Ecwid Pricing Plans 2023: Packages, Fees, and Add-on Costs

Today, we’re exploring the various features and capabilities included in the range of Ecwid pricing plans available to today’s ecommerce brands. With Ecwid, companies can start selling online almost instantly. The platform includes tools for not only building your online store, but also promoting products and generating new leads.

The question is, how much can you expect to spend on all of the functionality Ecwid has to offer?

As an added bonus, there are absolutely no transaction fees included on any plan, although you may need to pay payment processing fees charged by other providers. Each plan includes its own distinct benefits and features. The more you pay, the more access you’ll have to additional product options, automatic tax calculations, sales solutions, and marketing technologies.

Let’s dive in for a closer look.

What is Ecwid?

Before we get into the details of each Ecwid pricing plan, it’s worth defining what Ecwid is, and what it can actually do for today’s business owners. Delivered by the Lightspeed team, Ecwid is an online platform for ecommerce store building, transaction management, and ecommerce.

The SaaS (Software as a Service) product powers around 1 million online stores, allowing businesses to access simple, secure transaction tools. Founded in 2009, Ecwid has come a long way over the years, investing in everything from multichannel selling and marketing, to an advanced website builder companies can leverage for free.

The platform allows users to choose between building their online store on Ecwid directly, or embedding payment processing tools into their existing website. Within the ecosystem, users can define shipping rates, accept credit card payments, set up product catalogues and more. With Ecwid, users can sell anywhere, including on social media websites, marketplaces like Amazon, and even in-person, through Point of Sale integrations.

What’s more, integration with tools like Google and Facebook advertising, MailChimp and more provide business leaders with a quick and easy way to start promoting their business. All that, and you can manage everything through a simple admin interface, accessible via web or mobile.

Although Ecwid started life as a widget or plugin solution for existing websites, similar to WooCommerce for WordPress, it has evolved in recent years to include its own instant site creator. This means you can design a storefront with Ecwid, without having to use another service.

The Available Ecwid Pricing Plans

As mentioned above, Ecwid has four prices available in total. All of the plans feature absolutely no set-up costs, and no transaction fees. Additionally, bandwidth and storage are included on every plan, so there are no unexpected extras to worry about there.

Ecwid plans include access to security features as standard, and the company is a PCI DSS validated level 1 service provider, so companies can rest assured all transactions will be protected. Additionally, if you’re a nonprofit organization, there are specialist discount plans available, which allow you to leverage up to 6 months of the “Venture” plan for free.

If you’re willing to commit to a slightly longer plan, we’d recommend choosing the annual package over the monthly option. Doing so will save you about 25% on your monthly payments over all, which can really add up to a huge bonus if you’re limited on cash. Do keep in mind, the discounts available to annual buyers can change periodically.

Now that we’ve covered your options, let’s dive into each plan for a closer look.

The Free Plan

Ecwid’s free forever plan is one of the things that makes the platform so attractive to beginners in the ecommerce space. As mentioned above, there are zero costs to pay on a monthly basis, and there are no extra fees to think about in terms of transactions either.

However, you will be limited on the sales channels you can access. The free plan only supports an online store, with no marketplace or social media selling integrations. However, you can connect Ecwid for free to a range of existing platforms, including WordPress, Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, Joomla, Blogger, Tumblr, and many others.

From a marketing perspective, Ecwid does offer some useful add-ons for its free plan, including Facebook Advertising, and marketing on Google, Pinterest, Snapchat, and via Facebook pixel.

The account management features of Ecwid’s free plan include the option to create your own tax invoices. Plus, you get a mobile responsive shopping cart, but no features for android or iOS store management. When it comes to support, Ecwid will only help via email if you’re on the free plan. You can also only sell 5 products, and no digital goods, but you’ll get unlimited bandwidth, and a one-tap checkout with Apple pay.

Who is the free plan best for?

The Ecwid free plan is likely to be a good option for you if you’re looking for a simple way to test out the functionality of the platform, and don’t have a lot of products to sell. It provides access to basic website building functionality and a handful of management features, but that’s about it.

The marketing services included are great, but they’re not as comprehensive as they are on other plans, with no options for automated email marketing, or discount coupons. Additionally, you’ll be limited to support via email alone.

The free plan could also be a useful option if you’re looking for a convenient way to add ecommerce functionality to an existing website, without any transaction fees.

The Venture Plan

The first paid plan from Ecwid is the “Venture” package. This is available for $19 per month or $15 per month if you pay annually. The option comes with all of the functionality you’d get in the free plan, including the website builder and no transaction fees on any payments.

However, with the Venture plan, you can also branch out into new channels for sales, such as a Facebook shop and Instagram store. From a marketing perspective, you’ll be able to leverage all the promotional tools of the free service, plus TikTok advertising and extra discount codes. Ecwid’s Venture plan also comes with a host of extra tools to help you manage your store.

Alongside tax invoices, you can also leverage automated tax calculations and inventory tracking capabilities. Plus, the mobile app for managing your store also becomes available, which can be accessed through the Android and iOS app markets. This ensures you can monitor and update your store pages on the move, form anywhere.

Perhaps the biggest difference between the Ecwid free plan and the Venture plan is the difference in sales features. Alongside a website builder, free website templates, GDPR compliance, and a one-tap checkout, you can also sell a host of new products (up to 100 in total). You’ll also be able to offer digital goods, (25GB per file), gift cards, and discount coupons.

The free plan also includes Facebook messenger live chat, access to a comprehensive app market, advanced SEO tools, pre-order options, and the ability to connect your own domain name. In the checkout, you can offer customers options to pay what they want, and customize the checkout fields.

For customer service, Ecwid offers a bonus chat option alongside email on the Venture plan.

Who is the Venture plan best for?

The Venture plan is likely to be a good option for serious sellers building small businesses, it ensures you can sell across multiple channels, and produce a range of digital and physical goods to send to customers online. Plus, you’ll have a lot of extra features for customizing your store, marketing your products, and connecting with customers.

The Business Plan

The Business Plan from Ecwid is the second paid pricing option, available for $39 per month when paid monthly, or around $35 when you pay annually. Here’s where functionality really starts to kick up a notch for business leaders. Alongside all the features of the free and Venture plan, you’ll also get access to a mobile point of sale, and the option to sell on both Amazon and eBay.

Marketing tools are also increased too, with an option to send abandoned cart emails, and leverage Mailchimp integrations for email advertising. Plus, from a management perspective, you’ll get a more advanced inventory tracking system, scheduled order pickup, wholesale pricing groups, dimensional shipping rates, and up to 2 staff accounts.

With the Business plan, users can sell up to 2500 products (including physical and digital items). You’ll also be able to add product filters and variations to your store, design a multilingual catalog, and manually create orders on behalf of customers. The option to implement recurring subscriptions is also offered on this plan.

From a customer service perspective, you’ll access both email and chat, as well as phone support. Free customization services are also available for up to 2 hours.

Who is the Business plan best for?

The Business plan is ideal when you want to kick things up a notch with your online selling. You’ll be able to invite specialists in your team to work alongside you on Ecwid, and sell on a wider range of platforms, including marketplaces like Amazon and eBay. Plus, you can sell a lot more products (up to 2,500 in total).

The Unlimited Plan

Finally, we come to the unlimited plan, available for around $85 per month if you pay annually, or $99 per month monthly. There’s very little variation between this plan and the Business plan from a feature perspective. All of the same features are included, however, you do get the bonus option of being able to integrate a POS system from Alice, Square, or Clover.

Customer support is also upgraded, with priority assistance for all users of the Unlimited plan. Additionally, you get up to 12 hours of free customization support included from the Ecwid experts. Perhaps the biggest difference here is that you’ll be able to sell unlimited products, although there’s still a limitation on the file size you can upload for digital items.

Who is the Unlimited plan best for?

If you’re designing an online store that’s in the process of scaling and growing, then the Unlimited pricing plan is likely a good choice. It gives you more space to expand, and ensures you’ll be able to access the priority support and guidance you need to ensure your online venture is a success.

Extra Costs

Outside of the standard subscription costs for Ecwid, there are a few extra fees you may need to be aware of, depending on your business. For instance, if you want to create your own branded iOS or Android app for customers shopping via mobile, there’s an extra monthly fee of around $600, which can quickly add up to a lot of expenses for smaller companies.

On the other hand, if you choose to pay for the annual Unlimited plan, you can leverage this feature for free – it’s only free on the annual plan though, not the pay monthly version.

Additionally, if you’ll need extra support with store customization, Ecwid does offer some hours of help for free on certain plans, but you can consider paying for extra assistance starting at around $100. The team can even help you set up payments, product catalogues, and POS systems for a similar fee.

Alongside these costs, you may need to consider some extra fees for any POS systems you’re going to be using, as well as paid integrations. The Ecwid app store does offer some free apps to download, but some will require you to pay a subscription depending on what you need.

Payment processing fees may be worth considering too. Even though you don’t have to pay transaction fees to create a dropshipping store or ecommerce solution with Ecwid, your payment processors, such as Stripe or PayPal, might charge their own fees.

How Does Ecwid Compare to other Builders?

Every website builder is different, so it’s difficult to compare pricing on a truly “like-for-like” basis. However, here are some other builders worth considering:

• Shopify Pricing: Shopify is one of the better-known shop builders on the market today. It offers a basic plan where you can add functionality to your existing website, similar to Ecwid, but this starts at $9 per month. The full store plans start at $29 per month, and range up to $2000+ for Shopify Plus. You’ll also have to pay transaction fees on every plan if you’re not using Shopify payments, which is an extra cost you don’t get with Ecwid.
• Wix pricing: Wix Ecommerce, like Ecwid, offers a relatively straightforward way to get started with online selling. You’ll need to access the business plans from the company, to unlock the sales tools. The basic business plans tarts at $27 per month, and does come with some extra fees. More advanced plans like Business Unlimited start at $32 per month and extend up to $500 plus for an enterprise version of the functionality. There is a free plan for Wix, but it doesn’t offer any sales tools.
• Squarespace: There’s no free plan for Squarespace, but you can trial the functionality for 14 days without paying anything. Like Ecwid, Squarespace also offers a 25% discount if you’re willing to pay for an annual plan instead of a monthly service. For those looking to access ecommerce features, prices start at $33 on the pay monthly plan for the Business package, or $23 if you pay annually. There are also no transaction prices to pay.

Finishing Thoughts: Is Ecwid worth it?

Overall, Ecwid is a highly flexible ecommerce platform. It can transform your existing site into an ecommerce website in seconds, or provide you with the tools you need to build a store from scratch.

Whether you choose the Ecwid store builder or plugin, you’ll gain access to a variety of useful tools, from payment processing and customizable checkout pages to integrations with a host of software solutions.

However, it’s worth noting that Ecwid’s store builder is generally more suited to the ecommerce business looking to create a one-page website, than those looking for a highly scalable store. Store design options are a little limited in some places.

Ecwid supports entrepreneurs from any industry, selling any number of products and product variations. It comes with tools for inventory management, and shipping options, real-time analytics, and can even be used to create your own shopping app for mobile devices.

The Ecwid plans are relatively affordable, even if you choose to branch beyond the available free plan. Plus, they all come with excellent customer support, as well as FAQs and tutorials to ensure you can fully leverage the ease of use the platform has to offer.