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There are a lot of opportunities for e-commerce entrepreneurs as the number of online shoppers keeps climbing every year. Before launching an online business, you’ll need to choose an e-commerce platform where you’ll set up. There are many feature-rich platforms on the market, but we’ll focus on two popular options in this guide—Shopify and Amazon.
Shopify is a user-friendly platform where users can sell their goods online. Meanwhile, Amazon is an online marketplace with millions of consumers. While both options are reliable–and it’s completely feasible to use both–they each have pros and cons. Let’s look at Shopify vs Amazon, comparing their main features, pricing, pros and cons so that you can decide which best fits your needs.
Shopify vs. Amazon: At a Glance
Subscription-based e-commerce platform, Shopify allows businesses to build their brand and online storefront. Users can build websites through easy-to-use and mobile-friendly themes. There are also features related to marketing, store management, analytics and third-party integrations to boost the site’s functionality.
Amazon is an online marketplace with more than 197 million consumers. Unlike Shopify, you must compete alongside other online merchants in the same marketplace. The Amazon FBA [Fulfillment by Amazon] program lets merchants send goods to Amazon fulfillment centers where products are stored, packed and shipped.
Shopify is ideal for e-commerce entrepreneurs looking to develop their own brand through its website builder. On the other hand, Amazon is suitable for those who want to take advantage of the thriving Amazon marketplace.
Shopify
Starting price
INR 3,246.57 ($39) per month
Starting price
INR 3,246.57 ($39) per month
Why We Picked It
Shopify is an e-commerce platform with 1.75 million merchants across 175 countries. You can build a clean and gorgeous website with ready-made templates and various styling options even without coding or design expertise. It also has powerful e-commerce features such as abandoned checkout recovery, inventory management, logo maker and multiple payment getaways. Since it’s a website builder and not an online marketplace like Amazon, it’s best for those who are launching a new brand or selling unique products.
Pros & Cons
- Online store builder for direct sales
- Powerful e-commerce functionality
- Many drop shipping integrations
- Free 14-day trial
- Transaction fee of up to 2%
- Does not offer fulfillment like Amazon
- Requires marketing and promoting your store
Amazon
Why We Picked It
With around 112 million U.S. Amazon Prime subscribers, Amazon is the largest marketplace in the U.S. It’s free to make an individual Amazon seller account, create product listings—and start selling. Merchants can let the e-commerce giant handle inventory management and order fulfillment with the Amazon FBA. Since it’s an online marketplace, it’s best for those who are selling generic products, as opposed to those working on building a new brand.
Pros & Cons
- Access to Amazon Marketplace
- Fulfillment by Amazon service
- Low barrier to entry
- Ability to sponsor products (paid ads)
- More competition
- Difficult to stand out
- Must learn Amazon SEO
How Shopify vs. Amazon Stack Up
Both platforms offer different pricing options. For INR 2,414.12 ($29) per month, Basic Shopify lets you build and customize an online store, create product listings, manage product inventory and fulfill orders. More expensive options offer access to their advanced reporting features, calculated carrier shipping and international pricing adjustments.
Amazon offers an Individual plan and a Professional plan. The Individual plan requires merchants to pay INR 82.41 ($0.99) for every item sold. Meanwhile, the Professional plan costs INR 3,328.99 ($39.99) per month. While Shopify charges a transaction fee of up to 2% for users who don’t use Shopify Payments, Amazon collects a referral fee for each item sold based on the product category.
Sellers on Amazon have no control over their storefront design and have to rely on Amazon paid ads, but there’s a lot of competition within the platform. While Shopify users can design and customize their online store, they must build their brand from the ground up.
Creating a Storefront
Shopify has more than 100 professionally designed themes with customization options. There are themes from various industries, from sports and recreation to clothing and accessories. Beginners can instantly launch their store with the easy to use and navigate web builder.
Getting an individual Amazon Seller account is free with an Individual plan. Unlike Shopify, you can’t build a storefront, but you have direct control over product images and descriptions. Because Amazon showcases products alongside your competitors’, it’s more challenging to attract customers’ attention.
Marketing Options
The Amazon Marketplace offers access to more than 197 million people a month, which is more than Shopify’s 56.5 million unique visitors per month. Amazon is a lot more competitive than Shopify despite the high traffic. It’s harder to stand out because the design and layout for every merchant are the same. However, Amazon ads let you advertise product offers and increase your visibility on product pages and search results.
Unlike Amazon, which has one platform, Shopify lets users build their online store. However, you have to attract customers to your site and market your business yourself.
On the bright side, Shopify has a lot of marketing and SEO capabilities. You can integrate it into social media platforms and start selling on Facebook. There are also options to boost sales with discounts and gift cards. Even if marketing is complicated, Shopify won’t display your products alongside your competitors, so it’s not as competitive.
Order Fulfillment
Entrepreneurs can use Amazon FBA without dealing with managing inventory and product fulfillment. However, individual selling accounts have a storage limit of 10 cubic feet, while professional selling accounts do not have storage limits. There are also fees based on the product weight, size, type and channels where the product is sold.
Shopify also has a fulfillment network, but it’s not as advanced or streamlined as Amazon FBA. There’s also an option to use Amazon FBA, even if you’re not an Amazon Seller.
Bottom Line
Both platforms allow e-commerce entrepreneurs to get their websites up and running—but there are significant differences between the two platforms. Shopify is a good fit for entrepreneurs selling exclusive products or building their brands as it lets you build your online store and website. On the other hand, Amazon has a lower barrier to entry. Just create an account and you can start selling anything from brand-new to used products. The best choice will ultimately depend on your long-term goal of starting an online business.
