- By Kiwi Commerce
- 04 Feb, 2026
- shopify
Shopify vs Wix vs Squarespace: Which Platform Wins in 2026?
Choosing the right ecommerce platform feels a bit like picking a mobile phone contract. The pricing structures are deliberately confusing, and you’re worried you’ll be stuck with your decision for years. If you’re weighing up wix vs squarespace vs shopify, you’re not alone these three platforms dominate the market for good reason.
What works brilliantly for a boutique selling handmade candles might be completely wrong for a tech retailer shipping globally. Let’s cut through the marketing jargon and look at what actually matters when deciding between shopify vs wix vs squarespace.
Features Comparison of Shopify vs Wix vs Squarespace
Shopify’s Ecommerce-First Approach
Shopify was built for ecommerce from day one. You get abandoned cart recovery, discount codes, gift cards, and multi-currency selling straight out of the box. The checkout process is genuinely optimised for conversions.
Wix’s Design Flexibility
Wix started as a website builder and added ecommerce later. The drag-and-drop editor is excellent for creative freedom. But the ecommerce features feel bolted on. You’ll hit limitations faster especially around product variants and international selling.
Squarespace’s Balanced Middle Ground
Squarespace sits somewhere between the two. It’s prettier than Wix, more ecommerce-capable than basic website builders, but less powerful than Shopify. If you’re a creative business selling physical products alongside services, Squarespace handles that mix well.
For businesses serious about scaling,Shopify Development becomes essential.
Pricing & Costs: What’s the Best Value?
All three platforms use tiered pricing that hides the real costs.
Shopify Pricing Breakdown
Shopify Basic starts at £25/month, but you’ll pay transaction fees unless you use Shopify Payments. Most growing businesses end up on the £65/month plan because you need professional reports and international domains. Apps add up fast—budget another £50-200/month.
Wix Cost Structure
Wix Business Basic is £20/month but limits you to selling on one channel. Business Unlimited at £33/month still charges transaction fees.
Squarespace Pricing Tiers
Squarespace Commerce Basic is £26/month but charges 3% transaction fees. Their Advanced Commerce plan drops fees but costs £40/month.
The Real Value Comparison
If you’re doing under £10,000/month in sales, any of these work. Once you’re pushing proper volume, Shopify’s higher upfront cost usually delivers better value because it doesn’t charge transaction fees and has the features you need.
Apps, Integrations, & Extensions
Shopify’s Massive App Ecosystem
The Shopify App Store has over 8,000 apps. Need email marketing? There are fifty options. This ecosystem means you can genuinely customise your store to do almost anything.
The downside? App overload is real. When you hire a Shopify developer, one of the first things they’ll do is audit your apps and cut the bloat.
Wix’s Limited App Selection
Wix has around 500 ecommerce-relevant apps. The basics are covered—payment gateways, email marketing, live chat. But you’ll frequently find yourself wanting functionality that simply doesn’t exist.
Squarespace’s Curated Extensions
Squarespace has the smallest extension marketplace. The platform philosophy seems to be “we’ve built everything you need” which works until it doesn’t. You’re largely limited to what Squarespace offers natively.
For serious eCommerce development, that app ecosystem matters. Your business will evolve, and platforms that can grow with you save you migrating later.
Which Is the Best for Your Business?
If you’re launching a content-heavy site that happens to sell some products maybe you’re a photographer selling prints Squarespace is probably your best bet. The templates are stunning, and the ecommerce features handle straightforward selling well enough.
If design flexibility matters more than ecommerce power, Wix makes sense. It’s particularly popular with creative agencies and service businesses adding a shop as a secondary feature.
If ecommerce is your primary business model, Shopify is almost certainly the right choice. The learning curve is steeper, yes. But you get a platform that can grow with you from first sale to seven figures without requiring a painful migration.
The question of wix or shopify usually comes down to this: are you a business that sells online, or an online business?
Do Wix or Shopify Have an App Market?
Shopify’s Comprehensive App Store
Both platforms offer app marketplaces, though they’re not equivalent. Shopify’s app store is genuinely comprehensive you’ll find apps for subscription billing, print-on-demand integration, advanced shipping logic, and endless marketing tools.
Wix App Market Limitations
Wix’s App Market exists but feels limited. You’ll find the basics covered, but specialised ecommerce functionality often doesn’t exist.
Squarespace’s Minimal Extension Options
Squarespace doesn’t really have an app market in the same way. They offer “Extensions” but it’s a much more curated, limited selection.
Are There Effective SEO Features?
All three platforms can rank in Google I’ve seen successful sites on each. But they’re not equal.
Shopify handles technical SEO reasonably well. You get editable title tags, meta descriptions, and URLs. The platform generates proper sitemaps and handles redirects. The URL structure includes /products/ and /collections/ which isn’t ideal, but it works.
Wix used to be terrible for SEO but has improved enormously. The platform now generates proper HTML and handles mobile rendering correctly. Speed can still be an issue depending on your customisation.
Squarespace is probably the best of the three for basic SEO. Clean code, good page speed, and sensible URL structures make it relatively easy to rank. The blogging platform is particularly strong for content marketing.
Platform SEO features matter less than people think. Any of these can rank if you create genuinely useful content, build proper backlinks, and optimise your pages correctly.
Final Verdict: Which One Should You Choose?
The right choice genuinely depends on where your business is and where it’s going.
Choose Squarespace if you’re building a beautiful content site that sells some products on the side. It handles that use case elegantly.
Choose Wix if design flexibility matters more than ecommerce capability, and you’re comfortable accepting limitations in exchange for creative control.
Choose Shopify if you’re building an actual ecommerce business. Yes, it costs more. Yes, it’s more complex. But it’s genuinely built to handle serious online retail.
The wix vs shopify comparison really comes down to whether you’re treating ecommerce as a core business function or a nice-to-have feature. If it’s the former, Shopify’s advantages compound over time.
Whatever platform you choose, get proper help setting it up. A well-configured store will outperform a badly built one every time. The platform is just the foundation what you build on top of it determines your success.
