Every 10 minutes peoples are finding Best eCommerce Website Builders for Online Stores on the Google Search. I am so lucky because you are reading this article, and Google has recommended this helpful information to the users. You’re likely standing at the most exciting, yet most confusing, junction of your entrepreneurial journey: “Where do I build my online store?”
In 2025, Starting an online store is very simple process, but deciding where to begin can stop you before you even start. Do you need a drag-and-drop flexible software that costs $29/month, or should you invest in a complex, self-hosted solution like WordPress? If you are able to take right decision it will set your future budget, increase your business growth limits, and reduce your daily stress level.
As experienced developers and strategists who have built hundreds of stores across every major ecosystem, we understand the stakes. This guide is not just another recycled list it’s a candid, hands-on breakdown of the Top 5 best eCommerce website building platforms today. We’ll cut through the marketing noise to answer your most crucial questions: How much does an eCommerce website cost? Which platform is truly the best eCommerce website builder for a bootstrapped startup business?
Let’s dive into the five platforms that will define your success in the digital marketplace.
How to Choose the Right Platform for Online Shopping Website?
Before we unveil the top contenders, it’s critical to frame your decision around the right questions. The single biggest mistake founders make is choosing a platform based on its “free” or “cheap” tag without considering its long-term capabilities.
How Much Does an eCommerce Website Cost?
When looking at the price of an eCommerce website building platform, you need to look beyond the advertised monthly fee. The total cost of ownership (TCO) generally breaks down into four main categories, which directly address your long-tail query, “How much does an eCommerce website cost?”
The Four Pillars of eCommerce Cost
- Platform Subscription/Hosting: This is the most visible cost. It can range from $0 (for a limited free online store website maker) to over $20/month for enterprise plans. The general sweet spot for a growing small business is $5-$10/month. You can take best offers from the cheap hosting services provider.
- Transaction Fees: Some platforms (like the cheaper, hosted ones) will charge their own fee (e.g., 0.5%-2%) on top of the payment gateway fees (Stripe/PayPal). This can become your single biggest expense as you scale. Some other payment gateways do not charge fees upto $112 for online transactions like Razorpay.
- Apps and Integrations: While the core platform offers basic functionality, you will inevitably need paid third-party apps for things like advanced inventory, subscriptions, email marketing integrations, and reviews. These add-ons can easily stack up to $5-$15/month.
- Theme/Design: Most free eCommerce website builder tools come with basic templates. If you want a truly unique, high-conversion design, you might pay a one-time fee of $10–$56 for a premium theme.
Top 5 Best eCommerce Website Building Platforms
Our rankings are based on a balanced scorecard of ease of use, scalability, total cost of ownership (TCO), and performance (page speed and SEO capability).
1. WooCommerce (WordPress) – The Customization King
WooCommerce is not a paid platform it’s an open-source, and we can develope free eCommerce store with plugin that runs exclusively on WordPress. The WordPress is bunch of features that gives you ultimate control. This is the preferred choice for developers, agencies, and ambitious stores that prioritize SEO and unique functionality. If you believe WordPress is the best platform to build an Ecommerce Online Store because of its flexibility.
The Trade-off: Free Core vs. Total Cost of Ownership
While the WooCommerce plugin itself is free (addressing the “choose best free website builder tools” query), the platform requires self-hosting. This shifts the complexity and the true cost onto you.
| WooCommerce Hidden Cost | Estimate (Annual) |
| Hosting (Single Website): | $27 – $100 |
| Security (SSL/Backup Plugin): | $0 – $150 |
| Premium Plugins (SEO, speed, functions): | $0 – $50 |
| Design/Theme (Premium): | $0 – $100 (One-time) |
- Best For: Users who already have a WordPress site, high-volume sellers needing low transaction fees, or those who require 100% custom features not found in all-in-one builders. You can generate high traffic on your E-commerces store by using the pre-built blogging module of WordPress.
- The SEO Advantage: As a WordPress product, its flexibility gives you full control over your website’s technical SEO. You can customize things like URLs and behind-the-scenes code, and it works with the best SEO plugins (like Yoast), which is perfect for growing your organic traffic.
See why our service is considered the best e-commerce website maker in India for custom WooCommerce development.
2. Shopify – The All-in-One Powerhouse
If you are a startup founder who needs to launch an aesthetic, high-functioning store this week, Shopify is nearly unbeatable. It removes all the technical headaches of hosting, security, and maintenance, allowing you to focus purely on selling. This is often the best eCommerce website builder for first-time entrepreneurs.
Why Shopify Dominates for Fast-Growth Startups
Shopify provides you a simple and fast process to build a website without any lines of code. It’s well designed ecosystem to make a faster website. From its user-friendly dashboard to its seamless payment processor (Shopify Payments), everything is integrated and optimized right out of the box.
- Experience Factor: While it’s not a website builder platform free solution, the time and effort saved on technical maintenance translate directly into lower operational costs, making the initial investment worthwhile. It is consistently the best online shopping website builder for global reach.
- Pricing Reality: The Basic Plan ($29/month) is where most startups begin, offering everything you need. Be aware that the transaction fees (2.0% down to 0.5% depending on your plan) are only waived if you use their native Shopify Payments.
3. BigCommerce – The Scalability Specialist
BigCommerce is the platform built for growth and enterprise-level selling, focusing heavily on B2B (Business-to-Business) and high-volume, multi-channel retail. It stands out because of its commitment to 0% transaction fees (regardless of the payment gateway you use), which is a massive financial advantage as your sales volumes increase.
Pricing Structure and Revenue Tiers
BigCommerce forces users to upgrade based on annual sales volume, which can be seen as either transparent or restrictive.
- Standard Plan (approx. $29/month): Limited to $50k in annual sales.
- Plus Plan (approx. $79/month): Limited to $180k in annual sales.
- Pro Plan (approx. $299/month): Limited to $400k+ in annual sales.
- Best For: Established small businesses and mid-market companies that are scaling quickly and are seeking a long-term, powerful platform with no “scaling penalty” (i.e., the platform’s own transaction fees). It is highly featured out of the box, reducing the reliance on paid third-party apps compared to Shopify.
- Key Advantage: Unlike Shopify, the zero transaction fee policy means your margin remains protected as you grow, making it one of the best online shopping website builders for high-revenue stores.
4. Wix eCommerce – The Design-First Beginner’s Choice
Wix has aggressively moved into the eCommerce space, evolving from a simple website builder to a feature-rich, drag-and-drop solution. It’s the easiest tool to use on this list, making it perfect for the non-technical founder who prioritizes a beautiful, unique design and is looking for a cheap website development service alternative.
The Ease of Use vs. Flexibility Balance
Wix’s main strength is its intuitive editor and its vast library of gorgeous, mobile-ready templates. Store management is streamlined, and it includes robust built-in features like marketing automation, abandoned cart recovery, and native payment processing (Wix Payments), reducing the need for app add-ons.
- Pricing Reality: Wix offers a basic free plan, but you cannot sell on the free plan. To unlock eCommerce, you must subscribe to a paid business plan (starting around $27/month).
- Pros: Unmatched ease of use, excellent templates, and the best option for users who need a full, polished business website (e.g., portfolio, blog, and store) all in one place.
- Cons: Once you select a template, you are generally stuck with it, and while its SEO capabilities have vastly improved, it still offers less technical control than a platform like WooCommerce.
5. Squarespace – The Brand and Aesthetics Champion
If your product is highly visual—think art, apparel, photography, or niche food products Squarespace is arguably the best eCommerce website builder based purely on design aesthetics. Its templates are minimalist, highly professional, and built for striking visual impact.
Pricing and the 0% Transaction Fee Threshold
Squarespace is competitively priced but gate-keeps the essential “0% transaction fee” feature:
- Business Plan (approx. $23/month): Allows sales, but charges a 3% Squarespace transaction fee (in addition to the payment gateway fee). This quickly makes it expensive for growing stores.
- Commerce Basic Plan (approx. $27/month): Waives the 3% Squarespace transaction fee. This is the minimum plan we recommend for any serious online store to keep costs reasonable.
- Best For: Creatives, artists, lifestyle brands, or small businesses whose primary focus is visual branding. It’s straightforward to set up digital products, services, and physical goods.
- A Key Trade-off: While the core functionality is strong, its app store (Extensions) is much smaller and less feature-rich than Shopify’s or WooCommerce’s, limiting advanced scaling capabilities.
The Best Free Options for Trial & Error
While no truly free online store website builder will allow you to run a professional, custom-branded store without some investment (like a custom domain), these platforms offer the best “free-to-start” plans for testing a business idea.
- Square Online (Weebly): Offers the most generous website builder platform free plan. You can sell unlimited products with inventory management, but you must use a Square domain and tolerate Square branding. Great for testing a niche.
- Ecwid by Lightspeed: Not a website builder itself, but a powerful shopping cart you can embed anywhere. Its free plan is excellent for adding a store to an existing basic website, allowing up to 10 products.
Which Online Website Platform is Right for Your Startup?
Choosing the right platform is about aligning the platform’s strengths with your business’s priorities and budget. Use this quick guide to find your match:
| Startup Profile | Platform Recommendation | Reason & Keyword Match |
| The Content/SEO Expert | WooCommerce (WordPress) | Maximum control over SEO, custom features, and the best free eCommerce theme for WordPress options. |
| The Non-Technical Founder | Shopify | Easiest setup, handles hosting/security, best ecommerce website builder for fast launch. |
| The Budget-Conscious Scaler | BigCommerce | Excellent features for the price, 0% platform transaction fees for growth. |
| The Visual Brand/Creative | Squarespace | Stunning, professional templates, easiest to look high-end at a reasonable cost. |
| The Absolute Beginner | Wix eCommerce | Best drag-and-drop editor, perfect for a founder wanting a single platform for their entire site. |
Actionable Tip for Startups: If your budget is low, consider a affordable web design company in India using the WooCommerce platform, as the recurring monthly fees are often lower than Shopify’s premium plans.
Ultimately, the best platform is the one that allows you to scale without prohibitive costs or technical roadblocks. While all-in-one solutions are faster to launch, they can limit your ability to rank high and customize the user experience.
If your chosen platform is WordPress/WooCommerce, maximizing performance requires optimized pages. To help you get that speed and design polish without hiring an expensive developer, grab our free Elementor landing page template for wordpress—the perfect high-conversion tool for your new online store.