Shopify vs Wix: which should you choose for your online store?

Prices on this subject change several times a year. So check the pricing page I link next to each number before you pay. And we recheck these prices every month, so the date next to each price tells you when it was last confirmed.

Quick picks

Which costs less, Shopify or Wix?

So the cheapest plan that can actually sell things costs the same on both. Basically, you pay a plan price every month, and then a card fee on each sale. Both numbers match here.

The table covers the cheapest selling plan on each, with yearly billing, in US dollars, checked October 15, 2026. Taxes are not included.

Now the gap shows up in three places. First, if you pay month by month, Shopify Basic is $39 a month. Second, if you use an outside payment provider on Shopify, Shopify adds its own 2% fee. And third, Squarespace's Basic plan charges a 2% fee on store sales. I work through all three in the fee examples below.

What does Shopify cost?

Shopify sells four plans and has no free plan. These prices come from Shopify's pricing page, checked October 15, 2026, for US stores. The page opens on yearly prices, and the monthly price shows when you choose to pay month by month.

So most people starting out would look at Basic. Shopify's page lists no extra staff accounts on Basic, 5 on Grow and 15 on Advanced. I explain the other plans in my guide to Shopify's plans.

Now a payment processor is the company that moves the card money from your buyer's bank to yours and keeps a fee for doing it. Shopify's own is called Shopify Payments. If you pick a different one, Shopify charges the 2% in the last column on top. Shopify's help page says that PayPal sales are exempt if you use Shopify Payments as your main provider.

What does Wix cost?

Wix has a free plan and four paid plans. These are US dollar prices from Wix's plans page, checked October 15, 2026. Wix says the displayed prices are for yearly subscriptions, paid in full when you buy.

So the plan to look at is Core, because Light can't take payments. Wix's plans page lists "Accept payments" starting at Core, and it also lists "Scheduling and services" starting at Core.

Something to note is that Wix's plans page shows yearly prices only. The fine print on Wix's plans page says other billing periods are available, and that the final price shows on the purchase page before you pay. Wix doesn't print its current monthly-billing prices on the plans page. So I'm not printing a current monthly Wix price here. You can see the exact price on Wix's purchase page before you pay.

Wix's plan picker as shown in Wix Pricing Explained: Costs, Plans and Fees by Steve Builds Websites, August 2025, at 0:44. This is a 2025 screen. Its $17, $29, $39 and $159 prices match the yearly prices on Wix's plans page on October 15, 2026.

Wix's billing choices for the Light plan, from the same video at 0:52, August 2025. The creator added the yellow highlight. These are 2025 figures from the video, not from Wix's current pages.

Now Wix says most yearly paid plans come with a free domain for one year. But the domain offer has limits. Wix's plans page says the voucher only works with a new domain bought from Wix, and it can't renew a domain you already own. And Wix's help center says monthly plans don't include Wix vouchers.

Wix also advertises a 14-day money-back guarantee at the top of its plans page.

Is there a free plan or a free trial?

So the two platforms handle this differently. Wix gives you a free plan you can keep. Shopify gives you a short trial.

• Wix's free plan lets you build a site at no cost, with no credit card. Wix's plans page says you need a paid plan to connect your own domain and remove Wix branding. And the free plan can't take payments.
• Shopify's trial is 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months, according to Shopify's pricing page, checked October 15, 2026. After that, the regular plan price starts. I explain every step in my guide to Shopify's $1 offer and free trial.

A site on Wix's free plan shows a Wix banner across the top. From Wix Pricing Explained: Costs, Plans and Fees by Steve Builds Websites, August 2025, at about 1:30.

So ultimately, if money is tight, Wix lets you build the whole site first for nothing. But to take a single payment, you'd need Core at $29 a month with yearly billing. And Shopify's trial lets you take orders for $1 a month during the first 3 months, before the regular price starts.

What does each one charge when you make a sale?

Basically, every card sale costs you a percentage plus a few cents. And all of these were checked October 15, 2026, on the pages named in the table.

The rates come from Shopify's pricing page and Wix's Wix Payments service fees page. Shopify charges 3.5% + 30 cents on its "premium" cards. Wix charges 3.7% + 30 cents on American Express. Shopify's "premium" cards and Wix's American Express rate don't cover the same group of cards, so those two rates aren't a side-by-side match.

Now a chargeback is when a buyer disputes a charge with their card company, and the money gets pulled back from you. Wix's page says refunds are free, but you don't get the original card fee back.

And Wix's fee page lists no separate Wix transaction fee on top of those card rates.

What would I pay at $1,000, $3,000 and $5,000 a month in sales?

So here is the math, and you guys can redo it with your own numbers.

The assumptions: Every sale is one $50 order, paid by a standard US card. So the order counts are 20 orders at $1,000, 60 orders at $3,000, and 100 orders at $5,000. You use each platform's own payment processor. Plans are billed yearly, at the prices listed on October 15, 2026. There are no taxes, apps, themes, shipping charges or domain costs.

The formula: The card fee is the percentage times your sales, plus 30 cents times your orders. For 2.9% + 30 cents, that's 0.029 × $1,000 = $29, plus 20 × $0.30 = $6, so $35 in card fees at $1,000. At $3,000 it's $87 + $18 = $105. And at $5,000 it's $145 + $30 = $175.

For Shopify Grow, the card fee at $1,000 is 0.027 × $1,000 = $27, plus $6, so $33. At $3,000 it's $81 + $18 = $99. And at $5,000 it's $135 + $30 = $165.

So at these sales levels, Shopify Basic, Wix Core and Squarespace Core cost exactly the same. And Shopify's Grow plan costs more than Basic at all three levels, since its lower card rate doesn't make up for the higher plan price here.

Now here is what changes the total:

• Paying month by month on Shopify Basic costs $39 instead of $29, so each total above goes up by $10. The same goes for Squarespace Core, which is $39 monthly.
• Using an outside payment provider on Shopify Basic adds Shopify's 2% fee. Shopify's 2% fee comes to $20 at $1,000, $60 at $3,000, and $100 at $5,000, on top of whatever the outside provider charges.
• Buyers paying with PayPal on Wix cost 3.49% + 49 cents. On a $50 order, that's $1.745 + $0.49 = $2.235 per order, against $1.75 for a standard card (0.029 × $50 + $0.30).
• Wix Business costs $10 more a month than Core, at $39 with yearly billing. Wix's fee page lists the same card rate, so the extra $10 is for the plan's features.

How do Shopify and Wix differ in how they work?

The opinion in this section is mine, based on how each company describes itself. Basically, Shopify is built around selling, and Wix started as a website builder where selling is one feature.

• If selling is the whole point, I'd pick Shopify. A big seller means a catalog you expect to grow, lots of orders, staff, or selling in several places. Shopify's pricing page lists staff accounts, inventory in 10 locations, and selling on social media and marketplaces.
• If your site is mostly a business site, I'd pick Wix. Wix's plans page says it has more than 2,000 templates, and lists "Scheduling and services" starting at Core. So a coach or photographer who sells a few products fits well.
• And booking is the clearest difference. Shopify's pricing page doesn't list scheduling or appointment booking among its features.

Keep in mind that Wix also has apps with monthly fees. Wix's own blog says some apps are free and others cost $3 to $20 or more a month (checked October 15, 2026). The post doesn't print a year.

Can I move my store off Wix later?

So this is the question I'd ask before building anything. Here is what Wix's own help pages say, checked October 15, 2026.

• The whole site: Wix's help page on exporting or embedding a Wix site says a Wix site has to be hosted and run on Wix's own servers, because Wix's setup doesn't support outside hosting. The same Wix page says the content you build on Wix belongs to you. But Wix's help page doesn't give any way to export the whole site to another platform.
• A backup copy: Wix's help page on storing a backup outside of Wix says you can't back up a Wix site outside of Wix. You can only duplicate the site inside your Wix account. So I'd expect to build the site again on the new platform.
• Your products: Wix's help page on exporting your product list says you can export your physical products to a CSV file, up to 5,000 rows per file. A CSV file is a plain spreadsheet file. The same Wix page says exporting digital products, like downloads, isn't supported. And Wix's page on store XML files says exporting a whole store as an XML file isn't supported either.
• Shopify's side: Shopify's CSV import page says you can import products with a CSV file. The Shopify page doesn't mention Wix or any Wix-specific steps.

And if you bought your domain through Wix, Wix's help page on transferring a Wix domain away from Wix says you can move the domain to another company. Once the domain moves, your Wix site is disconnected from that domain.

What about Squarespace?

Now a lot of people compare Shopify, Wix and Squarespace in the same sitting, so here is a short look. Squarespace is a website builder like Wix. These prices come from Squarespace's pricing page, checked October 15, 2026.

• Trial: Squarespace gives a 14-day free trial with no credit card, and no free plan after that.
• The cheapest plan costs more than it looks. Basic has the 2% store fee, and its feature list doesn't include the "professional shipping and tax services" that Core's list shows.
• A price increase: PetaPixel reported on July 17, 2026 that Squarespace was raising some prices by up to 26%. The pricing page shows the new figures.
• My opinion: Squarespace suits portfolios and service sites. And Shopify is stronger when product sales are the main point.

Videos worth watching about Shopify vs Wix

And if you want to see these screens and hear other reviewers, here are three videos. You can play each one right here, and YouTube's usual controls work. Under each video is a summary. Keep in mind that the live pricing pages beat any price in a video, since videos get old.

When is each one the wrong choice?

• Shopify is the wrong choice if you mostly sell your time, like coaching or photography sessions, and sell only a few products on the side. Shopify's pricing page doesn't list appointment booking, and Wix's plans page lists "Scheduling and services" starting at Core. So Wix fits better.
• Wix is the wrong choice if you expect your catalog and orders to grow a lot. Shopify's pricing page lists more built-in selling tools, like staff accounts and selling on marketplaces.
• Squarespace is the wrong choice if you'd pick its Basic plan to sell a lot, because of the 2% store fee.

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