Shopify vs Amazon Review: Comparing Plans, Pros, and Cons

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Which service should you use to start an online store? In this Shopify vs Amazon review, I will compare which one has the most benefits for building an online store? One thing that makes Shopify and Amazon different is Amazon is an online marketplace while Shopify is a tailored eCommerce platform.

What Is The Difference Between Shopify And Amazon?

  • With Shopify, you can design your very own online store with easy to use customizable templates. This will help build your brand identity and help you grow your business.

  • With Amazon, you are selling alongside other sellers in Amazon’s marketplace which means you competing with other sellers’ products right next to yours. This means your brand will be hidden underneath the Amazon site branding. This is a big deal if you are trying to build brand awareness for your online store.

The real question is how do you want your online business to be represented to your customer? There are big differences when it comes to Amazon and Shopify when you are trying to make your best first impression with a new customer!

Amazon selling experience for the online store owner:

A booth at a fair, flea market, or a swap meet type of venue!? You can easily get overlooked by your customers because all they see is Amazon branding. Let me be clear, there is nothing wrong with those venues and I use them to get great deals. However, I wouldn’t want to start my business that way and no one would be looking for your brand that way either. If branding is not important to your business goals, and you prefer to do an individual seller setup then Amazon would be a great solution for you.

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Shopify selling experience for the online store owner:

A digital storefront is similar to a physical storefront but much more affordable. It is your own space and customers will easily recognize your brand and come looking for you! Of course, it will require you to market your brand but having your own site will make it easier to build brand awareness. Unless you already have successfully established your brand, for example, Tesla Motors, Penguin Books, Sephora, Budweiser, Red Bull, LA Lakers Team Store, etc.

By the way, all the brands listed above all have a Shopify eCommerce store as well as an Amazon store. Many businesses leverage both services because there is a great rate of success using both. If you want to learn more about using both services check out the Shopify Review post!

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You only have one chance to make a good impression with a new customer and branding is how you do it. Shopify makes building your online store and branding quick and easy with simple to follow instructions (written and video) and award-winning 24/7 customer service (Can’t say the same for Amazon!).

They really want you to be successful, so Shopify gives you access to powerful marketing tools, eCommerce industry tools, and reporting systems. Shopify is great for everything from small businesses wanting to grow their online presence with the option to scale up to much larger brands.

Another benefit of using Shopify is there are no transaction fees when you use Shopify Pay. With Amazon, there are transaction fees and the cost can vary! This makes it harder to control your overhead cost which is very important to any business. Neither one is expensive, here is a cost breakdown for you.

Amazon retailer account plans:

The Individual Selling plan
No monthly fee – instead you pay $0.99 per item sold plus extra selling fees, which vary depending on your product category.

The Professional Selling plan
Costs $39.99 per month
, plus extra selling fees, which vary depending on your product category.

Amazon Retailer Account Plans

Seller Account Type: Individual Professional
Monthly Subscription N/A $39.99
Per Sale Closing Fee
(In addition to separately
stated selling fees)
$0.99 N/A
Use of feeds, spreadsheets, and
other tools to load inventory
Yes No
Access to order reports
and order-related feeds
No Yes
Earn top placement on
the product detail page
No Yes
Sell in 20+ open categories Yes Yes
Apply to sell in 10+
additional categories
No Yes
Customize shipping rates No Yes

Note: If you are doing FBA there are extra costs but this is difficult to plan for since it can vary depending on your products and business.

Shopify retailer account plans:

The Basic Shopify plan costs $29 per month
All the basics for starting a new business

The Shopify plan costs $79 per month

Everything you need for a growing business

The Advanced Shopify plan costs $299 per month

Advanced features for scaling your business

Shopify Plus
Enterprise-grade solutions for high volume merchants, and large businesses.
Learn more about Shopify Plus

Shopify Lite
Sell on Facebook and chat with your customers on Messenger, add products to any website or blog, and accept credit card payments for only $9 USD per month.
Learn more about Shopify Lite


The higher your plan the more features you will have available to you. Here is a breakdown of what each plan provides.

Shopify Retailer Account Plans

Basic Shopify Shopify Advanced Shopify
Monthly pricing $29/mo $79/mo $299/mo
FEATURES
Online Store – Includes eCommerce website and blog. Yes Yes Yes
Unlimited products Yes Yes Yes
Staff accounts 2 5 15
24/7 support Yes Yes Yes
Sales channels – Sell on online marketplaces and social media. Channel availability varies by country. Yes Yes Yes
Manual order creation Yes Yes Yes
Discount codes Yes Yes Yes
Free SSL certificate Yes Yes Yes
Abandoned cart recovery Yes Yes Yes
Gift cards No Yes Yes
Professional reports No Yes Yes
Advanced report builder No No Yes
Third-party calculated shipping rates Show calculated rates with your own account or third-party apps at checkout. No No Yes
SHOPIFY SHIPPING
Shipping discount Competitive shipping rates from DHL Express, UPS, or USPS. up to 64% up to 72% up to 74%
Print shipping labels Yes Yes Yes
PUSPS Priority Mail Cubic® pricing No Yes Yes
SHOPIFY PAYMENTS
Fraud analysis Yes Yes Yes
Online credit card rates 2.9% + 30¢ 2.6% + 30¢ 2.4% + 30¢
In-person credit card rates 2.7% + 0¢ 2.5% + 0¢ 2.4% + 0¢
Additional fees using all payment providers other than Shopify Payments 2.0% 1.0% 0.5%
POINT OF SALE
Shopify POS app Yes Yes Yes
Register shifts No Yes Yes
Hardware peripheral support (see Shopify website for more info) No Yes Yes
Staff POS PINs No Unlimited Unlimited
Third-party POS apps Yes Yes Yes
Store locations No 1 – 5 up to 8

Please go to Shopify to see more information about their plans: (https://www.shopify.com)

Overall Shopify is the best eCommerce platform on pricing and the features they provide you to build your online store! They even give you the flexibility to branch out into a physical store if that is your future goal. I would recommend Shopify to anyone starting a business because you receive so much versatility and a variety of service plans to choose from. I like the fact that Shopify is more willing to be upfront with the retailer regarding fees associated with their services. I can say the same thing about Amazon and their fee structure.

Are you ready to start your online store today with a free trial of Shopify! www.Shopify.com

I already have an Amazon store can I still use Shopify?

Yes, you can use Shopify and still take advantage of all the benefits they provided to their retail partners. Your current Amazon store can be imported into Shopify without losing your product or customers. Shopify also offers a free 30 day trial for switching to the Shopify service. Since you already leveraging Amazon you have some additional options most other Shopify store owners will not have to start out.

For example, you can sync your Shopify store with your Amazon store. How does this benefit you? You can allow your customers to still use Amazon payments on your Shopify store with their Amazon accounts. It will save your customers time in entering their information during a purchase. This will make the buying experience easier for them. Simplifying this process is always good for you and your customers.

Another benefit of syncing your Shopify and Amazon stores together is that you can enable Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment. Why is this a big advantage to you as the retailer? Multi-Channel Fulfillment lets you leverage Amazon fulfillment centers to help you store and ship your inventory for you. This is a big deal for your supply chain and inventory management!

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Shopify vs Amazon

I make a commission from purchases made through links in my posts, at no extra cost to you. Read my disclosure for more information.

Another benefit of syncing your Shopify and Amazon stores together is that you can enable Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment. Why is this a big advantage to you as the retailer? Multi-Channel Fulfillment lets you leverage Amazon fulfillment centers to help you store and ship your inventory for you. This is a big deal for your supply chain and inventory management!

Yes, you can use Shopify and still take advantage of all the benefits they provided to their retail partners. Your current Amazon store can be imported into Shopify without losing your product or customers. Shopify also offers a free 30 day trial for switching to the Shopify service. Since you already leveraging Amazon you have some additional options most other Shopify store owners will not have to start out.

Overall Shopify is the best eCommerce platform on pricing and the features they provide you to build your online store! They even give you the flexibility to branch out into a physical store if that is your future goal. I would recommend Shopify to anyone starting a business because you receive so much versatility and a variety of service plans to choose from. I like the fact that Shopify is more willing to be upfront with the retailer regarding fees associated with their services. I can say the same thing about Amazon and their fee structure.

For example, you can sync your Shopify store with your Amazon store. How does this benefit you? You can allow your customers to still use Amazon payments on your Shopify store with their Amazon accounts. It will save your customers time in entering their information during a purchase. This will make the buying experience easier for them. Simplifying this process is always good for you and your customers.

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18 thoughts on “Shopify vs Amazon Review: Comparing Plans, Pros, and Cons”

  1. Pretty great post. I simply stumbled upon your blog and wanted
    to say that I’ve truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts.

    After all, I will be subscribing to your feed, and I
    am hoping you write again soon!

  2. I personally prefer Amazon just because there are more options, but overall service is better with Shopify!

    1. Michelle - Nerdy Moms United

      You’re welcome, My goal to help bloggers make an informed decision.

  3. Everyone I know uses Shopify, I haven’t heard too many good things about Amazon recently.

  4. Thanks for sharing! I do want to put together some recipe and cooking books at some point, but I have grown wary of using Amazon to promote them. I am glad to hear that their are other options out there where the business owner – not the selling platform – gets the spotlight.

    1. Michelle - Nerdy Moms United

      I agree and you will not be competing with other sellers with Shopify. You will be able to showcase your products the way you want too.

    1. Michelle - Nerdy Moms United

      I would prefer just using Shopify since I would be paying one overhead fee from my business, instead of two. But that is only my preference.

  5. This article is a nice review of the plus and minus points of Shopify vs. Amazon. Your comparisons are easy to understand and will help the reader make decisions based on what their products and marketing tools would do for their business needs.

  6. This is the first time I have heard of Shopify. I have been thing about starting my own business. Thank you for sharing!

    1. Michelle - Nerdy Moms United

      You’re welcome, I do have other posts about Shopify and starting your own business. Let me know if you have any questions.

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