Etsy versus Shopify – A Must-Read Comparison

I’ve been helping merchants get started on the Shopify platform now for almost three years. Most of the sellers I’ve been helping are Etsy sellers.

Over the years, I’ve been asked many times about the benefits of having your own website versus a shop on Etsy. This article will compare the two platforms, and will give you the information you need to make a decision on which platform is best for you.

But First, A Little Bit of My Background

I think it’s helpful to know a little bit about my background, my credentials, and what led me to Shopify. If you’ve read other articles here on this website, you probably already know that I started my vintage shop as an Etsy seller.

• From June 2011 (when I started my vintage business on Etsy) until December 2015, my Etsy shop was in the top 10 shops on Etsy. It was wildly successful! To date, I’ve shipped over 14,500 vintage items all over the world – from my Etsy shop alone.
• In addition to being an Etsy shop owner, I’ve been an Etsy Team Captain for an awesome group of vintage sellers, and I’ve been a member of the Etsy Fellowship Program, both since 2013. I’ve been fiercely advocating for Etsy Sellers since 2013.
• Over the last 7 years on Etsy, I’ve seen and experienced many changes with that platform. If you’re currently an Etsy seller, I’m sure you’ve experienced plenty of the never-ending changes there as well.
• When Etsy made the change to local searches in October 2015, sales for many sellers – me included – started to take a steep turn for the worse. I had a feeling more unproductive changes were in the works, and since my shop is my full time job, I knew I needed to find an alternative for selling. As the old saying goes “don’t keep all your eggs in one basket“, right? In October 2015 I began exploring other platforms. I tested half a dozen platforms for six months before I knew Shopify was the platform that would work best for me.
• In April 2016, Etsy made drastic changes to the shop layout pages. Sales declined further. I was very thankful to have opened my own website on Shopify in May 2016 to make up for lost sales on Etsy.
• In the Summer of 2016, Etsy made drastic changes to how the search feature worked. Sales on Etsy declined even further.
• In 2017, there were so many constant changes – tests, and experiments all over the Etsy platform – that most Etsy sellers sales declined even further.
• In 2018, these constant tests and experiments to the Etsy platform, to categories, to search functions, to layout and design have continued. And Etsy sales have dropped even more for the majority of Etsy sellers – me included. A quick trip to the Etsy Forums will show proof of these declining sales.

So…here we are in October 2018. With SO many changes at Etsy lately, more and more serious Etsy sellers are looking for ways to avoid that sinking ship, and are considering Shopify.

That’s where I can help.

Let’s take a look at some of the major points of Etsy and Shopify for a comparison.

Platform Comparison

It’s important to know that Etsy is a selling marketplace. Shopify is an ecommerce platform for hosting websites.

Think of a marketplace like a shopping mall. The marketplace is filled with independent sellers, each with a similar storefront. Because of this, Etsy does help generate some traffic to our shops, much like window-shoppers at a mall.

Think of Shopify as a stand-alone store with it’s own parking lot and it’s own signage. Shopify does not direct traffic to your shop – that’s up to you.

You can’t make an “apples-to-apples” comparison between Etsy and Shopify because they are different types of platforms, but this article will show you the comparisons as best as possible.

For more information on how these two platforms are like a shopping mall versus a stand-alone store, click “A Perspective on Promoting Your New Website”

Consider These Most Important “Pros and Cons” Points:

• Website – When you create your own website, you are in complete control of that website – everything from the way it looks, the way it functions, to the SEO features you use.  You decide what products customers will see when they land on your website – customers are not redirected to other shops and taken away from your storefront – like they are on Etsy. When a customer searches for the items you’re selling, they don’t see other competitors items in their search results – like you see on Etsy.
• Marketing – Besides controlling the look and feel of your website, you also control how you market your website. Just like any other business, marketing plays a key role in your success. The old adage of “if you build it, they will come” doesn’t work with ecommerce websites. To have a successful website, you need to market and promote it. You can promote your website through your social media channels and through your blog, without having to spend any money. Of course, you could decide to have paid ads on social media, but you are still in control of setting your own budget. There are lots of ways to drive traffic to your website, and it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg (or anything at all)! Yes, marketing your shop does take time and effort – but so does anything when you want it to succeed.
• Traffic – Etsy does have some built-in traffic, as mentioned above, but that built-in traffic doesn’t mean those buyers will land on your Etsy shop. Etsy has manipulated search algorithms that give more preference to new shops, shops who offer free shipping, and search is also manipulated based on your use of Etsy’s canned Shop Policy, as well as many other factors. Assuming a buyer can actually find what they are searching for, your item is displayed along side all of your competitors on the search results page. You therefore have to really make your shop stand out with your photos and titles in order to attract buyers to click on your items. With your own website, generating traffic is completely up to you. With a solid marketing plan, you can drive quality traffic. And when someone lands on your website as a result of a Google search, that traffic is more likely to purchase from YOU because they found what they were looking for, and they are not presented with other competing sellers.
• Customers – Customers you acquire on your own website are your customers. You can send email marketing to those that opt in, use advertising pixels for remarketing strategies and to create look-alike audiences for advertising. Customers you acquire through your Etsy shop are treated as though they are Etsy’s customers – sadly. Etsy doesn’t allow you to send email marketing to them, Etsy does that for you – whether you want them to or not. And those messages are “canned” Etsy format and content – not your personalized message, format, or content.
• Rules – With a website on the Shopify platform, there are virtually no rules you have to follow, other than not sell things that are illegal to sell. This is very different on Etsy. On Etsy, you must follow the Etsy House Rules or you risk having your business shut down unexpectedly, without warning – leaving you with no selling opportunities.
• Platform Changes – I mentioned at the beginning of this article the many tests, experiments, and changes that happen on Etsy on a daily basis. There are SO many changes there, that you never know what your shop is going to look like from one day to the next, nor are you sure how it will function from one day to the next. With a website on Shopify, you don’t have to worry about platform changes like this! Shopify is always finding ways to improve the platform by offering more and more tools that you can choose to use, but these new features and benefits are not forced upon you. Only you choose what to implement for your website.

Selling Fees Comparison

Shopify

If you open a store on Shopify, your fee to Shopify is $29 a month (less if you prepay*). This includes:

• UNLIMITED listings that never expire.
• No final value fees (commissions) that you pay to Shopify.
• No commission on shipping charges.

*If you pay for a year in advance, Shopify will extend a 10% discount to you, so your monthly fee would be just $26.10! (If you pay for two years in advance, you can get a 20% discount from Shopify). NOTE: Payment processing fees apply to PayPal orders and to credit card orders.

Etsy

Monthly fees for Etsy can vary greatly. Each month is probably a little different, depending on how much you sell, how many items you list or relist, and what your total sales were.

For example, my monthly selling fees on Etsy were generally around $250-300 a month. That’s ONE MONTH! If I have those same sales on Shopify, my monthly Shopify fee is $29! That’s a HUGE difference in selling fees between the two platforms! The way I look at each month on Shopify is this: I have to sell at least $29 (or $26.10) a month to cover that month’s “rent” (fee). Any sale beyond that is money in my pocket. It’s not that hard to sell that much in a month, right?!

Fee Comparison

Take a look at the following chart and you’ll see that selling on Etsy is actually more expensive than selling on Shopify! This usually surprises a lot of Etsy sellers who have the misconception that Shopify is more expensive.

For the examples in the chart, I based the figures off a seller with 20 sales in a month totaling $1,000, and adding 30 new listings in a month.

*Here’s another quick example: If you have $3,000 a month in sales and pay $1,000 a month in shipping fees, that’s $200 in Etsy fees alone – compared to just $29 a month in fees for Shopify. Etsy is almost 10-times more expensive!

Sales Channels Comparison

Shopify

When you create a store on Shopify, you have access to Product Pins on Pinterest, a Facebook Shop on your Facebook Business Page, Buy Buttons on Tumblr and on your own blog, and you can Tag Products on Instagram – all at no additional cost! This allows you to drive sales to your store from all these social media platforms – it’s really slick!

You can also integrate your Shopify website with other sales platforms, such as eBay, Amazon, Facebook Messenger, Houzz, and more.

Etsy

On Etsy, you can pin your products to Pinterest and they are Product Pins, but potential buyers are also shown competitors products from your pin (ridiculous, right?). There is no integration with Instagram, Facebook, or any other selling platform.

Sales Channels Comparison

The chart below shows possible sales channels available for ecommerce and indicates which channels each platform has. I think you can see from the chart that Shopify is the clear winner.

Features / Benefits Comparison

Shopify

Shopify is feature-rich and has many benefits for merchants! See the comparison chart below for details.

Etsy

There are very few features included with an Etsy shop.

Features Comparison

The chart below lists some of the major features and benefits for an ecommerce shop.

Comparison Summary

I hope all the above information gives you a clearer picture of how Etsy and Shopify compare. And, I hope this information helps point out the many benefits there are to having your own website on the Shopify platform.

If you’re a serious business owner, I firmly believe having a website on Shopify can help you expand your business.

Selling on Etsy AND on Shopify

Another question I get asked often is whether you should sell on BOTH platforms.

If you’re currently an Etsy seller that is looking to grow your business, I do recommend you sell on both Etsy and on your website.

This gives you the benefits of both Etsy as a marketplace, and Shopify to increase your brand and your audience.

I recommend you read the article “Questions and Answers About Running an Etsy Shop and a Shopify Store at the Same Time” for more information on the benefits of selling on both Etsy and on Shopify.

Getting Started on Shopify

I mentioned at the beginning of this article that I help Etsy sellers get started with their own websites on Shopify. I can help you, too!

Even if you’re not sure that Shopify is what you’re looking for, I encourage you to give it a try!

You can start with just your email address and preferred shop name. You’ll have FULL access to Shopify for an unlimited time with no obligation and no fees. This allows you to check it out and see for yourself if it’s something you’d like to continue pursuing.

For information on how to get started, click Unlimited Free Trial.

You don’t have to do this alone! By starting a free trial, you’ll also have access to our free support group on Slack. And, I also encourage you to join our Etsy to Shopify Facebook Group for even more information and support.

Don’t keep “all your eggs in one basket“! Give Shopify a try. You have nothing to lose!