Putting together an eCommerce site from scratch can take a lot of time. Online store builder platforms like Ecwid make it easy to do things that used to require a lot of coding and integrating payment gateways.
Some of us might not like what Ecwid can do. Other people who want to build an online store just need to think about their options before deciding on one. No matter what, it’s always a good idea to look at the different store builders that are out there. You want to get the best deal possible and give your customers a great time.
This article is a guide that will help you compare the features and prices of Ecwid and other online store builders.
What’s Ecwid?
Ecwid is a way to build an online store. It is a piece of software that you can put on your store’s website and connect to your mobile apps, blogs, and business pages on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. It is used in more than 40,000 business stores on social media and is available in more than 175 countries.
Ecwid has a single control panel that lets you do many things, including:
- Take care of the different stores you are running. You might have a storefront on Facebook or your blog page, for example.
- Customize your store design
- Handle options for products
- Keep track of stock
- Sell digital goods
- Find different languages
- Sell on multiple sites
- Add a shopping cart to your site.
- Handle lists of customers’ addresses
- Update your store on its own.
- Accept payments
- Customers can save the items they like best.
The Good and Bad of Ecwid
To decide if you will keep Ecwid or drop it, you need to weigh the pros and cons and compare them to the pros and cons of other options.
Pros
- It gives you a lot of ways to change it.
- You can run your store from afar with your phone.
- With Ecwid’s paid plan, you can use your dashboard to access report and analysis tools.
- Your customers can use their own languages to get to your store.
- You can use different SEO tools, like meta descriptions, to increase the number of people who visit your store.
- The plans’ prices are very reasonable. You can also use the free plan if you want to.
Cons
- It works best for stores that are small or medium-sized.
- Some users will be confused by the features and ways to change them. They usually ask for a simple format that isn’t available right now.
- There aren’t many themes. You might need to buy more themes.
Best Ecwid Alternatives
Shopify
Shopify is a platform for building your online store. It can be used both as a platform for selling things online and as a shopping cart plugin.
Features
Shopify has many different features, such as order management, inventory management, a loyalty program, email marketing, managing multiple stores, and mobile access.
The shopping cart has features like managing refunds, controlling inventory, managing coupons and discounts, managing catalogs, and setting up inventory.
Shopify lets anyone set up a store, no matter how big the store or business is.
Similarities With Ecwid
- You can only set up and run your online store for free with Ecwid. But the basic Shopify plan is less expensive than the paid Ecwid plan. Ecwid costs $15 a month, while Shopify costs $14.
- The first month of both plans is free.
- You can train on both platforms with webinars, live online, and written materials.
- Shopify was started first in 2006. It has more than 500,000 customers, while Ecwid only has 400,000.
- Both big and small businesses can use Shopify well. Ecwid is made for stores of all sizes.
- Ecwid is a SaaS service, while Shopify is both a SaaS service and an iOS app.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a piece of software that lets you set up an online store or add eCommerce features to another store. It works with a lot of different platforms, like ClickFunnels, which lets you set up a sales funnel.
Features
It has eCommerce features like shopping carts, customer accounts, data security, order management, review management, return management, promotion management, customer relationship management, email marketing, multi-store management, and a template catalog, among others.
WooCommerce can work with both small and big online stores.
Similarities with Ecwid
- The free version of WooCommerce is available because it is open-source software. There is a free version of both programs.
- You can learn how to use Woocommerce by reading the documentation. Ecwid, on the other hand, will teach you how to use it through written materials, webinars, and live online.
- Only Windows and SaaS platforms can be used with WooCommerce. On the other hand, only SaaS works with Ecwid.
- Ecwid is cheaper because it only costs $15 per month. The price of WooCommerce is $25 per month.
- WooCommerce has been around longer and is more well-known. It was started in 2000, and Ecwid in 2009.
- If you know how to code, WooCommerce is a better choice. You can change your store with these skills. Ecwid, on the other hand, helps people who don’t know how to code.
- WooCommerce lets you change things more. Ecwid has limited access to its source code, which makes it hard to change.
Salesforce Commerce Cloud
Salesforce Commerce Cloud is a platform that combines an online store, eCommerce features, mobile point-of-sale, predictive intelligence, and order management.
Features
SalesForce has features that can be put into three groups: experience, intelligence, and operations. There are features for managing products, running promotions, setting prices, and getting customers involved.
Order fulfillment and multichannel operation are two of the operations features. The intelligence operations are mostly about how the company interacts with customers, like refunds, customer accounts, and loyalty programs.
Small, medium and large enterprises.
Similarities With Ecwid
- Salesforce Commerce Cloud is for big businesses, but Ecwid is only for freelancers, small businesses, and medium businesses.
- Quotes are used to figure out how much Salesforce Commerce Cloud costs. Ecwid, on the other hand, has free versions as well as monthly and yearly payment plans. There is no free version of Salesforce Commerce Cloud.
- Linux operating systems can be used with Salesforce Commerce Cloud, but Linux users can’t use Ecwid.
- You can add your own themes to Salesforce Commerce Cloud. There aren’t many ways to customize Ecwid.
- With customer segmentation, Salesforce Commerce Cloud’s advertising is better able to reach the right people.
AmeriCommerce
AmeriCommerce is a program that lets you set up shopping carts and sell things online. The software gives a business model called “B2B.”
Features
Americommerce has features for both shopping carts and eCommerce.
The shopping features include inventory control, saving carts that have been left behind, credit card processing, catalog management, product ratings and reviews, refunds and returns management, shipping and tax management, and more.
The eCommerce features include catalog management, order management, mobile commerce, customer accounts, a loyalty program, SEO management, mobile access, a product configurator, and email marketing, among others.
Online stores and brick-and-mortar stores that sell a lot of products. It is also best for people who want to deal with things that are hard to understand.
Similarities With Ecwid
- Ecwid is made for small and medium-sized online stores and retailers. Americommerce is for people who want to buy and sell a lot of things.
- The free version of Ecwid is not available for AmeriCommerce.
- Both platforms let you try them out for free.
- Ecwid costs $15 per month, while AmeriCommerce costs $25 per month.
- AmeriCommerce can handle refunds and returns. Ecwid does not have these features.
- Americommerce is based on the Web. Ecwid has apps for Windows, iOS, and Android as well as the Web.
- The only time you can get help with AmeriCommerce is during business hours. Support for Ecwid is available at any time.
BigCommerce
BigCommerce is a platform that provides eCommerce as a service (SaaS) services. You can set up a whole website for your store and add shopping cart features to it. It is a piece of software that Finances Online chose as the best eCommerce software for 2018.
Features
There are a lot of things that BigCommerce can do. Some of these are inventory control, shipping management, order management, returns and refunds management, discount management, SEO optimization, promotion management, tax management, email marketing, and product ratings and reviews.
There are small, medium, and large business. If you haven’t set up a website yet, you should think about it.
Similarities With Ecwid
- You can start a website from scratch with Bigcommerce. With Ecwid, you can set up your online store on a website you already have.
- Ecwid is not good for big businesses. BigCommerce can be used by both small and large businesses.
- Ecwid has a free version and a trial that is also free. BigCommerce only has a trial that is free.
- BigCommerce costs $29.95 per month, which is a little bit more. You can also get a quote for the service.
Pinnacle Cart
Pinnacle Cart is an eCommerce solution that is attractive and can be changed to fit your needs. It has been in the business of selling things online for 15 years.
Features
Pinnacle Cart has features like image management, order management, cart management, import and export, product attributes, inventory tracking, adapting to different currencies and languages, wholesale and dropshipping, payment and shipping options, customer registration, business analytics and reports, and more.
Pinnacle Cart can be changed to meet the needs of both small and large companies that do business around the world.
Similarities With Ecwid
- Ecwid is only for freelancers, small businesses, and medium-sized businesses. Pinnacle Cart works for both small businesses and big ones.
- There is a free trial of Pinnacle Cart, but there is no free version. Ecwid has both a free version and a free trial.
- The least expensive price for Pinnacle Cart is $44.95 per month.
- Ecwid doesn’t have a way to handle returns and refunds, but Pinnacle Cart does.
Shopping Cart Elite
Shopping Cart Elite is a piece of software that gives you tools for solving problems with eCommerce. You can connect it to big shopping sites like Amazon, eBay, Google Shopping, and others.
Features
Shopping Cart Elite has features like data entry, CRM, automation, integration with marketplaces, support for B2B, tax management, online store security, and more.
Small, medium, and large businesses that do business online.
Similarities With Ecwid
- Both platforms are made for eCommerce businesses that are small to medium in size. Large businesses, on the other hand, can only use Shopping Cart Elite.
- Help is only available for Shopping Cart Elite during business hours. Ecwid gives support around the clock.
- Both offer trials for free.
- Shopping Cart Elite is more expensive because its rates start at $199 per month and some are based on quotes. Ecwid charges $15 every month.
- There is a free version of Ecwid that can’t be used with Shopping Cart Elite.
Systum
Systum is a cloud-based eCommerce solution that lets you put all of your important features and apps on one platform to improve your wholesale distribution.
Features
Systum has many features that compete with Ecwid, such as warehousing management, inventory management, centralized inventory, B2B portal, marketing, Third Party Logistics, multi-channel sales, mobile apps, tracking, omnichannel eCommerce, real-time rates shipping, point of sale, and more.
Multichannel sellers, B2B eCommerce, B2B online retailers, and wholesale distribution for small and medium-sized brands.
Similarities With Ecwid
- E-commerce services from Systum can be bought either by quote or for $600 per month. There is a $15 monthly fee to use Ecwid.
- There are free trials for both platforms. Systum does not have a free version like Ecwid does.
- Both are good for small and medium-sized businesses.
- Support is only available during business hours. Ecwid has support available 24/7.
Neto
Neto is a cloud-based platform for managing wholesale and retail businesses. It has features and integrations that give businesses an edge in the market and give customers a consistent experience.
Features
Some of Neto’s most important features are inventory management, tracking of inventory, discount management, point of sale, statistics and reporting, barcode scanning, customer history, and customer loyalty.
Small, medium, and large businesses that do business online.
Similarities With Ecwid
- Neto can be used by any size of online store. Ecwid can only be used by small and medium-sized businesses.
- There are both free and paid subscriptions on both sites.
- Neto costs more than Ecwid does. Ecwid charges $15 per month, but this price is $54.
- Neto, unlike Ecwid, lets you manage returns.
One Last Thing
You might have seen that some of these other options cost more than Ecwid. Only Shopify has a basic plan that is less expensive. You should know this is true because they have more features and options to offer. Also, most of these options are available for large businesses as well.
As you think about the price, look at which platforms offer free versions or free trials to save money. A free trial lets you try out the paid features of a platform before you decide to pay for it. One reason I might look for an Ecwid alternative is a better CRM. For example, Ecwid doesn’t yet have the option to manage returns and refunds, which is something I’d like to be able to do.
You can also think about customer service when looking for a good alternative to Ecwid. At the end of the day, the best Ecwid alternative will depend on what your business needs and how much money you are willing to spend. Now that you know this, it’s easy to choose the platform that works best for you.
