Shopify vs Etsy vs Amazon: Where Should You Sell in 2025?

Choosing where to sell online is one of the biggest decisions for your ecommerce business. Shopify, Etsy, and Amazon are the three most popular options, but they're fundamentally different platforms with different strengths and trade-offs.

This guide breaks down each platform honestly—fees, features, control, traffic, and which is best for different business types. By the end, you'll know exactly which platform (or combination) fits your needs.

Quick Comparison Overview

Shopify: Build Your Own Brand

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a platform that lets you build and run your own online store. You get your own domain (yourstore.com), complete design control, and own the customer relationship. It's like renting a storefront on Main Street instead of setting up a booth at the flea market.

How Shopify Works

You pay a monthly subscription ($29-$299 depending on plan) to access Shopify's platform. You build your store, add products, and customize the design. When customers find your store (through Google, social media, ads, etc.), they buy directly from you. You handle fulfillment or use dropshipping/3PL services.

Pricing Breakdown:

• Basic Plan: $29/month + 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction
• Shopify Plan: $79/month + 2.7% + 30¢ per transaction
• Advanced: $299/month + 2.5% + 30¢ per transaction
• Plus (enterprise): $2,000+/month

Shopify Pros

Complete brand control

Your store, your brand, your rules. You control everything from logo to checkout experience. This matters for building a recognizable brand that customers return to directly rather than searching marketplaces.

You own your customers

You collect customer emails, can retarget them, build loyalty programs, and communicate directly. On marketplaces, you can't even email past customers. This customer ownership is the most valuable long-term asset.

No revenue caps or category restrictions

Sell whatever you want (legal products), as much as you want. Marketplaces have category restrictions and sometimes limit growth. Shopify scales infinitely—stores do $100M+ annually on the platform.

Powerful app ecosystem

Over 10,000 apps solve any need: email marketing, reviews, subscriptions, bundles, SEO, analytics, etc. You can build sophisticated features without coding. This flexibility lets you optimize every part of your business.

Multi-channel selling

Sell on your Shopify store, Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, eBay, and more from one dashboard. Centralized inventory management across all channels.

Shopify Cons

You must drive your own traffic

Shopify doesn't send you customers. You need SEO, ads, social media, or other marketing to get traffic. This is the biggest challenge for new sellers—building audience from zero. Expect to spend on marketing initially.

Monthly costs regardless of sales

You pay $29+ every month even if you make zero sales. Plus app subscriptions ($20-100/month for most stores). Fixed costs mean you need consistent sales to stay profitable. Marketplaces have no fixed costs.

Steeper learning curve

More to learn: themes, apps, SEO, marketing, analytics. Marketplaces are simpler—list product, sell product. Shopify requires understanding more systems but gives more control.

Payment processing fees

Credit card processing fees (2.5-2.9% + 30¢) eat into margins. These exist on all platforms but feel more noticeable on Shopify since you see them separately.

Best For:

• Building a long-term brand
• Sellers who want customer ownership
• Products with strong branding/differentiation
• Dropshipping and print-on-demand
• Anyone willing to invest in marketing
• Businesses planning to scale significantly

Etsy: The Handmade Marketplace

What is Etsy?

Etsy is a marketplace specifically for handmade, vintage (20+ years old), and craft supplies. Think of it as a giant online craft fair where millions of shoppers browse for unique, artisan-made goods.

How Etsy Works

You create a seller account (free), list products ($0.20 per listing for 4 months), and Etsy's audience finds your products through search and browse. When something sells, Etsy takes 6.5% transaction fee plus 3% payment processing. You ship directly to customers.

Pricing Breakdown:

• Listing fee: $0.20 per item (lasts 4 months or until sold)
• Transaction fee: 6.5% of sale price
• Payment processing: 3% + $0.25
• Total fees: ~10% of each sale
• Etsy Plus: $10/month (optional, adds features)

Etsy Pros

Built-in audience searching for handmade

96 million active buyers visit Etsy specifically to find unique, handmade items. This targeted audience is Etsy's biggest advantage. They're pre-qualified buyers looking for exactly what you sell.

Extremely low barrier to entry

List your first product for $0.20. No monthly fees, no upfront costs, no website building. Easiest platform to test product ideas. If it doesn't sell, you're out $0.20, not $29/month.

Simple to use

List product, add photos and description, set price—done. No themes, no apps, no complex setup. Perfect for non-technical sellers who just want to sell their crafts without learning ecommerce platforms.

Community and support

Active seller community, forums, local meetups. Etsy invests in seller education and resources. Good for beginners who need help.

Trust and credibility

Customers trust Etsy for handmade goods. Buying from an unknown Etsy shop feels safer than buying from unknownhandmade.com. This lowers conversion barriers for new sellers.

Etsy Cons

Etsy owns the customer relationship

You can't email past customers, build a mailing list, or retarget buyers. Every sale depends on Etsy's search algorithm. If they change search rankings, your traffic disappears overnight. No customer ownership = no business moat.

High competition in popular categories

Millions of sellers compete for the same buyers. Popular items (jewelry, prints, candles) face intense price competition. Standing out requires exceptional products, photos, and pricing.

Limited branding and customization

Your shop looks like every other Etsy shop. Minimal customization options. Hard to build distinct brand identity when you're constrained by Etsy's template. Customers remember "I bought this on Etsy" not "I bought from YourShop."

Fees add up at volume

10% total fees seem reasonable at first. But at $10k/month revenue, that's $1,000 to Etsy. At scale, Shopify's fixed costs become cheaper than Etsy's percentage-based fees.

Category restrictions

Must be handmade, vintage, or craft supplies. Can't sell mass-produced items or anything outside these categories. This limits what you can sell.

Best For:

• Handmade product sellers
• Vintage collectors (20+ year old items)
• Craft supply sellers
• Beginners testing product viability
• Sellers without marketing budget
• Artists, makers, crafters

Amazon: The High-Volume Marketplace

What is Amazon?

Amazon is the world's largest online marketplace. 300+ million active customers searching for products daily. Selling on Amazon means listing products in Amazon's catalog where millions of shoppers can find them.

How Amazon Works

Pay $39.99/month for a Professional seller account (or $0.99 per sale for Individual account). List products using Amazon's catalog system. When items sell, Amazon charges referral fees (8-15% depending on category). You can fulfill orders yourself (FBM) or use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) where Amazon stores, packs, and ships your products.

Pricing Breakdown:

• Individual plan: $0.99 per sale (under 40 sales/month)
• Professional plan: $39.99/month (40+ sales/month)
• Referral fees: 8-15% per sale (category dependent)
• FBA fees: Variable ($3-8+ per item depending on size/weight)
• Total cost: 25-35% of sale price all-in with FBA

Amazon Pros

Massive built-in traffic

Amazon is the #1 product search engine. Most shoppers start product searches on Amazon, not Google. Listing on Amazon instantly exposes your products to millions of active buyers. This traffic is worth the fees for many sellers.

Customer trust in Amazon Prime

Prime badge = instant credibility. Customers trust Amazon's A-to-Z Guarantee, easy returns, and fast shipping. This removes buying friction that independent stores face. Conversion rates on Amazon are significantly higher than average ecommerce sites.

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

Send inventory to Amazon, they store it, pick, pack, ship, and handle returns. Completely hands-off fulfillment. This scalability is unmatched—go from 10 orders/day to 1,000/day without operational changes. FBA products also get Prime badge.

International expansion

Easily expand to Amazon's global marketplaces (UK, Germany, Japan, etc.). Amazon handles logistics and payments. International expansion on your own store is complex; on Amazon it's a few clicks.

Fast setup and sales

List products today, get sales this week. No website building, no SEO waiting period, no audience building. Fastest path from product idea to revenue.

Amazon Cons

High total fees (25-35%)

Between referral fees, FBA fees, storage fees, and advertising, expect to pay 25-35% of revenue to Amazon. These fees make it a low-margin business unless you have unique products or buy inventory very cheap.

Zero brand control

Your product listing looks like everyone else's. Minimal branding opportunity. Customers remember "I bought it on Amazon" not your brand. Building brand equity on Amazon is nearly impossible.

Amazon owns the customer

You can't email customers, can't retarget them, can't build a relationship. Every sale depends on Amazon search ranking. If you get suspended or Amazon changes algorithms, your business disappears instantly. No customer list = no owned asset.

Intense competition and race to bottom

Anyone can sell the same products. If your product works, competitors copy it within weeks. Price competition drives margins to zero unless you have exclusivity or patents. Differentiation is extremely hard on Amazon.

Strict policies and suspension risk

Amazon suspends sellers for policy violations (sometimes unfairly). Getting suspended means immediate revenue loss and a nightmare appeals process. You're at Amazon's mercy with little recourse.

Required advertising spend

Organic ranking is difficult. Most successful sellers spend 10-20% of revenue on Amazon PPC ads just to stay visible. This further eats into already thin margins.

Best For:

• High-volume product sellers
• Sellers with low-cost sourcing
• Commodity products with price advantage
• Businesses comfortable with low margins/high volume
• Anyone who wants hands-off fulfillment (FBA)
• Products that don't require brand storytelling

Head-to-Head Comparison

Fees: Total Cost Comparison

Shopify:

• $29-79/month subscription
• $20-100/month apps
• 2.9% + 30¢ payment processing
• Total: 3-5% of revenue + fixed costs

Etsy:

• $0.20 per listing
• 6.5% transaction fee
• 3% payment processing
• Total: ~10% of revenue

Amazon:

• $39.99/month
• 8-15% referral fee
• FBA fees ($3-8+ per item)
• Advertising (10-20%)
• Total: 25-35% of revenue

Traffic: Who Brings Customers?

Shopify: Zero built-in traffic. You drive all traffic through SEO, ads, social media, influencers, etc. Requires marketing budget and skills.

Etsy: High built-in traffic. 96M active buyers specifically searching for handmade items. Good organic reach if you optimize listings.

Amazon: Massive built-in traffic. 300M+ customers, highest product search intent. Easiest to get initial sales.

Winner: Amazon for volume, Etsy for handmade niche, Shopify for long-term brand building

Control: Who Owns What?

Shopify:

• You own customer data
• Complete design control
• Set your own policies
• Full pricing control

Etsy:

• Etsy owns customer data
• Limited design customization
• Must follow Etsy's policies
• Pricing freedom within category norms

Amazon:

• Amazon owns everything
• Zero design control
• Strict policies
• Price competition enforced by Amazon's algorithm

Winner: Shopify by far

Time to First Sale

Shopify: 1-4 weeks (need to build audience)

Etsy: 1-7 days (marketplace traffic)

Amazon: 1-3 days (massive traffic)

Winner: Amazon fastest, Etsy close second

Scalability

Shopify: Unlimited scaling potential. Stores do $100M+ annually. Full control over growth.

Etsy: Limited by marketplace dynamics. Hard to scale beyond $500k/year without building own brand.

Amazon: High volume possible but margins shrink with scale due to competition and fees. Hard to build moat.

Winner: Shopify for sustainable scaling

Multi-Platform Strategy: Using All Three

The smartest strategy? Use multiple platforms strategically. Here's how successful sellers combine them:

The Typical Growth Path

Phase 1: Validate on Marketplaces

Start on Etsy or Amazon to test products with built-in traffic. Low risk, fast validation. Figure out what sells before investing in your own store.

Phase 2: Build Your Own Store

Once you have proven products, launch Shopify store. Start building owned audience through email, social, and content. Marketplaces fund your Shopify growth.

Phase 3: Diversify and Optimize

Sell on all platforms. Use marketplace traffic for discovery, direct customers to your Shopify store for better margins and customer ownership. Cross-promote strategically.

Example Multi-Platform Strategy

A handmade jewelry seller might:

• Etsy: Primary marketplace for discovery and impulse buyers
• Shopify: Send Etsy customers to their branded store via packaging inserts for repeat purchases and email marketing
• Amazon: Skip it (handmade jewelry margins too low for Amazon fees)
• Instagram: Build audience, drive to Shopify store for best margins

Which Platform Should You Choose?

Choose Shopify if:

• You want to build a long-term brand
• You have marketing skills or budget
• Customer ownership matters to you
• You plan to scale significantly
• You're doing dropshipping or print-on-demand
• You want complete control

Choose Etsy if:

• You sell handmade, vintage, or craft supplies
• You're just starting out
• You don't have marketing budget
• You want fast validation with low risk
• You're a maker/artist/crafter
• Simplicity is priority

Choose Amazon if:

• You want high volume sales fast
• You have low-cost sourcing
• You're comfortable with low margins
• You want hands-off fulfillment (FBA)
• You sell commodity products
• Branding isn't important

Choose Multiple Platforms if:

• You want to maximize reach
• You're willing to manage complexity
• You want to diversify platform risk
• You have resources to handle multiple channels

The Bottom Line

For most sellers building a long-term business: Start with Shopify. Yes, it requires driving your own traffic. But owning your customers and brand is worth it. Use marketplaces as additional channels later.

For handmade sellers or complete beginners: Start with Etsy. Validate your products with built-in traffic, then expand to Shopify once you have consistent sales.

For high-volume product sellers: Amazon can work, but understand the trade-offs. Great for revenue, terrible for margins and brand building.

The ultimate strategy: Use all three. Etsy and Amazon for discovery and volume, Shopify for customer ownership and margin. Diversify platforms to reduce risk.

Next Steps

Whichever platform you choose, focus on conversion optimization once you have traffic. Install apps like Uppa Bundles on Shopify to add volume discounts that increase average order value. On Etsy, optimize your listings and photography. On Amazon, master PPC and listing optimization.

The platform matters less than execution. Great products, excellent customer service, and smart marketing win on any platform.