Ecwid by Lightspeed vs. Shift4Shop

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Ecwid by Lightspeed
Score 10.0 out of 10
N/A
Ecwid allows customers the ability to create an online store to any webpage or social media profile. Boasting hundreds of thousands of merchants in 175 countries as users, Ecwid aims to provide everything needed to reach customers wherever they are: in-person, through a website, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, or Google Shopping. In addition, Ecwid’s point-of-sale integrations, email marketing integrations, and dedicated mobile app allow sellers to manage marketing merchandising, and sales - any…
$0
Shift4Shop
Score 2.3 out of 10
N/A
Shift4Shop (formerly 3dcart) is a customizable eCommerce platform designed to build an online store. Some features include Level 1 PCI security compliance, the same level used by banks and large financial institutions, along with search engine optimized templates and no transaction fees. The former 3dcart was acquired by Shift4 Payments in November, 2020.N/A
Pricing
Ecwid by LightspeedShift4Shop
Editions & Modules
Free
$0
Venture
$15
Business
$35
Unlimited
$99
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
Ecwid by LightspeedShift4Shop
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
YesYes
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
YesNo
Entry-level Setup FeeOptionalNo setup fee
Additional DetailsShift4Shop offers a free enterprise-grade plan for US customers who use their payment processing.
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
Ecwid by LightspeedShift4Shop
Top Pros
Top Cons
Features
Ecwid by LightspeedShift4Shop
Online Storefront
Comparison of Online Storefront features of Product A and Product B
Ecwid by Lightspeed
8.7
12 Ratings
12% above category average
Shift4Shop
1.0
8 Ratings
154% below category average
Product catalog & listings9.712 Ratings1.08 Ratings
Product management8.712 Ratings1.08 Ratings
Bulk product upload7.55 Ratings1.06 Ratings
Branding8.010 Ratings1.07 Ratings
Mobile storefront9.410 Ratings1.08 Ratings
Product variations9.112 Ratings1.08 Ratings
Website integration9.411 Ratings1.08 Ratings
Visual customization8.112 Ratings1.08 Ratings
CMS00 Ratings1.07 Ratings
Online Shopping Cart
Comparison of Online Shopping Cart features of Product A and Product B
Ecwid by Lightspeed
8.7
11 Ratings
14% above category average
Shift4Shop
1.0
8 Ratings
153% below category average
Abandoned cart recovery8.110 Ratings1.06 Ratings
Checkout user experience9.310 Ratings1.08 Ratings
Online Payment System
Comparison of Online Payment System features of Product A and Product B
Ecwid by Lightspeed
9.4
11 Ratings
12% above category average
Shift4Shop
1.0
8 Ratings
157% below category average
eCommerce security9.411 Ratings1.08 Ratings
eCommerce Marketing
Comparison of eCommerce Marketing features of Product A and Product B
Ecwid by Lightspeed
8.6
10 Ratings
14% above category average
Shift4Shop
1.3
8 Ratings
141% below category average
Promotions & discounts9.110 Ratings1.08 Ratings
Personalized recommendations8.06 Ratings1.07 Ratings
SEO8.68 Ratings1.98 Ratings
eCommerce Business Management
Comparison of eCommerce Business Management features of Product A and Product B
Ecwid by Lightspeed
8.2
12 Ratings
5% above category average
Shift4Shop
1.0
8 Ratings
154% below category average
Order processing8.912 Ratings1.07 Ratings
Inventory management8.110 Ratings1.06 Ratings
Shipping8.211 Ratings1.07 Ratings
Custom functionality7.612 Ratings1.08 Ratings
Multi-site management00 Ratings1.04 Ratings
Best Alternatives
Ecwid by LightspeedShift4Shop
Small Businesses
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Score 8.9 out of 10
Ecwid by Lightspeed
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Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
IBM Digital Commerce
IBM Digital Commerce
Score 9.0 out of 10
IBM Digital Commerce
IBM Digital Commerce
Score 9.0 out of 10
Enterprises
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IBM Digital Commerce
Score 9.0 out of 10
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Score 9.0 out of 10
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User Ratings
Ecwid by LightspeedShift4Shop
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(12 ratings)
1.0
(9 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
9.6
(2 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
8.8
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Availability
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
8.6
(7 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Product Scalability
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
9.1
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
8.2
(1 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
Ecwid by LightspeedShift4Shop
Likelihood to Recommend
Ecwid
Ecwid is absolutely perfect for any business that is looking to start out with online sales and mobile point-of-sale. Many times, business owners may have limited experience in setting up a website or point-of-sale. Having to spend on this expertise with a limited budget can be frustrating. Ecwid allows you to have great results even if you are a novice.
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Shift4
At this point I would recommend looking elsewhere - 8 years with a platform and finally have to switch due to the unreliability is not something a business likes to do! They should sell the platform to a company that actually cares about owning an ecommerce builder. Research Shift4 - the parent
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Pros
Ecwid
  • Clarity - there has been very little confusion and need to reach out to Customer Support for help
  • Consistency - no big, crazy updates or changes have been made to the format of Ecwid during my time using it, so I know when I log in to preform my business tasks I can always locate what I need and accomplish what is at hand easily
  • Simplicity - everything is so clear and straightforward. It's like e-commerce for dummies.
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Shift4
  • Membership rewards (a points awarding system) is really easy to set up and manage
  • Gift certificate issuance and redemption is simple to use and manage
  • Site design and redesign is straightforward and they are very helpful with design packages to customize.
  • They offer comprehensive SEO services and are very knowledgeable about how to engage customers and create traffic.
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Cons
Ecwid
  • Recurring billing - ability to bill subscription customers without having to go to my payment gateway
  • Robust order management - very limited in managing orders, therefore I had to subscribe to a different software
  • Expensive customization - if you want to customize anything, it is very expensive
Read full review
Shift4
  • Page structure is all over the place. It can be difficult to find where to go to make page edits.
  • Base platform isn't very robust and requires multiple add-ons in order to add CRM, Taxes, and other capabilities
  • Reporting isn't very strong, necessitating outside analytics
  • File system is also pretty wonky and feels very primitive
  • Customer service and technical help leaves MUCH to be desired.
  • Not as many supported add-ons/plug-ins as other platforms, and many of them cost additional fees. Many of them also don't seamlessly integrate, meaning you'll need to dev the integration yourself.
  • In general, what you see in the WYSIWYG is not what you get.
  • Order System is not very intuitive for the modern era
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Likelihood to Renew
Ecwid
The value given by Ecwid is unmatched. When combined with the ease of use of the product, it is a no-brainer to continue to use the product. The only thing that could cause us to switch is if some feature we needed which is not available which is unlikely based on the feature list we reviewed when making the decision to go with them.
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Shift4
Not applicable - as a franchisee, the franchiser took over the web site and shopping cart capabilities, so I no longer need the tool. But I would recommend it.
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Usability
Ecwid
I gave a 9 instead of a 10 only because I haven't figured out a function or two. I believe it has less to do with Ecwid's overall usability and more to do with my own understanding and skill level, but regardless, it may also have something to do with the limits of Ecwid's functions.
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Shift4
No answers on this topic
Reliability and Availability
Ecwid
Always available. Very reliable
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Shift4
No answers on this topic
Performance
Ecwid
Good overall performance both in desktop and mobile
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Shift4
No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Ecwid
I have always received the support I need in a timely manner. I enjoy receiving emails every week on trending business topics and new suggestions. They often serve as a reminder for me to include new e-commerce tools into our strategy. And I've always had great experiences with reaching out to the support team with specific questions.
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Shift4
No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
Ecwid
Fast and simple implementation of Ecwid's solutions. Easy to learn and navigate
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Shift4
No answers on this topic
Alternatives Considered
Ecwid
We sell a product that requires certain controls to sell and most of the companies we researched had specific policies preventing us from selling on their platform. We aren't selling anything dangerous, they are parts of ammunition (the shell casings) and not entire ammunition rounds. Most other vendors restrict the sales of firearms and ammunition, but even when just selling a part used to create ammunition, we were still restricted. I'm not really sure why they restrict sales of products like ours from different vendors. Ecwid had no such restrictions and were happy to confirm that for us.
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Shift4
We used them for 2 years and had minor problems up until the end. For the last 2 months, customers were unable to checkout, or connect to our payment processor. We put in like 3 to 5 hot tickets to get fixed and day after day nothing was fixed and support got ruder and ruder with us! We lost thousands of dollars online with this company and now they are chasing us for a renewal payment! Simply put, this is bad software with a poor customer care staff!
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Scalability
Ecwid
Good scalability. I use the second plan and there are 2 more plans that I could use if I needed other features or services
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Shift4
No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
Ecwid
  • We have not been able to measure the ROI as of yet, as we cannot get out of the gate with customization required.
  • It can be implemented quickly for basic online stores.
  • Once the system is configured, ROI will dramatically go up.
Read full review
Shift4
  • Because 3dcart ended up not being the best for our business, we decided to go with BigCommerce instead.
  • It was an excellent platform to consider, and we tried it for a time but quickly realized it did not provide what our business needed.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Ecwid by Lightspeed Screenshots

Screenshot of Ecwid store looks perfect on any smartphone and automatically adapts to your customer’s screen size — laptops, tablets, smart TVs or smart watches.Screenshot of Manage your Ecwid store wherever you are from your mobile device.Screenshot of Mobile app for every store. Your customers can shop from their mobile devices with your own dedicated native app and utilize advanced features like Apple Pay.

Shift4Shop Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of