereas the unified functionality, 24/7 assistance, design freedom, enterprise-grade capabilities, and App Store extensions Shopify and other top competitors provide ensure smooth scaling.
However, don’t fix what isn’t broken.
If you sell only a handful of products, don’t need advanced tools or customization, and want sheer simplicity above all – Ecwid may suit your needs just fine as is. Its intuitive core interface still appeals to many merchants.
But for most ecommerce businesses expecting meaningful growth, Shopify is hands-down our #1 recommendation as the best Ecwid alternative. It simply provides the best all-in-one foundation for taking your online shop as far as you want to go.
