About 32; min
Running a small online store in 2026 means choosing between platforms that charge you $29/month and platforms that quietly take 2% of every sale. That difference matters enormously once you hit a few thousand dollars in monthly revenue. This guide cuts through the marketing noise to show you exactly what each platform costs, where the hidden fees live, and which one makes sense for your situation.
We evaluated six platforms on starting price, transaction fees, ease of setup, product limits, and real total-cost scenarios at three store sizes. No fluff — just the numbers and honest trade-offs.
Quick Summary: WooCommerce wins on cost for stores already running WordPress. Shopify wins on ease and app selection. BigCommerce suits high-volume stores avoiding per-sale fees. Squarespace and Wix work for design-first businesses. Ecwid is the add-on play.
The 6 Platforms at a Glance
| Platform | Starting Price/mo | Transaction Fee | Setup Difficulty | Product Limit (entry plan) | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | $29 | 2% (waived with Shopify Payments) | Easy | Unlimited | Most small businesses |
| WooCommerce | $0 plugin (hosting ~$10–20/mo) | 0% (gateway fees apply) | Moderate | Unlimited | WordPress users, dev-savvy owners |
| BigCommerce | $39 | 0% | Moderate | Unlimited | Fast-growing stores, B2B |
| Squarespace Commerce | $28 (Commerce Basic) | 0% on Commerce plans | Easy | Unlimited | Design-focused brands, creatives |
| Wix eCommerce | $29 (Business Basic) | 0% | Very Easy | Unlimited | Beginners, local businesses |
| Ecwid | $0 (free tier), $19 (Venture) | 0% | Easy | 10 (free) / 100 (Venture) | Adding a store to an existing site |
Platform-by-Platform Breakdown
Shopify — The All-Rounder
Shopify is the default choice for a reason. The onboarding process takes under an hour even for non-technical users, the app store covers almost every use case, and the built-in payments system (Shopify Payments) eliminates the 2% transaction fee entirely. You pay standard card processing rates instead — 2.9% + $0.30 on the Basic plan.
The catch: monthly costs add up. The Basic plan at $29/mo gives you what you need to start, but many store owners find themselves upgrading to Shopify ($79/mo) for professional reports, or stacking paid apps for features like abandoned cart recovery and loyalty programs. A realistic “running” budget is closer to $60–100/mo once a couple of apps are added.
- Basic plan: $29/mo — unlimited products, 2 staff accounts, basic reports
- Shopify plan: $79/mo — professional reports, 5 staff accounts, slightly lower card rates
- Advanced plan: $299/mo — custom reports, 15 staff accounts, third-party calculated shipping
- Transaction fee if not using Shopify Payments: 2% (Basic), 1% (Shopify), 0.5% (Advanced)
Who it suits: Any small business that wants a complete, managed solution and doesn’t want to deal with hosting, updates, or technical maintenance. Especially strong for physical goods, dropshipping, and multi-channel selling (Instagram, TikTok, Amazon).
WooCommerce — The Low-Cost Option (With a Catch)
WooCommerce is free software that runs on WordPress. There’s no monthly platform fee, no transaction fee taken by WooCommerce itself, and you only pay your hosting provider plus whatever payment gateway you use (typically 2.9% + $0.30 with Stripe or PayPal). For a store doing $5,000/mo in sales, avoiding a 2% transaction fee saves $100/mo compared to Shopify Basic without Shopify Payments.
The real cost is time. WordPress requires regular updates, plugin conflicts happen, and security is your responsibility. Managed WooCommerce hosting from providers like Pressable, Cloudways, or SiteGround runs $20–50/mo and reduces the headache significantly. Still, this is not a zero-effort platform.
- Hosting cost: $10–50/mo depending on provider and traffic
- WooCommerce plugin: Free
- Popular paid extensions: Subscriptions ($199/yr), Bookings ($249/yr), Memberships ($199/yr)
- Payment gateway: Stripe, PayPal, or WooPayments (0% additional fee)
Who it suits: Business owners already on WordPress, developers building custom stores, or anyone who wants full control and is willing to handle technical upkeep. Not ideal for beginners who want to be selling within a day.
BigCommerce — The No-Fee Growth Platform
BigCommerce’s main selling point is simple: zero transaction fees on all plans, including the entry-level Standard plan at $39/mo. You pay your payment gateway directly. For stores with meaningful sales volume, this is significant.
The platform also ships with a generous feature set out of the box — professional reporting, faceted search, and B2B features like bulk pricing rules and customer group pricing are available without add-ons. The trade-off is that the interface is more complex than Shopify or Wix, and the theme selection is narrower.
There’s also a revenue cap per plan that many small businesses overlook. The Standard plan ($39/mo) has a $50,000/yr annual sales cap before BigCommerce automatically upgrades you to the Plus plan ($105/mo). Plan accordingly.
- Standard: $39/mo — unlimited products, no transaction fees, $50K/yr revenue cap
- Plus: $105/mo — abandoned cart saver, customer groups, $180K/yr revenue cap
- Pro: $399/mo — Google customer reviews, custom SSL, $400K/yr revenue cap
Who it suits: Stores expecting to grow past $50K/yr quickly, B2B sellers, and businesses that want advanced features without paying for individual apps. Poor fit for beginners or design-heavy brands.
Squarespace Commerce — The Design-First Choice
Squarespace’s commerce plans remove the 3% transaction fee that hits their lower-tier website plans, making the Commerce Basic plan ($28/mo billed annually, $37 month-to-month) a reasonable starting point. You get a genuinely polished storefront with minimal design work — Squarespace templates are consistently better-looking than the competition at this price point.
Feature depth is where Squarespace falls short for serious stores. Inventory management is basic, there’s no native dropshipping support, the app market is tiny compared to Shopify’s, and multi-channel selling (selling on Amazon, eBay, Instagram) requires third-party workarounds. If your store is your main business and you expect to scale, you’ll hit ceilings here.
- Commerce Basic: $28/mo (annual) — unlimited products, 0% transaction fees, point of sale, product reviews
- Commerce Advanced: $52/mo (annual) — abandoned cart recovery, subscriptions, advanced shipping
- Personal/Business plans: Not recommended for stores — 3% transaction fee applies
Who it suits: Creatives, photographers, artists, and small boutique brands where visual presentation matters more than deep e-commerce features. Restaurants with online ordering. Service businesses adding a small product shop.
Wix eCommerce — The Beginner’s Platform
Wix offers the lowest barrier to entry of any platform on this list. The drag-and-drop builder is genuinely intuitive, the AI-assisted design tools in 2026 get a basic store looking presentable in under 30 minutes, and the Business Basic plan at $29/mo comes with 0% transaction fees and unlimited products.
The limitations become apparent as stores grow. Wix’s SEO has improved considerably but still trails WordPress and Shopify for organic search performance. The platform is also less flexible technically — you can’t export your site to another platform, and the app market, while growing, doesn’t match Shopify’s depth for advanced inventory, shipping, or marketing tools.
- Business Basic: $29/mo — unlimited products, 0% transaction fees, 50GB storage, 5 hours of video
- Business Unlimited: $36/mo — 100GB storage, subscription products, multiple currencies
- Business VIP: $59/mo — unlimited storage, priority support, advanced shipping
Who it suits: First-time store owners, local businesses, hobbyist sellers, or anyone who needs to be selling quickly without technical help. Not the right choice if SEO or long-term scalability are priorities.
Ecwid — The Add-On Store
Ecwid occupies a different category from the others. Rather than replacing your existing website, it adds a storefront to it. If you have an existing WordPress site, Squarespace site, Wix site, or even a custom HTML page, Ecwid embeds a fully functional store into it with a JavaScript snippet or plugin.
The free plan allows up to 10 products and covers basic selling needs. The Venture plan at $19/mo raises that to 100 products and adds discount coupons and mobile point of sale. The Business plan at $39/mo is needed for abandoned cart recovery, subscriptions, and selling on multiple channels.
- Free: 10 products, 1 store
- Venture: $19/mo — 100 products, discount coupons, mobile POS
- Business: $39/mo — 2,500 products, abandoned cart, subscriptions, multi-channel
- Unlimited: $99/mo — unlimited products, priority support
Who it suits: Businesses that already have an established web presence and don’t want to rebuild from scratch. Brick-and-mortar stores adding online sales. Content sites adding merchandise.
Real Cost Scenarios: What You Actually Pay
Monthly plan fees are only part of the picture. Here’s what each platform realistically costs at three store sizes, assuming you use each platform’s native payment processing and no third-party apps beyond the essentials.
Store A: 50 Products, $2,000/mo Revenue
| Platform | Monthly Plan | Transaction/Gateway Fees | Estimated Total/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify (Basic + Shopify Payments) | $29 | ~$64 (2.9% + $0.30/transaction) | ~$93 |
| WooCommerce (managed hosting) | $25 (hosting) | ~$64 (Stripe) | ~$89 |
| BigCommerce Standard | $39 | ~$64 (gateway) | ~$103 |
| Squarespace Commerce Basic | $28 | ~$64 (Stripe) | ~$92 |
| Wix Business Basic | $29 | ~$64 (Wix Payments) | ~$93 |
| Ecwid Venture | $19 | ~$64 (Stripe) | ~$83 |
Note: At low volumes, platform fee differences dominate. Gateway fees are roughly equal across platforms since payment processors charge similar rates.
Store B: 500 Products, $10,000/mo Revenue
| Platform | Monthly Plan | Transaction/Gateway Fees | Estimated Total/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify (Basic + Shopify Payments) | $29 | ~$320 | ~$349 |
| WooCommerce (managed hosting) | $35 (hosting) | ~$320 (Stripe) | ~$355 |
| BigCommerce Standard | $39 | ~$320 | ~$359 |
| Squarespace Commerce Basic | $28 | ~$320 | ~$348 |
| Wix Business Unlimited | $36 | ~$320 | ~$356 |
| Ecwid Business | $39 | ~$320 | ~$359 |
Note: At $10K/mo, the differences narrow. Shopify’s Payments discount and Squarespace’s lower plan price give slight edges. BigCommerce’s $50K/yr revenue cap isn’t triggered yet at this level.
Store C: 2,000 Products, $25,000/mo Revenue
| Platform | Monthly Plan | Transaction/Gateway Fees | Estimated Total/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify (Shopify plan + Shopify Payments) | $79 | ~$733 (2.6% + $0.10) | ~$812 |
| WooCommerce (managed VPS hosting) | $60 (hosting) | ~$800 (Stripe) | ~$860 |
| BigCommerce Plus (revenue cap triggers) | $105 | ~$800 | ~$905 |
| Squarespace Commerce Advanced | $52 | ~$800 | ~$852 |
| Wix Business VIP | $59 | ~$800 | ~$859 |
| Ecwid Unlimited | $99 | ~$800 | ~$899 |
Note: At $25K/mo, BigCommerce’s revenue cap forces an upgrade to Plus ($105/mo). Shopify’s lower card processing rate on the mid-tier plan makes it competitive despite the higher base fee. WooCommerce remains close to Shopify on total cost at this volume, but the VPS hosting requirement adds admin overhead.
Hidden Fees to Watch
The comparison tables above cover the obvious costs. These are the ones that catch store owners off guard:
- Shopify: Using a third-party payment gateway adds 0.5–2% per transaction on top of the gateway’s own fees. Premium themes cost $150–350 one-time. Essential apps (reviews, loyalty, upsell) run $10–50/mo each.
- WooCommerce: Premium plugins for subscriptions, memberships, and bookings are $150–250/yr each. Security certificates and CDN services add $5–15/mo. Developer time for troubleshooting can cost significantly more.
- BigCommerce: The annual revenue cap is the main hidden cost — crossing $50K/yr on the Standard plan triggers an automatic plan upgrade. Stencil theme customization often requires developer help.
- Squarespace: The lower-tier Website plans (Personal, Business) carry a 3% transaction fee on sales. Make sure you’re on a Commerce plan. Email campaigns are an add-on ($7–56/mo). Limited third-party app support means you pay for what’s built-in or do without.
- Wix: Site export is not available — if you ever want to migrate, you rebuild from scratch. Storage upgrades and additional mailboxes cost extra. The free plan adds Wix branding.
- Ecwid: The free plan is genuinely limited at 10 products. The Venture plan’s 100-product cap is hit quickly for growing stores. Multi-channel selling (Facebook, Google, Amazon) requires the Business plan at minimum.
Feature Comparison: What Matters for Small Businesses
| Feature | Shopify | WooCommerce | BigCommerce | Squarespace | Wix | Ecwid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abandoned cart recovery | All plans | Plugin ($199/yr) | Plus+ only | Advanced only | Business+ | Business+ |
| Subscriptions/recurring billing | App ($49+/mo) | Plugin ($199/yr) | Built-in | Advanced plan | Business+ | Business+ |
| Multi-currency | All plans | Plugin required | All plans | Advanced plan | Business Unlimited+ | Business+ |
| POS (in-person selling) | All plans | Plugin required | Yes | Yes | Yes | Venture+ |
| App/plugin marketplace | 8,000+ apps | 50,000+ plugins | ~1,000 apps | ~30 extensions | ~300 apps | ~60 apps |
| SEO capability | Good | Excellent | Good | Fair | Fair | Depends on host |
Which Platform Should You Choose?
Start with Shopify if you’re launching a new store and want the least technical friction. The Basic plan at $29/mo covers everything you need to start, and Shopify Payments eliminates transaction fees. You’ll pay more as you add apps, but the reliability and support justify the cost for most small businesses.
Choose WooCommerce if you’re already on WordPress, have any technical comfort level, or want to keep costs as low as possible long-term. The total cost of ownership is comparable to Shopify once hosting is factored in, but you gain full ownership of your data and no transaction fees.
Go with BigCommerce if your store is growing quickly and you want advanced features without stacking apps. The zero transaction fee structure and built-in B2B tools are genuinely useful. Just account for the revenue cap.
Pick Squarespace Commerce if you’re selling products where the visual presentation of your brand matters as much as the product itself — think handmade goods, art, photography, design services with a shop attached. The Basic Commerce plan at $28/mo is one of the better-value options here.
Use Wix if you’re a complete beginner who needs to be selling within a day and isn’t planning to build a high-traffic SEO strategy. The platform genuinely is the easiest to get started with.
Try Ecwid if you already have a website you’re happy with and just need to add a store without rebuilding everything. The Venture plan at $19/mo is the cheapest way to add real e-commerce capability to an existing site.
Bottom Line
There’s no single “best” platform — the right choice depends on your technical comfort, current website situation, and where your store will be in two years. A creator just starting out has different needs than a wholesale business adding online ordering.
What matters most: understand the full cost, including payment processing fees that none of the platforms headline. At $5,000/mo in sales, every platform costs roughly $150–200/mo in combined fees. The differences are in flexibility, features, and how much of your time they consume.
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