Wix’s pricing page lists four numbers and leaves out the part that actually matters: which eCommerce features live on which plan. Automated sales tax, advanced shipping, and multi-currency selling are not available on Wix’s cheapest selling-enabled plan.
Most comparison articles copy the price list and skip that detail completely.
This guide maps exactly what each Wix plan unlocks for a store owner, which plan you actually need depending on what you sell, and the real cost against Shopify at two revenue levels most small stores actually operate at.
Key Takeaways
- Wix’s Free and Light plans cannot process payments or sell products. Core, at $29 a month billed annually, is the minimum plan for selling anything.
- Core does not include automated sales tax calculation or advanced shipping options. Those require the Business plan at $39 a month.
- Business Elite at $159 a month adds unlimited storage and priority support, relevant mainly for large catalogs or high support volume, not most small stores.
- Payment processing runs 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per transaction on every Wix plan. Wix does not add its own transaction fee on top, unlike Shopify’s third-party processor surcharge on lower plans.
- Monthly billing costs 24 to 41 percent more than annual billing across every Wix plan.
- At $1,000 a month in revenue, Wix’s real total cost runs close to Shopify’s. At $10,000 a month, Wix is meaningfully cheaper, mainly because Shopify’s plan price at that revenue level is higher.
What Each Wix Plan Actually Includes
| Free | Light | Core | Business | Business Elite | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price (annual billing) | $0/month | $17/month | $29/month | $39/month | $159/month |
| Storage | Standard hosting | 2 GB | 50 GB | 100 GB | Unlimited |
| Custom domain | No | Free for 1 year | Free for 1 year | Free for 1 year | Free for 1 year |
| Accept payments | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| eCommerce tier | None | None | Basic | Standard | Advanced |
| Marketing suite | None | Light | Basic | Standard | Advanced |
| Scheduling and services | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Site collaborators | 1 | 2 | 5 | 10 | 100 |
| Developer platform | No | No | No | No | Advanced |
The line that matters most for a store owner is Accept payments. Free and Light both show No, confirming neither can process a sale regardless of anything else on the plan.
Core is the first tier where that switches to Yes, which is why it is the real floor for anyone selling online, not the $0 or $17 price points above it.
The eCommerce tier itself also scales by plan name, not just by price.
Wix labels it Basic on Core, Standard on Business, and Advanced on Business Elite, and that labeling maps directly to the feature gaps covered below: automated tax and advanced shipping sit inside the jump from Basic to Standard, not inside Core at any price.
Core: The Minimum Selling Plan
Core unlocks basic eCommerce: a real checkout, payment processing, and listings for up to 50,000 products, more than enough for nearly any store.
It also includes a basic marketing suite with loyalty program tools.
What Core does not include: automated sales tax calculation, advanced shipping rate options, and multi-currency selling.
A store shipping only within one state or country, with simple flat-rate shipping, can run completely on Core. A store shipping across multiple states or internationally will hit Core’s limits quickly.
Business: Where Real Store Operations Start
Business adds automated sales tax calculation (covering up to 100 monthly transactions with current rates across the US, EU, and internationally), advanced shipping options, multi-currency support, abandoned cart recovery, and product reviews.
For any store doing real shipping volume across multiple regions, the automated tax calculation alone is worth the $10 a month jump from Core. Manually tracking sales tax rates across states is the kind of task that costs more in staff time than the plan upgrade does.
Business Elite: Scale, Not Features
Business Elite’s core additions are unlimited storage, unlimited video hosting, and priority support. The eCommerce feature set itself is largely the same as Business, expanded gift card options and higher dropshipping product limits, rather than fundamentally new capability.
Most small and mid-sized stores do not need Business Elite. It becomes relevant specifically when storage limits on Business are actually constraining a large product catalog with extensive photography and video, or when priority support response time matters more than the price difference.
The Real Cost Beyond the Plan Price
Payment Processing
Every Wix plan charges the same processing rate: 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per transaction through Wix Payments. This is a standard rate, comparable to Stripe’s base pricing, and Wix does not add a separate platform transaction fee on top of it.
App Costs
Wix’s App Market covers functionality the core platform does not include natively: advanced email marketing, loyalty programs beyond the basics, subscription products, and specialized shipping integrations.
Individual apps typically run $3 to $20 a month. A store running three to four apps for marketing, reviews, and shipping should budget $30 to $60 a month in app costs on top of the plan price.
Billing Frequency
Monthly billing costs meaningfully more than annual billing on every plan, the gap runs 24 to 41 percent depending on the tier. Core at $29 a month annual becomes $36 a month if billed monthly. Business Elite at $159 annual becomes $172 monthly.
Committing to annual billing is the single easiest way to reduce Wix’s real cost if the ongoing monthly cash flow works for the business.
Real TCO: Wix vs Shopify at Two Revenue Levels
Plan price alone does not answer what a store actually pays. Here is the full picture at two revenue levels, assuming a $32 average order value for both platforms.
At $1,000/Month Revenue (~31 orders/month)
| Cost Component | Wix (Core) | Shopify (Basic) |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | $29/month | $39/month |
| Processing (2.9% + $0.30) | ~$38/month | ~$38/month |
| Apps (typical small store) | ~$15/month | ~$15/month |
| Total | ~$82/month | ~$92/month |
At low revenue, the two platforms land close together. Shopify’s slightly higher plan price is the main difference, since processing and app costs are comparable at this volume on both platforms.
At $10,000/Month Revenue (~312 orders/month)
| Cost Component | Wix (Business) | Shopify (Grow tier) |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | $39/month | ~$105/month |
| Processing (2.9% + $0.30) | ~$384/month | ~$384/month |
| Apps (growing store) | ~$40/month | ~$40/month |
| Total | ~$463/month | ~$529/month |
At higher volume, Wix’s cost advantage comes almost completely from plan pricing, not processing or app costs, which run close to identical between the two platforms at the same revenue.
Shopify’s higher plan price at this tier buys a stronger app ecosystem and more advanced tooling for scaling operations, which matters for some stores more than the dollar difference does.
Neither platform’s processing rate changes meaningfully with plan tier, the gap in this comparison is specifically about base plan pricing at each revenue level, not fee structure.
Which Plan Do You Actually Need
Answer these in order:
- Are you selling anything at all? If not, Free or Light covers a basic website. If yes, Core is the floor.
- Do you ship to multiple states or countries regularly? If yes, Business’s automated sales tax and shipping tools are worth the upgrade from Core.
- Do you need multi-currency selling or abandoned cart recovery? Both require Business.
- Are storage limits or support response time a genuine constraint on Business? Only then does Business Elite make sense.
Most small stores selling within one country with simple shipping can run completely on Core. Most stores with real multi-region shipping or growth ambitions land on Business. Business Elite is a scale decision, not a starting point.
FAQ’s
What is the cheapest Wix plan for selling online?
Core, at $29 a month on annual billing, is the cheapest Wix plan that includes eCommerce functionality. The Free and Light plans below it cannot process payments or sell products.
Does Wix charge transaction fees?
Wix does not charge its own platform transaction fee. Payment processing runs 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per transaction through Wix Payments on every plan, the same rate regardless of which tier you are on.
Is Wix cheaper than Shopify?
At $1,000 a month, the two platforms cost close to the same once processing and app fees are included. At $10,000 a month, Wix tends to run cheaper, mainly because Shopify’s plan price at that tier is higher.
What is the difference between Wix Core and Business plans?
Core includes basic eCommerce: checkout, payment processing, and product listings. Business adds automated sales tax calculation, advanced shipping options, multi-currency selling, abandoned cart recovery, and product reviews, features a growing or multi-region store typically needs.
Do I need Wix Business Elite?
Only if storage limits on the Business plan are actually constraining your catalog, or priority support response time matters more than the price difference. Business Elite’s eCommerce feature set is largely the same as Business, the main additions are unlimited storage and faster support.
How much do Wix apps cost?
Individual Wix apps typically run $3 to $20 a month each. A store running several apps for marketing, reviews, and shipping should budget $30 to $60 a month in app costs on top of the base plan price.
Is it cheaper to pay for Wix monthly or annually?
Annual billing is meaningfully cheaper, the gap runs 24 to 41 percent depending on the plan. Core costs $29 a month on annual billing versus $36 a month billed monthly, and the percentage gap widens on higher tiers.