According to Statista, global retail ecommerce sales are set to exceed $6 billion in 2024 and reach $8 billion by 2025.
This means the ecommerce market is booming, and now is the right time to establish a solid online presence. But as the demand for online shopping and omnichannel selling grows, companies face intense competition. To succeed in the ecommerce market long-term, choosing the right ecommerce platform is what companies need to pay attention to from the start.
But with many available ecommerce options, selecting the best one is often a daunting task. To guide you toward a better solution for your store, in this article we review the top ecommerce platforms, highlighting their key pros, cons, and prices.
What is the best ecommerce platform?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of which ecommerce platform is the best. The right platform depends on whether it aligns with your business needs. To make an informed decision, businesses should carefully weight the pros and cons of the available solutions in the market and costs related to them. So, let’s make a brief ecommerce platform comparison below.
Shopify
Shopify is a subscription-based ecommerce platform that allows small and enterprise-level companies to manage, build, and grow online stores. It provides an all-in-one solution because it offers all the services needed to run an online store effectively. In addition to selling physical products, the platform also supports digital goods and subscription services. For businesses with physical locations, Shopify offers point-of-sale (POS) systems, which allow seamless management of online and in-store sales.
Now, Shopify is one of the best-performing ecommerce platforms in the world due to its scalability, extensive app ecosystem, customization, and strong customer support. Other pros of Shopify include:
- Ease of use: Shopify is designed to be user-friendly, with drag-and-drop features and a variety of customizable templates that don’t require technical expertise;
- Many responsive themes: you can choose between free and premium themes on Shopify, and both are responsive and attractive for users;
- Third-party integrations: Shopify integrates with popular tools like Mailchimp, QuickBooks, and Salesforce, as well as social media platforms for broader sales opportunities;
- Hosting: Shopify provides its own hosting, so you don’t need to find the right provider or pay any hosting fees.
The cons of Shopify:
- Cost: even though Shopify’s pricing plans are budget-friendly, keep in mind that you’ll need to pay extra for premium features and transaction fees (if you don’t use Shopify payments);
- Tedious content management: Shopify is more focused on ecommerce, which can make content management for non-product-related content more complex. This can lead to a somewhat monotonous and limited content management experience.
The cost of a Shopify site depends on the scale and needs of your business. Its main plans include Basic plan ($32/month), Shopify plan ($92/month) and Advanced plan ($399/month). Also, Shopify charges transaction fees unless you use Shopify Payments. There are also additional costs for third-party apps and integrations.
Squarespace
Squarespace is a website builder platform for brands and individuals who prioritize design and aesthetics. It offers professionally designed templates and an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that enables businesses to create stunning ecommerce websites. While Squarespace doesn’t provide the same features as popular ecommerce platforms like Shopify, it still offers a feature-rich platform to help users start selling online. The key benefits of Squarespace are:
- Ease of use: this is the simplest website builder due to its drag-and-drop editor and AI design guidance (Blueprint AI) that doesn’t require coding experience;
- All-in-one platform: it offers a wide range of features, from website hosting, design, and development to selling products and services. Therefore, you don’t need to manage multiple services separately;
- Powerful ecommerce capabilities: the platform offers robust ecommerce tools all without third-party fees in some plans, allowing users to manage online stores with ease;
- Integrated tools: the platform has a range of integrated tools, such as email campaigns, Acuity Scheduling, Tock, etc. This eliminates the need for third-party plugins and reduces security risks and compatibility issues while enhancing the website’s functionality.
The cons of Squarespace:
- Limited customization: while it offers beautiful templates, it can be restrictive for users who want a high degree of functional customization. Also, you may hit limitations without access to code for deeper customization;
- Scalability: as your store grows, you may encounter scalability challenges while managing a large product catalog.
Squarespace offers four main pricing plans catering to different types of users. They include Personal ($16/month), Business ($23/month), Commerce Basic ($28/month) and Commerce Advanced plans ($52/month). Each with a 14-day free trial, so users can explore the platform before purchasing it.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a leading cloud-based platform for building and managing online stores, operating on a SaaS model. This allows companies to avoid technical complexities related to website maintenance, focus on growth, and reduce development costs. Compared to other ecommerce platforms with limited features and many paid extensions, it offers the most comprehensive feature sets that don’t require additional plugins. So, it is suitable for both B2B and B2C businesses. Other pros of BigCommerce include:
- High customization: it offers customizable design templates that can be easily adjusted using a drag-and-drop interface, ensuring an optimal shopping experience for both desktop and mobile users;
- No transaction fees: unlike some competitors, BigCommerce doesn’t charge additional transaction fees and reduces operation costs;
- Scalability: the platform is designed to grow with your business, offering various plans to accommodate different sizes and needs;
- Multi-channel selling: it enables businesses to sell across multiple channels (website, social media, marketplaces), including Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, and Google, expanding webstore reach.
Some cons of BigCommerce include:
- Learning curve: the platform can be complex to navigate for small businesses with basic needs because it has a steep learning curve for new users due to many features and settings;
- Sales threshold limits: it sets annual sales limits for each pricing plan. If your sales go over the limit, you’ll need to upgrade to a more expensive plan, increasing your costs.
After a 15-day free trial, store owners can choose from the following monthly plans: Standard Plan ($39/month), Plus Plan ($105/month), Pro Plan ($399/month), and Enterprise Plan (custom pricing).
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce platform built as a plugin for WordPress that transforms websites into fully functional online shops. This means it seamlessly integrates with WordPress, allowing users to easily add diverse ecommerce functionality to their store. While it’s a cost-effective option, since the plugin is free, additional features like advanced analytics, marketing tools, or payment gateways typically require paid extensions.
This platform is especially suitable for small to medium-sized businesses seeking control over their ecommerce store without being tied to a rigid SaaS model. Other pros of WooCommerce include:
- Flexible payment options: it integrates with numerous payment gateways, including Stripe, PayPal, and Square, and supports multiple currencies, making it preferred for global users;
- Control over SEO: it provides robust tools for optimizing SEO, such as customizable URLs, meta descriptions, and product tags, enhancing search engine visibility;
- Headless commerce capabilities: it allows the frontend and backend to work separately, giving developers the freedom to design custom and engaging user interfaces without being tied to the platform’s default templates;
- Large support community: it has a vast ecosystem of developers, designers, and forums where users can find support, share best practices, and access a wealth of resources for customizing and managing their online stores.
The cons of WooCommerce:
- Costs: while WooCommerce is free, many essential extensions (marketing tools or analytics) are paid. As a store grows, hosting, security, and maintenance costs increase;
- Complex setup and maintenance: unlike SaaS platforms that handle updates and security automatically, it requires manual updates, maintenance, and a hosting setup, which may require technical expertise.
WooCommerce is free to use, but you’ll need to pay for hosting, a domain name, any premium themes or plugins and transaction fees. Therefore, the costs of using WooCommerce depends on your specific business needs.
Magento
Magento, now rebranded as Adobe Commerce, is a robust open-source ecommerce platform available both on-premises or as a cloud-based solution (PaaS). Written in PHP, it offers exceptional flexibility and scalability, making it suitable for both B2B and B2C businesses. Now, the platform is available in two versions: Magento Open Source (a free and highly customizable version for small and medium companies) and Adobe Commerce (a premium, feature-rich version with comprehensive functionality and support for large organizations).
Now, let’s consider Magento Open Source version and start with its benefits:
- No licensing costs: since it’s free, businesses can save on upfront software licensing costs and invest resources in other aspects like marketing or product development;
- Self-hosting: it gives users the flexibility to choose their hosting provider, offering full control over server infrastructure. So, businesses can scale their hosting setup according to their budgets and needs;
- Highly customizable: with numerous extensions, themes, and plugins available, businesses can customize their store’s design and features to their exact specifications;
- Large developer community: it has a large, active community of developers, offering a wealth of resources, support, and third-party tools to enhance the platform’s functionality.
The cons of Magento Open Source:
- High hosting and maintenance costs: while software is free, hosting Magento can be expensive. Plus, you’ll need to pay for regular maintenance, updates, and security;
- Lack of technical support: this version doesn’t include official support, so businesses must rely on community forums or hire developers to troubleshoot issues.
Magento Open Source is free to use. But you’ll need to pay for a web hosting, a domain name, an SSL certificate, additional extensions and other add-ons.
Conclusion
Choosing the right ecommerce platform is about finding a balance between business goals, budget and platform features. As you can see, each platform has its own distinct advantages, drawbacks, and pricing models to meet various business needs. We hope this article provides you with a brief review of the most popular ecommerce options and makes your decision-making as simple as possible.
