Many e-commerce platforms exist now. Businesses need help to choose the best one. We understand the challenge for businesses. They must find the strengths and weaknesses of each platform and compare them. Today, we will write about Shopify and Volusion. We will help you do this with 2 platforms.
What are they exactly, and what are their differences? Let’s dive in right now!
Understand Shopify and Volusion
What is Shopify?
We first ensure everyone knows that Shopify was founded in 2006. It is a cloud-based solution that helps businesses focus more on strategy, marketing, and selling instead of infrastructure and development. Shopify has become a game changer, changing how merchants approach e-commerce.
Shopify has over 600,000 e-commerce stores and $82 billion in sales. It is used by famous brands like the New York Times, Nestle, and more.
When building your Shopify store, you must go through a process including 5 steps: arranging your shipping, taxes, payment processing, site design, and product catalog. If you’re planning to switch platforms or need expert help transitioning, our Shopify migration experts can be a great asset in streamlining your move.
What is Volusion?
Volusion is an e-commerce platform that allows you to sell almost anything, including handmade goods and digital products. First, you need to enter basic info about yourself and your business. After that, it will guide you through the steps to set up your store.
You’ll need to set tax, payment, and shipping options. You’ll also customize the look of your store and create your product catalog.
Volusion vs Shopify: Quick Assessment
Volusion and Shopify both have simple setup processes, letting you launch your store in a day. However, the primary disparity between Shopify and Volusion lies in their business approach:
- Shopify is best for retail businesses. It is also good for merchants who want to grow a standalone online store.
- Volusion is best for small retailers and online merchants who are interested in trading fees with low payments.
| Factor | Shopify | Volusion |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fees | Start at $5 for social media | Start at $35 for personal |
| Payment processing | Starting at 2.9% + 30 cents | Starting at 1.25% |
| Ease of use | Users can easily navigate the uncluttered backend of Shopify. It has many modules and segments to explore. | Volusion provides a simple backend interface along with a 99.9% uptime guarantee and intuitive features for users. |
| Customer service | Email, 24/7 live chat, and phone support | Email and 24/7 live chat; Prime and Business members get phone support as well |
| Apps & Integrations | Its app store has many marketing and SEO apps. They can help solve business problems, like increasing site traffic or sales. | Volusion has a smaller app store than Shopify. But, they still provide some high-quality apps that focus on email marketing and automation. |
| Design and Templates | The platform offers templates and themes. They are easy to use and change. | Volusion offers a restricted range of themes, providing users with only a handful of options to choose from. |
Volusion vs Shopify: The comprehensive comparison
Monthly fees
Shopify
Shopify’s plans start at $9 per month, but they quickly increase to $25 per month ($19 per month if paid yearly) for online store builders. Costs extend beyond the subscription price—you’ll also need a domain name ($10–$15 per year) and potentially a premium theme and plugins to maximize your store’s abilities.
Here is an overview of Shopify’s cost plans:
Shopify Lite
- Monthly Cost: $9
- For those who want to add a buy button to their website or sell in person with a POS processor
- Transaction Fees: Online credit card rates 2.9% + 30¢, offline 2.7%
- Features: Order management, analytics, customer support
Shopify Basic
- Monthly Cost: $25 ($19 if paid annually)
- Suitable for building a comprehensive online store with omnichannel selling
- Transaction Fees: Online 2.9% + 30¢, offline 2.7%
- Features: Online store with website and blog, in-store transactions support including card readers
Shopify Standard
- Monthly Cost: $65 ($49 if paid annually)
- Suitable for starting international selling
- Transaction Fees: Online 2.6% + 30¢, offline 2.5% + 0¢
- Features: Everything in Basic, plus performance reports, up to 5 staff accounts, gift card support
Shopify Advanced
- Monthly Cost: $399 ($299 if paid annually)
- For high-volume online and in-person sales, needing advanced features
- Transaction Fees: Online 2.4% + 30¢, offline 2.4%
- Features: Advanced reports, third-party shipping, international duties and import taxes
Shopify Plus
- Pricing: Custom enterprise pricing
- Features: Dedicated account management, customizable checkout, advanced security
In addition to Shopify plans, you may pay for a domain ($15/year) and premium theme ($75–$300+/year).
Volusion
Volusion offers plans ranging from $29 to $299 per month, plus a “Prime” plan for large businesses (price quote required). All 4 main plans have no transaction fees.
Personal Plan
- Monthly Price: $29
- Unlimited products, storage, bandwidth; coupons & discounts; up to $50,000 online sales/year
- Shipping Rates: Standard
- Third-party processors: No
- Online-only support
- Transaction fees: 1.25%
Professional Plan
- Monthly Price: $79
- Unlimited products, storage, bandwidth; abandoned cart reports, advanced coupons, newsletters; up to $100,000 online sales/year
- Shipping Rates: Competitive
- Third-party processors: No
- Online & phone support
- Transaction fees: 0.65%
Startup Plan
- Monthly Price: $179
- Unlimited products, storage, bandwidth; advanced coupons & discounts, newsletters, $25/mo Quick Wins credits; up to $250,000 online sales/year
- Shipping Rates: Competitive
- Third-party processors: Yes
- Online & phone support
- Transaction fees: 0.35%
Business Plan
- Monthly Price: $299
- Unlimited products, storage, bandwidth; API access, advanced coupons & discounts, newsletters, $100/mo Quick Wins credits; up to $500,000 online sales/year
- Shipping Rates: Premium
- Third-party processors: Yes
- Priority support
Payment Processing
Shopify
Shopify provides Shopify Payments and Shop Pay, eliminating the need for a separate merchant account. It partners with over 100 payment gateways, making it a more flexible choice than Volusion.
Volusion
Volusion offers built-in processing via Stripe Payments, with fees up to 1.25%. You can also use third-party processors like PayPal, Fort Point Payments, Authorize.net, and NMI.
Ease of use
Shopify
Shopify is easier to use, with simple editing tools and a prominently placed ‘undo’ button. Users find the interface intuitive for store building and content management.
Volusion
Volusion’s interface splits between storefront and backend, requiring extra navigation. It lacks keyboard shortcuts and clear visual cues, making it less user-friendly.
Customer service
Shopify
24/7 phone and live chat, email, and social media support. Plus-level plans include dedicated account agents.
Volusion
Phone support from 7 am to 10 pm CST; no email support. Provides personal calls to customers but cannot match Shopify’s comprehensive service.
Apps & Integrations
Shopify
Over 8,000 integrations via the Shopify App Store, including marketing and SEO apps.
Read more: Top 16 Shopify B2B Apps You Should Try Now
Volusion
Over 80 integrations, mostly for email marketing and automation. Smaller app ecosystem compared to Shopify.
Design & Templates
Shopify
10 free themes and 50+ premium themes ($140–$180). Mobile-responsive, customizable, and industry-diverse.
Volusion
11 free and 34 paid templates ($180 each). Limited mobile management, smaller variety, and no filtering options.
Volusion vs Shopify: Which is the best for you
Shopify is best for:
- Small businesses where online sales are the primary revenue source
- Selling on social media and occasional in-person sales
Volusion is best for:
- Small retailers and online merchants focused on low payment fees over e-commerce features
- Merchants needing strong analytics for online stores
Wrap up
Overall, Shopify is the clear victor. Advantages include more templates, sophisticated POS, multi-currency selling, blogging capabilities, and superior user-friendliness. Shopify represents a stronger and more valuable platform overall.
