Shopify vs Etsy vs Squarespace: Which is Best in 2025?

Is it just me – or is choosing the right ecommerce platform becoming more complicated?

There used to be just a handful of options to pick from – now we have dozens – and they’re all growing more impressive all the time – particularly with the rise of AI.

Still, even with all of the new solutions out there, three major platforms often get the most attention: Shopify, Etsy, and Squarespace.

Shopify has long been my favorite platform for ecommerce companies – combining versatility with ease-of-use and high scalability.

Squarespace, on the other hand, is my go-to for creating truly gorgeous websites, while Etsy is still a prime choice for simple, marketplace selling.

So, which platform should you pick? That’s what I’m here to help you figure out.

Quick Comparison: Pros and Cons

If you’re impatient (and pressed for time), here’s a birds-eye view of my personal takes on Shopify, Etsy, and Squarespace in a nutshell:

• Shopify: Best for serious, scaling ecommerce businesses, prioritizing omnichannel selling, ease of use, and cutting-edge capabilities.
• Etsy: Good if you’re a hobbyist or part-timer selling unique handmade/vintage goods, but not ideal if you want to grow big.
• Squarespace: Perfect if you’re an artist, a service-based seller, or a design fan who wants to create gorgeous websites without code.

Pricing Comparison: Which Offers the Best Value for Money?

Ready for a more detailed review? Let’s dive straight into pricing.

Overall, Shopify is the most expensive platform of the three.

Sure, you can get started with Shopify Starter for around $5 per month – but you don’t get a full store. The core Shopify plans range from $29 to $299 per month (if you pay annually), then there’s Shopify Plus, which starts at $2,300 per month for enterprise brands.

Shopify also charges transaction fees – unless you’re using Shopify Payments – plus there are costs for premium themes and apps.

Overall, yes, Shopify can look expensive up front. But for that price, you get a lot – robust features, integrated marketing, advanced apps, and the ability to scale without needing to uproot your entire site later.

Etsy is – arguably- the cheapest option.

You can open a store for free, and simply pay a $0.20 listing fee for each item you want to sell.

Then, however, there are also transaction fees (6.5%), and payment processing fees to account for.

Plus, the optional extras (Etsy Plus, and Etsy Pattern) can add to your expenses, if you want more customization options and Ad credits.

Squarespace falls in the middle.

The Personal plan starts at $25 per month – but doesn’t support ecommerce. The Business plan costs $36 per month – but comes with a 3% transaction fee.

Then the Commerce plans cost $40 (Basic) or $72 (Advanced) per month for extra bells and whistles.

Overall, Shopify wins with the “best value for money” in my opinion – combining the best range of features with the best costs.

Website Design Tools: Customizing Your Site

Now, let’s look at web design.

I’m going to start with Etsy here because – let’s face it – there’s not much to say. Etsy wasn’t designed to be a “site builder”; it’s a marketplace.

That means you get a standard layout that’s consistent across the platform.

Your options for branding basically come down to a logo, banner, and color changes. If you really want a “unique” storefront, you can pay for Etsy Pattern at $15/month.

But I found its customization somewhat underwhelming, especially compared to a robust site builder.

Shopify is a far more flexible solution, with a handful of free themes, and a huge range of premium templates to choose from.

All of the themes are modern, mobile-responsive, and specifically tailored for ecommerce.

You can customize them quite a bit – colors, fonts, layouts, sections.

Certain features (like checkouts) do sometimes require a bit of coding knowledge to fully customize.

But overall, you get the opportunity to create a store that’s truly yours with Shopify.

While I, personally, love Shopify’s design tools – Squarespace is still the design king.

With Squarespace’s Design Intelligence, and beautiful curated themes – anyone can create a website that looks like it was built by a design team.

Customization is a breeze too.

You can get Squarespace Blueprint to create your site (and content) automatically. Or you can use the template editor and fluid engine to tweak your store as much as you like.

Ultimately, Squarespace has to win from a design perspective – but of course, there’s a good chance that you want more than just a site that looks good – which takes us to our next section.

Ecommerce: Sales Features and Solutions

If Squarespace takes the crown for design, then Shopify steals it easily for ecommerce.

It’s the go-to platform for flexible selling.

You can sync Shopify with Amazon, Walmart Marketplace, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or even Etsy to boost your sales.

Plus, with Shopify’s integrated POS system, you can sell offline too.

Shopify also makes it easy to create voucher codes, discount coupons, sales banners, and more.

Plus, you can integrate with over 100 payment processors, accept virtually any form of payment, and manage your inventory seamlessly in your backend interface.

Add to that the huge range of apps that you can use for different types of business models (dropshipping, print on demand, subscription services, etc), and it’s easy to see why Shopify is the ecommerce champion.

Squarespace, on the other hand, has been quietly ramping up its ecommerce muscle, especially for small to medium-sized product catalogs, digital items, and subscription/membership selling.

You can even take appointments or sell services. You also get tools for inventory management, digital file downloads, and service bookings.

Still, Squarespace doesn’t offer the same depth of features as Shopify – particularly for those selling physical goods.

Lastly, Etsy is a pretty niche ecommerce solution.

The marketplace is hyper-focused on handmade, craft goods, and vintage items.

It is possible to sell digital products (printables, planners, etc.) on Etsy.

But the platform lacks advanced inventory management or robust shipping options for large-scale operations.

Sure, you can handle basic order processing and shipping labels, but there’s no POS tool built in, nor can you deeply brand your packaging experience.

Etsy’s real superpower is that it’s a marketplace- there’s an existing crowd of people hunting for special, artisan products already – so you can spend a little less time on marketing.

Marketing Tools: Earning Traffic

Once you’ve built your online store (or storefront in Etsy’s case), you need to draw attention to it. Shopify, Etsy, and Squarespace all offer different levels of “support” in this area.

Shopify is pretty robust from a marketing perspective.

It’s great for search engine optimization – with a customizable blog section, and the ability to tweak page settings like meta descriptions and titles.

You can also take advantage of in-built email marketing and live chat tools with Shopify, or integrate the platform with the solutions you prefer.

One extra bonus of Shopify is that it’s AI tools (like Shopify Magic) can also help you create more compelling, SEO-ready product descriptions, and attractive product pictures – boosting your ROI.

Squarespace offers pretty balanced marketing features too.

You can create email newsletters that align with your website design (and use AI to generate the text).

Like Shopify, Squarespace also gives you a blog, and the ability to customize page SEO elements. Plus, you can integrate the platform with various email marketing and social media apps.

Squarespace also introduced AI content generation for blog posts, product descriptions, and marketing copy.

Plus, with the Unfold app, you can design social media graphics that match your brand’s vibe.

It’s not as all-encompassing as Shopify, but it’s definitely a robust, visually rich marketing environment.

Etsy, unfortunately, offers minimal marketing solutions.

Instead, the company is counting on sellers to take advantage of the marketplace’s massive built-in audience. The trouble is you face stiff competition for attention on this platform.

I’d recommend investing quite a lot of time into external marketing efforts (like social media promotions) if you really want to grow.

Ease of Use and Customer Service

Before we wrap up, I want to cover two more, crucial things: ease of use and customer service.

Let’s start with Shopify.

When you see all the features this platform has, it’s easy to assume you’re in for a tough learning curve. However, Shopify is incredibly easy to use – even for beginners.

There’s even the Sidekick AI that helps guide you through getting everything set up.

If you do have any issues, the help center is packed with tutorials – so you rarely need to reach out to a human being.

But if you do, you’ve got 24/7 chat, email, and phone support in many regions.

Etsy is another platform that’s ludicrously easy to use. All you need to do is create an account, name your shop, list your items, set up billing, choose how you’ll get paid, and you’re done.

It’s the definition of user-friendly. But if you ever do need customer support – good luck.

Etsy’s self-help resources are decent, but direct contact is mostly limited to a web form or snail-paced email replies.

Finally, Squarespace is about on-par with Shopify for ease of use.

The interface is incredibly straightforward – so anyone can create and run a website.

Plus, With the arrival of AI design tools like Squarespace Blueprint, you can spin up a tailored layout super-fast. Editing is a drag-and-drop dream, though occasionally you’ll find a particular design tweak locked behind a block or style setting.

Customer support is decent: you can chat live with agents on weekdays (depending on your plan) or dig through tutorials and articles – but I think Shopify’s customer support is better.

Final Verdict: Which is Best?

Let’s face it, Shopify, Etsy, and Squarespace are all viable options for online sellers – it just depends on what you’re looking for.

I’d say go with Shopify overall if you’re looking for the perfect blend of value for money, scalability, and flexibility.

If you’re more design-oriented, or selling services, Squarespace is a good pick – just don’t expect to have as many specialized features to explore when you’re ready to scale your company.

If you’re a hobbyist with a limited budget, Etsy might be a good starting point – but I’d honestly recommend upgrading to another platform (maybe even Squarespace or Shopify) as soon as possible.

The quicker you stop fighting for visibility on a crowded marketplace – the better.

Overall, ask yourself what you want for the future of your store, and start there – remember, you can always consider a site migration later if you first pick doesn’t quite meet your expectations.