Shopify vs Weebly
Shopify scores 9.0/10, Weebly 7.3/10. Where each one wins, what they cost and who should pick which, side by side.
The short answer
Shopify scores 9.0/10 and Weebly scores 7.3/10 on our rubric. Shopify is the stronger all-round pick.
Shopify leads on design, flexibility, and support. Weebly leads on ease of use and value.
Shopify starts at $29/mo with no free plan; Weebly starts at $13/mo and has a free plan. Weebly is the cheaper way in.
| Shopify | Weebly | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 9.0 | 7.3 |
| From | $29 | $13 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Sells online | Yes | Yes |
| Code export | Yes | No |
| Ease of use | 8.4 | 8.8 |
| Design | 8.2 | 6.8 |
| Flexibility | 9.2 | 5.8 |
| Value | 8.0 | 8.4 |
| Support | 9.4 | 6.6 |
What Shopify does well
- Deepest commerce feature set anywhere
- App ecosystem handles every edge case
- Scales from first sale to enterprise
What Weebly does well
- Genuinely simple drag and drop
- Square payments and point of sale built in
- The free tier is actually usable
Who each one is for
Shopify. Anyone whose primary activity is selling physical or digital goods and who wants the commerce infrastructure to be someone else's problem. It is the right answer from the first sale up to very large volumes, and the point at which you outgrow it is far enough away that most merchants never reach it.
Weebly. A simple business site, particularly one already using Square for payments or in-person sales. The integration is the strongest reason to choose it now.
Pricing side by side
Shopify
| Basic | $29/mo yearly · $39 monthly | 2% fee on third-party gateways, 10 inventory locations |
|---|---|---|
| Grow | $79/mo yearly · $105 monthly | 1% third-party fee, 5 staff accounts |
| Advanced | $299/mo yearly · $399 monthly | 0.6% third-party fee, 15 staff accounts, third-party shipping rates |
| Plus | from $2,300/mo | 0.2% third-party fee, full checkout customization, unlimited staff |
Weebly
| Free | $0 | Weebly subdomain, Square ads, shopping cart included |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | $13/mo yearly · $16 monthly | connect a custom domain, Square ads remain |
| Professional | $15/mo yearly · $20 monthly | removes Square ads, free domain, password protection, phone support |
| Performance | $32/mo yearly · $36 monthly | PayPal, item reviews, abandoned-cart emails, priority support |
What a year costs
Shopify
The prices on the plan cards are yearly prices. Pay month to month and Basic is $39 rather than $29, Grow is $105 rather than $79 and Advanced is $399 rather than $299, so the monthly option costs about a third more. If you are confident enough to launch, the annual plan is the obvious saving.
Subscription, billed yearlyShopify's third-party transaction fee
Weebly
The Free plan and Personal both show Square ads on your site; Personal only adds the ability to connect your own domain. Professional, at $15 a month billed yearly, is where Weebly becomes presentable: no ads, a free domain, unlimited storage, advanced statistics, password protection and phone support, for just $2 a month more than Personal. For almost everyone, skipping straight to Professional is the right call.
Plan price
Who should skip each one
Shopify
A content site with a small shop attached. If you have ten products and two hundred articles, you are paying commerce pricing for a blog. It is also the wrong pick if you need an unconventional checkout, since the checkout is the part Shopify guards most closely.
Weebly
Anyone who cares how current the site looks, or who needs a growing feature set. Wix and Squarespace are both clearly ahead on design and momentum.
The bottom line
Shopify
For most people starting a store, Shopify is the safe choice and the right one. Buy the annual plan, start on Basic, and move to Grow once you are selling more than about $5,000 a month and cannot use Shopify Payments, or once you need staff accounts.
Weebly
Weebly makes sense for a small business already using Square that wants an online shop connected to its tills, on the Professional plan.
Questions people ask
Is Shopify better than Weebly?
Shopify scores 9.0/10 and Weebly scores 7.3/10 on our rubric. Shopify is the stronger all-round pick. Shopify leads on design, flexibility, and support. Weebly leads on ease of use and value.
Which is cheaper, Shopify or Weebly?
Shopify starts at $29/mo with no free plan; Weebly starts at $13/mo and has a free plan. Weebly is the cheaper way in.
Which is easier to use, Shopify or Weebly?
Weebly scores 8.8/10 for ease of use against Shopify at 8.4/10.
Do Shopify and Weebly have a free plan?
Shopify has no free plan; Weebly has a free plan.
Can you sell online with Shopify and Weebly?
Both Shopify and Weebly can take payments and run a store.
Can you move your site off Shopify or Weebly?
Shopify lets you export your code; Weebly does not export a working site.
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