The best platforms to build an online shop: WooCommerce vs Prestashop vs Shopify vs Etsy vs Amazon vs eBay vs AliExpress vs Wix

To sell your products online, you need to build an e-Commerce site or rely on a third-party platform to sell your goods. You may have lots of questions like “What are the differences among them?”, “Which platform better suits my needs?” or “How easy is it to manage?”.

In this post, you will find a full review of the most popular online-selling platforms like WooCommerce, Prestashop, Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, eBay, AliExpress and Wix. We will compare all these marketplaces among them so you can get a closer look at what each of them offers you, the pros and the cons, and,

We are going to analyze the following:

Coding knowledge. Do I need to learn HTML/CSS or other programming languages?
Store setup. How hard is it to set up your online shop on this platform? Does it have a hard/easy learning curve?
Pricing/cost. How much does it cost to use this platform?
Hosting and maintenance fees. Can I host my site on my own server? how much will it cost a month/year to host my site with them?
Help and support. Where can I search for information or tutorials when I need help?
Selling fees. How much will I be charged per sale?
Full site property. Does my shop run on my own domain and hosting?
Where can I sell? Can I sell my products internationally or is there any restriction?
Types of products that you can sell. Physical products and/or digital products.
Marketplace size. Do the platforms have their own marketplace and can you find customers only by publishing your products?

In this full guide of the best selling platforms in 2019, where we will review all the features above mentioned, as we consider them important when you make your decision.

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WooCommerce

WooCommerce is a free plugin that integrates seamlessly with WordPress, the most popular and powerful CMS. According to BuiltWith, it’s the most popular eCommerce platform.

Coding knowledge. Not required to build your online shop. WooCommerce has lots of free and paid extensions and it’s also compatible with other free WordPress plugins to enhance your shop.
Store setup. When you install WooCommerce, an Installation Wizard pops up that makes the setup easy. If you are familiar with WordPress, then you will easily learn how to manage your shop.
Pricing/cost. WooCommerce and WordPress are free, so no fees will be charged. It’s the best low-cost solution.
Hosting and maintenance fees. You can host your site in your own server, so you will be only charged according to your plan.
Help and support. WooCommerce has a huge and growing community all around the world. You can find documentation on their site, post questions in WordPress.org forum and lots of tutorials on YouTube.
Selling fees. No selling fees at all.
Full site property. WooCommerce runs on your WordPress site, so you have full control of everything.
Where can I sell? You can sell your products worldwide.
Types of products that you can sell. You can sell physical products, digital downloads, subscriptions, and even affiliate products.
Marketplace size. There is no marketplace, you will need to promote your online shop so your potential customers can find you.

Prestashop

Prestashop is an open source platform that you can download for free and, recently, they have launched their hosted version called Prestashop Ready, which is beginner orientated and you will need to subscribe to a monthly plan.

Coding knowledge. It’s not required, but if you have zero Prestashop experience, you will probably need help from a web designer or ask a lot on their support forums.
Store setup. It is easy to set up (you install it in your hosting like WordPress), but it can be harder to customize. In this case, I would consider hiring a developer or a web designer with experience as they will know which modules or add-ons are recommended for your shop.
Pricing/cost. Prestashop is free, although Prestashop Ready costs $19.90 a month. Also, most integrations are pricey.
Hosting and maintenance fees. You can host your site on your own server, but if you choose Prestashop ready, you must host your site with them starting from $19.90
Help and support. You can find documentation and a free blog on the website, tutorials on YouTube, but if you want direct support from their support team, you will need to purchase a plan.
Selling fees. No selling fees are charged.
Full site property. You can download Prestashop and install it into your domain.
Where can I sell? You can sell your products worldwide.
Types of products that you can sell. You can sell physical, digital, affiliate products and subscriptions.
Marketplace size. There is no marketplace. You need to find ways to drive traffic to your site.

Shopify

Shopify is an all-in-one solution that is great for beginners that don’t want to spend much time with development or don’t want to hire a professional.

Coding knowledge. No coding skills needed.
Store setup. Setting up your store is easy. You also get free stock images to fill your online shop if you don’t have your own product pictures.
Pricing/cost. The plans start from $9/month for just a Shopify button to $299/month for big businesses.
Hosting and maintenance fees. When you purchase a monthly plan, hosting and/or maintenance fees are included.
Help and support. There is an official YouTube channel with tutorials and other users also create how-to tutorials, a forum and more community resources on their official website.
Selling fees. If you select Shopify Payments, you will be charged credit card rates (2.2% + $0.30). Transaction fees are charged if you use other provider than Shopify Payments.
Full site property. If you purchase the $9/month plan for the Shopify button, you can sell products in other platforms like Wix, Squarespace or WordPress. If you purchase any other plan, you must host your online shop with them.
Where can I sell? You can sell your products worldwide.
Types of products that you can sell. You can sell digital products, physical products, subscriptions, and affiliate products.
Marketplace size. There is no marketplace. You have to find ways to get noticed by search engines and customers.

Wix

Wix is another all-in-one platform that offers a website builder, eCommerce plans and a hosting. If you are a beginner, Wix is an option for you.

Coding knowledge. No coding skills are required.
Store setup. Setting up your store is easy. You can choose a template and easily modify it. Wix makes it simple for people with no experience at all.
Pricing/cost. The e-Commerce plans start from $17/month to $35/month.
Hosting and maintenance fees. When you purchase a monthly plan, hosting fees are included.
Help and support. You can find all the documentation on their site and tutorials on YouTube.
Selling fees. No fees are charged per sale.
Full site property. Your online shop will run on your own domain but you must host your site with Wix.
Where can I sell? You can sell your products worldwide, but Wix has some country restrictions that prohibits sending money or doing business with certain countries.
Types of products that you can sell. You can sell digital products, physical products, subscriptions, and affiliate products.
Marketplace size. There is no marketplace. You need to promote your site to increase your sales.

Amazon

Amazon it the largest online retailer, where you can buy literally anything, from physical books and e-books to electronics and clothing. Amazon has grown so much since its creation in 1994, they have created their own brand and taken over other brands like Zappos. Also, they offer individuals to list their products on their site to start selling.

Coding knowledge. No coding skills are required.
Store setup. It doesn’t really need a setup. You list the products that you want to sell into your seller account.
Pricing/cost. Amazon has two plans: Individual (no monthly fee) and Professional ($39.99/month).
Hosting and maintenance fees. No hosting is required to sell on Amazon.
Help and support. Amazon has a big community. You can find how to get started on their site and tutorials on YouTube.
Selling fees. Individual sellers (for sellers that sell up to 40 items a month) pay $0.99 for each item sold on Amazon, plus a percentage fee based on category. Professional sellers (sells more than 40 items a month) don’t have to pay $0.99 per item, but also has percentage fees based on category.
Full site property. Your products will be listed on Amazon. If you have a site, you can create an online shop with products that link to your Amazon products, so Amazon will handle all the payment.
Where can I sell? Amazon has 13 marketplaces around the world so if you subscribe to the Professional plan, you can sell your products in all the marketplaces.
Types of products that you can sell. You can sell digital products and physical products on Amazon. If you don’t have your own products, you might consider joining the Amazon Affiliate program and get a sales commission by selling on your website any product listed on Amazon
Marketplace size. Amazon ranks first as the best online marketplace, with buying customers in 180 countries.

Etsy

Etsy is an e-commerce platform focused on handmade, crafts, vintage and unique items. It’s a marketplace that connects sellers of creative goods, like photography, jewelry, beauty, clothing and more.

Coding knowledge. No, you don’t need coding skills.
Store setup. As Etsy is a third party platform that unites sellers all around the world, you don’t have to set up a store, you just upload your products.
Pricing/cost. There is no monthly plan or license fee.
Hosting and maintenance fees. No hosting is required and there are no maintenance fees.
Help and support. You can find documentation on Etsy’s official website and lots of tutorials on YouTube from other sellers that show you how to upload your products and how to increase your sales.
Selling fees. Etsy charges listing fees per item ($0.20/per item every 4 months) and transaction fees per item (around 5%/item)
Full site property. If you open a shop on Etsy, your shop will be run by Etsy and your web domain will be https://www.etsy/shop/yourshopname or https://yourshopname.etsy.com
Where can I sell? You can sell your products worldwide, but shipping fees can be expensive.
Types of products that you can sell. You can sell digital products and physical products, as long as it’s handmade, crafty, vintage or unique (at least that’s what Etsy says).
Marketplace size. in 2018, Etsy had more than 35 million active buyers and this number keeps on growing.

eBay

eBay is an online shopping site that is most famous for its auctions. Anybody can buy or sell anything. You can buy antiques, electronics, books, toys, video games, second-hand items, sporting goods, etc. It’s a place where you can find things that you cannot find anywhere else.

Coding knowledge. No coding skills.
Store setup. If you want to sell stuff on eBay, you just need to create an account and list your products.
Pricing/cost. There is no monthly plan or license fee.
Hosting and maintenance fees. No hosting and no maintenance fees.
Help and support. You can find documentation on eBay’s website and lots of tutorials on YouTube from eBay and other sellers.
Selling fees. eBay has two selling fees: an insertion fee when you list your item (the amount depends on the price of the item, category, and the format) and a final value fee when your item is sold (a percentage of the total amount of sale that depends on the product)
Full site property. When you list items on eBay, your shop won’t run on your domain but on eBay.
Where can I sell? You can sell worldwide but you first need to meet eBays requirements. Some requirements are offering PayPal as a payment option and having earned at least 10 feedback points as a seller.
Types of products that you can sell. You can sell any physical product (art, comics, second-hand clothes…) and also digital products like tickets, domain names, software product keys, and online gaming items. But careful! eBay has specific rules for digital downloads that sellers must follow.
Marketplace size. eBay is one of the largest U.S internet companies with more than 170 million active users.

Aliexpress

Aliexpress is an online retailer based in China that was created in 2010. It’s made up of small businesses based in China, offering a wide variety of consumer products worldwide.

Coding knowledge. No coding skills.
Store setup. You need to be a Chinese registered company to open a store in Aliexpress and qualify as a seller.
Pricing/cost. Aliexpress charges a fixed $1500 fee to start selling. This expensive fee is to avoid scammer accounts and keep their rating system real.
Hosting and maintenance fees. No hosting and no maintenance fees.
Help and support. You can’t find much in English on their site, you should search for tutorials on YouTube. I guess that if you speak Chinese or Russian you will be luckier than me.
Selling fees. They charge from 5% to 8% of the transaction value.
Full site property. Your shop runs in Aliexpress domain, not on yours.
Where can I sell? Aliexpress sells worldwide.
Types of products that you can sell. You can sell any physical product.
Marketplace size. It’s gigantic! Aliexpress is the 33rd most visited website in the world and receives more than 200 million monthly visits.

So, where do I sell? Well, as you can see, there are a lot of options. In my opinion, the platform you choose would depend on the type of product you want to sell, the pricing and selling fees that you can afford, and above all, whatever appeals to you.