Wix or Shopify: 7 Key Differences to Pick the Best Builder

You’ll choose between Wix’s R10124 monthly starting price and creative freedom versus Shopify’s R16424 entry cost but superior e-commerce capabilities. Wix offers 800+ templates with drag-and-drop flexibility, while Shopify provides structured editing with conversion rates up to 36% higher.

Shopify dominates with 15,900 apps, unlimited products, and multi-currency processing across 130+ currencies. Wix suits casual sellers needing design control, but Shopify excels for serious businesses requiring scalability, international support, and extensive integrations that reveal your store’s full potential.

Pricing Plans and Value Comparison

When choosing between Wix and Shopify, pricing often becomes the deciding factor that separates serious e-commerce businesses from casual sellers. Wix starts at R450 per month for basic e-commerce functionality, while Shopify’s entry point sits at R730 per month—a R280 monthly difference that adds up quickly for South African businesses.

Here’s where it gets interesting: Wix’s Business Elite plan costs R2,980 per month compared to Shopify’s Advanced plan at R5,600 per month. That’s nearly double for similar features.

However, Shopify reduces transaction fees on higher tiers, potentially offsetting the price difference for high-volume sellers. Both platforms charge 2.9% + R5.60 per transaction, but Shopify’s scaling benefits become apparent as your business grows. Shopify’s conversion rate advantage reaches up to 36% higher than competitors, making the platform investment more justified for serious sellers.

You’ll pay less upfront with Wix, but serious sellers often find Shopify’s investment worthwhile. The rand exchange rate fluctuations also mean these prices can vary month to month.

Consider your long-term growth plans when evaluating these costs.

Design Flexibility and User Interface

When you’re building your online store, the design approach you choose can make or break your success.

Wix gives you complete creative freedom with its drag-and-drop editor, allowing you to place elements exactly where you want them, whilst Shopify keeps you within structured sections that follow proven e-commerce patterns.

You’ll also notice a stark difference in template selection – Wix offers over 800 free designs compared to Shopify’s mere 12-23 free themes. However, this creative freedom comes with a trade-off, as the lack of structure can lead to inconsistent designs and poor user experience.

Drag-And-Drop Vs Structured

The fundamental design philosophies between Wix and Shopify couldn’t be more different—one embraces complete creative chaos while the other champions organised structure.

Wix offers an unstructured editor where you can place elements anywhere on your page canvas. You’re given pixel-level positioning freedom with zero constraints—drag text, images, and buttons wherever you wish.

It’s complete creative control without limits.

Shopify takes the opposite approach with its section-based block editor. You’ll work within predefined layout arrangements, modifying existing theme sections rather than placing elements freely. For advanced customisation, you can modify themes using HTML, CSS, and Shopify’s Liquid language.

Think of it as guided creativity—you’re customising within proven systems.

This difference matters more than you’d think for South African entrepreneurs building their online presence. Wix’s freeform environment requires design skill to avoid messy layouts, while Shopify’s structured approach keeps your store organised by default.

Template Selection Differences

Over 800 templates separate Wix from Shopify’s modest collection of 194 themes—but raw numbers don’t tell the complete story.

Wix offers every template free with any plan, whilst Shopify charges between R2,500-R9,000 for premium themes beyond their measly 11-13 free options. That’s less than 10% of their collection available without extra cost.

Here’s what really matters for your template decision:

1. Flexibility after launch – Shopify lets you switch themes anytime without losing content. Wix locks you into your initial choice permanently.
2. Customisation depth – Shopify provides full CSS, HTML, and Liquid code access. Wix restricts core template editing despite offering some customisation tools.
3. Purpose alignment – Wix templates serve diverse business needs beyond e-commerce, whilst Shopify’s themes focus exclusively on enhanced shopping experiences. Wix’s drag-and-drop editor ensures responsive design across all devices automatically.

E-commerce Features and Product Management

When you’re running an online store, your platform’s ability to handle products and process payments can make or break your business success.

Product inventory management becomes critical as you scale beyond a handful of items, especially when you’re tracking stock across multiple locations or selling internationally.

Multi-currency payment support isn’t just a nice-to-have feature anymore—it’s essential for capturing global customers who expect to pay in their local currency.

Product Inventory Management

While both platforms handle basic product tracking, their inventory management capabilities couldn’t be more different in scope and sophistication.

Shopify delivers extensive native inventory management with automated purchase orders, stock alerts, and year-end reporting.

You’ll get team permissions and detailed documentation without needing external integrations.

Plus, it supports multi-location transfers and point-of-sale functionality.

Wix takes a different approach, offering basic tracking but requiring API connections for advanced features.

However, it shines in product customisation, supporting 1000 variants compared to Shopify’s 100.

Here’s what matters most for your inventory

Multi-Currency Payment Support

If you’re selling internationally, multi-currency payment support becomes the difference between converting global customers and watching them abandon their carts at checkout.

Shopify clearly dominates here, processing payments in over 130 currencies while Wix can’t actually process multi-currency transactions—despite displaying prices in different currencies.

That’s like showing a menu in Afrikaans but only accepting payment in English.

Shopify charges a 1.5% currency conversion fee plus 1% for international cards, whilst Wix maintains its standard 2.9% plus 30 cents rate regardless of currency.

However, Wix’s consistency doesn’t matter if customers can’t complete purchases in their preferred currency.

You’ll need Shopify Payments and theme modifications for full functionality.

But the investment pays off when international customers can actually buy from you in their local currency, whether that’s Rand, Euro, or any other denomination.

App Ecosystems and Third-Party Integrations

The app ecosystem represents one of the most significant differences between these platforms, and honestly, it’s not even close. Shopify dominates with 15,900 applications versus Wix’s modest 500 – that’s a 30x difference. This gap affects everything from payment processing to inventory management for South African businesses.

Here’s what this means for your business:

1. Scale and specialisation – Shopify offers thousands of e-commerce-specific tools like abandoned cart recovery and upsell funnels, while Wix focuses on broader website functions. This is particularly valuable for South African retailers looking to compete globally.
2. Integration depth – Shopify connects with 100+ payment gateways including local options like PayFast and Ozow, plus hundreds of shipping carriers. Wix requires manual workarounds for many operations, which can be challenging when dealing with South African payment and logistics requirements.
3. Growth path – Shopify’s 39% year-over-year app growth shows continued expansion. Wix maintains its smaller, selected assortment. This means more opportunities for South African businesses to find specialised solutions as they scale.

Beyond functionality, both platforms require proper SEO optimisation to ensure your online store achieves visibility in search results and attracts quality traffic.

You’ll find more solutions on Shopify, but potentially more complexity too.

Scalability for Growing Businesses

Those app differences matter most when you’re ready to expand beyond your current size.

Shopify’s built specifically for scaling, whilst Wix operates as a website builder with e-commerce features added on afterwards.

You’ll hit Wix’s hard limits quickly: 100 pages maximum and 50,000 products with strict constraints.

Shopify offers unlimited products without arbitrary caps, though it limits 1,000 new variants daily after reaching 50,000 total variants.

Traffic handling reveals the biggest gap.

Wix struggles during spikes and peak periods, but Shopify’s infrastructure handles Black Friday-level volume smoothly.

For fulfilment, Shopify owns its network for eligible businesses, whilst Wix requires third-party providers like Pargo or FastWay.

This becomes crucial when serving customers across South Africa’s major metros and rural areas.

Shopify Plus removes all scaling restrictions for enterprise operations.

Wix becomes cumbersome for bulk uploads and advanced inventory management as you grow.

Managing VAT compliance and multiple payment gateways becomes significantly more challenging on Wix’s platform.

International Support and Multi-Language Capabilities

When expanding globally, you’ll discover that customer support becomes your business lifeline across different time zones and languages.

Shopify delivers 24/7 multilingual support through email, phone, and live chat, while Wix restricts non-English support to business hours only. This limitation can frustrate international customers needing immediate assistance.

When global customers need help at 3 AM, Shopify answers while Wix keeps business hours only.

Shopify’s international capabilities extend beyond support. You’ll access 100+ payment gateways compared to Wix’s limited options beyond PayPal and Stripe.

Shopify Markets streamlines international tax calculations and provides localised experiences, while Wix requires additional apps for effective global shipping payments. This becomes particularly important when dealing with South African VAT requirements and customs regulations.

Here’s what matters for international expansion:

1. Payment flexibility – Shopify supports global gateways including local South African options; Wix Payments has regional restrictions.
2. Shipping partnerships – Shopify connects with USPS, UPS, DHL and local courier services. Wix offers limited carrier integration.
3. Multi-language SEO – Shopify provides superior international optimisation capabilities for targeting both English and Afrikaans markets.

Multi-Channel Selling and Point-of-Sale Options

While building your online store represents just the beginning, expanding across multiple sales channels determines whether you’ll capture customers wherever they prefer to shop.

Shopify dominates multi-channel selling with integrations across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Amazon, eBay, Walmart Marketplace, and Target Plus. You’ll also get WhatsApp and SMS sales channels, plus proprietary tools like the Buy Button for embedding products on external sites.

This extensive reach proves particularly valuable for South African businesses targeting international markets.

Wix offers fewer options. You can connect Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and eBay, but you’re missing Pinterest, TikTok marketplace access, and major retailers like Walmart.

However, Wix does provide exclusive Etsy integration, which can benefit local artisans and craft businesses popular in the South African market.

The integration depth matters too. Shopify‘s centralised dashboard manages orders across all channels seamlessly, whilst Wix’s marketplace connections are less substantial.

For serious multi-channel growth targeting both local and international customers, Shopify’s 100+ payment providers versus Wix’s 70+ makes the difference clear.

Whether you choose Wix or Shopify, pairing your e-commerce platform with professional SEO optimisation ensures your products rank higher across all sales channels and organic search results.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Migrate My Existing Website From Wix to Shopify Easily?

Yes, you can migrate from Wix to Shopify using several methods: manual copy-paste, CSV export/import, third-party migration apps, or professional migration services that will transfer your products, orders, and SEO data.

Which Platform Offers Better SEO Tools and Search Engine Optimisation Features?

Shopify offers better SEO tools overall with faster page speeds, conversion tracking, and superior international features. However, you’ll find Wix provides more user-friendly SEO management with unified tools and step-by-step guidance.

What Are the Transaction Fees for Each Platform’s Payment Processing?

Both platforms charge 2.9% plus R5.14 per transaction for standard US processing. You’ll pay less with Shopify’s Advanced plan (2.5%) or Wix’s in-person payments (2.6%).

How Reliable Is Customer Support and What Response Times Can I Expect?

You’ll get faster, more reliable support from Shopify with under 30-second response times and ecommerce expertise. Wix takes 30-60 seconds but provides less specialised assistance for advanced selling issues.

Which Platform Provides Better Security Features and SSL Certificate Options?

Both platforms offer comparable security features including SSL certificates, PCI DSS compliance, and two-factor authentication. However, Shopify provides slightly superior e-commerce security with built-in fraud analysis tools and SOC audit reports.