E-commerce sales have been growing tremendously over the last few years. And they’re projected to continue growing as sales reached $5.8 trillion in 2023 and are projected to reach $7.5 trillion by 2026. That’s close to a 30% increase. It’s the reason why more people are starting to sell online. But one question most people have when they start selling is which platform they should use to sell. In this Shopify vs Etsy guide, we’ll cover the best platform to sell on and grow your revenue.
Both platforms enable users to manage an online store they can grow. But they are slightly different. Etsy connects you to millions of shoppers looking for specific products. And Shopify empowers you to create your brand. It’s essential to choose the right platform from the start so you don’t waste time transitioning from one to another later.
What is Shopify?
Shopify is an e-commerce platform that empowers people to create and manage their online shop. It has grown increasingly popular over the years because it’s so easy to use compared to other platforms. They have a simple setup, you can choose a design theme for your storefront, and you don’t need technical skills. They host everything on their secure servers with your domain.
Shopify’s main strengths
- A fully integrated payment system: The built-in checkout offered by Shopify is smooth and efficient for customers to complete their payments. They can add their credit cards through Shopify Payments (free in most countries) or use alternatives like PayPal or Shop Pay that enable customers to make payments in multiple installments.
- Simplified product management: With Shopify, it’s easier than ever to add products to your shop. You can add unlimited physical and digital products, keep count of your inventory automatically, and manage your orders simply in one centralized place.
- Shopify Apps: With their App Store, you can download over 8,000 apps to help your business grow and succeed. There are countless features to improve your experience.
- E-commerce marketing tools: Shopify has many marketing tools available to grow your business. There are SEO tools to optimize your SEO for sitemaps and optimized product descriptions. There are also social media tools to expand your online presence and email marketing tools to get the most out of your website visitors.
- High-level customer service: Shopify is a global company. They have 24/7 support ready to help. You can access guides and other resources to learn how to grow your business efficiently.
Shopify pricing
Using Shopify requires a monthly subscription that has different levels. It can seem expensive. But it’s a solid investment when you consider what you get in return. Not only do you gain access to an online store you’re in full control of, but you also have a platform that handles all the technical things so you can focus on selling products and acquiring customers.
What is Etsy?
Etsy is an online marketplace platform on which people sell vintage, handmade, unique, and exciting products. It’s a different approach from Shopify as it’s an enormous marketplace website where you sell products alongside other sellers. Shopify enables you to have your own store.
Etsy’s main strengths
- Simple and fast to get started: Opening your Etsy shop does not require many skills and can be done rapidly. You need to create products with photos and descriptions. Etsy handles the design and the checkout stage and manages the payment.
- An existing customer audience: Etsy has a significant existing audience with over 95 million active buyers. This is an audience new Etsy sellers can tap into to make their first sales. It also means you may have less marketing to do to promote the products you want to sell.
- Promoted listings: You can grow your products’s visibility on the platform by paying money so that your products appear higher in rankings and in more areas for potential buyers to see them.
- Etsy Plus: Etsy Plus can be a game-changer for users. It enables sellers to personalize their shop more, notifies customers when products are back in stock, uses a custom web address for their shop, offers 6 months of free access to Adobe Express Premium so they can optimize product photos, and gives them credit to advertise products on Etsy.
Etsy is a strong option for entrepreneurs who want to sell quickly without having to set up or build too many things. It’s also great for people with less technical skills. In addition, it offers access to a large audience of potential buyers.
Etsy pricing
There are many different types of fees on Etsy, and they can be hard to understand.
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Listing fee:
The platform charges $0.20 for every product you list. To save money on fees, you can add a large quantity of the same product once. You’ll only be charged for one product until it’s sold out or after four months.
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Multi-quantity listing fee:
If you sell multiple products in one listing, the platform will charge $0.20 per item sold in the listing. The fee is levied when a buyer orders more than one product during a transaction.
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Private listing fee:
You can sell products to targeted customers (like your repeat buyers). But there’s a $0.20 fee to sell products that way.
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Auto-renew fee:
Keeping your listing fresh ensures it continues appearing on Etsy. Even after the 4-month listing period. But this automatic renewal costs $0.20.
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Transaction fee:
The transaction fee is the most significant fee for sellers. Every time an order takes place on the platform, Etsy takes a 6.5% transaction fee. This fee is calculated on the total amount the buyer pays. It’s taken from your balance when the transaction happens.
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Etsy payments fee:
In addition to the transaction fees, you have to consider payment processing fees, which are 3% plus a fixed $0.25. This fee covers Etsy’s integrated payment system.
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Sales tax and VAT:
Depending on where you live, Etsy can collect and remit Value Added Tax for digital items. They collect the taxes and remit them to the relevant authorities.
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Shipping fee:
Etsy applies a shipping fee to items you sell. The shipping fee is 5% of the total cost, including shipping.
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Currency conversion fee:
If you sell in a different currency than the one you use in your payment account settings, you will have a 2.5% currency fee.
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Pattern fee:
Etsy charges $15.00 a month after a 30-day free trial if you want to use their Pattern feature, which enables you to sell more items by matching people who might buy your products, thanks to the shopping habits of your existing customers.
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Subscription fee:
In addition to the Pattern subscription, Etsy Plus costs $10 per month.
Shopify vs Etsy: Main differences
Business model and audience
As you can already tell by reading this far, both platforms are significantly different. Etsy is much easier to use and can help you get started faster. But they have many fees. Many people start selling on Etsy to test products and their concepts before moving on to Shopify when they want to expand their business.
Many brands started by selling on Etsy before expanding their operations outside of the platform. These are not just small brands but companies that have recently become famous, like Rifle Paper Co., Catbird, and The Vintage Pearl. These brands lead the way for other sellers on Etsy who hope to go beyond the platform one day and develop their brand.
Shopify
With Shopify, you have your very own personalizable website. You pay monthly to have full ownership, management, and control of how your store works and appears.
It’s the best long-term option for people who want to create a brand and grow it significantly. Growing it will require some investment and a lot of effort, but it can lead to lots of success.
Here are some key points to consider if you use Shopify:
- You make all the choices.
- Design your shop however you want.
- People visiting your shop will only see your products.
- You need to acquire visitors and customers.
- Best for long-term growth.
Etsy
Etsy is a product marketplace on which you can list items quickly. To list items, it only costs a small listing fee, but there are also hefty fees that take a considerable amount of the sales total. The main advantage is you can get your Etsy shop running in a matter of minutes, and it’s easy to set up. You can also get started without having to invest as much as you would with Shopify or another platform.
Here are some key points to consider if you use Etsy:
- Etsy has millions of active buyers browsing the platform.
- You need to follow the rules imposed by Etsy.
- You will have a similar shop to other users.
- Potential buyers can just as well find your competition.
Pricing
Shopify
You need to pay a monthly subscription to sell on Shopify. There are various plans (available earlier in the article). The subscription isn’t based on the number of items you sell but on features and a lowered percentage of transaction fees. So it’s advantageous if you sell many products or have a higher revenue.
Fee details:
- Monthly subscription (between $5 and $399).
- Payment fees on each order (between 5% and 2.5% plus 30 cents).
- Additional fees to consider: website domain, apps, and designs.
Etsy
It’s much cheaper to get started on Etsy because there’s no monthly subscription. On Etsy, you pay to list items. You also pay a commission on all your sales and a payment processing fee. The fees are numerous and can end up costing you a lot.
Fee details:
- $0.20 for each item listed.
- A 6.5% transaction fee that accounts for the total sale amount.
- A payment fee (3% of the total sales amount plus a fixed $0.25).
- Ad fees (12-15% of sales from Etsy ads).
Setup, design, and customization
You have control over the entire shopping experience on Shopify. You can design your homepage, product pages, and checkout pages as you want. It’s an entirely different thing on Etsy because you can only create your product listing and have no voice in the website’s design.
Keep in mind you’re also facing two very different kinds of competition. On Etsy, you’re facing competition from other sellers who have products to sell. Depending on your niche and product, it can be challenging.
Shopify
With Shopify, you build your e-commerce website. You choose your domain name, the themes you want to use for your design, and how your store looks like.
Building your store takes time and some technical skills. But then, you have complete control to grow your brand however you see fit.
Pro tip: You can find experts to help you set up and optimize your Shopify e-commerce. There are many different Shopify development services on ComeUp.
Etsy
It’s quick and easy to get started on Etsy. Just fill out some forms, list your products, add their photos and your shop is launched.
You have fewer personification options, and your store will seem more generic. But it’s a good option if you want to start slowly and test out your products or concepts first.
Marketing capabilities
Whether you use Etsy, which gives you access to an existing audience, or Shopify, with which you will need to attract an audience, you will need to market yourself and your business to achieve growth.
Shopify
Because you’re running your shop on its own, you will need to find creative ways to attract people to your website and order your products. There is a large variety of ways you can go about doing these things, like social media, leveraging email marketing, optimizing your SEO, using influencer marketing campaigns, and running ads. It will take work, and you will need to invest some money, but it will bring customers directly to your website. Try to optimize the user experience as much as possible so you invest your money successfully.
The great thing about marketing your business with Shopify is that you have access to tons of features and apps to grow your business. You can find all the necessary tools that connect easily with your business on the platform.
Etsy
When you list a product on Etsy, it will appear on the website and can appear in searches. It’s the advantage of selling on Etsy. But you still need to market yourself and your brand if you want it to become successful. Find clever ways to reach new people beyond Etsy users.
Managing and selling products
You can manage products, exchange with customers, and fulfill orders on both platforms. Since Etsy is a marketplace, there is more automation in place to follow a process. On Shopify, you will have more freedom to personalize the experience based on what you think is the best customer experience.
Shopify
With Shopify, you have more flexibility and can manage more complex product catalogs. Especially if you have product variants (sizes and colors). It will take you more time to add products, but you also have more options with what you want to do. You can create product collections or sets, set alerts for low stock, and track stock across different places. In addition, you can sell various kinds of products like products, services, digital products, and subscriptions. This flexibility is empowering for many businesses.
Etsy
Since Etsy is a marketplace, the listing system is much more simple. The main advantage is that you can add a single product in just a few minutes. All you need to do is add some product information and some photos. With Etsy, you have a limitation of 10 variations per product for colors and sizes. Plus, you need to pay a fee for each listing. You can also sell digital products, but there aren’t many features to offer and promote them because Etsy specializes in physical products.
Potential for growth
While it’s possible to build a successful business on both platforms, each has its advantages and inconveniences to consider when scaling. Etsy is a strong option to start with as it is easier to launch your business and requires less investment upfront. Nonetheless, you need to consider the time it can cost you to switch from one platform to another alternative one day. Shopify is a more long-term investment as you can scale a business into a major organization on the platform.
Shopify
It’s easier to sell worldwide with Shopify as they support multiple currencies, languages, and shipping locations. You can also create local versions of your website for different countries and sell the products you want to sell in each market.
In addition, thanks to the countless integrations available on Shopify, you can continuously scale your business and make adjustments for growth.
Here are some of the reasons why Shopify can help you scale:
- No limits to the number of sales you can make.
- Can be used with many various sales channels.
- Easy to connect with tools to streamline accounting, inventory management, and shipping.
- You can sell wholesale and B2B using Shopify.
- You can have multiple accounts for a bigger team.
Etsy
With Etsy, your products are automatically shown to an international audience. But you have less control over where exactly they are displayed.
Here are some of the reasons why Etsy limits your potential growth:
- You can only sell on the Etsy marketplace.
- As you generate more sales, you also have to cope with more fees.
- Not many integration options. Especially to market your brand and products.
- Reporting features are limited.
Resources to help you
Both platforms have different resources to help you grow your e-commerce. Etsy relies on its community, so sellers can help each other out, while Shopify has a serious customer service team to help with all inquiries. It’s also possible to find many resources about both platforms on YouTube and other websites.
Shopify
Because it’s such a famous and big company, Shopify offers 24/7 customer support to its users. It’s possible to reach them in multiple ways. By phone, email, or live chat. It’s great to have the relief of knowing you can get help within minutes if something goes wrong. There are also other resources available for users, like a forum for sellers, video tutorials, and FAQ articles.
Etsy
Etsy also has a customer service team. Nonetheless, they aren’t known for being as skilled and ready to help as Shopify’s team. There’s a help center, and you can contact the customer service team by email. One of the best resources at a seller’s disposal is the seller community, which is super active on platforms like forums, Reddit, Facebook, and others. Sellers help each other out and share strategies and ideas to help each other grow.
Shopify vs Etsy: Why use Shopify
There are many reasons why you should use Shopify. First and foremost, it’s the best option if you have a large business or plan to grow your business significantly. Shopify’s pricing structure is much more advantageous if you sell many products every month.
If you do use Shopify, you will need a business plan and some money to invest in growing your business. Nonetheless, you can expect opportunities to grow significantly by increasing your number of sales, adding more products, and leveraging an international audience.
Here are some reasons why you should choose Shopify:
- Full control over your business and brand.
- Possibility to scale significantly.
- Manage your marketing from strategy planning to execution.
- Get advanced data and reporting about your sales.
- Pay a fixed monthly subscription and fees. Skip the countless fees.
Shopify vs Etsy: Why use Etsy
There are many reasons why Etsy might be the right platform to sell on for you. If you don’t have many technical skills or don’t have much money to get started, or even if you just want to test out your concept before getting fully invested in it. To stand out on the platform, you will need to offer special and unique products. But the main advantage is that you will be reaching a massive audience of existing shoppers.
Here are some reasons why you should choose Etsy:
- You just want to test a product or concept.
- You don’t have much money to get started.
- No need to invest a lot in marketing. You can get customers directly on the platform.
- No need for technical skills or knowledge.
Grow your e-commerce with freelance professionals
Launching your own business can be challenging and stressful. Especially if you’re doing it alone. There might be some things you know nothing about that you need to handle. You’re not alone with freelancers. And you don’t have to hire a full-time employee either. It’s the perfect way to complete your projects and get great results.
ComeUp is a freelance marketplace on which you can find various freelance services to complete all kinds of projects. There are services in SEO and communication, graphic design, writing, audiovisual, web development, social media, business, coaching, and everyday life to help you grow your business. There are many reasons why ComeUp is one of the best freelance marketplaces available online. In addition to having many different services available, the order process guarantees you will get what you order. The customer service team is also excellent and one of the main reasons why the platform is rated 4.3 stars out of five on Trustpilot.
Shopify vs Etsy: Conclusion
Now you know the differences between Shopify vs Etsy, you can comfortably choose one based on what you believe are the most important parts. If you’re looking ahead and planning to grow your business exponentially, Shopify might be the best alternative for you to create a brand and scale it. On the other hand, if you want to test a product and concept without investing too much effort and money without being sure of the outcome, Etsy is a much safer bet. Consider your past experience and skills and how you can leverage them to help your business succeed. Lastly, consider using freelance services to grow your business more efficiently by generating more sales and revenue. Find all the freelancers you need on ComeUp.
