Ecwid vs Square Online
We give Ecwid a 2.2 GPA and Square Online a 2.6, out of 4.0. Ecwid grades higher on ease of use. Square Online grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Square Online
Online store builder that shares stock and payments with Square POS
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAEcwidFair | 2.6GPASquare OnlineGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CA store on your own domain means Square Plus at $49 a month per location, with no yearly rate on record. That's the dear end of this category, though Plus covers Square's point of sale and invoices too. Square's own cut is its card rate: 2.9% + 30¢ online on Plus. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no free plan, and the pricing page mentions no trial. The cheapest way in is Starter at $5 a month, which is cheap but not free. | BSquare Free is a real store with no monthly fee: SEO tools, pickup, local delivery and shipping labels. The catches are a Square web address and online cards at 3.3% + 30¢ rather than 2.9% + 30¢. There's a 30-day trial of Plus or Premium too. |
| 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. | BIt covers the whole job: a builder with SEO tools, one stock count with your shop, pickup, local delivery, bulk labels with discounted US rates, and Afterpay. Abandoned-cart emails need Plus and live carrier rates need Premium at $149, but the core is all there. |
| Ease of use | B4.62 from 1,255 App Store ratings. Adding the store to a site you already run is the easy route, with no new website to build. | CNo App Store rating on record for the store itself. If your items are already in Square they carry over, but you're still building a site from layouts, so it lands on a C. |
| 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, iPhone and Android, with Facebook, Instagram, Google and Afterpay, and a Wix store can sync to the Square catalog. It's a short list, and there's no desktop app. |
| Best for | adding a shop to the website you already have | shops already taking payments with Square |
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 Square Online. 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. Square Online starts at $49 a month and scores 2.7.
Ecwid scores higher and starts $44 a month lower. Of the other online store builders on the chart, none scores higher than Ecwid for less, and 4 score higher than Square Online 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 starts at $5 per month (Starter). Square Online starts at $49 per location / month (Square Plus).
- Square Online has a free plan. Ecwid does not.
- Ecwid also covers digital downloads.
At a glance
| Ecwid | Square Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free plan |
| Starts at | $5 per month (Starter) | $49 per location / month (Square Plus) |
| Free plan | None | Square Free: a store on a Square web address with SEO tools, pickup, local delivery and shipping labels, and no monthly fee. Online card payments cost 3.3% + 30¢, and a custom domain needs Plus. |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of Square Plus or Square Premium |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Ecwid by Lightspeed | Block, Inc. |
| Price read from | ecwid.com | squareup.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Ecwid
- Owners of an existing website who want to add a store without rebuilding
- Small shops with a short catalog that want a low monthly price
- Sellers who show the same catalog on several sites and social channels
Square Online
- Shops and restaurants that already take payments with Square in person
- Small sellers who want to start a store with no monthly fee
- Businesses offering pickup or local delivery alongside shipping
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.
Square Online
- Square Free cannot connect a custom domain; that takes Square Plus at $49 a month per location.
- Online card payments cost 3.3% + 30¢ on Square Free against 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium.
- Plus and Premium are Square-wide plans billed per location, which also cover point of sale, invoices, staff and booking tools.
- Real-time carrier shipping rates at checkout need Square Premium at $149 a month per location.
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.
Square Online
- Website builder with SEO tools
- Build a single ordering page or a multi-page store with layouts, a blog and SEO tools, and run several Square Online sites from one account.
- Shared catalog with Square POS
- Items, stock and discounts are shared with Square Point of Sale, so stock is tracked across shop locations and online. A Wix store can also sync to the Square catalog.
- Pickup, delivery and shipping
- Offer in-store or curbside pickup, local delivery by staff or couriers, and shipping, with bulk label printing and discounted US shipping rates on every plan.
- Payments built in
- Square processes cards, digital wallets and Afterpay installments. Afterpay costs the seller 6% + 30¢ per sale, and cards issued outside the US add 1.5%.
- Marketing and social selling
- Coupons, pop-ups and lead forms on every plan, Facebook and Instagram connections with Facebook ads, and abandoned-cart emails from Square Plus.
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.
Square Online
Square Free$0
Website builder with SEO tools, pickup, delivery and shipping labels; online card payments cost 3.3% + 30¢ and in-person ones 2.6% + 15¢.
Square Plus$49
per location / month
Custom domain, expanded design and custom code, abandoned-cart emails, reviews, preorders and subscriptions, with online card payments at 2.9% + 30¢.
Square Premium$149
per location / month
Adds real-time shipping rates, advanced reporting and 24/7 phone support, with online cards at 2.9% + 30¢ and in-person at 2.4% + 15¢.
Square ProCustom
For businesses processing over $250,000 a year: custom pricing and processing fees, arranged with Square's sales team.
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.
Square Online
No public discounts listed.
