Shopify Vs Etsy

Shopify Vs. Etsy is a comparison of vast discussions. We compare both online platforms for a better purchasing and selling experience.

Based on our ten years of experience, we have helped customers get the top products and sell them on Shopify and Etsy stores. No doubt both platforms are on the top, but we have to choose a single one. It is where we consider a comprehensive comparison between Shopify and Etsy patterns.

This article will explore different aspects of Shopify vs Etsy and choose the best one! Go through the whole guide!

Shopify vs. Etsy: Quick overview

        What does Shopify do?

Shopify is a dedicated eCommerce platform that provides sellers with multiple tools to design their stores and enter the eCommerce world.

This platform has its headquarters in Ontario, Canada, and has been working for 16 years. Due to powerful eCommerce tools, you can access their dashboard and build your store.

You can integrate your social media channels with your Shopify App store and increase sales.

         What does Etsy do?

Etsy platform is an online marketplace like Amazon that offers customers and sellers to buy and sell their inventory. The seller can create their storefront, list items on their online store, and sell inventory to their customers. 

It has a bit of a different mechanism because you don’t have to pay for the product listing to a limited extent. Moreover, the products can be antiques or new in inventory.

Etsy was founded in 2005 and has worked successfully for more than 17 years. The working mechanism is also the same as that of an online marketplace. By that means, sellers like their inventory on their online store, and the buyer purchases that item.

Suggested reading: Top 12 Shopify Alternatives For Online Business

Shopify vs. Etsy: Pros and Cons

Pros and cons of Shopify

Whether you are using basic Shopify or advanced Shopify, the pros and cons of this online marketplace matter to a greater extent.

Here are the pros and cons.

Pros

• Shopify offers all the eCommerce solutions by setting up a customized store with all advanced tools.
• You can integrate different payment options into your Shopify store.
• Online marketing and advertising tools are peculiar features of Shopify.

Cons

• It charges processing fees, making it an expensive platform for sellers.
• The Shopify plan doesn’t include email hosting. So, you have to spend extra and find the email hosting provider.

Pros and cons of  Etsy

Etsy sellers have all the opportunities to sell their inventory. However, we have the following pros and cons of Etsy.

Pros

• Etsy shop is quite easy to set up.
• Listing fees are only 20 cents per listing for four months
• You get marketing opportunities to rank higher in the search and defeat the other Etsy sellers.

Cons

• Etsy charges listing fees and transaction fees. Etsy fees can be a headache for a beginner who hasn’t generated a single sale!
• Numerous Etsy sellers make the competition higher.

Shopify vs. Etsy: Product types

Different product niches offer different facilities, and profit margins are quite different. It is specifically a point of crucial importance.

In terms of product categories, we consider multiple types of products. Some products are new and branded, while others might be antiques and secondhand. So, we can look at the product categories to know which platform should be your choice.

Shopify

Shopify has almost all the categories of products. You can sell the branded and whatever products you want to sell.

So, the customers will explore you on Google and write the product name to find your product on the way.

Here are some popular product categories on Shopify.

1. Clothing (27.7%)
2. Jewelry & Watches (12.5%)
3. Home & Garden (12.4%)
4. Fashion Accessories (5.5%)
5. Health & Beauty (4.5%)
6. Accessories (3.7%)
7. Toys & Hobbies (3.4%)
8. Shoes (2.9%)
9. Books (2.8%)
10. Food & Beverages (2.3%)
11. Other Categories such craft supplies (22.3%)

Etsy

Etsy has its eCommerce platform where you can sell all the products. In addition, they have vintage and collectibles to sell through their platform. So, here are popular product categories:

• Handmade Items
• Craft Supplies
• Wedding Essentials
• Jewelry and Accessories
• Home and Living
• Vintage items

Verdict: 

Shopify is a vast platform that offers more benefits. So, Shopify is a clear-cut winner where you are the owner of your own Shopify store.

Shopify vs. Etsy: Ease of use

Who wants to spend extra bucks on hiring experts for web designing? Everyone wants to save money. Therefore, we consider the ease of use of Shopify and Etsy marketplace as our top priority.

Now, the question is— Is the Shopify store more attractive and easy to build than Etsy? 

To know the answer, go through the following guides.

Shopify

Shopify is an online store building software. It is not a marketplace like the Etsy marketplace. So, you must learn about the Shopify shop-building mechanisms.

Surprisingly, Shopify is full of guides and helps you drag and drop the widgets and design your store to make online sales. By that means, Shopify is a super easy platform without the essential coding experience.

Etsy

In the case of Etsy, we consider multiple factors in designing your own online store. Like Amazon, Etsy is a marketplace where you have templates and open your store.

The whole Etsy store design is quite different from Shopify’s own store. Moreover, you have fewer customization features. If we compare the ease of navigating and using this store, it is also super easy.

Etsy requires even no knowledge of coding. Do you know why? Because all the stores on Etsy don’t even need the customization as they follow the same Etsy pattern for the store.

Verdict: 

As we have learned, Shopify provides more advanced features, but it can still be difficult to get the best out of it until you are a web designer or hire a web designer. Therefore, Etsy is the winner in this case. Unlike Shopify, you can directly sell online.

Shopify vs. Etsy:  Pricing & Cost

There are different types of fees on Shopify and Etsy. So, we can compare both eCommerce platforms based on their sellings.

Subscription Fees

Shopify offers a monthly subscription fee. Here are five plans with different subscription fees:

• Lite Shopify Plan: $9/Month
• Basic Shopify Plan: $29/Month
• Shopify Plan: $79/Month
• Advanced Shopify Plan: $299/Month
• Shopify Plus: $2000/Month

On the Contrary, Etsy offers two subscription plans.

• Etsy Plus: $10/Month
• Etsy Pattern: $15/Month

Listing Fees

You can differentiate Shopify and Etsy based on their listing fees.

Shopify stores don’t charge you any fee. Compared to it, you have to pay 20 cents per listing for four months.

Transaction Fees

We can consider the transaction fees for both eCommerce sites. Shopify doesn’t charge any transaction fees. It is only possible if you use the Shopify payment gateways. In the case of other payment gateways, you have to pay a fair transaction fee of 0.5%+0.2%.

Etsy charges higher transaction fees compared to Shopify. Whether you use the Etsy payment process or other payment gateways, the fixed transaction fee is around 6.5%.

Payment Processing Fees

There are also payment processing fees for each marketplace. You can pay the relevant fees depending on whether you own an online store on Etsy or Shopify.

Here are different payment processing fees for both of the platforms.

• Shopify charges a payment processing fee of 2.2%.
• Etsy charges the same processing fee of 2.2%. 

Since both have the same price, we can pay the payment processing fees accordingly.

Other Costs

Other costs include the own domain fee, themes, and web design fees.

The Shopify store owner has to pay the following fees.

• Domain name charges around $11 per year.
• Plugins, themes, and other designs can cost you from $20 to $200.
• AddOns and integrations can calculate higher fees of $70.

In the case of Etsy, you can pay a monthly fee for all the above fees. However, here are the following additional costs.

• Shipping fees are 5% additional fees.
• Onsite Etsy Ads fee is $0.2-$0.5 per click.

Verdict:

When comparing Shopify and Etsy, we can observe that Etsy charges less than Shopify. So, Etsy is a winner!

Shopify vs. Etsy: eCommerce pattern

The eCommerce trade model is an important aspect upon which Etsy can be set up adjacent to Shopify. Both platforms believe in different working mechanisms. Even if you have eCommerce stores on both platforms, your online stores will work differently.

Here is a detailed discussion about the eCommerce partners of both marketplaces.

Shopify

Shopify is a tool, not a marketplace. So, how does it count in eCommerce marketplaces? It is no surprise because other tools like Weebly and Wix come under this category.

Here is how the eCommerce business model of Shopify works!

• The seller goes for their own website and pays the Shopify fees. Shopify offers monthly and yearly subscriptions.
• Then the seller chooses its domain name, designs the store, and uses different plugins and integrations! Remember, you must pay for each integration or plugin depending on whether Shopify charges you a fee.
• After store design, the seller is the owner of the store and lists as many products as needed.

It all happens at the cost of the Shopify payments that you have to pay for using their tool. You get ranked in Google on given product keywords and enjoy the business benefits 

Etsy

Etsy is a marketplace, not a store-building tool. You can’t make your store as attractive if you don’t have different customization plugins and features. So, how do you sell on Etsy? Here is the exact selling mechanism on Etsy.

• You must register for their program, get the subscription plan, and enroll in the membership area for the Etsy fees.
• Instead of custom designing your store, you can choose the template and directly upload the products.
• List the products, add product descriptions, and start selling without hurdles.

However, you can get a separate domain name from Etsy through the Etsy Pattern program. The fee for this domain is $15 per month, which is pretty expensive.

Verdict:

Shopify payments are lower, while Etsy fees are higher regarding domain names. Since Shopify is a bigger platform with more reliability:

Shopify is the winner!

You can refer to Etsy if you want to sell products instead of going through multiple Etsy listings.

Shopify vs. Etsy: Customer support

Do you want to be on the safe side? We have a tip for you! Never ignore customer support. Whether you are working on Etsy or any other eCommerce platform, evaluate the efficiency of the customer service. You might wonder why. It is because customer support will be available to resolve all your issues. 

Excellent customer support is another symbol of reliability and trust!

Shopify

Shopify never ignores your online business! Are you stuck in a problem? Get support from the excellent Shopify team available 24/7 to resolve all your issues.

Even if you are a beginner, they can help you choose the best services through easy navigation in the help center. Here are multiple ways to consider when working with Shopify for customer support.

• 24/7 phone
• Social media
• 24/7 live chat
• Forum
• Email
• Video tutorials
• Advanced specialist support (on Plus plans)

Do you know what is great about Shopify customer support? They are available whenever you need them. Whether it is 2 am or 5 pm, you can join their members in the live chat, state your eCommerce business issues, and resolve the problem instantly. Isn’t it astonishing? It is!

Etsy

When you are online selling, you are not an expert who is technical and knows how to resolve the problem instantly. It is where we consider the customer support by Etsy.

Etsy offers a live chat and community forum to instantly connect with technical experts and resolve your technical problems. You can join the community discussions and post your problems to let available members help you settle down your problems.

Verdict: 

In this case, Shopify is a winner! It provides multiple different customer support options for your online shops.

Shopify vs. Etsy: Domain & URL setting

Search on Google! Can you guess the domain name of Google? It is Google.com. Again, we have a question. What do you think about the word domain name? If you don’t know about it, here is what we call the domain!

A domain name is a URL that takes the users to the given website. There can be custom domains with the standalone website name, while others can be domains with parent names. For example, the custom name is Google.com or Etsy.com, while the child domain name can be www.Etsy.com/yourstore

So, we can have a detailed comparison of this aspect on both platforms.

Shopify

Shopify is a builder and provides you access to custom domains. Do you know the benefits of the customs domains? They promote your own brand name instead of the parent marketplace.

So, you can register for the customized domains, set up an existing online store name in the URL, and optimize it according to your SEO preferences.

Etsy

When it comes to the Etsy app, you don’t have this feature. You can only create the child domain or your online business name under the domain name of Etsy. 

Do you know what it does? It promotes Etsy more than your store. That’s why Etsy is a marketplace, not like Shopify. However, through Etsy patterns, you can somehow use the domain.

Verdict: 

The verdict is clear and cut!

Shopify is the winner that offers more opportunities to sell your products under your business logo, unlike Etsy, where your domain name comes under the umbrella of Etsy’s domain name.

Shopify vs. Etsy: Sales features

Sales on both platforms depend on various factors. If you are a big seller with a great fan following, you can be successful on both platforms. If you are a small seller or beginner, it might not be easy on both platforms. However, we will look at which platforms offer more sales opportunities to beginners and help them boost their sales.

Shopify

Shopify has different eCommerce patterns and builds a store for you. By that means, you are the sole owner of your store for regular Shopify payments. If you adhere to the Shopify rules, no other seller or buyer can interfere in your business.

To make more sales, you must promote your products on social media or apply SEO techniques to be ranked at the top. It is not like the marketplace where the customers will approach. Here the exposure is more because the people come from Google directly instead of through the Etsy search engine.

Etsy

Over 50 million products are available on Etsy. And more than 80 million buyers are active on Etsy. No doubt it makes Etsy a popular platform but is it so when it comes to sales? No. Not at all! 

The buyer searches the products in the search box, and the most relevant products appear on the top. It depends on their top products and buyers’ nature to buy the products or not. So, no one can give you 100% surety whether you will make sales or not. It all depends on your business criterion and the Etsy pattern you follow.

Verdict: 

Shopify is a winner in this case because you can directly get traffic from Google and improve your sales through proper marketing campaigns. Choose your platform as per your requirements.

Conclusion: Overall Winner

Have you heard of both platforms? Isn’t it confusing? No problem! We have described the above key points upon which we can differentiate Shopify and Etsy to decide on the better one.

Shopify is the winner as it provides advanced features but can be expensive.

What about Shopify?

So, Shopify is a platform good for big businesses such as Enterprises and entrepreneurs considering selling their products. Moreover, if you want to get a custom domain, design your store with full customization, and add unlimited features, Shopify must be your priority.

Here is when you should choose Shopify.

• When you have a high budget!
• When you need advanced tools for designing and optimizing the store.
• When you have to consider all product categories as a top priority.

What about Etsy?

Never underestimate Etsy! It is also a bigger marketplace for beginner sellers and small businesses. You get the fundamental facilities to open your stores, list the products, set up different Etsy payments, and boom! You instantly start selling, unlike Shopify, where you have first to customize your store design and then sell the products.

Etsy is an excellent site for small business owners and sellers who sell vintage items.

FAQs about Shopify vs Etsy

What’s Next

We have the top two platforms; Shopify and Etsy! Which one would you choose? Depending on your business requirements and online selling experience, you can consider the best fit platform. But still, you have to explore quality products and apply different techniques to sell your inventory!

Do you want to source quality products? Here we are— Leeline sourcing contributes to high-quality sourcing services with the ultimate products you would need for your project. Call us to get the free quote right away!