Wix vs Shopify: Which Is Better for Your Online Store?
Wix vs Shopify compared: plans, card rates, staff accounts and selling tools as of October 2026, and which one fits a small shop versus a growing store.
Mythex Team · · 7 min read
Pick Shopify if selling is the main point of your website: a growing catalogue, several sales channels, in-person sales with a card reader, or a team that needs staff accounts. Pick Wix if you need a good-looking website first, with a shop, bookings or a blog as one part of it, and you want design freedom without paying for commerce features you won't use. As of October 2026 the two start at a similar price for a store that takes payments, about $29 a month billed yearly, but they're built for different jobs.
Wix vs Shopify at a glance
| Wix | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Built mainly for | Websites of all kinds, with ecommerce on higher plans | Selling: online store, POS, marketplaces |
| Free plan | Yes, but it can't take payments | No; 3-day trial, then $1/month for 3 months |
| Cheapest plan that sells | Core, about $29/mo billed yearly* | Basic, $29/mo billed yearly ($39 monthly) |
| Mid tier | Business, about $39/mo billed yearly* | Grow, $89/mo billed yearly ($105 monthly) |
| Top self-serve tier | Business Elite, about $159/mo billed yearly* | Advanced, $359/mo billed yearly ($399 monthly) |
| Enterprise | Not compared | Plus, from $2,300/mo |
| US online card rate (own payments) | Wix Payments: 2.9% + $0.30 | Basic 2.9% + 30¢, Grow 2.7% + 30¢, Advanced 2.5% + 30¢ |
| Fee for using another payment provider | Not stated on the plans page | 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), 0.6% (Advanced) |
| Team access | 5 site collaborators on Core, 10 on Business, 100 on Business Elite | No extra staff on Basic, 5 on Grow, 15 on Advanced |
| Storage / products | 50 GB on Core, 100 GB on Business, unlimited on Elite | Unlimited products on all plans |
| In-person sales | Wix Payments POS (2.6% in the US) | Card reader on all plans; POS Pro $89/mo per location |
*Wix says "prices and currency vary by location", shows USD for reference only, and quotes yearly subscriptions before tax. Check the price for your country on the Wix plans page. Shopify prices are from Shopify's pricing page in the US. All figures as of October 2026.
How we compared
We read each company's own pricing pages and help articles in October 2026: the Wix plans page, Wix's Wix Payments fees article and Shopify's pricing page. We compared plan prices, payment fees, team access, storage and selling channels. We did not build a test store on either platform, and we didn't compare speed or conversion rates, which we couldn't measure fairly. Both companies show different prices in different countries, so we've quoted US figures where the vendor shows them and noted where it doesn't. Anything we couldn't confirm on the vendors' sites is left out.
The real difference: website builder vs commerce platform
Wix is a website builder first. You start from a template or its AI tools, drag things where you want them, and add features as you need them: a shop, bookings ("scheduling and services"), marketing tools. Ecommerce is one of several things the site can do, and it grows in steps: Wix lists "Basic eCommerce" on Core, "Standard" on Business and "Advanced" on Business Elite.
Shopify is a commerce platform first. Every plan includes a full online store, unlimited products, its checkout, inventory across up to 10 locations, abandoned-checkout recovery, discount codes, gift cards, shipping labels and selling on social channels and marketplaces. The website is there to sell; content pages and blogs exist but aren't the focus.
That difference shows up everywhere else. Wix gives you more layout freedom out of the box. Shopify gives you more selling tools out of the box, and a large app store when you need more.
Pricing in more detail
Wix
As of October 2026 the Wix plans page lists five plans:
- Free: hosting, the drag-and-drop editor and thousands of templates. No credit card needed. It can't take payments.
- Light (about $17/mo billed yearly): free domain for a year, 2 GB storage, 2 collaborators. No "Accept payments" on this plan.
- Core (about $29/mo): 50 GB, accept payments, basic eCommerce, scheduling and services, 5 collaborators.
- Business (about $39/mo): 100 GB, standard eCommerce, 10 collaborators.
- Business Elite (about $159/mo): unlimited storage, advanced eCommerce, an advanced developer platform and 100 collaborators.
All plans include a custom domain, AI creation tools and 24/7 customer care, and Wix offers a 14-day money-back guarantee. The prices above are what Wix showed us, labelled as USD for reference; Wix says your final price depends on your location and billing address.
With Wix Payments in the US, Wix's help center lists 2.9% + $0.30 for cards and Apple Pay or Google Pay (3.7% + $0.30 for American Express), 3.49% + $0.49 for PayPal, and 2.6% for in-person POS payments, plus a $15 chargeback fee.
Shopify
As of October 2026, Shopify's pricing page shows, in the US:
- Basic: $39/mo, or $29/mo billed yearly. Online cards 2.9% + 30¢, in person 2.6% + 10¢. No additional staff accounts.
- Grow: $105/mo, or $89/mo billed yearly. Online cards 2.7% + 30¢, in person 2.5% + 10¢. 5 staff accounts.
- Advanced: $399/mo, or $359/mo billed yearly. Online cards 2.5% + 30¢, in person 2.4% + 10¢. 15 staff accounts, third-party calculated shipping rates, higher API limits.
- Plus: from $2,300/mo, for large businesses, with unlimited staff and 200 inventory locations.
International cards add 1% on every plan. If you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments, Shopify charges a third-party transaction fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced. Shopify starts with a 3-day free trial, then $1 a month for 3 months on most plans.
What it costs in practice
The plan price is only the start. On Shopify, many stores add paid apps for reviews, subscriptions or upsells, and the third-party fee pushes most US stores towards Shopify Payments. On Wix, the jump from Core to Business is small, but you may need Business or Elite for the more advanced ecommerce features. Write down the features you need, find the cheapest plan on each that includes them, then add apps and payment fees.
Where each one is stronger
Wix is stronger for
- Design freedom. Free-form drag and drop makes it easy to make a site that doesn't look like a template.
- Sites that aren't mainly shops. A restaurant, studio, consultant or venue that sells a few products alongside bookings and content.
- Bookings built in. Core and above include scheduling and services, so a salon or tutor can take appointments and sell products on one site.
- Team access on cheaper plans. Core already includes 5 site collaborators; on Shopify, staff accounts start on Grow at $89 a month billed yearly (every Shopify plan does let you invite third-party collaborators, such as an agency).
- A free start. You can build the whole site on the free plan and upgrade when you're ready to sell.
Shopify is stronger for
- Serious catalogues. Unlimited products, inventory across locations and reports on every plan.
- Selling everywhere. Social channels, marketplaces and in-person sales with a phone or card reader, all from one stock count.
- Growth. Staff accounts, B2B catalogues, headless storefronts and a path to Plus without changing platform.
- Its app ecosystem. Shopify says it integrates with thousands of apps, which covers most ecommerce needs.
Who should pick which
| Your situation | Better fit |
|---|---|
| A service business that also sells a few products | Wix |
| A portfolio or brand site with a small shop | Wix |
| A store with dozens or hundreds of products | Shopify |
| Selling online and at markets or a shop counter | Shopify |
| A team of several people managing orders | Shopify (Grow or above) |
| You want to build first and pay only when you sell | Wix (free plan, then Core) |
| You plan to sell on marketplaces as well as your own site | Shopify |
If neither feels right, our guides to Shopify alternatives and Wix alternatives cover the wider field, and Shopify vs WooCommerce compares Shopify with a self-hosted option.
Where a custom-built site fits
Sometimes neither a template site nor a commerce platform matches how you sell. A bakery that takes custom cake orders with a deposit, a rental business with its own availability rules, or a wholesaler with customer-specific price lists can spend a lot of time bending a standard store to fit.
That's where an AI app builder like Mythex can help. You describe the site or tool in chat, watch it in a live preview, and publish it to a URL in one click. Mythex adds a database, login and file storage when the app needs them, so an order form can save orders and a customer can log in to see theirs. On Pro (from $25 a month) you can export the code or sync it to GitHub.
The honest trade-off: Mythex is not an ecommerce platform. It doesn't come with Shopify's checkout, shipping labels, POS hardware or app store, and you'd be responsible for how payments are wired in. For a standard online store, Shopify or Wix is the faster, safer choice. A custom build makes sense for the unusual order flow that a store template can't handle. Our guide on how to build an online store walks through both routes.
Verdict
- Choose Shopify if your website exists to sell, you expect to grow, or you sell in person and on marketplaces too.
- Choose Wix if you want a flexible, good-looking website where the shop is one part, especially alongside bookings or content.
- Check local prices on both sites before you commit; both vary by country.
Starting a store from scratch? Read how to start an ecommerce business before picking a platform.
Questions
Is Wix or Shopify cheaper?
Wix usually costs less at the start. As of October 2026 Wix's Core plan, the cheapest one that accepts payments, is shown at about $29 a month billed yearly, though Wix says prices vary by location. Shopify Basic is $29 a month billed yearly or $39 month to month in the US. Shopify's paid apps and Wix's higher plans can change the picture, so price the plan you'll really need.
Can I sell on Wix's free plan?
No. As of October 2026 Wix lists 'Accept payments' and eCommerce only on its Core, Business and Business Elite plans. The free plan gives you hosting, the editor and templates, but you need Core or higher to take payments.
Does Shopify have a free plan?
Not for a normal online store. As of October 2026 Shopify offers a 3-day free trial with no credit card, then $1 a month for the first 3 months on most plans, before standard pricing starts. Basic is then $39 a month, or $29 a month billed yearly, in the US.
Is it easy to move from Wix to Shopify later?
You can move, but plan for work. Products and customers can usually be exported and imported, while the design, page content and apps have to be rebuilt on the new platform. If you expect to grow into a large catalogue, starting on Shopify can save a migration later.