Building an online store doesn’t have to be complicated. The right ecommerce platform can turn your vision into a profitable business with little technical hassle. Today’s best ecommerce website builders offer more than just a pretty website. They provide sales tools, seamless checkout experiences, and marketing features that help you grow your online store.
Here, find 10 solutions evaluated by pricing, features, and customer feedback to help you make an informed choice. Whether you’re starting your first business or expanding an established brand, this guide will connect you to the perfect platform for your needs.
Ready? Explore these 10 top ecommerce builders of 2025, and consider kicking off with a free trial.
10 best ecommerce website builders
| Ecommerce website builder | Monthly plans from | G2 ⭐ rating | Who it’s for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | $5 | ⭐ 4.4/5 | All-in-one ecommerce platform for growing brands that want to sell everywhere. |
| Shift4Shop | $0 | ⭐ 3.9/5 | Budget-friendly pick for sellers using Shift4Shop payments. |
| Squarespace | $16 | ⭐ 4.4/5 | Creatives and small shops wanting elegant, easy site design tools. |
| BigCommerce | $29 | ⭐ 4.2/5 | Larger stores that want advanced, global selling features. |
| Wix | $29 | ⭐ 4.2/5 | Beginners who want fast, code-free store setup. |
| Volusion | $35 | ⭐ 3.2/5 | Physical-product sellers who need simple ecommerce tools. |
| GoDaddy | $23.99 | ⭐ 4/5 | Quick setup for GoDaddy users expanding online. |
| Hostinger | $3.29 | ⭐ 4.4/5 | Small shops seeking an affordable, AI-powered site builder. |
| WooCommerce | $0 | ⭐ 4.4/5 | WordPress users who want full store control and flexibility. |
| Square Online | $0 | ⭐ 4.2/5 | Local retailers syncing online and in-person sales. |
1. Shopify
With affordable plans, beautiful designs, and powerful selling tools, Shopify is the easiest, most reliable way to bring your business online. Its website builder has helped millions of sellers create online stores without the need for coding skills or big budgets.
Each Shopify store comes with everything you need to get up and running: SSL certificates, domain hosting, professionally designed themes, plus essential ecommerce features like the world’s best-converting checkout, simple order management, and abandoned cart recovery.
Use Shopify’s AI tools to streamline your store design process, create landing pages and product listings, write product descriptions, and receive guidance on everything from shipping to analytics.
Who it’s for
Shopify is for anyone who wants to provide a best-in-class online shopping experience. Shopify offers site creation tools for businesses of all sizes, from solopreneurs to large enterprises—no matter if they’re selling online, in person, on social media, on marketplaces, or anywhere in between.
Features
- AI tools: Use Shopify Magic to streamline your store design process and create landing pages and product listings, then tap Sidekick as your always-on business consultant.
- Integrated payment processing: Shopify Payments is an integrated payment gateway that accepts all major payment methods. Plus, it’s compatible with more than 100 third-party payment providers.
- Ecommerce tools and extensive app store: Access the Shopify App Store for more than 16,000 integrations.
- Customizable checkout: Offer customers a variety of payment options, including express checkout, in-store pickup, discount codes, and Shop Pay—the internet’s highest-converting checkout option.
- Shopify POS: Integrate with physical retail through Shopify POS, blending online and offline sales channels.
- Shipping and fulfillment: Built-in order, inventory, and shipping tools generate labels, collect import taxes, provide tracking information, manage returns, and more.
- Abandoned cart recovery: Boost sales with automated tools for recovering abandoned shopping carts.
- Advanced analytics: Track sales, customer behavior, and other essential ecommerce metrics with analytics and reporting features.
- Advanced customization and API access: While coding isn’t required, you can tailor your storefront and back-end systems to meet your unique needs with extensive customization options and API support.
- Omnichannel and multichannel commerce capabilities: Ensure a consistent customer experience and manage inventory seamlessly across desktop, mobile, social media, marketplace, and in-person retail.
- 24/7 customer support: Enjoy round-the-clock support via email, live chat, and phone.
- G2 ⭐ rating: 4.4/5
Plans and pricing
Shopify offers a wide range of plans to support businesses of all sizes:
- Starter: $5 per month.
- Basic: $29 per month; card rates starting at 2.9% + 30¢ online.
- Grow: $79 per month; card rates starting at 2.7% + 30¢ online.
- Advanced: $299 per month; card rates starting at 2.5% + 30¢ online.
Start your Shopify free trial, no credit card required. Get three days free, then the first three months for $1 per month.
2. Shift4Shop
Shift4Shop focuses on providing essential ecommerce features with limited customization options. This makes it straightforward for those who prefer a structured approach to setting up their online store. It offers a range of ecommerce tools and mobile-responsive themes, making it a practical choice for store owners. However, it offers less customization flexibility compared to platforms like Shopify; its user interface can be unintuitive, and you must use Shift4Shop’s payment processing to use the free plan.
Who it’s for
Shift4Shop is designed for retailers looking to quickly establish an online presence for free or at an affordable price.
Features
- 100+ free templates to launch your website
- Built-in SEO tools to enhance your site’s visibility
- Abandoned cart notifications to recover potential sales
- Free plan if you use Shift4Shop’s payment processing solution
- No product limits
- No transaction fees
- Unlimited bandwidth
- Free website migration service
- G2 ⭐ rating: 3.9/5
Plans and pricing
$0 per month when using Shift4Shop’s payment processing solution. The paid plan costs $41 per month for new customers using PayPal or other payment processors.
3. Squarespace
On Squarespace, starting with a template, you can customize your site’s look by adjusting colors, text, and images to match your brand. Upgrading to a paid plan unlocks access to the platform’s ecommerce features.
Squarespace supports various payment methods, including Stripe, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Afterpay. The Commerce Advanced plan also supports selling subscriptions and gift cards. If you’re already using Squarespace for a non-ecommerce website, you can easily add ecommerce features with the Shopify Buy Button for $5 per month. This small piece of code lets you tap into Shopify’s extensive payment options and tracking tools.
Squarespace has fewer third-party extensions compared to Shopify and basic SEO tools that may not satisfy advanced users, and its interface limits control and flexibility.
Who it’s for
Squarespace is for those looking for contemporary templates and an intuitive drag-and-drop builder.
Features
- Drag-and-drop builder with a variety of templates and starter layouts
- Responsive designs that adjust to screen size and device
- Custom WYSIWYG editing for various content types
- Unlimited product listings
- Automated post-purchase email sequences
- Built-in ecommerce capabilities for online stores
- Strong security features, including SSL encryption
- Professional-looking results with minimal effort
- Mobile app for managing your site on the go
- Reliable customer support
- G2 ⭐ rating: 4.4/5
Plans and pricing
The lowest pricing tier is $16 per month (billed annually), 2.9% plus 30¢ credit card rates, 2% online store transaction fee, and 7% digital content/memberships fee. The highest pricing tier is $99 per month (billed annually), 2.5% plus 30¢ credit card rates, 0% transaction fees on all sales, and 0% digital content/memberships fee.
4. BigCommerce
BigCommerce is equipped for international sales, SEO optimization, and multichannel selling across social platforms and online marketplaces. While it might be the right website builder for some brands, it has a less intuitive setup compared to competitors like Shopify, limited website design customization (especially with content placement), automatic revenue-based plan upgrades when sales exceed thresholds, and only 12 free themes available.
Who it’s for
BigCommerce caters to large-scale businesses with its robust ecommerce tools and customizable platform, offering web hosting and extensive site customization.
Features
- Visual editor for drag-and-drop customization
- Themes that can be tailored using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
- Checkout customization through API and SDK
- Support for digital wallets like Amazon Pay and Apple Pay
- Multicurrency and multilingual support for global sales
- Premium features included at lower price points
- Over 65 payment providers serving more than 100 countries and over 250 local payment methods
- 24/7 phone and live chat support on all plans
- Real-time shipping quotes available on all plans
- G2 ⭐ rating: 4.2/5
Plans and pricing
Plans range in cost from $29 per month (billed annually) with card rates starting at 2.89% plus 29¢ to $299 per month (billed annually) with card rates at 2.35% plus 49¢. Mid-tier and enterprise plans are also available. All plans include a 15-day free trial.
5. Wix
Wix provides essential tools for managing your ecommerce business, including order tracking, online payment acceptance, and multichannel selling. However, the basic plan lacks advanced inventory management features like low-stock alerts and tax calculators. Stores with large inventories may want ecommerce software with more advanced inventory-tracking tools.
Users can build an ecommerce website using the drag-and-drop builder for free, but need to upgrade to a paid plan to start selling online.
Additionally, Wix’s inventory management features are quite limited compared to Shopify’s. Users are also unable to transfer content between templates.
Who it’s for
Wix offers a non-technical website builder to create online stores.
Features
- User-friendly interface for building online stores
- Wide range of templates to customize your site
- Integrations for selling on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and eBay
- Free SSL certificate to secure customer data and transactions
- SEO-optimized product pages to improve search visibility
- Ability to import product details via CSV files
- Easy to use, with flexible design options
- Wide range of professionally designed templates for various industries
- G2 ⭐ rating: 4.2/5
Plans and pricing
Plans range from $29 per month to $159 per month. Premium and Studio plans include a 14-day money-back guarantee.
6. Volusion
Volusion provides a set of tools that allow users to craft a homepage and product pages, supporting a variety of payment gateways for smooth transactions. Volusion is equipped with inventory and analytics tools to help monitor your store’s performance. It features a native “suggested products” function to enhance customer experience.
Volusion provides a limited feature set on the basic plan, has sales volume and product listing limits, and does not provide automated digital product delivery, requiring manual order confirmation before customers can download purchased digital files.
Who it’s for
Volusion is designed primarily for online businesses selling physical products, as it does not support the sale of digital products.
Features
- Drag-and-drop content blocks for easy customization of page layouts
- Responsive themes that adapt to mobile devices
- CSS editor for detailed customization of site elements
- Set recurring billing for subscription products
- All plans come with live chat and email support
- Supports a wide range of payment options
- Offers a mobile app
- G2 ⭐ rating: 3.2/5
Plans and pricing
Pricing ranges from $35 per month to $299 per month. The highest tier plan assigns pricing based on GMV. Volusion offers a 14-day free trial.
7. GoDaddy
GoDaddy is widely recognized for its web hosting services, but it also offers a capable website builder for online stores. GoDaddy simplifies online store creation with more than 100 mobile-friendly templates, plus built-in tools for SEO and email marketing campaigns.
However, all themes use similar homepage layouts, template customizations are limited, and GoDaddy offers mediocre ecommerce features compared to competitors.
Who it’s for
GoDaddy is built for those looking to integrate ecommerce into a broader digital presence.
Features
- Extensive template selection to quickly start your online store
- Integration with social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook
- Automated management of sales and inventory across all channels
- Multiple payment options, including Google Pay and Venmo
- Point-of-sale integration to connect online and physical sales
- Easy cancellation process
- Popular mobile app with full desktop functionality
- All-in-one business solution
- G2 ⭐ rating: 3.9/5
Plans and pricing
GoDaddy’s commerce plan costs $23.99 per month (billed annually). After the first year, it renews at $34.99 per month (billed annually). Transaction fees cost 2.7% plus 30¢. GoDaddy also offers a seven-day no-risk guarantee or a one-month free trial.
8. Hostinger
Hostinger offers a streamlined approach to building an online store with its drag-and-drop website builder. Hostinger integrates with tools like Google Analytics and Facebook ads, providing insights to enhance your marketing efforts. While it doesn’t offer a free plan, monthly fees are low and include a range of basic ecommerce tools. Keep in mind that there’s a product listing limit of 1,000 items.
Who it’s for
Hostinger is designed for users who want a lightweight yet functional ecommerce platform.
Features
- Drag-and-drop editor for easy customization
- CRM tools to manage emails, discounts, and coupon codes
- Comprehensive reporting and integration with marketing tools
- Extensive WordPress tools, like plugin and theme updates
- AI-powered tools
- G2 ⭐ rating: 4.4/5
Plans and pricing
Hostinger has one ecommerce website builder plan, which costs $3.29 per month for a 48-month term, billed upfront. After the first 48-month term, it renews at $13.99 per month.
9. WooCommerce
WooCommerce is a plug-in for WordPress users, transforming any WordPress site into a functional ecommerce store. WooCommerce integrates deeply with WordPress, offering extensive features for inventory management, secure payments, and shipping. Its functionality can be expanded with numerous plug-ins and themes available for purchase. Plug-ins and hosting can add up and increase costs, and customer support is limited.
Who it’s for
WooCommerce is for those already familiar with the WordPress environment.
Features
- Designed for WordPress, leveraging its extensive ecosystem
- Mobile-friendly design ensures a great shopping experience on all devices
- Full control over customer and business data with no third-party access
- Free and open source with extensive customization options
- Ideal for adding ecommerce to an existing WordPress site
- Basic functionality without additional plug-ins
- G2 ⭐ rating: 4.4/5
Plans and pricing
Free, with additional costs for WordPress hosting and plug-ins. WordPress’s commerce hosting plan is $45 per month (billed annually).
10. Square Online
Square Online offers a user-friendly platform that lets anyone start building an ecommerce website for free. However, like most website builders, to use your own domain, remove ads, or access more advanced tools, you’ll need to purchase a paid plan.
Square Online integrates with Square POS for streamlined in-store payment processing. Keep in mind that premium customer support is restricted to the highest tier, and customization options are limited on the free plan.
Who it’s for
Square Online is for small businesses looking for a free ecommerce website builder.
Features
- Bulk inventory management to import and edit product details
- Mobile-optimized websites for an accessible customer experience
- Coupon builder available with a paid plan
- Integration with Square point of sale for unified business management
- Free plan available with no monthly fees (transaction fees only)
- User-friendly interface with easy setup
- Multiple payment types supported
- Mobile-responsive design works across all devices
- G2 ⭐ rating: 4.2/5
Plans and pricing
Square Online offers a free plan plus 3.3% plus 30¢ per transaction. Paid plans range from $49 per month plus 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction to $149 per month plus 2.9% plus 30¢ per transaction.
How to choose an online store builder
Whether you’re launching your first startup or expanding your ecommerce empire, consider these factors when selecting the right ecommerce website builder for your business:
- Budget, business plans, and pricing
- Website-building skill level
- Customization
- Support
- Payment gateways
Budget, business plans, and pricing
How much are you willing to spend on your store each year? What are your plans for growth?
Some ecommerce website builders charge more as you add additional product listings and process increased orders. Think about what your business needs to launch today, but also consider how many products you’ll offer down the road.
Website-building skill level
How much technical skill do you have? Many website builders use drag-and-drop technology to help you create the best ecommerce site possible.
But you’ll still need basic skills to create product pages, add products to your store, and set up any apps or plug-ins. Consider how much experience you have working with software and back-end builders.
Customization
Do you want a simple website to showcase your products? Or do you need advanced features like size charts for product pages or a live chat window? Think about how you want your website to look and feel, and the extra features you need to make it happen.
Support
If you’re new to ecommerce, you’ll likely need some help. Does your desired site builder have live support and tutorials? Consider a platform that can help you solve problems quickly and easily so you can get your store live and start selling online like a pro.
Payment gateways
You need payment gateways to accept payments from customers securely and to make payments easy for shoppers. For example, Shop Pay’s express checkout feature can increase checkout speed by four times and help customers get what they want faster.
Shopify also offers integrations with more than 100 payment gateways, so you can offer the best options for your shoppers, no matter where they are in the world.
Find the best website builder for your ecommerce business
Now that you’re equipped with the right information, it’s time to explore your options. Each builder has its strengths and weaknesses, but understanding your specific needs will help you choose the right one for your ecommerce business idea.
Investing in a professional ecommerce website can elevate your brand and increase sales. With many platforms offering free trials, you have the opportunity to find the perfect fit for your business needs.
Illustration by Till Lauer
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Ecommerce website builder FAQ
What are the best free ecommerce website builders?
Some of the best free ecommerce website builders include Shopify, Wix, Squarespace, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Square Online, GoDaddy, and Volusion.
How much does it cost to build your own ecommerce website?
If you want to build a free online store, use an ecommerce site builder to get started. Many platforms, like Shopify, offer a free trial, giving you time to create the best online store for your business and pay once the trial ends.
Is it easy to create an online store?
Yes. With storefront builders like Shopify, you can access well-designed templates to launch your store in minutes. You can customize colors, text, images, layouts, and more to tailor your store to your brand.
What is the best ecommerce website builder for beginners?
Shopify is the best ecommerce website builder for beginners because it’s super easy to set up and use, with step-by-step guidance that doesn’t require any technical knowledge, easy-to-use tools, reliable customer service, and AI-powered features. It comes with everything needed to start selling right away, including built-in payment processing, plenty of support resources, and a helpful community.
