Shopify vs. Etsy vs. Squarespace → For Former Booth Vendors

For most displaced booth vendors, the answer is Shopify. But not always. Here's the honest math.

The comparison at a glance

The real cost math

Let's use a boutique doing $3,000/month at $35 average order value = ~86 orders.

On Shopify Basic:

• Monthly: $39
• Transaction fees: 86 × ($35 × 0.029 + $0.30) = ~$113
• Total: ~$152/month to do $3,000 in revenue → 5%

On Etsy:

• Listing fees: 50 SKUs × $0.20 × 4 renewals/year ÷ 12 = $3
• Transaction + payment fees: 86 × ($35 × 0.065) + 86 × ($35 × 0.03 + $0.25) = ~$303
• Total: ~$306/month → 10%

On Squarespace Commerce:

• Monthly: $27
• Transaction fees: 86 × ($35 × 0.03 + $0.30) = ~$116
• Total: ~$143/month → 4.8%

Etsy costs about 2× the others on the same revenue. Squarespace and Shopify are within $10/month of each other at this volume.

Why we still recommend Shopify over Squarespace for most vendors

Squarespace wins the basic math, but loses on:

1. Inventory scaling. Past 50-100 SKUs, Squarespace's product management gets clumsy. Shopify handles 10,000 SKUs without breaking a sweat.
2. Tax calculation. Shopify has proper multi-state tax (for US sellers) built in. Squarespace relies on third-party Avalara at extra cost.
3. App ecosystem. When you're ready for email automation, reviews, loyalty programs, subscriptions, pre-orders — Shopify has 10,000+ apps, most with free tiers. Squarespace has ~50.
4. Shipping. Shopify has real shipping profiles, carrier-calculated rates, label printing built in.

When Etsy is still the right call

Three specific situations:

1. Under 10 SKUs, truly one-of-a-kind handmade. You benefit from Etsy's search traffic more than you lose to fees.
2. You're brand new and have no existing audience. Etsy's internal search is your marketing. On Shopify, you're on your own.
3. You already have a strong Etsy shop with reviews and you'd be starting Shopify from zero. Don't throw away the Etsy equity. Run both.

When Squarespace is the right call

One specific situation: you're a photographer, artist, or service provider who also sells a small number of physical products. The site-builder side of Squarespace is much friendlier than Shopify for portfolio-style content. If your store is more "creative business with a small shop" than "shop-first" — Squarespace can be the right fit.

What "the best platform" actually means

Here's the thing nobody selling Shopify courses will tell you: the best platform is the one you'll actually use. If you launch a Shopify store and abandon it because the app ecosystem overwhelmed you, you've paid $39/month for nothing. If Etsy gets you to $500/month by week two because its interface is friendly, that's $500/month you weren't making.

For displaced booth vendors specifically: most of you had more than 20 SKUs, built a local following, and are trying to replace $2-5K/month. In that band, Shopify is the correct answer 80% of the time.

Our take

Start on Shopify. Run Etsy as a secondary feed. Ignore Squarespace unless you're portfolio-driven.

If the DIY part of "start on Shopify" is what's stopping you — we build stores in 7 days, from $697.

See pricing →