Ecwid vs Shopgate (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ecwid grades higher than Shopgate: 2.2 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ecwid grades higher on value for money, features and ease of use. Shopgate grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Shopgate
Branded shopping app and store-pickup tools for existing online shops
Which one is for you
Pick Ecwid if
- Fits if you already have a website and want a shop inside it
- Works for selling the same products on several sites and social pages
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to try it free first, as there's no free plan or trial
- Tight if you start on Starter: 10 products, a company.site address, and no mobile app or App Market
- Tight if you have more than 100 products, since that takes Business at $49 a month on yearly billing
- Pricey if you need in-person sales synced, which only comes with Unlimited at $119 a month
- Watch out: marketplace selling needs Business plus third-party apps that may charge extra
Pick Shopgate if
- Fits if you have a Shopify store and want your own shopping app
- Works for retailers who want click and reserve in the app
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you need a store platform, as it works on top of one
- Pricey if you are small, as the cheapest plan is €299 a month excluding VAT
- Tight if you are not on Shopify, as Starter is Shopify only
- Watch out: the price rises with the number of monthly app sessions
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAEcwidFair | 1.8GPAShopgateWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $5 a month, but that's 10 products on a company.site address. A shop on its own domain starts with Venture at $29 a month on yearly billing ($35 monthly), the category's middle. Ecwid charges no fee on sales on any plan. | D€299 a month excluding VAT is far above the $20 to $59 most shop software starts at, though this is an app layer rather than a store. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no free plan, and the pricing page mentions no trial. The lowest way in is Starter at $5 a month, which is not free. | DA free trial is offered; the page does not state its length. |
| Features | BThe whole job is here: a store you can embed anywhere or build from 70+ templates, tax at checkout, carrier rates, labels, stock per variation, abandoned-cart emails and subscriptions. Marketplace selling goes through third-party apps, but the core is complete. | CA branded app, push messages, click and reserve, ship-from-store and returns. It does one job on top of a shop you already have. |
| Ease of use | B4.62 from 1,255 App Store ratings. Adding the store to a site you already run means there's no new website to build. | CNo store rating on record. You connect it to your shop and set up the app. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with WordPress, Stripe, Square, Clover, Mailchimp, Amazon, eBay and Instagram, plus an App Market from Venture. No desktop app, so it stops at B. | BWeb, iOS and Android, with four listed integrations and developer tools. |
| Best for | adding a shop to the website you already have | a branded shopping app on top of a shop |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Ecwid and Shopgate. How we grade
Price against what you get
Ecwid starts at $5 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Shopgate starts at about $334.04 a month and scores 2.3.
Ecwid scores higher and starts $329.04 a month lower. Of the other online store builders on the chart, none scores higher than Ecwid for less, and 10 score higher than Shopgate for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Ecwid also covers online store, digital downloads and shipping labels.
- Shopgate also covers marketing automation and app builder.
At a glance
| Ecwid | Shopgate | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $5 per month (Starter) | €299 per month, billed monthly, excl. VAT |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial offered; the page does not state its length |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Ecwid by Lightspeed | Shopgate GmbH |
| Price read from | ecwid.com | shopgate.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Ecwid
- There is no free plan, and Starter allows only 10 products, with no mobile app, App Market or live chat support.
- Ecwid charges no transaction fees on any plan, but the payment provider you connect charges its own processing fees.
- Marketplace selling needs Business and third-party apps that may charge extra; in-person POS syncing needs Unlimited.
- The pricing page mentions no free trial, and staff accounts start on Business with 2 seats.
Shopgate
- It is an app layer on top of an existing shop, not a store platform on its own.
- Prices are in euros, exclude VAT and rise with the number of monthly app sessions.
- The Starter plan is exclusive to Shopify; other platforms need Growth or above.
Key features
Ecwid
- Add a store to any website
- Embed the store on an existing site built with WordPress, Wix, Squarespace or another platform, or on several sites at once, and manage it all from one account.
- Instant Site builder
- Build a store site without code from more than 70 templates on a free company.site address, or connect your own domain; Venture and higher can buy one inside Ecwid.
- Social, marketplace and in-person selling
- Sell on Instagram and Facebook from Venture, on Amazon, eBay and Walmart through third-party apps from Business, and in store through Square, Clover or Lightspeed on Unlimited.
- Tax, shipping and stock
- Calculate sales tax at checkout, show carrier rates, generate shipping labels and track stock with low-stock alerts, including stock per product variation.
- Marketing automation
- Automated emails, abandoned-cart reminders, coupons, scheduled promotions, a Mailchimp sync and catalog ads on Meta and TikTok.
- Subscriptions and digital goods
- Sell downloads of up to 25 GB per file from Venture, and bill recurring subscriptions from Business through Lightspeed Payments or Stripe.
Shopgate
- Branded shopping app
- Your own app for iOS and Android with a theme, pages and extensions designed in the Shopgate admin.
- Push and segments
- Marketing tools include push messages, customer segments and automations aimed at app users.
- Click and reserve
- Shoppers check store availability, reserve an item online and pick it up in the store.
- Ship-from-store and returns
- Orders can ship from a store's stock, and customers can return online purchases in a store.
- Developer tools
- An SDK, APIs and documentation let developers extend the app.
Plans
Ecwid
Starter$5
per month
Up to 10 products, 70+ site templates on a company.site address, a store you can add to any site, and email support.
Venture$29
per month, billed annually ($35 billed monthly)
Up to 100 products and digital goods, Instagram and Facebook selling, the mobile app, App Market, automated tax, coupons and live chat support.
Business$49
per month, billed annually ($65 billed monthly)
Up to 2,500 products, marketplaces, subscriptions, abandoned-cart recovery, wholesale pricing groups, 2 staff accounts and phone support.
Unlimited$119
per month, billed annually ($149 billed monthly)
Unlimited products and staff accounts, in-person selling through a POS integration, 500 scheduled promotions and priority support.
Shopgate
Starter€299
per month for up to 5,000 app sessions, billed monthly, excl. VAT
Only for Shopify stores. Includes 5,000 app sessions a month; the price rises as sessions are added.
Growth€799
per month for up to 30,000 app sessions, billed monthly, excl. VAT
For Shopify Plus, Shopware and Adobe Commerce stores. Includes 30,000 app sessions a month.
Enterprise€1,499
per month and up, billed monthly, excl. VAT
For large retailers with 100,000+ sessions; the number of app sessions is set individually.
Ways to pay less
Ecwid
- Annual discount
Pay annually to save 16%
Venture costs $29 a month billed annually against $35 monthly, Business $49 against $65, and Unlimited $119 against $149. Starter is $5 either way.
Shopgate
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Ecwid or Shopgate?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ecwid is cheaper to start with: $5 a month, against about $334.04 a month for Shopgate. Ecwid starts at $5 per month (Starter), and Shopgate starts at €299 per month, billed monthly, excl. VAT.
Which has a free plan, Ecwid or Shopgate?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Ecwid nor Shopgate has a free plan. Shopgate has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.