Shopify vs Etsy: My Verdict for 2025

Shopify and Etsy are two of the most popular ecommerce platforms on the market—but they’re designed for completely different sellers.

I’ve used both to run real stores and helped others make the switch between them.

If you're selling handmade products, digital downloads, or want to test an idea fast, Etsy’s marketplace is easy to tap into. On the other hand, if you're serious about building a brand with long-term SEO and customer ownership, Shopify gives you far more control.

In this review, I’ll break down Shopify and Etsy across key areas like pricing, features, SEO, and ease of use—so you can decide which one’s right for your store.

Shopify vs Etsy: Quick Verdict

Feature	Shopify	Etsy
Best For	Brand builders, SEO, scaling	Handmade sellers & low-overhead
Monthly Costs	Starts at $39	$0.20 per listing + transaction fees
SEO Customization	Advanced	Limited
Built-In Audience	No	Yes (96M+ active buyers)
Templates & Branding	Full control	Fixed structure
Customer Data Access	Yes	No

Shopify is best if you want full control, long-term growth, and scalability.

Etsy is best if you want quick access to buyers with low upfront cost and minimal setup.

Best for Pricing: Etsy Wins for Entry-Level Sellers

Pricing is one of the biggest differences between Shopify and Etsy—and it really depends on how you want to operate.

Etsy doesn’t charge a monthly fee to start selling. Instead, it uses a pay-as-you-go model, which includes:

• $0.20 per product listing
• 6.5% transaction fee on each sale
• 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee (varies by country)
• 12–15% fee on offsite ads (charged only when Etsy brings the sale)

On the surface, this looks affordable. But once you start generating real sales, those fees add up fast—especially if you have a higher order volume or sell digital products with lower margins.

Shopify offers set monthly plans, starting at:

• Basic: $39/month
• Grow: $105/month
• Advanced: $399/month

Plus, Shopify takes no transaction fees if you use Shopify Payments. If you don’t, expect an extra 2% per order.

Although Shopify costs more upfront, it becomes more cost-effective once you start scaling. You’re not charged per listing, and you can upload thousands of products without any additional cost.

Verdict: Etsy wins for new or part-time sellers, but Shopify’s pricing works out better for full-time businesses or anyone planning to scale.

Best for Selling Products: Shopify Offers More Power

If you’re just starting out, Etsy makes selling super simple. You can have your store live within an hour and get discovered by shoppers searching for keywords on Etsy’s marketplace.

This plug-and-play model is ideal for:

• Handmade products
• Vintage items
• Digital downloads (like printables or templates)

The downside is Etsy’s limited control over how your listings appear. There’s a fixed format, and buyers see your competition’s listings right next to yours—even on your own product pages.

Shopify, on the other hand, lets you build an entire store tailored to your brand. You can:

• Create collections and custom product pages
• Use upsells, bundling, and cross-sells
• Add custom scripts and advanced shipping rules

Shopify also integrates with Amazon, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, allowing you to expand into multichannel selling—all from one backend.

Feature	Shopify	Etsy
Product Limit	Unlimited	No cap, but fees add up
Multichannel Selling	Yes	Limited (via Etsy integrations)
Inventory Management	Advanced tools + apps	Basic tools only
Brand Presence	Full storefront branding	Etsy-branded layout

Verdict: Shopify is the better choice for serious sellers who need control, advanced tools, and room to grow. Etsy is ideal for side hustlers and makers focused on one product type.

Best for Marketing: Shopify Offers More Flexibility

If you rely on Etsy’s built-in traffic, marketing is hands-off—but also out of your control. Etsy drives a huge chunk of its visitors via Google Shopping, and your listings may show up in Etsy’s offsite ads whether you like it or not.

With Shopify, it’s up to you to generate traffic—but the upside is you own the process and the data. Shopify supports:

• SEO-optimized blogs and landing pages
• Email marketing with Shopify Email or Klaviyo
• Integrations with Google, Meta, TikTok, and Pinterest
• SMS campaigns and automation

Shopify also lets you run remarketing ads using customer data, something Etsy doesn’t give you access to.

Here’s a side-by-side breakdown:

Marketing Feature	Shopify	Etsy
Email Marketing	Built-in or via Klaviyo	None built-in
Retargeting Ads	Yes (via Meta, Google, etc.)	Offsite ads controlled by Etsy
SEO Content Pages	Yes	No
Blog Functionality	Yes	No
Analytics & Pixel Tracking	Full control	Limited access

Verdict: Shopify is better for long-term brand building and data-driven marketing. Etsy is great for passive traffic but gives you almost zero control over how you market or retain customers.

Best for SEO: Shopify Gives You the Edge

SEO is one of the biggest reasons to choose Shopify over Etsy.

Etsy does get a lot of organic traffic—but it’s Etsy.com ranking, not you. When someone finds your listing, it sits on a shared domain alongside competitors. You also can’t build backlinks to your store or optimize meta titles beyond what Etsy allows.

Shopify gives you full access to:

• Meta titles and descriptions
• Schema markup
• Product URL customization
• Internal linking
• Fast-loading themes
• SEO-focused apps like Yoast and Plug In SEO

You can build a blog to attract organic traffic, create landing pages for long-tail keywords, and track your performance in Google Search Console.

SEO Feature	Shopify	Etsy
Metadata Customization	Full control	Very limited
Blog & Content Pages	Yes	No
Google Search Console	Full integration	Etsy handles indexing
URL Customization	Yes	No
Structured Data Support	Yes (via themes/apps)	Minimal

Verdict: Shopify is the clear winner for SEO. If you want to grow your traffic over time and attract buyers from Google, there’s no competition.

Easiest to Use: Etsy Wins for Beginners

If you’re looking for a fast and easy start, Etsy is the better option. There’s no setup process beyond creating a listing, uploading photos, and writing a description. The platform is designed for speed and simplicity.

There’s no need to worry about hosting, apps, or templates. Etsy manages everything for you—including customer payments, dispute resolution, and traffic generation.

Shopify has a steeper learning curve. While its interface is user-friendly, setting up your theme, payment gateway, domain, and apps can take a few hours. If you’ve never built a website before, expect a short learning phase.

However, once set up, Shopify is intuitive and comes with:

• A comprehensive dashboard
• Inventory and order management tools
• Access to 8,000+ apps for custom functionality

Platform Setup Time	Shopify	Etsy
Account Setup	5–10 minutes	2–5 minutes
Product Listing Process	Multi-step	Single page form
Technical Skills Needed	Basic to moderate	Very low
Long-Term Usability	High (once set up)	Basic

Verdict: Etsy is easier for new sellers or side hustlers. Shopify is more flexible but requires a bit more time to learn.

Best for Branding: Shopify Lets You Stand Out

On Etsy, all stores look the same. You get a header image, a shop name, and your product listings displayed in Etsy’s layout. There’s no real customization.

With Shopify, you control:

• Your store’s domain name
• The homepage layout
• Fonts, colours, and branding
• Product presentation and media

You can choose from hundreds of themes and customise them deeply—even down to the code if you want.

If branding is important to you—especially if you want to grow a DTC store or be known beyond a marketplace—Shopify is the only real choice.

Verdict: Shopify wins for branding. You’re not limited by a platform’s look or feel, and you can build a professional identity from day one.

Best for Legal, Compliance & Tax Tools: Shopify

Running an online store comes with legal obligations—especially around taxes, privacy, and customer data. Shopify includes a wide range of tools to help you stay compliant.

With Shopify, you get:

• Automated tax calculations for US and global regions
• GDPR tools like cookie banners and data request support
• Privacy policy, refund policy, and terms template generators
• Apps for VAT handling, legal disclaimers, and invoicing

Etsy does handle some tax reporting, including automatic US sales tax collection, and provides year-end reports for your accountant. But it doesn’t support GDPR tools or give you much flexibility if you sell internationally.

As your business grows, having automated legal and compliance tools becomes more valuable—and Shopify delivers more support out of the box.

Verdict: Shopify provides stronger legal and compliance tools. Shopify helps you stay on the right side of tax laws and privacy rules, while Etsy offers more limited features for growing businesses.

Final Thoughts: Should You Use Shopify or Etsy?

The answer depends on your goals.

• Go with Etsy if you're a maker, artist, or just starting out and want quick exposure without the tech.
• Go with Shopify if you want to build a real business, grow your SEO, and control your brand and customer data.

Some sellers use both. They start with Etsy for traffic, and once they’ve built an audience, they switch to Shopify to grow their brand independently.

If you’re serious about long-term ecommerce growth, Shopify is the better investment.