Etsy is a global eCommerce marketplace popular for selling unique, creative, and handmade goods online. Founded in 2005 in Brooklyn, New York, Etsy has grown into a massive platform with over 5 million active sellers.
Known for its vintage, handmade, custom and craft supplies, Etsy provides a platform for artisans, designers, collectors and craft hobbyists to buy and sell their wares. It has become one of the premier destinations for those looking for items that have character, are one-of-a-kind, or have a handcrafted touch.
Etsy’s mission is to “keep commerce human” by connecting creative entrepreneurs with buyers looking for special items. The platform allows small business owners, artists, designers and hobbyists to turn their passion into profit.
Over the years, Etsy has continued to grow exponentially. Etsy sellers have generated billions of dollars in sales. The company went public in 2015 and has a current market valuation of over $12 billion.
While Etsy provides an amazing platform for handmade and vintage sellers, its immense popularity has also led to some downsides.
Competition is fierce, fees can add up, and for some sellers the Etsy platform has limitations. This has led many Etsy sellers to look for Etsy alternative platforms and solutions to diversify or fully move away from Etsy.
In this article, we’ll discuss some of the best Etsy alternatives.
In this article:
Why Consider Etsy Alternatives?
Etsy marketplace has been around since 2005 and has a large established base of buyers on the platform. But, here are some downsides of selling on Etsy that make merchants consider Etsy alternative options:
- High Fees – Etsy charges various fees for listing items, transaction fees per sale, payment processing fees, and more. These fees can add up quickly, especially as your shop grows. Etsy also takes a percentage cut of shipping fees.
- Competition – With over 2 million active sellers on Etsy, competition is very high. This makes it harder for new sellers to get visibility on the site.
- Policy Changes – Etsy has received criticism from sellers for making abrupt policy changes that negatively impacted their shops.
- Limited Customization – The customization options on Etsy are restricted unless you pay for Etsy Pattern, a separate service.
- No Ownership of Data – With Etsy, you don’t own your customer data. Etsy has access to your customers’ information, limiting your marketing capabilities.
Due to concerns like high costs, competition, policy changes, and desire for more control, many Etsy sellers start considering alternative platforms.
Well, the best option depends on your specific business needs and goals.
Below are some of the best Etsy alternatives for selling handmade, vintage, custom, and unique items and make money online.
Best Etsy Alternatives (10 Options)
The best Etsy alternative is Shopify for obvious reasons. With millions of eCommerce stores using Shopify to run their online stores, it’s one of the most popular options out there. It’s used in 175+ countries.
1. Shopify
Shopify is an ecommerce platform to build and customize your own online store with no transaction fees. It offers multiple plans based on your business needs, with prices ranging from $29 to $299 per month. Shopify is great for established sellers looking to scale their business beyond Etsy.
It stands out as a powerful Etsy alternative for merchants looking to establish and grow their online stores. You can also try Shopify for free.
Shopify free trial lasts for 14 days, but POS Pro trials and annual subscriptions are free for 30 days. To start, visit the Free trial page.
Pros of Shopify
- Customization: Shopify offers extensive customization options through themes and apps. Merchants can create a unique store that reflects their brand.
- Scalability: It easily scales with your business, accommodating everything from a small startup to a large enterprise without switching platforms.
- Integrated Payments: Shopify Payments simplifies the process of accepting payments, reducing the need for third-party payment gateways.
- Comprehensive Dashboard: A robust backend dashboard provides insights into sales, orders, and customer data, helping in strategic decision-making.
- SEO and Marketing Tools: Built-in SEO features and marketing tools help increase your store’s online visibility and attract more customers.
Cons of Shopify
- Cost: Compared to Etsy, Shopify can be more expensive due to its monthly fees, transaction fees (if not using Shopify Payments), and the cost of additional apps or themes.
- Learning Curve: The wealth of features and customization options can be overwhelming for beginners, requiring a steeper learning curve.
- Self-Promotion: Unlike Etsy, which has a built-in audience, Shopify store owners must invest more in marketing and SEO to drive traffic to their stores.
Shopify Pricing
- Basic Shopify: This paln is ideal for new ecommerce businesses with occasional in-person sales. Best features include online store functionality, sales channels, 10 inventory locations, and no additional staff accounts.
- Shopify: Suitable for growing businesses selling online or in-store. Offers additional features like professional reports and 5 additional staff accounts.
- Advanced Shopify: Best for scaling businesses that require advanced reporting. Provides up to 10 inventory locations and the best shipping discount rates. It also provides up to 15 additional staff accounts.
Each plan includes access to Shopify’s ecommerce platform and CMS, the ability to sell an unlimited number of products, 24/7 customer support, and more.
Prices start from around $29 per month for the Basic Shopify plan and can go up to $299 per month for the Advanced Shopify plan.
There’s also Shopify Plus for larger enterprises.
Choosing between Shopify and Etsy depends largely on your business model, product types, and growth ambitions. Etsy might be more suitable for artisans and small-scale craft sellers seeking a marketplace with a built-in audience, while Shopify offers a comprehensive, customizable platform for stores.
2. Squarespace
While Etsy provides a ready-to-shop marketplace with an established audience, Squarespace helps you create a personalized and brand-centric ecommerce website. This platform is particularly suitable for sellers desiring more control over their store’s design, functionality, and customer experience.
If you are looking for an Etsy alternative, Squarespace is an excellent option.
It’s not just a website builder; it’s a powerful platform for artists, photographers, and small to medium-sized online stores.
Here’s why you might consider it:
Pros of Squarespace
- Stunning Templates: With over 100 mobile-optimized templates, it’s perfect if you’re into photography, art, or need a professional-looking online store.
- Marketing Tools: It provides excellent marketing features. Think email campaigns and social media integrations to boost your business.
- Customer Support: Expect top-notch support. They’re there to help with any issues or questions you might have.
- E-commerce Features: Features like inventory management and abandoned cart recovery are included, especially handy for small to medium-sized stores.
- Value for Money: With high customer satisfaction and no hidden costs, you’re investing in a platform that’s known for its quality.
Cons of Squarespace
- With the basic plan, you might find the editor a bit restricting.
- Remember to save your work frequently, as there’s no autosave.
- There’s no free plan, which might be a hurdle for some.
Squarespace Pricing
- Personal: $12/month annually or $16 month-to-month.
- Business: $18/month annually or $26 month-to-month.
- Basic Commerce: $26/month annually or $30 month-to-month.
- Advanced Commerce: $40/month annually or $46 month-to-month.
Note that ecommerce functionalities are available from the Business plan upwards, and there is no free plan available for Squarespace.
Plus, if you’re a student, grab their 50% discount for your first year.
Free Trial: Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial, giving you two weeks to explore its features and decide whether it’s the right platform for you.
Squarespace vs Etsy
While Etsy is a dedicated marketplace for crafters and artists, Squarespace gives you your own space. It’s like having your own boutique versus a stall in a larger market. You control the design, the branding, and the customer experience.
Squarespace is more than just an alternative; it’s a step up for those looking to expand beyond a marketplace into their own branded space. Whether you’re an artist, a photographer, or a small business owner, Squarespace caters to a variety of needs, combining aesthetics with functionality.
Squarespace isn’t a small player either; with 3.79 million users and being responsible for 1.7% of all websites, it’s a significant figure in the online world.
Considering a switch or starting fresh? Squarespace is a solid choice, blending design, commerce, and marketing tools all under one roof.
3. Wix
When exploring the best Etsy alternatives, Wix emerges as a standout option for entrepreneurs and creatives looking to carve out their own niche in the digital marketplace. I’ve spent some time navigating the pros and cons of using Wix as an e-commerce platform and here’s what I found.
Pros of Wix
- User-Friendly Interface: Wix shines with its drag-and-drop editor, making website creation a breeze for beginners and professionals alike.
- Extensive Ecommerce Tools: Offering a suite of comprehensive tools for online store creation, Wix caters to all your ecommerce needs, enabling you to manage inventory, payments, and shipping with ease.
- Creative Freedom: With over 800 professionally designed templates, Wix provides vast customization options, allowing you to tailor your site to your brand’s identity without needing to switch templates post-publication.
- Rich Web-Store Features: From selling digital downloads to optimizing mobile versions of your store, Wix equips you with everything necessary to build a competitive online shop.
- Reliable and Supportive: Excellent uptime and customer support ensure your website remains operational and assistance is just a click away.
Note: Unlike Etsy, Wix does not offer an immediate marketplace with a built-in audience, requiring users to build their own customer base.
Cons of Wix
- Limited Template Switching: Once your site is live, changing your template means starting from scratch, a potential drawback for those seeking flexibility.
- Additional Costs for Advanced Features: While Wix offers a free plan, unlocking premium features and integrating third-party apps can add to your expenses, potentially affecting the overall value for money.
Wix Pricing
Wix’s pricing plans start at $16 per month.
They also offer a free version for those looking to start without initial investment.
This approach contrasts with Etsy’s focus on listing fees and transaction costs, providing a more predictable cost structure for business owners.
Wix vs Etsy
While Etsy offers a ready-made audience for artisan and craft products, Wix stands out for those looking to build a brand beyond a marketplace. Wix’s extensive customization, ecommerce tools, and absence of listing fees make it an attractive option for small businesses aiming for growth and brand identity.
However, Etsy’s built-in audience can be invaluable for new artisans looking for exposure.
But surely, choosing between Wix and Etsy depends on your business goals, technical comfort level, and desired audience.
Overall, Wix offers a robust platform for creating a bespoke online presence and managing your ecommerce needs with great flexibility and support, making it an excellent choice for those looking for Etsy alternatives.
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4. Weebly
Weebly is a robust ecommerce platform that offers an affordable alternative to Etsy for people looking to sell products online. Unlike Etsy, Weebly gives you the flexibility to build your own branded online store from the ground up, providing a range of templates, ecommerce features, and customization options.
Here’s a closer look at Weebly:
Pros of Weebly
- Free Plan Availability: Weebly offers a free plan that’s competitive, providing a cost-effective way to start your online store without initial investment.
- Improved App Store: Weebly’s app store offers a wide range of functionalities to enhance your site with Weebly apps.
- SEO Guides: Comprehensive SEO guides are available, helping you optimize your site for search engines effectively.
- Simplicity for Beginners: Its ease of use makes it perfect for newcomers.
- E-commerce Capabilities: Despite its simplicity, Weebly supports free selling, making it a decent starting point for small online stores.
Cons of Weebly
- Limited Customization: Weebly’s drag-and-drop customization is somewhat restricted, which could limit your site’s uniqueness.
- Declining Market Position: Weebly has seen a decline in its value for money and market position recently, primarily due to a lack of updates.
- Less Suitable for Scalable Stores: It’s not the best choice for businesses planning significant growth, especially in e-commerce.
Weebly Pricing
- Free Plan: $0 per month – Ideal for trying out the service with basic features. It includes Weebly ads displayed on your site.
- Personal Plan: $10 per month when billed annually – Allows for custom domain connection and includes basic features.
- Professional Plan: $12 per month when billed annually – Removes Weebly ads, includes free domain registration for one year, and unlocks site search.
- Performance Plan: $26 per month when billed annually – Offers advanced e-commerce features, such as item reviews and shipping calculators, making it ideal for online stores looking to grow and scale.
Weebly vs. Etsy
Etsy is a dedicated marketplace for handmade, vintage, and unique goods, offering a built-in audience specifically interested in those types of products. This can be a significant advantage for sellers in those categories.
On the other hand, Weebly provides a more generic e-commerce platform, allowing for a broader range of products and services. It gives you more control over your brand and online presence but requires more effort in driving traffic to your site.
Weebly is ideal for those wanting full control over their online store’s design and functionality, while Etsy is better suited for those selling handmade or vintage items and wanting to capitalize on an existing marketplace audience.
5. Big Cartel
Big Cartel is particularly suitable for artists with a solid market audience and offering limited product runs. It provides a more personalized platform with its simpler and more affordable pricing plans. With Big Cartel, there are no listing fees, and the platform offers three main plans:
- Gold: Free, up to 5 products
- Platinum: $9.99/month, up to 50 products
- Diamond: $19.99/month, up to 500 products
Big Cartel does not charge transaction fees, only the standard processing fees from Stripe and PayPal. The platform allows for full customization of your store with CSS and HTML. You can create a branded experience that stands out.
However, it lacks the vast centralized audience that Etsy offers, which might make it challenging to reach buyers at the same scale.
While Etsy allows for some level of customization with shop banners and profiles, it doesn’t offer the same level of design flexibility as Big Cartel.
If you prioritize creative control, a unique branded store, and simpler pricing, Big Cartel may be the better choice. If you’re looking for a vast audience, extensive product categories, and don’t mind navigating a more complex fee structure, Etsy could be more suitable for building your digital storefront.
6. Storenvy
Storenvy combines ecommerce features with a social network. Sellers can create their own online stores and also connect with customers. Storenvy is free to join but charges transaction fees of 2.5% + $0.30 per order.
It also offers premium plans.
An advantage of Storenvy is the built-in social network to engage customers beyond simple transactions.
However, it may not have as large of a buyer pool as some other marketplaces.
7. Amazon Handmade
Amazon Handmade is Amazon’s marketplace for artisans to sell handcrafted items. Sellers must apply and be approved to sell on Amazon Handmade.
Approval can take several weeks, and Amazon has requirements for being considered “handmade”. Amazon Handmade charges 12-15% referral fees, which are comparable to Etsy’s fees.
A benefit of Amazon Handmade is reaching Amazon’s existing large customer base. However, costs and competition may still be high.
8. Instagram Shop
Instagram expanded its shopping features in 2020, letting users browse and purchase products directly within the app. Instagram Shopping is free to use and great for sellers wanting to leverage their existing social media presence. Products can be tagged in posts and added to the shop tab on your profile.
9. Facebook Marketplace
Facebook Marketplace and Facebook Shops allow users to list their handmade or vintage items for sale. Facebook Shops is integrated with Instagram as well, so items can be synced across both platforms.
Sellers must comply with Facebook’s commerce policies.
10. Pinterest Shop
The Pinterest Shop lets you upload catalog items and enable buyers to checkout on your website. Users can create shop sections based on product types. Pinterest Shopping ads help promote products. However, sellers need their own independent websites to use Pinterest Shopping.
Etsy with Shopify
Many sellers utilize both platforms together to maximize their reach.
While Etsy provides the built-in marketplace exposure, Shopify offers sellers more control and customization over their online storefront and branding.
With the right apps and integrations, sellers can connect their Etsy and Shopify stores, for seamless management of inventory, orders, and shipping across both platforms. It streamlines operations and prevent overselling on one platform.
Some of the key benefits of using Etsy and Shopify together include:
- Exposure to Etsy’s marketplace of over 90 million shoppers while still owning your brand on the Shopify platform.
- Access to powerful Shopify features like abandoned cart recovery, advanced reporting, and ecommerce automation.
- Seamless order and inventory syncing between Etsy and Shopify.
- Providing customers the option to check out on your Shopify store or Etsy shop.
- An easier upgrade path to migrate from Etsy to Shopify over time.
The main downside is the additional monthly fees for both platforms.
However, for established Etsy sellers looking to expand their business, combining Shopify for branding and customization with Etsy for added market exposure can be an excellent business strategy.
Etsy Alternatives: Conclusion
Etsy remains a top choice for many artisans, crafters, and vintage sellers thanks to its large marketplace of buyers seeking unique items.
However, as your business grows, you may find limitations with customization, fees, support, and lack of customer data ownership.
There are many viable alternatives to Etsy that provide a standalone customizable website or access to additional online marketplaces.
Shopify is an excellent option for growing businesses that want to own their brand and data. Marketplaces like Amazon Handmade and Folksy cater to handmade and artisanal sellers. Website builders like Wix, Squarespace and Big Cartel allow you to create a professional storefront optimized for your business. Even social platforms like Instagram now offer built-in shopping features.
Evaluate your business goals, product types, customization needs, and budget when choosing your ecommerce platform. You may want to maintain your Etsy shop while also expanding to other alternative platforms.
