We may earn commissions from some providers for qualifying actions through our links. This page is currently ordered by editorial scores. Our published policy permits limited earnings-based reordering once real conversion data is available. How we make money.
Ecommerce platforms
Store builders for selling online, compared on the plan price plus the fees every sale pays.
Updated Oct 9, 2026
Our top picks
- Top scoreLowest price
#1 WooCommerce
Stores that already pay for web hosting and want no platform fee
8.3/10Very goodOur scoreVisit WooCommerceOn woocommerce.com #2 Sellfy
Creators selling downloads, subscriptions and print-on-demand with under $10k a year in sales
8.2/10Very goodOur scoreVisit SellfyOn sellfy.com#3 Shopify
Stores that want B2B price lists and net payment terms on the entry plan
7.1/10GoodOur scoreVisit ShopifyOn shopify.com
Our ranking
We scored 10 products on 5 criteria and hold 52 current prices, each with its source and the date we checked it (prices checked Sep 25, 2026 to Oct 9, 2026). Criteria, weights and version history.
- Top scoreLowest priceRank 1
WooCommerce
Stores that already pay for web hosting and want no platform fee
- No extra fee with another payment provider.
- Free plan or trial: yes.
- Entry plan (WooCommerce (free plugin)) $25.00 a month including Hosting (from a third-party host, required to run the store) $25.00.
8.3/10Very goodOur score Creators selling downloads, subscriptions and print-on-demand with under $10k a year in sales
- No extra fee with another payment provider.
- Free plan or trial: yes.
- Entry plan (Starter) $29.00 a month.
8.2/10Very goodOur score- Rank 3
Shopify
Stores that want B2B price lists and net payment terms on the entry plan
- Includes 5 of 5: unlimited products, abandoned-cart recovery, discount codes, inventory tracking, free SSL and your own domain.
- Free plan or trial: yes.
- Entry plan (Basic) $29.00 a month.
7.1/10GoodOur score - Lowest price
Makers with up to 5 products who want a free plan and pay only Stripe's or PayPal's fees
- Entry plan (Gold) $0.00 a month.
- No extra fee with another payment provider.
- Free plan or trial: yes.
7.0/10GoodOur score Stores that want to use Stripe, Braintree or Adyen with no extra fee
- Free plan or trial: yes.
- Entry plan (Core) $29.00 a month.
- Includes 4 of 5: unlimited products, discount codes, inventory tracking, free SSL and your own domain.
6.8/10FairOur score- Lowest price
Sellers who want to start selling online for $0 a month and can do without their own domain
- Entry plan (Square Free) $0.00 a month.
- Free plan or trial: yes.
6.7/10FairOur score - Lowest price
Businesses that want to build the site on a free plan before taking payments
- Free plan or trial: yes.
- Entry plan (Core) $29.00 a month.
- Includes 4 of 5: abandoned-cart recovery, discount codes, inventory tracking, free SSL and your own domain.
6.7/10FairOur score Very small shops with up to 10 products, at $5 a month
- Entry plan (Starter) $5.00 a month.
- No extra fee with another payment provider.
6.0/10FairOur score- Rank 9
Squarespace
Sites that sell now and then, where a $19 plan outweighs a 2% fee on each sale
- Free plan or trial: yes.
- Entry plan (Basic) $19.00 a month.
- Includes 4 of 5: unlimited products, abandoned-cart recovery, inventory tracking, free SSL and your own domain.
5.0/10PoorOur score - Rank 10
Volusion
Stores under $50K a year in sales that will use Volusion Payments to avoid a 1.25% gateway fee
- Free plan or trial: yes.
- Entry plan (Personal) $35.00 a month.
4.1/10PoorOur score
Before you choose
Everything below links to the page it comes from, and says when we checked it.
What one $50 sale costs you in fees
Card processing is charged on every sale, so over a year it can cost you more than the plan. Here is a $50 online sale on a US standard card, on each entry plan:
- Shopify Basic, WooCommerce and Wix (a figure from its blog) charge 2.9% + 30¢ on their own payments: $1.75. BigCommerce Core is 2.89% + $0.30, also about $1.75.
- Ecwid quotes 2.9% + 0.30 USD for Lightspeed Payments, but doesn't say whether its $5 Starter plan can use it.
- Sellfy and Big Cartel have no processor of their own. They add no fee, and quote Stripe at 2.9% + 30¢, so $1.75 again. Through PayPal, Big Cartel quotes 2.99% plus $0.49: $1.99.
- Square Free charges 3.3% + 30¢ online: $1.95. Square Plus, at $49 a month per location, drops it to 2.9% + 30¢.
- Squarespace Basic adds a 2% transaction fee to every online sale on top of 2.9% + $0.30: $2.75. Core, at $29 a month billed annually, has no transaction fee, so it costs less than Basic once you sell more than $500 a month online.
- We didn't find a rate for Volusion Payments on Volusion's pages, so we can't work one out.
Premium and international cards can cost more; Shopify, for example, charges 3.5% + 30¢ on premium cards. Our platform fees page has more on this. Checked Sep 25 to Sep 27, 2026.
If you want to use Stripe, PayPal or another provider
- WooCommerce and Ecwid charge no extra fee.
- BigCommerce charges nothing for providers on its embedded list, which includes Stripe, PayPal Braintree and Adyen. Any other provider costs 2.0% of the order on Core.
- Shopify Basic charges 2% of each sale when you use a third-party provider instead of Shopify Payments.
- Volusion Personal charges a 1.25% gateway fee on each sale unless you use Volusion Payments.
- Square Online sets every site up with Square's own processor, and we didn't find a way to use another.
- We didn't find Wix's fee for other providers: its help centre wouldn't load for us.
Checked Sep 25 to Sep 27, 2026.
Check what the entry plan leaves out
We check five things: unlimited products, abandoned-cart recovery, discount codes, inventory tracking, and SSL with your own domain.
- Shopify Basic includes all five.
- WooCommerce includes the first four; the domain and SSL come from your host. Its abandoned-cart email is experimental and off by default, and sends one reminder.
- BigCommerce Core leaves out abandoned-cart emails, Sellfy Starter cart abandonment, and Squarespace Basic discount codes.
- Wix Core stops at 50,000 products. Volusion Personal stops at 100, and we didn't find abandoned-cart emails.
- Square Free leaves out abandoned-cart emails and your own domain.
- Ecwid Starter (10 products) and Big Cartel Gold (5 products) leave out abandoned carts, discount codes, inventory tracking and your own domain.
Checked Sep 25 to Sep 27, 2026.
When your sales push you onto a bigger plan
Three platforms tie the plan to what you sell in a year:
- Sellfy Starter covers up to $10k in sales a year. Past that, Sellfy may charge a 2% overage fee until you upgrade.
- BigCommerce Core moves you to Growth, $79 a month billed annually or $105 monthly, once your last 12 months of sales pass $30K.
- Volusion Personal is upgraded automatically above $50K a year.
Checked Sep 25 to Sep 27, 2026.
If you sell to other businesses
Shopify puts most of its B2B tools on Basic, including catalogs, net payment terms and quantity rules, with up to 3 active catalogs. Ecwid starts wholesale groups on Business, $49 a month billed annually; each group gets a storewide discount rather than its own price list. BigCommerce sells B2B Edition on its Performance plan, from $1,499 a month billed annually, and prices B2B Edition itself on request. Checked Sep 25, 2026. We compare them on ecommerce platforms for B2B and wholesale.
How the ranking weighs them
Fees per sale count for 30% of the score, using the same $50 sale as above. The plan price counts for 25% (for WooCommerce, the $25 a month that WooCommerce names as the low end of hosting), what the entry plan includes 20%, the fee for using another payment provider 15%, and a free plan or trial 10%. The formula behind each criterion is on how we score ecommerce platforms.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an online store cost a month?
Entry plans that can take payments online, before fees:
- Square Free and Big Cartel Gold are $0.
- WooCommerce is a free plugin, but WooCommerce puts hosting at $25 to $350 a month for most stores.
- Ecwid Starter is $5.
- Squarespace Basic is $19 billed annually, or $25 monthly.
- Shopify Basic and BigCommerce Core are $29 billed yearly, or $39 monthly.
- Wix Core is $29 a month, as a yearly plan paid up front.
- Volusion Personal is $35.
- Sellfy Starter is $39 monthly or $348 a year. Its pricing page shows lower prices; we record its help centre's.
Checked Sep 25 to Sep 27, 2026.
Can I sell online for free?
Yes, with limits. Big Cartel Gold is free for up to 5 products. Square Free is $0 a month, but charges 3.3% + 30¢ a sale and can't use your own domain. Wix's free plan builds a store but can't take payments. Checked Sep 25 to Sep 27, 2026.
Shopify or WooCommerce: which costs less to run?
At WooCommerce's $25 hosting floor, WooCommerce is $4 a month less than Shopify Basic billed yearly, before any extensions, which cost $29 to $299 a year each. Both charge 2.9% + 30¢ on their own payments. With another provider, WooCommerce adds nothing and Shopify Basic adds 2%. Checked Sep 25, 2026.
Can I try a platform before I pay?
- Square Plus has a 30-day free trial.
- BigCommerce has a 15-day free trial.
- Squarespace and Volusion have 14-day free trials; Volusion needs no credit card.
- Sellfy has a 14-day free trial, but checkout is off during it, so you can't take payments.
- Shopify has a 3-day free trial.
- Wix paid plans come with a 14-day money-back guarantee.
- We didn't find a free plan or trial for Ecwid.
Checked Sep 25 to Sep 27, 2026.
Can I use my own domain on the cheapest plan?
On Shopify, BigCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, Sellfy and Volusion, yes. With WooCommerce the domain comes through your host. Square Free, Ecwid Starter and Big Cartel Gold can't connect one. Checked Sep 25 to Sep 27, 2026.