Shopify and Etsy are both hugely successful ecommerce platforms that allow brands to sell their product and attract billions of sales from across the world. It's important to differentiate the key difference is that Shopify is a dedicated ecommerce platform that allows brands to build their own ecommerce websites and manage their businesses. Etsy, on the other hand, is a highly trusted and well-known marketplace which is the ultimate destination for homemade goods, vintage items and craft supplies. In this article, we'll explore the key differences between the platforms, and when you might want to use either or both! Let's dive right in!
What is Shopify?
Shopify is a complete commerce platform that aims to provide businesses with everything they need to sell both online and offline, alongside providing all the tools and architecture to grow and scale too. Millions of businesses rely on the platform every single day, leveraging Shopify's ability to design and build online stores, sell in multiple places around the world, sell on multiple devices such as on the web, phones, tablets and brick-and-mortar stores or pop-up shops too. Shopify acts as a centralised admin to run a business selling products to a multitude of different channels including social media posts channels & online marketplaces too!
Shopify doesn't just provide the platform that runs ecommerce, they provide all of the hosting, servers, security and architecture to store and run the business from taking away the brand's requirement to set this up or manage it. Shopify's main product is allowing customers to sell online - giving them access to website templates for a whole host of different designs and features. The platform also offers a full back-end admin to allow brands to manage inventory, payment processing and order processing.
Shopify's checkout is renowned as the world's highest converting checkout too, with accelerated payment options and all the major ways to pay. Shopify also comes equipped with marketing SEO tools, social media channels such as Meta, tiktok and more and content writing too.
Shopify considers the entire business and offers upgrades and features tailored towards helping brands grow. For example, upgrading to Shopify Plus gives brands access to advanced checkout customisations, increased capacity to take orders and dedicated enterprise-level support.
Whilst Shopify's technology is highly regarded and scalable, one of the key benefits is the quality and amount of third-party app providers that come with the platform via the Shopify App Store. The App Store has
thousands of apps and features built by third-party developers to customise the store without ever once touching the code. There is also a marketplace of Shopify Experts that the user community can hire to build custom solutions for their businesses.
Shopify allows brands to create unique and seamless online experiences for their customers and scale the business almost infinitely leveraging the power of the servers and checkout security that Shopify brings. Brands can market their products to multiple channels, host their domain securely and sell around the world with
Shopify Markets.
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What is Etsy
Etsy is an online marketplace with a'storefront' that houses multiple online retailers. The Etsy market is very competitive since all vendors have one thing in common: their items are artsy and crafty in nature. For your customers, Etsy's engagement in the purchasing process is front and centre. Etsy's take on the ecommerce market is that they sell "handcrafted, vintage, etsy pattern, or unusual" items. And the idea has paid off: they now have over 82 million buyers all over the world. Etsy welcomes small and large independent sellers to sell on their marketplace. As a result, it's frequently an entry-level shop, best suited for novice sellers with limited inventory and one-of-a-kind things that want to generate traffic easily.
Shopify vs Etsy: Pricing
Pricing and rates are some of the key deciding factors when looking at ecommerce platforms and channels to use. Whether you are choosing between Shopify & Etsy or looking to use both then it's important to understand the entire pricing structure and potential variables to consider when calculating the cost of running an online store. We always advise you to consider hidden costs such as transactions or listing fees as well as apps, add-ons and associated costs for maintaining the sales channel.
Etsy
Standard selling on Etsy does not attract a monthly subscription fee but instead does charge. $0.20 per product listing fee. The listing fee will publish your product across the Etsy marketplace and is visible until the item is sold. When a payment is taken, Etsy charges a 6.5% transaction fee, however, do note that this is different from the payment processing fee. Etsy typically charges an additional 4% + 0.20p however this is different based on the location of the bank account. See Etsy's international
payment processing fees.
For more experienced and larger Etsy sellers,
Etsy Plus can be a great option as it comes equipped with additional tools and features such as restock alerts, advanced shop customisation options, discounts on marketing and shipping alongside 15 listing credits per month. Depending on how much you are selling on Etsy, then Etsy Plus may be a great option.
Considering that Etsy is a marketplace, then the order in which products are displayed can hugely affect whether customers find brands' products and of course, buy them! Etsy offers a cost-per-click advertising offering to allow brands to sponsor their products to appear at the top of search results. The cost of CPC ads works using an auction system depending on the demand for a particular keyword. Sellers set a daily budget which caps the bids. Etsy also offers offsite ads in which sellers are auto-enrolled and Etsy will take 12-15% of sales via these ads.
When selling on Etsy, it's important to have a thorough understanding of all the associated fees as they can eat into your profit margins on higher-priced purchases. Payment processing fees are normal in the e-commerce business, however Etsy's are slightly more than the industry average. Again, if you're selling on a smaller scale, Etsy's transaction fees shouldn't detract too much from your revenues, and a monthly subscription might easily cover the expense of maintaining your online store. Finally, Etsy only charges you when you make a sale, so you don't have to worry about losing money unless you opt for a subscription package.
Shopify
On the other side of Shopify vs Etsy, Shopify has a greater initial investment but provides far more customisation and flexibility, making it great value in the long term. This is beneficial when it comes to expanding your business. There are three
pricing options available, as well as a small free trial: Basic Shopify: Monthly payment of £19: This package includes an ecommerce website and a blog which merchants can add content to, as well as the ability to list an infinite number of products, two staff accounts, 24/7 support, and multichannel selling. Shopify: £49 a month: Upgrade to five staff accounts, gift cards, professional reports, lower credit card rates, and extras at the point of sale. Advanced Shopify: £259 a month: 15 staff accounts, an advanced report builder, third-party determined shipping prices, and lower credit card rates are all included in this subscription. Shopify's Plus plan is the most sophisticated package available and is mainly aimed at large enterprises with strong growth. Read more in our article on
What is Shopify Plus?
The monthly fee is substantially greater than Etsy's, but it's well worth it if you require the additional features. It's important to note that Etsy is a sales channel whereas Shopify is your own entire ecommerce online store. Shopify's ‘Basic' plans provide you with everything you need to run a small to medium-sized online store efficiently. Larger firms with a lot of employees will benefit from Shopify's more expensive packages, which offer more scalability.
Payments are worth noting when considering price. Shopify's transaction costs start at 1.5 per cent plus $0.30 for online sales and are slightly more expensive with the lower-priced plans. You'll pay extra costs on a per-sale basis because Etsy doesn't charge a monthly fee unless you pay for the Plus plan. Because these fees are so many, that third parties have created profit calculators for merchants.
Shopify vs Etsy: Design and Customisability
Etsy
Next in our Shopify vs Etsy comparison is the web design and customizability features- something that is fundamental for customers to be able to identify your brand and feel the difference from your competition. Web design that is both intuitive and appealing is critical to the success of any online store to ensure your store engages customers and communicates your product range. A poor experience in your ecommerce store will immediately turn a visitor away, so it's critical to plan out and customise your store's aesthetic meticulously. Etsy allows you to upload your own logo and product images, but that's where the customisation stops. This may be advantageous for sellers who are unfamiliar with web design- they don't have to be concerned about it. However, most businesses see this as a huge disadvantage, the reason for this is you won't be able to differentiate yourself, promote yourself, or infuse any personality into your listings. This may be problematic for those who have a clear image of what their perfect store should look like, making this a large downside of Shopify vs Etsy. The reality is that Etsy is a marketplace and it's not designed to act like your own website.
The appealing aspect of Etsy is that you're selling on a marketplace rather than starting from scratch. On the one hand, this means you can't make any mistakes with the appearance of your store as these compare similarly to other stores. On the other hand, there's no way to make your online presence stand out from the thousands of other sellers who are doing the same thing. Etsy's store pages are immaculate, which is a bonus for today's merchants. They're simple to use and everything fits together properly, so you can be assured that your customers will have no trouble locating the information they need about your products.
On the negative side, finding a way to stand out from the competition is one of the most crucial things you can do as an online business. On Etsy, it's nearly impossible to build a dedicated brand following because there's nothing to help you stand out. Remember that when people buy from you, it's the brand impressions you generate that persuade them to come back for more in the future. We'd advise to ensure you are using other marketing channels to build your customer base to reduce your reliance on one platform.
Shopify
When comparing the design and customisability side of Shopify vs Etsy, Shopify is on the opposite end of the spectrum - the possibilities are practically unlimited. You'll have access to your website's backend, where you may choose from a multitude of different themes. They're optimised to cover a variety of industries, some of these are free, some come with a price tag, and so can be made completely bespoke for your Shopify store. Some of these themes even include 3D or AR capabilities, which is ideal if you own a furniture or apparel store. You can customise, alter, and rearrange a theme to your heart's delight once you've chosen one. Of course, if you're not a designer and don't plan on hiring one, risking too much customisation could throw your design off. In these instances, hiring an agency that does
custom Shopify theme development can come in handy.
If you do decide to opt for a pre-built Shopify theme from Shopify's
Theme Library then you can't go too far wrong. There is a wide range of dedicated themes tailored for particular business types and design styles. The theme will then act as the core base of the entire theme. You can use the theme editor to add your content and customise the look and feel. Similarly, if you want to extend the features or tweak the way the theme you can look to employ
Shopify developers to update the theme code.
Your website's design will be guided by the themes, but you'll also need to be prepared to make some adjustments. The good thing about Shopify's industry-specific themes is that they not only look great for the niche you're selling in, but they also come with added capabilities, a bonus of Shopify vs Etsy. If you sell clothing, for example, you could include a function that allows users to zoom in on designs.
Everything Shopify provides is mobile responsive, so you know you'll be able to reach your audience on any device. Furthermore, you have complete freedom to modify and reorganise until you discover a way to make your brand truly shine.
In summary, Etsy is significantly more limited in terms of what you can control as you are placed within the marketplace. Etsy Plus does offer some additional customisation however if you are looking to build an independent brand identity and experience for your customers, then Shopify is the tool for you. Shopify is the clear winner in terms of the level of design and control you have over the store - it's important to note that Etsy wasn't designed to offer you your own ecommerce experience.
Shopify vs Etsy: Domains and URLs
As we've discussed in this article, Etsy doesn't exist to allow you to create your online store but to allow you to list your products on the Etsy marketplace. It's not easy to compare them like for like. As a result, this will affect which URL customers can use to reach your products.
Shopify
Whilst Shopify does offer a free domain name using .myshopify.com URL ending - most brands will typically use a custom domain name registered by Shopify or a third party. This allows customers to use an entirely branded URL and maximise trust. Of course, a custom domain does come with the additional fees for domain rights however they are typically fairly low-cost. Brands that use Shopify are then restricted by Shopify's URL structure for example product pages have to be reached using the "/products/" category before the product name unless you opt for
headless architecture whereby you'll have complete control over the URL structure.
Etsy
Given that Etsy is a marketplace, your dedicated profile or "shop" will be a subdomain of the Etsy website - for example, www.etsy.com/shop/your-brand-name/. This does mean that you won't need to purchase a domain, however, it does mean you are not in control of any marketing strategy such as running an
SEO strategy. It does make it harder to build brand equity when you don't own your store and are reliant on the traffic and visitors that Etsy attracts. This is both a benefit and a challenge because it's great to dive into the already established traffic but it does mean you don't get to own that brand traffic or equity.
Shopify vs Etsy: Reporting
Etsy
Whilst Etsy is a marketplace rather than an independent ecommerce platform it does still offer reporting tools that help brands selling on the platform to track how they are doing and measure performance over time. Etsy reports include information about transactions, listing customers and the performance of customers looking at your shop page. This is via the Etsy Stats page. Sales and transaction reports breakdown orders, payment methods, item prices and titles. You can also see where traffic has come from, search terms used and customer activity. Whilst Etsy stats do provide insights it's not comparable to the invaluable insights you might receive from your website.
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