The emergence of e-commerce has given many people the opportunity to start a business selling virtually any product or service and potentially transform it into a massive enterprise.
Here, we’ll compare three of the best e-commerce platforms that can assist you in starting your own online sales business: Shopify vs. Etsy vs. Daalder.
You probably have your thoughts on which is better, and we’re going to put them up against each other to find out.
First, let’s start with a short introduction to each platform.
Shopify
Shopify allows users to create their online stores in just a few hours. From shop design to delivery, it offers the tools you need to start and operate your business. Shopify has many tools to assist you in displaying items, defining your brand, and marketing yourself.
Etsy
Etsy is a virtual marketplace where you can list your items on its “storefront,” alongside hundreds of other online retailers. All shops have one thing in common: their products are creative and crafty, making the Etsy market extremely competitive.
Etsy’s unusual take on the e-commerce sector is that they sell everything: “handcrafted, antique, or unique.” They now have over 1.7 million merchants selling to over 33 million consumers worldwide.
Daalder
Daalder is a complete tech solution for e-commerce. It is an entirely headless e-commerce solution that creates web applications such as e-commerce stores from the ground up, giving users complete control over the appearance and feel of their site.
Daalder makes use of Laravel, a PHP framework that allows you to create a site with fast-loading pages and a great user experience.
Laravel is one of the quickest PHP languages, with clean, lightweight, and efficient code. The e-commerce solution allows you to sell in several currencies and languages, allowing you to tailor your site to the needs of each country.
Categories
If you want to start selling online and your budget limits you to one platform, you’ll need to understand more about the services and tools offered by these three options and how their features compare.
With that in mind, let’s get started on our comparison: We’ll be comparing these platforms across different categories.
Products Comparison
First, what kinds of products can you sell on these three platforms?
Shopify
You can sell almost anything on Shopify, but you’re held back by its restrictions on product specifications, and you’re limited on the variations of products you can sell. On Shopify Plus, for example, you cannot sell more than 100 versions of the same product.
Etsy
Etsy is more limited. Users are restricted to selling handmade products, craft supplies, and vintage products only.
Daalder
Daalder stores can sell an unlimited number of products. There are no restrictions on product catalogues, variations, descriptions, or specifications. Essentially, Daalder offers a variety of products and freedom greater than its competitors.
Rules
E-commerce platforms have terms and conditions. Let’s look at the guidelines of these three platforms.
Shopify
Shopify stores are independent, so users can set up their own guidelines for running their business.
Etsy
Etsy is a marketplace with numerous sellers, so there are marketplace rules each seller has to follow.
Daalder
Daalder creates independent websites for its users, and the autonomy continues well after that. Daalder sellers create their own guidelines and rules.
Design/Customisation
A store’s visual appeal and layout are crucial, 38% of people will leave a website if the layout or design is unattractive.
Shopify
There are over sixty different themes available for online retailers. Ten are free, while the others are for a fee. Their prices range from $100 to $200, and they’re lovely in terms of consumer perception and response. You can view any Shopify site on a mobile device without sacrificing quality.
Etsy
Etsy’s design is essentially the same for all users. There is no way to change the theme or tinker with the code. Only the title, store icon, about-us text, and banner on your page are unique; you cannot modify the page layout or get a domain name. This limitation makes it more challenging to stand out from the pack.
Daalder
Daalder doesn’t use pre-set themes, but unlike both Shopify and Etsy, Daalder gives you limitless access to the design of your store.
Daalder runs on Laravel, which gives you unlimited access to both your front end and back end. This means that as long as you know your way around code or know someone who does, your Daalder store can take any shape you desire.
Daalder offers a level of design control and customisation that the other two cannot match.
Pricing
Transaction costs are hidden on certain platforms and only exposed at the last minute, leaving users dazed and in debt. It’s always a good idea to familiarise yourself with pricing options and transaction fees before committing to a platform.
Shopify
Shopify is based on a monthly subscription model, which means you’ll pay a set monthly charge plus credit card processing fees for each transaction.
Shopify has three pricing plans, each with a different price and set of features:
- Shopify Lite ($9/month) – Process sales through your website or Facebook. Shopify charges 2.9 % + $0.30 for every online transaction.
- Shopify Basic ($29/month) – Get a Shopify website with the exact transaction costs as Shopify Lite.
- Shopify ($79/month) – Transaction costs per online transaction are reduced to 2.6 per cent + $0.30.
- Advanced Shopify ($299/month) – With this plan, transaction costs for online sales are reduced to 2.4 % plus $0.30.
- Shopify Plus ($2,000+/month) — This quote-based plan is designed for high-volume sales of up to thousands of transactions per minute.
Shopify offers a 14-day free trial before you’re required to pay for a particular plan.
Etsy
Etsy has three plans;
Standard plan: the default plan. Free of charge
Plus plan ($10/month): has additional features like email marketing tools, promotional materials, and discounts on personalised packaging.
Etsy Pattern ($15/month): In addition to your Etsy storefront, this add-on service allows you to create an e-commerce site with your domain name.
Regardless of which Etsy plan you choose; you’ll still need to pay these fees:
- Listing fee: Etsy charges 20 cents for each item you list. Listings will be available for four months or until the item is sold.
- Transaction fee: Etsy takes 5% of the total item costs.
- Payment processing fee: 3% + 25 cents.
Although Etsy’s listing rates are low, its extra fees have the potential to grow. Depending on the volume of your sales, you may wind up paying more for your Etsy page than you would on a Shopify or Daalder store’s subscription fees.
Daalder
Daalder offers four pricing plans, with the option of saving 10% by paying for a yearly plan instead of a monthly one.
- Monthly – $89/month
- Early Bird – $390/year: This is a limited offer.
- Yearly – $960/year
- Daalder for Enterprise – negotiable: 24/7 Service Level Agreement, Advanced integrations, Implementation assistance, and Influence on our road map.
Each Daalder plan has unlimited products, unlimited storefronts, and unlimited users. All plans are limited to one business entity, except the enterprise plan.
Because Daalder efficiently caters to large e-commerce stores, offering services akin to Shopify Plus, which charges $2000 a month, you’ll realise that Daalder is cheaper than both Shopify and Etsy. Its Early Bird plan, in particular, is a steal.
All Daalder plans come with a 1-month free trial for customers to test out the features.
Learn more about the difference between Shopify Plus and Daalder pricing.
Setup
Shopify
It’s simple to set up and host on your domain using Shopify. It has themes and templates you can implement and 24/7 customer support.
Etsy
With Etsy, creating an account is very simple, especially since all you have to do is submit photographs of your merchandise and write a description.
Daalder
Daalder’s setup is also easy, granted you have some coding experience. Unlike Shopify, it doesn’t offer plugins, so you’ll need some coding expertise to set up your store.
If you’re unfamiliar with coding, you may require the services of a developer, and Daalder can provide just that. The result is always worth it.
Site traffic
Shopify
As a Shopify seller, you are in charge of promoting your business and establishing an online presence.
Shopify stores have lower conversion rates than Etsy listings, but driving traffic to your Shopify store helps you establish your brand. You own your traffic and mailing list with Shopify, so you can cross-sell and upsell your customers.
Etsy
A significant benefit of being on Etsy is that they are well-marketed. It’s effortless to generate traffic to your store and raise exposure for your items. However, because this isn’t a targeted demographic, conversion may be below.
Daalder
Like Shopify, generating traffic to your Daalder store is your responsibility. You may accomplish this using Facebook advertising, Google ads, and other PPC alternatives, or you can drive organic traffic through social media and blogging.
Remember that any traffic you generate will belong to you and not Daalder so that you can build a dedicated following.
Help and support
Shopify
Shopify provides phone and live web chat assistance around the clock, so if you have a problem, you may call them at any time. They also assist via their social media profiles, forums, email, and video lessons, which help address more frequently asked questions.
You also get advanced professional assistance with Shopify’s most costly subscription, which is generally reserved for larger businesses.
Etsy
On Etsy, you may use the search tool to find the information you’re searching for. There’s also a forum where you can learn from and participate in community conversations and ask questions. You can email Etsy’s support team or call them to get further information.
Daalder
Daalder also has an organised help centre. Users can contact Daalder support at any time of the day for a swift and relevant response. If there is one thing that Daalder values so much, it is customer service. The team is always available to help you through the process of setting up your store and anything else you might need.
Features
Add-ons
Shopify Plus uses plugins and apps for increased features. These aren’t free, however, and costs can rack up for each one you use. In addition, incorporating new plugins into your site can disrupt its performance and cause pages to lag. Keep in mind that 47% of consumers expect a webpage to load in two seconds or less.
As we’ve already established, Etsy offers very little control to users, and as such, extra functions and features are limited.
Daalder doesn’t require plugins but instead utilises inbuilt features to enhance sites. For additional features, users will have to modify the site’s code. This makes it easier to integrate the new functions and protects the site’s performance.
Multiple storefronts
Although Shopify Plus allows you to link several sub-domains to your main site, operating multiple businesses from one location is not plausible. For additional stores, you’ll have to create additional accounts.
Etsy doesn’t let users run multiple stores. To own second stores, users will have to create a second account with new details.
Daalder allows users to manage many online stores, each with its own set of items and warehouses, all from a single location. This eases the burden of running several brands.
Search Filtering
Shopify doesn’t offer customers native filtering and search options. Neither does it allow customers to tailor their searches to a specific category when looking for products.
Etsy doesn’t offer native filtering either. Etsy’s search algorithm changes regularly to adapt to new needs. Etsy lets sellers control the most critical factors in Etsy Search placement.
Daalder has “Elasticsearch,” an effective inbuilt search widget that enables users to filter their searches and find their desired products quicker.
Conclusion
Shopify and Etsy are both fantastic e-commerce platforms catering to their target markets. But in terms of cost, control, and performance, Daalder edges past them.
Daalder is undoubtedly one of the best multi-vendor e-commerce platforms. It is fully customisable, independent, and offers flexibility to a degree unmatched by the other two.
However, you don’t need to take our word for it; Daalder has a 1-month free trial to experience its services and decide for yourself. If you’re still not convinced, you can check out our other blog where we compare other e-commerce platforms with GoDaddy.
Learn more about Daalder or visit Daalder.io today to start your consultation and discover how to get your very own Laravel-based e-commerce store.
