The Best Ecommerce Platforms for Canada 2023

After extensive testing, Shopify (4.7/5) topped our list of the best ecommerce platforms on the market today. With Wix coming in at a close second (4.6/5), we'd recommend Shopify for online sellers prepared to spend more on quality sales and inventory software.

We know how tough it is to pick the best ecommerce platforms Canada has to offer. While you’ve been cooking up great business ideas, like dropshipping, we’ve been analysing web store builder software tools.

We compared these programmes based on factors that matter most to Canadian merchants: value for money, design options, ease of use and sales functions. Our researchers scored each platform based on more than 50 aspects, and asked a focus group for their feedback, too.

Here are the results.

5 Best Ecommerce Platforms:

Below, you’ll find our comparison table followed by a handy overview of each platform.

All prices in Canadian dollars (we've converted Shopify and BigCommerce pricing from USD, as listed on their websites).

Shopify 4.7/5

Would suit an ambitious entrepreneur ready to invest in sales functions

As of February, Shopify now allows you to show different products to international audiences, so you can ensure customers only see products available in their region. That's helpful for global businesses that retail in more than one geolocation. You can also set country-specific pricing with Shopify, which you can't do with Wix, even though it's a commonly requested feature.

Shopify Pricing

Shopify offers a 3-day free trial period plus three months for $1. There's three core price plans (priced in USD, but we've converted to CAD). We go into more detail on the features available at each price tier in our Shopify price guide but here's a quick overview:

If you're keen on starting an online store but not sure how it should look, then go and get some style inspiration from our rundown of the best 10 Shopify stores. You'll be able to pick up some truly handy tips and hints on web store creation from some big brands that already use Shopify.

On the other hand, you may not even know what you want to sell yet. If you're interested in earning extra income through ecommerce and want to put a lot of effort into the creative branding and marketing side of things, you can always get into dropshipping. This means purchasing inventory after you've made a sale so you don't have any storage fees. Curious? Why not check out our guide on how to start dropshipping with Shopify to learn more.

Wix Ecommerce 4.6/5

Would suit your business if you want SEO and digital marketing prowess

When you're in charge of any kind of website, search engine optimisation is the set of techniques you need to draw in visitors from Google, Bing, Baidu, and Yandex. Wix is a market leader in helping non-experts get ahead in the SEO stakes. Not only does the website builder offer SEO tips as you create, but since 2022, Wix users have been able to integrate the Semrush SEO tool into their Wix website. Wix articles and video guides show you how to best use free keyword research data and search volume analysis with this integration. That gives you a better chance at making sales, because SEO is non-paid marketing that attracts interested buyers to your wares.

Better yet, as of February this year, Wix now integrates with Google Search Console, the silver bullet of SEO analytics. Wix Analytics builds website traffic reports based off data directly from Google. This gives you accurate understanding of which web pages perform well on Google, compared with guesswork and applying general best practice.

Neither Shopify or Squarespace have Semrush or Google Search Console integrations. Instead, Shopify offers “SEO Olympus” which is a much more basic SEO tool. You won't get anywhere near the depth of data you would with Semrush plus Google Search Console.

Wix eCommerce Pricing

Wix offers a 14-day money-back guarantee on its premium plans, and we're glad to offer our readers a discount code: “GET10!” for 10% off subscriptions. There are three ecommerce-specific plans to choose from:

Wix is one of very few ecommerce platforms that doesn't charge transaction fees. If you want to find out more about the costs and features of each tier, check out our Wix pricing guide. We've also taken a deep dive into the pros and cons of Wix vs Squarespace in case you'd like to take a more in-depth look at those two side-by-side.

BigCommerce 4.4/5

Would suit your business if you want wider multichannel selling options

BigCommerce Pricing

BigCommerce offers a generous 15-day free trial period, and three core price plans in USD, which we’ve converted to CAD (enterprise pricing is available upon request):

Square Online 4.4/5

Would suit your business if you want value for money.

Square Online Pricing

Square Online has four price plans to choose from:

Squarespace Ecommerce 4.3/5

Would suit your business if you need a user-friendly interface.

Squarespace Pricing

Squarespace offers a 14-day free trial period and has two ecommerce-specific pricing plans. Also, don't forget you can save 10% on Squarespace by using code EM10 at the checkout.

The Best Free Ecommerce Platform

Square Online is the best free ecommerce platform for businesses in Canada. Offering reasonable functionality at zero cost is a huge draw for many. It’s the only platform in our review to offer a free ecommerce product, though Shopify, Wix, BigCommerce and Squarespace all provide at least a 14-day free trial period.

That said, nothing in this life is truly free: Square Online takes a slice of every sale made on its free platforms. Also, its design features scored pretty low in our user testing. Overall, you’d make far better use of your time and resources by investing in a premium model to grow your sales the way you need to.