Comparing whether one should sell on Shopify or Etsy is a tricky question, since both the platforms are different from each other in many ways.
Etsy is a marketplace just like Amazon, Ebay, and the likes, whereas Shopify is an E-commerce platform that enables business owners to create their own digital space and sell their products, or services.
Etsy and Shopify are similar in many ways –
- Both Etsy and Shopify enable people to sell online with ease
- Both of them are no code platforms
- In both Etsy and Shopify users can create product listings
The comparison between Etsy and Shopify becomes interesting, since there are billions of dollars worth transactions that happen across these platforms, and sellers are often confused which platforms they should choose to sell their products – Etsy or Shopify?
But before that let’s understand the DNA of both these platforms – Shopify, and Etsy.
What is Shopify?
As per Shopify, it is the best E-commerce platform to sell Online on Facebook/Instagram, or in-person. Shopify offers a vast amount of customizations to its customers where-in they can create professional websites without writing a single line of code.
Shopify allows people to create websites that can sell, help them create an online presence, and do a lot more by offering an array of services that allows shop owners to completely focus on their brand while Shopify takes care of the rest – Domain, Hosting, Analytics, Order Management, Plug and play plugins, and a lot more.
As per latest stats, Shopify powers more than 800,000 stores.
What is Etsy?
As per Etsy’s website, “Etsy is a one-of-a-kind community. Etsy is a global online marketplace, where people come together to make, sell, buy and collect unique items.”
Etsy is a marketplace where users can create their stores where they sell handcrafted items, vintage products, or unique items that are permissible to be sold on Etsy. (List of Prohibited items to be sold on Etsy)
One can sell groceries on Shopify, but not on Etsy.
As per a stat report by Statista, Etsy boasts of a staggering 2.5 Million active sellers and 45.7 Million active buyers. Let’s note that Etsy does not provide a unique domain where your visitors are directed. It’s a Marketplace, and not an E-commerce enabler.
Shopify vs Etsy – A comparison
Shopify | Etsy | |
Fees | Subscription based + Sales based Shop owners pay Shopify a monthly rental for website hosting, plus they pay a commission for each generated sale that accounts for payment gateway charges. | Based on listings + Sales based Shop owners pay listing prices, and then pay a commission on the sales that is generated, and this includes the commission for the payment gateway, and for Etsy. |
Marketing | Requires independent Marketing, and store owners are required to run marketing campaigns in form of ADs, or work on their SEO to drive traffic to their website in the hopes that it converts. | Etsy is a marketplace that allows people to be discovered through their listings, and product categories. Business owners can run ADs on Etsy to increase visibility. |
Tech & Maintenance | It is partly taken care of by Shopify, but the business owner has to configure their website theme, and their UI/UX all by themselves. Businesses often hire external freelancers, or employees to run their tech operations if the store grows in volume. | All technical requirements are taken care of by Etsy, and the store owner has to mainly manage their products, listings, or improve upon their media assets, and focus only on serving their customers well. With this regard Etsy is better than Shopify. |
Customer Information | All customer information, and generated data can be accessed completely by the business owner. Since the website, and the tech and everything else is hosted by the business owner, they have complete access to the data of their customers. | Compared to Shopify, Etsy doesn’t share all information related to the customers, and shares only those details that may be necessary for the shop owner to ship the work. Since Etsy is a marketplace, sharing all customer data with their shop owners will be a violation of privacy. |
A business owner should not consider Etsy, and Shopify as options, but one can choose to sell on both the platforms, and increase reach, and revenue.
If you’re an artist, or sell handmade art that can be customized, then you can start off by listing yourself on Etsy, and later go on to create your own Shopify store that enables your customers to reach you directly allowing you to create a stronger brand presence, and rule out the platform commissions from these direct sales.
However, it’s advisable to list one’s business on all relevant platforms where the users of their target demographics lie. Therefore one must sell their products, and services on Etsy, Shopify, Amazon, and all other marketplaces which offer the possibility of growth.
Is it better to sell on amazon or shopify?
What is Amazon?
Amazon is the world’s largest e-commerce store that hosts billions of product listings, and millions of sellers who offer a wide range of products from electronics to groceries to stationary to home decor, the list is endless.
Amazon allows business owners, and product owners to sell their products with ease without having to go through the trouble of creating a website, and then marketing it to get customers.
With millions of active customers, and 10000s of employees to serve them, Amazon is an e-commerce giant that has allowed multiple businesses to grow, and thrive by putting their products in front of these million plus customers.
What is Shopify?
As per Shopify, it is the best E-commerce platform to sell Online on Facebook/Instagram, or in-person. Shopify offers a vast amount of customisations to its customers where-in they can create professional websites without writing a single line of code.
Shopify allows people to create websites that can sell, help them create an online presence, and do a lot more by offering an array of services that allows shop owners to completely focus on their brand while Shopify takes care of the rest – Domain, Hosting, Analytics, Order Management, Plug and play plugins, and a lot more.
As per latest stats, Shopify powers more than 800,000 stores.
Shopify vs Amazon – A comparison
Shopify | Etsy | |
Fees | Subscription based + Sales based Shop owners pay Shopify a monthly rental for website hosting, plus they pay a commission for each generated sale that accounts for payment gateway charges. | Sales Commissions only Business owners pay Amazon only for the sales commission, and additionally may choose to pay Amazon for add-on services such as Order fulfillment, warehouse storage, etc |
Marketing | Requires independent Marketing, and store owners are required to run marketing campaigns in form of ADs, or work on their SEO to drive traffic to their website in the hopes that it converts. | Amazon is a marketplace that allows people to be discovered through their listings, and product categories. Discoverability for new products is very high, and a lot of business owners use Amazon ADs to boost, and increase their brand presence. |
Tech & Maintenance | It is partly taken care of by Shopify, but the business owner has to configure their website theme, and their UI/UX all by themselves. Businesses often hire external freelancers, or employees to run their tech operations if the store grows in volume. | All technical requirements are taken care of by Amazon, and the store owner has to mainly manage their products, listings, or improve upon their media assets, and focus only on serving their customers well. |
Customer Information | All customer information, and generated data can be accessed completely by the business owner. Since the website, and the tech and everything else is hosted by the business owner, they have complete access to the data of their customers. | Compared to Shopify, Amazon doesn’t share all information related to the customers, and shares only those details that may be necessary for the shop owner to ship the work. Since Amazon is a marketplace, sharing all customer data with their shop owners will be a violation of privacy. |