Wix vs. Etsy

The digital marketplace has revolutionized the commerce world since, nowadays, entrepreneurs can start their own businesses online with the help of unique platforms. And two of the most popular options in this sphere are Wix and Etsy.

Etsy was specifically designed for small business owners and independent artisans who wanted to sell vintage, handmade, and unique items online to a global audience. It has a strong community of sellers and buyers, making it an ideal solution to connect like-minded individuals worldwide and establish a loyal customer base.

On the other hand, Wix is a modern website builder which allows businesses of all sizes to create a custom site and sell internationally. It’s pretty user-friendly and doesn’t need a coding whiz to showcase its full potential. For this, Wix introduces several tools like Wix ADI, Wix Editor X, and Velo by Wix. All this, along with numerous templates and design options, make it an excellent solution for creating a virtual store, taking bookings, starting a blog, promoting events, etc.

Anyway, although both platforms are powerful and reliable, either can fit better for your business. Stay up with this review to determine whether Wix or Etsy better suits your requirements.

1. Overview

Etsy and Wix are two distinct online platforms serving different purposes. The systems target divert user categories and have to be explored in detail before making the final choice of a service to work with.

Wix is a comprehensive website builder, ideal for creating personalized websites with a variety of features and design options. It offers flexibility in web design, eCommerce capabilities, and is suitable for a wide range of uses – from personal blogs to business websites.

Offering drag-and-drop tools and a variety of features, the website builder works great for individuals and businesses willing to create unique websites without the need for coding. The system grants access to a wide range of templates catering to various industries and personal preferences. The platform also includes features like SEO tools, social media integration and mobile-responsive design, ensuring websites are accessible and performant across devices.

Read also: Wix Review

Etsy, on the other hand, is a specialized eСommerce platform focused on handmade, vintage, and unique goods. It’s a marketplace that connects sellers with buyers looking for unique items, making it ideal for artisans and small-scale craft businesses. The software is particularly popular among artists, crafters and vintage collectors.

The site offers tools for managing inventory, processing payments, and handling customer interactions. Etsy also provides a community-oriented environment, with an emphasis on individual creativity and small-scale artisanal production. It’s an ideal platform for those looking to buy or sell one-of-a-kind items and supports a wide range of categories including jewelry, home decor, art and clothing.

The summary is as follows here: while Wix provides a broad platform for website creation, Etsy is specifically tailored for selling unique products online.

2. Ease of Use

The first thing that matters greatly is the ease of use since any businessman would rather spend precious time developing their product line than buzzing around the website. Wix and Etsy have much in common in this respect.

Wix: Simple DIY Web Design Solution

Wix stands out primarily with its three different interfaces to choose from when building a site, and the three of them are intended for users with varying levels of website-building skills. These are:

• Wix ADI: Answer a few crucial questions about your business type, website purpose, and design preferences, and let the ADI create a personalized site for you automatically based on the provided information. Artificial Design Intelligence will subtract publicly available information about your online business to fill your website with images, videos, and content. If you have absolutely no idea how a site is built, this variant is your savior.
• Wix Editor: You can enable the manual editor if you crave more control over your website functionality and design. It will give you access to a vast collection of templates, allow you to create a structure for your website and fill it up with content the way you wish with a drag-and-drop system.
• Velo: Velo is a full-stack development tool with which you get full power over your site’s appearance and functionality. You can do whatever you wish with your website if you have development skills and coding knowledge. Velo is perhaps the most complex interface of the three.

Etsy: Easy eCommerce Platform

Etsy features user-friendliness second to none. In fact, there’s no better platform than Etsy if you prioritize simplicity over functionality and anything else. However, this solution’s simplicity and the seller dashboard’s intuitiveness come at account of its functionality – there are hardly any complex features around it. Such actions on the platform as creating listings or generating reports are a sheer breeze. Nevertheless, this simplicity becomes a big downside when upgrading your online business and enhancing the website.

Thus, Wix offers a variety of DIY tools for building a website from scratch even for beginners, while Etsy is a marketplace that requires deeper exploration. Its shop setup process is simpler, but it offers less customization than Wix.

3. Design and Templates

Making a good first impression is highly crucial for any website. If you choose a boring template and design an unremarkable site, even your fantastic products on sale won’t make it out.

Wix Design and Customization Features

Wix is a kind of heaven for retailers who strive to find ultimate design freedom yet avoid the hassle of coding. This website builder gives tons of features to easily control your branding and site appearance down to the last pixel. See yourself.

Wix introduces a vast array of templates counting over 900 options categorized into collections and types, as well as their subcategories from music to design, from an online store to podcast. Such diversity guarantees your website will have a unique look and feel. Wix describes every template and states for what purpose it will serve best.

Working with any Wix template in the Editor mode is a breeze. The editor is of the most popular and convenient WYSIWYG drag-and-drop type. And although every template comes completely formed with images and dummy text already in place, you can adjust the theme colors, upload your own photos or choose any from the impressive library of professional images, videos, and graphics, as well as add texts (fonts, aligning, etc.), blogs, contact forms, maps, restaurant menus, video backgrounds, interactive slideshows, etc.

Apart from baseline DIY options, Wix is known for its advanced Editor X and Wix Studio solutions. Editor X differs from the standard Editor (read the distinctions here), offering multiple opportunities and innovative tools to launch and run projects.

If you are a professional web developer looking for advanced website creation opportunities, Wix Studio is what you should try. The platform grants access to advanced services as well as to the opportunities to hire experts and order complicated projects from them.

Etsy Templates and Customization Tools

Etsy is a pretty famous eCommerce platform yet it does not take seriously the need for design flexibility and freedom. It rather focuses on offering a simple and cohesive storefront experience, which significantly limits the customization options. With Etsy, you can only change the basic elements like fonts, colors, and image styles. And to access some more customization features, like highlighting high-performing products on the homepage, you must upgrade your plan to Etsy Plus.

The available Etsy website customization options include the following:

• Changing the fonts, colors, and photo styles of the online store.
• Uploading a logo and banner (a photo carousel).
• Setting a description for the homepage.

So, Etsy is good in terms of design as long as you are happy with a standard Etsy storefront and don’t crave any extensive design options or a unique website look.

The conclusion is: supported by a massive library of templates, plenty of built-in features and a huge app market, Wix provides total creative freedom. All this makes Wix gleam compared to Etsy’s relatively poor design customization options, which always result in a similar appearance. Wix is the absolute winner.

4. eCommerce Features

Wix is a versatile website builder that can be used for creating any type of website regardless of the company’s purpose, audience, size, and revenue. On the other hand, Etsy is a sheer commerce platform where people access to buy and sell a particular type of products – handmade and vintage. Therefore, reviewing both platforms’ functionalities in terms of commerce will be more sensible.

Selling Fees

When considering a website builder, not only does the price for the monthly plan matter but also the selling fees. See yourself.

Etsy offers a free and a $10-worth Etsy Plus plan, while Pattern by Etsy only costs $15/mo. And yet, the company implies various fees, including a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee, a Paypal fee, a 15% offsite ads fee, along with a 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee and some conversion fees.

As for Wix, besides the monthly price per chosen plan, there’s a processing fee of 2.9%, along with $0.30 for credit card payments (no transaction fees are applied).

Not only Wix’s additional fees are lower than those of Etsy, but Wix also offers some attractive freebies like a free domain, a professional logo design, and ad credit.

Shipping

Etsy allows users to handle their own shipping, which is an especially great option if you want to sell one-of-a-kind and handmade items. Besides, popular fulfillment services like Amazon’s FBA and Shopstation services are integrated with Etsy. Furthermore, the solution enables sellers to print postage labels right from the platform and provides discounts on FedEx, USPS, and Canada Post labels of up to 30%.

On the other hand, Wix introduces many shipping options. For instance, real-time carrier shipping quotes through Correios in Brazil and USPS in the United States allow users to provide their customers with precise shipping rates depending on the location and current rates.

Besides this, Wix can integrate with paid services to let sellers connect to an even more extensive selection of carriers and suggest real-time shipping quotes to consumers. Some of the available ones are Shippo and ShipStation.

So, both Etsy and Wix are worthwhile competitors in shipping. On one side, Etsy provides a 30% discount on FedEx, USPS, and Canada Post labels, whereas Wix suggests integration with Shippo and real-time carrier shipping quotes.

Integrations

Wix grants access to multiple integrations available in its App Market. They let you enhance the process of web store creation, providing additional functionalities for eCommerce projects. The apps include advanced payment options, inventory management, shipping and tax management tools, marketing and promotional tools, and customer engagement features. This makes it easier for business owners to manage their online stores efficiently and improve the shopping experience for customers. Applications can be free and paid so that subscribers could pick the most preferable integrations.

Etsy offers various integrations that enhance the functionality and efficiency of its marketplace for sellers. These integrations typically focus on areas such as accounting, inventory management, marketing, and shipping. They allow sellers to connect their Etsy shops with external tools and services, streamlining processes like order tracking, customer relationship management, and financial bookkeeping. This helps Etsy sellers manage their businesses more effectively, automating various tasks and providing deeper insights into their sales and customer interactions.

Both platforms make it possible to integrate apps to enhance web store performance. While Etsy offers eCommerce-related integrations only, Wix grants access to a more extensive selection of extensions.

Online Store Solutions

Wix and Etsy both let their subscribers create and run online stores. However, they use different tools for this purpose and offer diverse functionality.

The website builder realizes the process of website creation via the integration of Wix Stores widget. To do that, you initially have to connect the widget and proceed to your web store design customization. You can add products, complete with descriptions, images, and pricing information. The widget allows for the following features:

• setting up payment methods;
• adjusting shipping options;
• setting tax rules;
• managing inventory and track orders;
• promoting products through integrated marketing tools;
• adding options in multiple currencies;
• selling from five to 5,000 products depending on the chosen tier;
• selling on marketplaces;
• getting a $100 worth ad voucher;
• picking and customizing eCommerce templates etc.

This widget provides a comprehensive solution for building and managing an online store on the Wix platform, catering to various eCommerce needs.

Starting an online shop with Etsy is a process tailored for individuals and small businesses focusing on handmade, vintage or unique items. You begin by setting up an Etsy account and creating your shop, customizing your shop’s name and appearance to reflect your brand. You’ll then list your products, providing detailed descriptions, photos, and pricing. Etsy handles the payment processing and offers tools for managing your inventory and orders. Additionally, Etsy’s marketplace environment connects you with a large audience of potential customers, making it a popular platform for artisans and vintage collectors. The range of Etsy features includes:

• Easy to use interface for listing products with descriptions, images and prices;
• Options to customize your shop’s appearance to reflect your brand;
• Integrated payment system that accepts various payment methods;
• Tools to manage orders, track inventory and handle shipping;
• Facilities to interact with customers, including messaging and reviews;
• Features for promoting products, such as sales and coupons;
• Insights into shop performance and customer behavior.

These are only a few features that make Etsy a user-friendly platform for selling unique and creative products online.

The major difference between the platforms is that Etsy is a solely eCommerce platform and, thus, it offers niche features and tools only. As opposed to it, Wix is a more multifaceted DIY website builder with deeper customization options and more opportunities for online store set up.

5. Pricing and Costs

When looking for the pricing of a website builder or platform to create your online store, it’s also essential to look at all hidden costs and fees. Let’s review the cost aspect in detail now.

Wix’s Pricing Plans

Wix comes with several plans that come up to diverse needs of its subscribers. The eCommerce engine is included in all subscriptions except for the Light plan.

A 14-day money-back guarantee is available here as well.

As for fees not covered in the monthly plan, Wix charges a 2.9% processing fee and $0.30 for credit card payments. There are no transaction fees applied.

Etsy Pricing Plans

Etsy initially seems to be a highly cost-effective eCommerce solution since it offers a lifetime free plan, while the premium Etsy Plus plan is only priced at $10 per month. The latter is way more beneficial since it involves additional customizations for your shop front, a 50% discount on .net and .com domains or a free .store domain, discounts for packaging and other promo materials such as custom shipping boxes and business cards, $5/mo ads credits, restock requests for already sold out products, and 15 listings credits for a month.

Nevertheless, you don’t just get away with the mentioned costs by opting for the free plan or subscribing to the Plus plan. There are specific fees to be aware of. These are:

• 6.5% PayPal processing and transaction fee per every sold product;
• $0.20 listing fee for keeping the listing active for four months or till it is sold;
• The 15% offsite ads fee is charged when you make a sale from an offsite ad.

So, both platforms are reasonably priced, yet Etsy’s additional fees make the platform a more convenient option for low sales volumes, while Wix appears to be better for cost-conscious high-volume online merchants.

6. SEO Options

SEO is critical for online visibility. Etsy and Wix offer different SEO features suitable for their respective platforms.

Wix provides comprehensive SEO tools. Users can customize URLs, meta titles and descriptions. It offers a personalized SEO plan, integration with Google Analytics, and the ability to add alt text to images, enhancing search engine discoverability. One of the highlights of the website builder is its SEO Wiz tool that provides a kind of a strategy of efficient website optimization in the search engines. Other SEO advantages of the website builder include:

• Mobile Optimization: The platform allows creating mobile-friendly websites that contributes to higher Google’s ranking;
• SSL Certification: Wix ensures secure web browsing, which is one more crucial ranking factor;
• Structured Data: The system lets you add structured data to your web store, enhancing its visibility for the search engine bots;
• Google Analytics and Search Console Integration: Due to the opportunity of analytics integration, website performance tracking becomes notably simplified.

Etsy focuses on product listing optimization. Sellers can use keywords, tags, and categories to improve their products’ search visibility. Etsy provides guidance on best practices for listing optimization. Other SEO-related highlights of the platform are as follows:

• Keyword Optimization: Utilize relevant keywords in product titles and descriptions for better search alignment.
• Tagging: Add specific and relevant tags to listings to improve discoverability.
• Categorization: Properly categorize products to enhance visibility in related search queries.
• Quality Images: Use high-quality images as they can positively impact search rankings and attract buyers.
• Shop Optimization: Optimize your Etsy shop’s title and description using relevant keywords.
• Customer Engagement: Respond to reviews and messages promptly, as positive engagement can indirectly affect SEO.
• Regular Updates: Frequently update your shop and listings to keep content fresh and appealing to Etsy’s search algorithm.

Wix offers more comprehensive, site-wide SEO tools for general website optimization. Etsy’s SEO features, while more limited, are specifically tailored for optimizing product listings within its marketplace.

Marketing

Planning to enhance your business? Then you must be sure the chosen website builder or platform your online shop is on provides all the necessary marketing tools.

Promoting and selling your products on Etsy is way different from other platforms. The thing is that here instead of concentrating on Google’s search engine, you should aim to promote your page on Etsy – a platform that shows your products to really interested people. Furthermore, with this platform, you get two opportunities to optimize for Etsy SEO: you automatically get your products promoted on Etsy and indexed by Google.

On the other hand, Wix has recently introduced an all-inclusive marketing solution Wix Ascend to enable users to manage their marketing campaigns from one place. Furthermore, the partnership between Wix and a leading digital and SEO marketing tool Semrush provides users access to Semrush’s keyword data (up to ten keywords daily from 21 billion available keywords) straight from their Wix dashboard.

So, in terms of marketing, although Wix gives users more control over their marketing campaign and a distinguishing virtual presence, Etsy gives its users better opportunities to reach larger audiences than Wix without applying too much effort.

7. Performance, Speed and Security

Performance and speed are crucial for user experience in online platforms. Wix and Etsy offer different capabilities in this regard.

Wix provides a reliable and efficient website building and hosting service. It offers:

• optimized server performance;
• robust bandwidth;
• adaptive site behavior;
• quicker response time;
• data compression and image optimization.

This generally ensures faster loading times and smooth user experiences.

As an online marketplace, Etsy focuses on streamlined shopping experiences. It ensures quick loading of product listings and efficient transaction processing, maintaining performance even during high traffic.

While Wix offers comprehensive performance features for website creation and hosting, Etsy optimizes for quick, efficient marketplace transactions and browsing. Each platform is tailored to its specific use-case, ensuring optimal performance for its users.

Security is a top priority for online platforms. Discovered website builders employ various measures to ensure the safety of their users and data.

Wix offers robust security features for website protection. These include SSL certification for secure connections, regular security updates, secure payment gateways for eCommerce transactions as well as protection against common threats like DDoS attacks etc. Wix also adheres to international security standards.

Etsy focuses on transaction security and user privacy. It uses secure payment processing systems, data encryption and fraud detection mechanisms to protect buyers and sellers. Etsy’s security policies are designed to safeguard personal and financial information.

Wix offers comprehensive website security features, while Etsy ensures secure marketplace transactions and data protection, each aligning with their platform’s specific needs.

8. Support and Community

Customer support and community engagement are essential for user experience in online platforms. Etsy and Wix offer unique support structures and community resources.

Wix provides extensive customer support including:

• a comprehensive help center,
• email and phone support,
• community forums,
• live chat for instant inquiries,
• Wix Marketplace for common users and Wix pros,
• social network communities etc.

They also offer a wealth of online resources like tutorials and webinars for user education.

Etsy’s support system includes a detailed help center, community forums, and direct email support. Its strong community focus is evident in its forums and teams, where sellers can connect and share insights.

Wix excels in providing diverse support options and educational resources for website building, while Etsy emphasizes community engagement and direct support, catering specifically to sellers and buyers in its marketplace.

9. Conclusion: Final Thoughts

In light of everything discussed above, which is better, Etsy or Wix? Etsy isn’t a traditional eCommerce platform but excellent for vintage and handmade items. Furthermore, with Etsy Pattern, it’s possible to set up your own store with a separate domain and still manage the store from the central manager.

Conversely, Wix is an all-in-one solution with all core eCommerce features, shipping rules, and multichannel selling on all plans. Furthermore, the solution offers a drag-and-drop editor with endless customization possibilities without applying to code (with Wix Velo, coding specialists can use code for custom advancements).

While both solutions have advantages and downsides, Wix appears to be a better eCommerce platform due to providing more features, higher flexibility, and many customization options to create a virtual store perfectly matching your expectations. Etsy can be a better choice than Wix only if you search for a like-minded community to sell your handmade items easily.

So, the final choice depends on your specific needs for an online presence and selling intentions. Let’s summarize some of the most essential factors of each system now to simplify your choice.

Pros&Cons of Wix

Pros:

Cons:

Complete Design Control: Wix allows creating a completely unique website using drag-and-drop tools. Customize layout, colors, fonts, animations etc. Wix Stores Widget: There is the opportunity to set up, customize and manage small-to-medium online stores. The website builder grants access to multiple eCommerce tools by default. You can sell as many products as you need, including physical, digital or even service-based goods. Integrated Marketing Tools: The software offers integrated SEO, email marketing and social media tools to help develop your brand. Two Editing Options: Wix makes it possible to create websites in two ways: either via standard editor (works best for proficient users) or via integrated Wix ADI tool powered by the Artificial Intelligence (a better choice for beginners). App Market: You are welcome to choose from dozens of built-in free and premium extensions available by default here. They are divided into categories for your convenience. Wix Velo platform, Editor X and Wix Studio: These are three innovative website/app creation and customization methods that work best for proficient developers.

Traffic Is Your Responsibility. Unlike Etsy, you won’t get instant exposure when using Wix. You’ll need to invest in marketing (SEO, ads, social media) to attract visitors. Inconsistent Pricing: Although, Wix offers standard plans provided at fixed cost that includes hosting and premium features, some fees may still add up when you deal with eCommerce features. Additionally, you may need to invest into premium extensions and other advanced features.

Let’s proceed to Etsy now. As an eCommerce solution, it grants access to features and tools needed to set up, customize and manage online stores. This is exactly what the software was created for. All pros and cons of the system are listed below.

Pros&Cons of Etsy

Pros:

Cons:

Solely eCommerce Focus: As mentioned above, Etsy is a solely eCommerce software that focuses on selling handmade, vintage or unique items. The platform will be a perfect pick for you if you’re selling handmade goods, art, jewelry, vintage, or craft supplies. Established Customer Base: The platform has millions of active buyers worldwide. You don’t have to work as hard to get traffic, especially if your products are well-optimized. Simple Setup without the Need for Complex Web Design: You can launch a shop within minutes. Ideal for beginners or those testing the waters. Lower Upfront Costs: No monthly subscription is required when using Etsy (unless you opt for Etsy Plus). The software guarantees secure transaction processing and seller support. Trustability: Etsy is a trusted marketplace known worldwide. Even if you are a new seller, you will still get maximum advantages from the platform’s popularity and credibility.

Pricing: Etsy is not the cheapest software you can find out there. There are no fixed fees here. Instead, you will have to pay per each listing and additionally a transaction fee is applied. Payment processing fees add up as well. Limited Branding Possibilities: When working with Etsy, you won’t have the possibility to fully customize your web store. It will still look like an Etsy store, not your own unique brand. Tough Competition: Etsy is undoubtedly a well-known platform but this doesn’t mean your products will remain unique. Anyway, they will be displayed among hundreds of other goods. It is quite high to stand out here. Policy Regulations: Your web store will always depend on the platform’s rules. This concerns everything – from product display options and up to pricing policy, advertising etc.

To sum it all up, your choice will basically align with your goals: Wix for a broad, customizable web presence and Etsy for a focused, community-driven marketplace experience. If you expect deeper eCommerce functionality, however, consider using a more powerful platform like Shopify (read review).

FAQs

1. What is the main difference between Wix and Etsy?
Wix is a website builder that allows you to create your own standalone online store with full customization. Etsy is an online marketplace specifically for handmade, vintage, and craft-related products. With Etsy, you’re part of a large platform, while Wix gives you full brand control and independence.

2. Does Wix or Etsy have better traffic?
Etsy has a built-in audience of millions actively searching for products, which can help new sellers gain visibility. Wix stores don’t have automatic traffic – you’ll need to invest in marketing, SEO, or ads to attract visitors. Etsy wins in organic traffic, but Wix gives more control over how you acquire and engage your audience.

3. Can I use both services together?
Yes, many sellers use both. You can sell on Etsy for exposure and also run a Wix site for brand identity, blogging, and customer retention. There are even apps and plugins that let you sync products and orders between the two platforms for easier management.

4. Which platform offers better design options?
Wix offers significantly more design freedom with its drag-and-drop editor and hundreds of templates. You can create a completely custom store and website. Etsy has limited customization; all shops follow the same structure with minor tweaks. If branding and design are priorities, Wix is the stronger choice.

5. How do fees compare between Etsy and Wix?
Etsy charges listing fees ($0.20 per item), transaction fees (6.5%), and optional ad fees. Wix has a monthly subscription (starting around $17–$27 for eCommerce plans) and payment processing fees. Wix may be cheaper for high-volume sellers, while Etsy’s fees scale with sales volume.

6. Which is better for international selling?
Etsy has a global audience and built-in tools for international shipping, currency conversion, and language settings. Wix supports international sales too, but requires more manual setup for translations, currencies, and shipping. Etsy is more “ready-to-go” for global selling, while Wix offers broader capabilities with more setup effort.