Shopify vs Etsy

Shopify vs. Etsy – Which One Should You Use?

Abhinav Girdhar
By Abhinav Girdhar | Last Updated on April 2nd, 2024 10:00 am

People are moving on from their jobs to starting their businesses nowadays. As such, entrepreneurs look for an efficient ecommerce platform that can meet their needs. Shopify and Etsy are two of the most popular ecommerce platform choices for business owners in the market. The biggest factor you need to consider when choosing between Shopify and Etsy.

Table of Content

Introduction

Shopify and Etsy are highly popular among both established and new entrepreneurs looking to grow and establish choice. Etsy is a better choice for new businesses or those that sell very few items and don’t need to build a dedicated store yet. With Shopify, you can build a standalone e-commerce store with its own domain name that you can customize and manage however you see fit.

However, many businesses might require special integrations with these software to fulfil their requirements. Appy Pie Connect is a popular workflow automation software that offers easy integrations for both Shopify and Etsy.

Major Features of Shopify

Shopify is loaded with features that can help you build, manage and market your digital storefront from the ground up. You can choose from over 90 professionally designed templates to build and customize your website, using a domain name that you can either buy through Shopify or can easily transfer to your Shopify store.

Businesses are able to securely accept all major credit and debit card payments through Shopify Payments, the platform’s built-in payment processor powered through Stripe, or you can integrate one of over 100 third-party payment processors through Appy Pie Connect.

Businesses can take advantage of Shopify’s huge collection of store management features: save customers’ personal and billing information, integrate with dropshipping apps, fulfill orders with one click, connect to Amazon or other fulfillment centers, access powerful performance analytics, and more.

Major Features of Etsy

Where Shopify allows you to build your own, standalone store, Etsy is its own platform that aggregates sellers onto its site. Originally, the platform was built as a marketplace on which artists, creators and sellers could sell their handmade goods and vintage items.

Etsy is a good choice for small businesses or businesses that aren’t ready to put in the sweat equity it takes to build, manage and accept payments through a full-blown online store, as it’s easy to open an Etsy store and start selling through Etsy’s built-in parameters.

Like Shopify, you can manage listings and orders on Etsy, communicate with buyers and buy and print postage either through an online dashboard or the Etsy App. But unlike Shopify, which allows for integration with third-party payment processors, Etsy users can only accept payments through Etsy Payments.

Shopify Pricing

Shopify runs on a monthly subscription model, so you’ll pay a flat monthly fee to keep your store up and running. The platform also charges credit card rates for each sale. You also won’t need to pay a per-listing fee. Shopify has three account tiers, which increase in monthly fee and capabilities:
  • Basic: $29 per month, plus 2.9% + 30 cents for online credit card sales, 2.7% for in-person sales or 2% if you use a payment processor other than Shopify Payments.
  • Shopify: $79 per month, plus 2.6% + 30 cents for online credit card sales, 2.5% for in-person sales or 1% for other payment processors.
  • Advanced: $299 per month, plus 2.4% + 30 cents for online credit card sales, 2.4% for in-person sales or 0.5% for other payment processors.

Shopify also has a Starter plan for $5 a month with a 5% fee for all transactions. The plan comes with limited features, like links for selling products, and does not include a Shopify store.

Shopify plan offers shipping discounts from USPS, UPS or DHL through Shopify Shipping: up to 77% with the Basic Shopify plan, 88% with the Shopify plan or 88% with Advanced Shopify. Shopify offers a 14-day grace period after launching your store before you’re required to sign up for a particular plan.

Etsy Pricing

Etsy’s standard plan is free to use, but it also offers a Plus plan for $10 a month. With a paid plan, you have access to more tools, including shop customization, email marketing tools and a custom address. You’ll also need to pay three fees, no matter what plan you choose:

  • Listing fee: Listing items on Etsy will cost you 20 cents per item. Listings will only stay up for four months or until the item sells.
  • Transaction fee: You’ll need to pay Etsy 5% per transaction.
  • Payment processing fee: Etsy Payment’s processing fees are 3% + 25 cents.

While Etsy’s listing prices are low, but the additional fees outweigh Shopify’s. Depending on the volume of your products and sales, you may actually end up spending more for your Etsy page than you would on monthly subscription fees for a Shopify store.

Shopify vs. Etsy – A Comparison

Now that you’ve a basic knowledge of the two apps, it’s time to find out the main differences between Shopify and Etsy:

  1. Ease of Use

    2. Shopify makes it super simple to set up a powerful online store. Etsy is great for anyone who isn’t tech-savvy. You can simply set up an account and get selling.

  2. Design Flexibility

    3. Shopify has a plethora of templates to choose from, and provides helpful customization tools, so you can easily personalize your store to suit your brand. Etsy limits your customization since it manages your storefront layout for you and your products are the only way you can stand out from other sellers.

  3. Ecommerce Tools & Features

    4. Shopify encourages using a custom domain to create a unique website address, and promote a clear brand. There's no room for a unique domain on Etsy's marketplace, meaning your website address can be harder to remember for customers.

  4. Attracting Customers

    5. Shopify gives you all of the tools you need to create and promote your business, but you're responsible for driving traffic to your website through marketing, SEO, social media, and campaigns. Etsy is an extremely popular platform with millions of buyers, giving your products great exposure.

  5. Help and Support

    6. Shopify has a wide range of support options, including 24x7 phone and live chat, email, and extensive help center. Etsy has a help center, as well as a community forum. You can also email Etsy's support staff, or request a call.

Top Shopify Integrations

Top Etsy Integrations

  • Build workflow automations between Etsy and Microsoft Excel, so a new row will be added to a table in Microsoft Excel when a new active listing is created in Etsy.
  • Integrate Etsy with Chargebee, so whenever a order is shipped in Etsy, a new subscription will be created in Chargebee.
  • Connect Etsy and Google Drive, so a file will be uploaded in Google Drive when a new active listing is created in Etsy.
  • Use Appy Pie Connect to create workflow automations between Etsy and Deskpro, so when a new active listing is created in Etsy, a person will be created in Deskpro.
  • Integrate Etsy and ClickSend SMS, so an SMS will be sent in ClickSend SMS when new active listing is created in Etsy.

Top Shopify and Etsy Integrations

  • Connect Shopify and Etsy, so a new customer will be created in Shopify, when new active listing is created in Etsy.
  • Integrate Shopify and Etsy, so a new custom collection will be created in Shopify, when a new active listing is created in Etsy.
  • Build workflow automations between Etsy and Shopify, so that whenever a new user is created in Etsy, a new customer will be created in Shopify.

Conclusion

Now that you know all the information about both platforms, you can make an informed decision when choosing a storefront for your business. But, simply using these platforms as is, might not fulfil your requirements. Appy Pie Connect is a well-renowned no-code API integration platform can help you integrate Shopify and Etsy with hundreds of apps.

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Abhinav Girdhar

Founder and CEO of Appy Pie

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