Best Egg Loans Review

Best Egg is a highly-rated direct lender who offers personal loans through a simple, fast process that can be completed entirely online or over the phone. The company is famous for sending out targeted snail mail outlining their loan offerings, but they also offer a robust online platform that makes researching and comparing loan options a breeze.

As of early 2019, Best Egg has funded over $6 billion in personal loans throughout the United States. They have also served over 450,000 customers and still manage to have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. Across several loan review platforms (including TrustPilot), this personal lender boasts mostly positive reviews. Considering Best Egg was founded in 2014, the company has come a long way in a short amount of time.

If you’re in the market for a personal loan because you want to consolidate debt, remodel your home, or finance a major purchase, Best Egg may have the perfect loan for your needs. Keep reading to learn what Best Egg is all about, who this lender is best for, and how to apply.

Best Egg Personal Loans: Key Takeaways

• Best Egg is a direct lender, meaning you can apply for one of their loans without dealing with a third party.
• Borrow between $2,000 and $35,000, depending on your loan needs, credit score, income, and other factors.
• Fixed interest rates are offered between 5.99% and 29.99% depending on your creditworthiness.
• Pay an origination fee of 0.99% to 5.99% of your loan amount.
• Repay your loan in 3-5 years.
• Get pre-qualified for a Best Egg personal loan without a hard inquiry on your credit report.

Best Egg: Personal Loans Without the Hassle

A personal loan may not be the ideal solution for everyone, but this dynamic loan option can work well for a certain type of borrower. Many consumers prefer personal loans over credit cards since they offer fixed interest rates that tend to be lower than the variable rates credit cards charge. Personal loans also come with fixed monthly payments and a fixed repayment schedule, meaning you’ll never be surprised by how much you owe — and you’ll know exactly when your loan will be paid off. For that reason, many consumers consider personal loans the “safer” option when you absolutely have to borrow money no matter what.

While personal loans are generally a convenient financing option regardless, Best Egg takes the convenience factor of these loans a step further. The direct lender offers a seamless online application process that can be completed without ever stepping into a bank. This means you may not have to talk to anyone throughout the application process or the funding of your loan, provided you don’t have any questions. If you are approved, Best Egg may also be able to transfer funds electronically to your bank account in as little as 1 business day.

To qualify for a personal loan from Best Egg, you’ll need a minimum credit score of 640. Considering the average credit score in the United States was 704 last year, this means many consumers can qualify for a Best Egg loan, provided they meet the other requirements. Speaking of that, qualifying for a personal loan from Best Egg also requires a steady source of income and the ability to prove it along with a reasonable debt-to-income ratio (usually less than 35%).

To apply for a loan from Best Egg, you’ll need to meet some other requirements as well. All applicants must:

• be a U.S. citizen currently living in the U.S., or a permanent resident
• be of legal age to accept a loan in your state
• have a verifiable personal bank account with a routing number
• have a valid email address

In terms of extra perks, you won’t find a lot of additional benefits with this lender. The Best Egg website focuses mostly on helping you apply for a personal loan for any reason, but there aren’t many added features beyond the ability to file a loan application. However, Best Egg does offer a helpful FAQ section on their website that can help you change your loan due date, make a payment, or get answers to important loan questions.

The biggest draw of Best Egg personal loans is the fact that they offer fast funding with low rates, although it’s important to note that your rate will vary dramatically depending on your credit score and other factors. Also be aware that Best Egg does let consumers get “pre-approved” for a personal loan with a soft inquiry on their credit report. This is advantageous, since it lets borrowers gauge their ability to qualify for a loan without harming their credit score.

• Related: When You Should (and Shouldn’t) Use a Personal Loan

Best Egg Personal Loans: What to Watch Out For

Best Egg does offer very competitive rates on their personal loans, but it’s important to keep in mind that the best rates and loan terms go to those with a good credit score. Their lowest advertised rate for personal loans is 5.99%, but their highest rate is 29.99%! That’s a broad spread, and one that could be costly if your credit score lands you on the higher end of the scale.

Another downside of Best Egg personal loans is the origination fee they charge which, once again, can vary drastically, ranging from 0.99% to 5.99%. If you wind up with a personal loan with a high interest rate and a 5.99% origination fee, borrowing money will be a costly endeavor.

Some other lenders don’t charge origination fees on their personal loans. Examples include LightStream, Earnest, and SoFi. This goes to show just how important it is to shop around for a personal loan. Even if you get the best interest rate with Best Egg, it’s crucial to make an “apples to apples” comparison that considers interest rates, origination fees, and any other charges. It may even be beneficial to shop around using a loan marketplace that lets you compare loans from multiple lenders instead of a single direct lender like Best Egg.

One final downside of using Best Egg is the fact this lender doesn’t originate loans in every state. If you live in Iowa, Vermont, or West Virginia, you’re out of luck and need to apply for a loan with a different lender. Fortunately, there are plenty to choose from.

Who Best Egg Personal Loans are Best for:

• Consumers with good credit who need money fast
• Anyone can qualify for their best rates and loan terms
• Borrowers who can’t qualify for a personal loan without an origination fee

How We Rate Best Egg Personal Loans

At The Simple Dollar, we aim to provide a general overview of a lender’s products and services through a standard rating process. After a thorough research and discovery period, here’s how Best Egg stacks up:

Credible at a Glance
Overall Rating	Affordability (interest rates, fees, and terms)
	Availability (credit requirements, geographic reach)
	Ease of Use
	Transparency

How to Apply for a Personal Loan with Best Egg

We already mentioned one of the best features of Best Egg — the fact you can apply for a personal loan and complete the entire process online. This saves you from having to visit a physical bank branch to speak with a lender. With Best Egg’s easy online process, you can sit at your computer and complete your application at your own pace.

Applying for a personal loan with Best Egg is as easy as heading to their website and clicking on the button that says “apply now.”

From there, you’ll be prompted to enter basic personal information such as your name, your email address, and the last four digits of your Social Security number. If you received direct mail with a personal loan offer from Best Egg, you can also enter your “offer number” on their website.

As you proceed through the loan application process, you’ll also need to provide:

• Your full Social Security number
• Address
• Employment information
• Income
• Information on other debts
• Ideal loan amount and repayment term

Once you provide all the information Best Egg asks for, you can receive approval for your loan in less than a day. If you are approved, you may also be able to have funds electronically transferred to your bank account as soon as the next business day.

The Bottom Line

The decision to borrow money is never an easy one, but there are times when a personal loan could leave you better off financially. If you have high-interest credit card debt you desperately need to pay off, consolidating it with a personal loan with a low interest rate could help you save money and pay off debt faster. Personal loans can also be a smart option for consumers who want to take on an expensive remodeling project or pay for another large purchase.

Before you apply for a loan with Best Egg, however, we still suggest you shop around and compare loans terms and rates with a few different lenders. Best Egg does offer some of the best personal loans in the business, but you may get a better deal elsewhere. The best way to find out is to take the time to compare offers from at least three lenders.

Related:

• Best Personal Loans
• When Does It Make Sense to Refinance or Consolidate Your Student Loans?
• Best Debt Consolidation Loan Companies

The post Best Egg Loans Review appeared first on The Simple Dollar.

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PNC Bank: More Than a Virtual Wallet

Back in 2008, when the iPhone was brand new and Google was about to launch Android, traditional banks like PNC Bank were worried about the future.

Specifically, bankers wondered how they’d interact with millennials and younger digital natives as they aged into the economy.

PNC Bank tried to answer those questions when it launched Virtual Wallet in 2008.

Virtual Wallet took online banking to a new level, letting users track their spending using graphs. It even replaced some traditional banking vernacular with simpler, everyday words.

Later that year the economy almost melted down, and bankers had to start worrying about the present. But Virtual Wallet kept growing. The platform attracted a million users within four years.

Virtual Wallet is still central to the PNC Bank customer experience. Under its hood, you’ll still find PNC Bank’s traditional checking and savings accounts. So let’s take a closer look at those.

PNC Bank Review

1. About PNC Bank
2. Checking Accounts
3. Savings Accounts
4. Loans
5. Virtual Wallet

Getting to Know PNC Bank

A Brief History

PNC Bank traces its roots to the Pittsburgh Trust and Savings Co., founded in 1845. The firm grew and changed its name several times. By the mid-20th century, it had become Pittsburgh National Corp., hence the initials PNC.

Later on, in 1982, PNC merged with another PNC: Providence National Corp. of Philadelphia. These days the initials PNC don’t officially stand for either company’s name — it’s just PNC. PNC Bank is a subsidiary of PNC itself.

A steady stream of acquisitions in the 1980s and 1990s helped spread PNC Bank across the eastern half of the U.S.

Nineteen states — from Florida to New York and from Alabama to Michigan — have PNC Bank branches.

Where to Find PNC Bank Branches

With more than 2,600 physical branches and an additional 9,000 ATMs, you shouldn’t have trouble connecting with PNC Bank, as long as you live in one of its 19 states:

• Alabama
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kentucky
• Maryland
• Michigan
• Missouri
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Virginia
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin

If you don’t live in one of these states, you can still bank with PNC Bank online, including Virtual Wallet. Of course, you’d have a much harder time visiting a branch if you needed to speak to someone directly.

PNC Bank Today

If you’ve seen the PNC Bank logo before but you’re not sure where, it may have been in a grocery store, gas station, or college’s student center. The bank has an unusually large number of ATMs because of its partnerships with retailers and institutions in its 19-state coverage area.

Of course, you could use Virtual Wallet and PNC Bank’s other online tools from anywhere.

PNC Bank is now the nation’s sixth-largest bank measured by deposits. Like other large banks such as Wells Fargo and Bank of America, PNC Bank offers a wide variety of accounts without specializing in any particular service.

Instead, the bank seeks to be your everyday financial partner by providing a little of everything: checking, savings, CDs, IRAs, mortgages, lines of credit, credit cards, and even student loans.

Many of these accounts can be bundled into Virtual Wallet, so let’s take a closer look:

PNC Bank Checking Accounts  

Types of Checking Accounts

PNC Bank has three options for checking, and each one requires a minimum $25 opening deposit. Each one also charges monthly fees which you should be able to waive:

• PNC Bank Standard Checking: This is the bank’s most basic option. You can avoid its $7 monthly fee when the account receives $500 in qualifying direct deposits or maintains a $500 average monthly balance. Also, account holders age 62 or older will not be charged the monthly fee.
• PNC Bank Performance Checking: Account holders who want an interest-bearing checking account could choose this option. The account’s $15 monthly fee will be waived with $2,000 in qualifying direct deposits or an average monthly balance of $2,000. PNC Bank customers with $15,000 in combined accounts or investments will also avoid the fee. Your balance will gain a small amount of interest.
• PNC Bank Performance Select Checking: Performance Select can offer a higher interest rate on balances, but rates still won’t compare with an online bank’s high yield savings options. This account’s $25 monthly fee can be waived if you receive $5,000 in qualifying direct deposits or keep an average monthly balance of $5,000 or $25,000 in combined PNC accounts and investments. Perks with this account include bonus rates on CDs and lower fees on some PNC Bank loans, along with reimbursement of fees if you use another bank’s ATM and identity theft protection.

Check out PNC Bank’s checking accounts>>

What is a Qualifying Direct Deposit?

Most checking account holders can avoid monthly fees effortlessly through receiving qualifying direct deposits. This makes us wonder: What qualifies as a direct deposit?

Basically, money from your paycheck or another outside source such as the Social Security Administration or the IRS would qualify. Transfers from your other accounts or from a service like Venmo or PayPal wouldn’t qualify.  

What About Overdraft Fees?

Using Virtual Wallet can help you visualize your accounts and avoid overdrafting. But if you do spend too much, PNC Bank will charge you $36 up to four times a day for each overdraft.

The bank will also charge an additional $7 each time your account stays overdrawn for five or more days in a row. PNC Bank will continue charging $7 every five days until you reach $98, which equals 14 of the $7 fees.

You can avoid overdrafting by setting up automatic transfers to compensate for your low checking balance. Transfers can come from:

• Another PNC Bank checking account.
• A PNC Bank savings or money market account.
• A PNC Bank credit card.
• A personal line of credit.

Each automatic transfer still costs $10, but it’s money well spent if you can avoid several $36 charges. Naturally, lines of credit and credit cards will charge high interest rates on balances resulting from the automatic transfer.

PNC Purchase Payback

This rewards program connects to PNC Bank checking account debit cards and can gradually generate some extra money.

PNC Purchase Payback works kind of like Ebates.

You can activate special offers from retailers using online banking or Virtual Wallet, then use your PNC Bank debit card to make the qualifying purchase. The resulting cash back, usually 2 to 5 percent, will appear in your checking account automatically.

Like any rewards program, it’s best to use offers which fit your lifestyle. If you already shop at Target and you can earn money by continuing to do so, it’s a no-brainer to activate the offer.

It makes less sense to go out of your way to buy something you wouldn’t ordinarily buy just to receive  3 percent cash back.

PNC Bank Savings

Types of Savings Accounts

PNC Bank has three savings account options, and it offers a wider variety of CDs than many banks. First, let’s look at the traditional savings accounts since they work with Virtual Wallet:

• PNC Standard Savings: You’ll need $25 to open a Standard Savings account, which also has a $4 monthly fee unless you keep $300 in the account or transfer in at least $25 a month automatically from another PNC Bank account. The bank does not charge people younger than 18 a monthly fee for savings.
• PNC ‘S’ is for Savings: This account is designed specifically for children. It features Sesame Street®️ characters encouraging kids to save more money. Account holders younger than 18 will not pay a monthly fee. If you’re 18 or older, PNC Bank will charge $5 a month unless you have $300 in the account or set up at least $25 in automatic transfers from another PNC Bank account each month.
• Premiere Money Market: You’d need $100 to open this account, and its $12 monthly fee can be waived only by keeping $5,000 in the account each month. You’ll get a much better interest rate in a money market account.  

PNC Bank’s Savings Rates

Interest rates on PNC Bank’s Standard Savings and ‘S’ is for Savings accounts are usually lower than the national average. Standard Savings account holders with balances above $2,500 can earn at an interest rate closer to the national average.

The national average is lower than what you can find at an online-only bank specializing in savings.

If you’d like to earn money on your savings at PNC Bank, you’d be better off investing in a CD or opening a Money Market account.

Money Market accounts can generate a more respectable interest rate depending on your balance and your other PNC Bank accounts. For example, someone with Performance Select Checking at PNC Bank can qualify for higher Money Market savings rates.

Open an account with PNC Bank>>

PNC Bank CDs

With a CD you’re agreeing to leave your money alone for a specific period of time in exchange for earning at a higher interest rate. Typically, a longer term allows a higher interest rate.

You can’t buy a CD using Virtual Wallet, but you can get connected in online banking, by phone, or at a branch.

PNC is an outlier with its 10-year CDs. If you can set aside $1,000 or more for 10 years, it could grow at a rate that’s closer to a current high-yield savings rate.

Across the board, PNC Bank has more CD options than many other large banks:

• Fixed Rate: A basic CD with guaranteed rates and automated renewal at the end of the term. You’ll need at least $1,000 (7 to 89 days) or $2,000 (90 days to 10 years) to buy a fixed rate CD.
• Ready Access: Not sure you can leave your money alone for a few years? You might like PNC Bank’s Ready Access CD, which allows full liquidity after seven days. Terms range from three to 12 months, and interest rates will be lower. Minimum deposit: $1,000.
• Callable CD: PNC Bank’s Callable CD can earn a higher rate on a 3-year or a 5-year CD of at least $10,000. In exchange for the higher rate, the bank retains more control over the terms: It can “call” your CD early (after year 1 of a 3-year CD and after year 2 of a 5-year CD). If the bank calls your CD early, you can access the funds (penalty free) for 10 days or leave the money alone and it will roll into a new 12-month CD.
• Variable Rate CD: If you worry interest rates might increase after you commit to a CD, a variable rate CD may be a good fit. You’d need at least $1,000 to buy in, and PNC Bank offers only 18-month terms for variable rate CDs. Your rate will be tied to U.S. Treasury Bonds.
• Step Rate CD: With a $2,500 minimum deposit you can get into a 36-month Step Rate CD whose rates increase every six months. Before each scheduled rate increase, you can access your money without a fee. This freedom requires some compromise: You’ll get a lower rate than a standard 36-month CD.

PNC Bank IRAs

Even young adults can benefit from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), which offers tax advantages when you save for retirement.

PNC Bank has Traditional and Roth IRAs and programs to help roll your 401(k) savings into an IRA when you change employers.

PNC Bank Loan Programs

Along with checking and savings, PNC Bank offers customers a standard variety of borrowing programs.

PNC Bank Mortgages

You can borrow money to buy a home in several different ways at PNC Bank:

• Fixed Rate: Your standard variety mortgage loan with a fixed interest rate for 10, 15, 20, or 30 years with amounts maxing out at about $484,000. You’d need to put at least 3 percent down.
• Adjustable Rate: If you’ll be earning more money in a few years or if you don’t plan to stay in the home very long, you could save money with an adjustable rate mortgage, which starts with a low rate then increases. You’d also need 3 percent down.
• Jumbo Loans: In a high-value real estate market like New York City, or if you’re buying beachfront property, you may need a jumbo loan which specializes in financing options above $484,000. Get a 15, 20, or 30-year loan with fixed or adjustable rate and the option to pay back only interest for part of the term.
• Subsidized: PNC Bank is authorized to work with the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to offer lower-cost loans to low income (FHA) buyers or veterans (VA).

With PNC Bank you can start the mortgage application process online, but the bank will transition to a traditional application using the information you’ve provided.

PNC Bank does consider non-traditional payment histories such as rent and utilities as it looks at your credit history, which can help some buyers. The bank’s site has educational videos and articles which can help first-time buyers.

But if you’re not already a PNC Bank customer, you’d have more options and a more seamless experience at an online lender such as Rocket Mortgage or PrimeLending, especially when you consider most large banks like PNC Bank sell most mortgages to other lenders anyway.

Refinances and Equity Loans

The bank’s mortgage programs can also help you refinance your property if you’re trying to get out of an adjustable rate mortgage or if you can now qualify for a lower fixed rate.

And, PNC Bank offers several loans to leverage your home’s equity:

• Choice Home Equity Line of Credit: Use your home equity to fund a credit card-style account you can use to finance home projects. The pay-as-you-go approach appeals to many borrowers who’d like to avoid a fixed loan. Also, homeowners who want to complete projects gradually enjoy the flexibility. Account minimum: $10,000.
• Home Equity Loan: If you want the stability of a fixed rate and you have your project already budgeted, a standard home equity loan can help. You could borrow as little as $1,000.
• Home Equity Rapid Refinance: Someone who needs to access equity right away — because of a repair that can’t wait or some kind of financial emergency — may want to speed up the process with this kind of loan. These loans are also popular when interest rates may increase soon.

Rates and fees with these loans aren’t anything to brag about. You can do better with a mortgage specialist.

Other PNC Bank Consumer Loans

If you’re already using PNC Bank’s checking and savings accounts — either with or without Virtual Wallet — you’ll also have access to the bank’s personal loan programs.

PNC Bank can help you with:

• Auto Loans: PNC Bank’s auto buying program is surprisingly robust. It’s stocked with helpful calculators, car-finding services, and loans designed for purchasing from a dealer or a private party. The bank also has easy-to-use loans for refinances or lease buyouts.
• Student Loans: PNC Bank private student loans can’t beat the lower cost of publicly financed options, but they have other benefits such as discounts when you enroll in autopay and the ability for your co-signer to opt out of the loan after you’ve made 48 on-time payments. Disadvantages include 12-month caps on forbearance periods.
• Personal Lines of Credit: PNC Bank lets you take out fixed personal loans — both secured and unsecured — for personal expenses such as unplanned medical bills, higher than anticipated tax bills, or simply to buy a big-ticket item such as a used boat. You can also get a personal line of credit with no collateral that works more like a credit card but with a lower interest rate.
• Credit Cards: You can find credit cards specializing in cash back bonuses, lower interest rates, travel rewards, and retail bonus points. Most options require no annual fee, and qualified applicants can get promotional periods of no interest. Even after the promotion expires, PNC Bank’s credit cards shave a few points off the industry’s highest interest rates.

Folding It All Together in Virtual Wallet

PNC Virtual Wallet builds off the ordinary PNC Bank accounts we’ve discussed to change the way customers interact with their money.

Despite the revolutionary talk a decade ago, Virtual Wallet hasn’t changed banking. Customers still have checking accounts, overdraft fees, monthly fees, and minimum deposits to consider.

Instead, Virtual Wallet is more like a budgeting app like Mint or Personal Capital, except with your PNC Bank accounts already tied in.

Virtual Wallet Features

The platform’s features include:

• Money Bar: At a glance you can see on a graph your available funds, your money that’s already tied up as an upcoming scheduled payment, and your money in savings.
• Calendar with Integrated Bill Pay: Virtual Wallet integrates your budget calendar with online bill payments. This can save a click or two.
• Budgeting Tools: You can set up budget categories and easily track how you’re doing. This feature encourages you to make a decision before overspending, which can help you stay accountable.
• Savings Tools: To help you save, Virtual Wallet distinguishes between long-term savings and short-term savings for a specific purchase such as an auto downpayment. The platform also encourages savings through auto transfers and impromptu deposits called “punch the pig.”
• Account Options: How you build your Virtual Wallet can vary. It can include standard checking and savings accounts or PNC Bank’s more exclusive accounts (Performance checking, for example).
• Transfers: Of course you can easily transfer money between accounts using Virtual Wallet. You can also pay someone else with Popmoney, a P2P-style service. Mobile deposit is available using Virtual Wallet’s smartphone apps.

Virtual Wallet Key Fees

Along with the waivable monthly fees and overdraft fees we’ve already discussed when we looked at individual checking and savings accounts, Virtual Wallet customers should be aware of these common fees:

• Paper statement fee: To receive a paper statement, PNC Bank will charge an additional $2 a month. For $3 you can get a statement with images.
• Staff-assisted transfers: If you call PNC Bank to transfer money rather than transferring money online or at an ATM, the bank will charge $3.
• ATM statements: To get a full statement at an ATM you’ll be charged $3. You can get a mini-statement for $2.
• Out-of-U.S. ATM fees: The bank will charge $3 or 3 percent, whichever is higher, for using an ATM outside the United States.
• Card replacement: If you lose your PNC Bank debit card, you’ll pay $7 for a replacement.
• Early closure: PNC Bank can charge $25 if you close your account within 180 days of opening it.

Four Different Virtual Wallets

PNC Virtual Wallet now comes in four varieties:

• Virtual Wallet: The original and most basic version; includes PNC Bank Standard Checking and a $7 fee each month unless you’re a student or you’re older than 62. You can waive the fee by receiving $500 in qualifying direct deposits or keeping $500 in checking (called Spend in Virtual Wallet) or $500 in savings (Reserve).
• Virtual Wallet With Performance Spend: Folds in PNC Bank’s Performance checking instead of Standard checking. You can earn a small return on your checking balance if you keep $2,000 in checking (Spend); avoid the monthly $15 fee with $2,000 in qualifying direct deposits or $2,000 in checking or savings.
• Virtual Wallet With Performance Select: Includes PNC Bank’s Performance Select checking with its ability to earn higher interest on larger balances. Waive the $25 fee by keeping $5,000 or more in the bank or having a combined $25,000 in all PNC Bank accounts or balances.
• Virtual Wallet Student: Works like the standard version of Virtual Wallet except parents can monitor from a connected account.

Do PNC Bank and Virtual Wallet Fit Your Life?

If you live near a branch and you’d like to start a new personal banking relationship, PNC Bank should be in a position to handle your everyday needs.

Of course, online reviews will show you testimonials from unhappy customers. That’s true of just about any bank if you look around long enough.

Many bad experiences result from misunderstandings or a failure to read the fine print. Other times, negative reviewers have legitimate issues to discuss. I’d start paying more attention to reviews when you see the same problem arising consistently among multiple customers.

PNC Bank does a lot of things well. It’s not the best at any particular type of account.

You’ll find higher interest rates on savings and lower fees at an online bank. You can find a more seamless mortgage application elsewhere, too.

But PNC Bank does excel at putting it all together.

Whether you’re using a Virtual Wallet product or simply interacting with the bank like you did a generation ago, PNC Bank can be a reliable partner.

Learn more about PNC Bank>>

The post PNC Bank: More Than a Virtual Wallet appeared first on Good Financial Cents®.

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The Best Ecommerce Website Builder

Launching an online store and trying to decide among the best ecommerce website builders, but don’t know which one’s right for you? They all seem to promise the same things: gorgeous templates, robust analytics, effortless inventory management, wonderful customer support.

I’ve got you covered. I took a look at all of the options to find the best website builder for creating an online store.

In my research, I paid attention to the following criteria:

• Functionality — The major difference between an ecommerce site builder and a “normal” website builder is you’re going to be running your business off this platform. It needs to accept payments instantly and securely. It needs to have a useful dashboard to monitor traffic, sales, and inventory. It needs to keep have a cart the makes buying easy, and a system for calculating shipping.
• Ease of use — There should be an easy way to add and remove products, an easy way to see your analytics, and an intuitive sales dashboard that can serve as your home base.
• Design — The templates should look good out of the box and be easy to customize without expert (read: $$) help; and the designs should be pretty hard to mess it up or make worse.
• Customer support — When things get tricky, you don’t want to feel like you’re going it alone.
• Marketing — The pages should be SEO optimized, and the template should work work with your social channels and easily to connect paid ad channels.
• Add ons — Since almost no system will have everything for everyone out of the box, I made sure the website builder had a way to accommodate additional needs.
• Pricing — Sure, I get that an all-in-one solution like an ecommerce website builder will be more expensive than a DIY option, but we don’t want to pay through the nose, and we want what we get to be worth it. This includes the terms for payment processing. This is the last bullet on the list for a reason though: saving a penny here isn’t worth losing out on a dollar later on.

Which online store builder should I use?

The short answer: You should probably go with Shopify, especially if you plan to do more than $5,000/month in sales. It’s the industry leader for a reason. It has the level of in-depth analytics, inventory management, POS, shipping options, and every other ecommerce feature that you need (and that you really need at the $5,000+ level. If you’re not thinking that big, it’s time to get started.

New digitally-native and niche brands are the future of retail. — “Small Is The New Big,” Forbes

If you’re running more of a professional portfolio with some sales or subscription offerings, then hen you should check out Squarespace. Price wise, they’re basically the same. Squarespace wins for design; Shopify wins for ecommerce features.

The other online store builder worth recommending is Wix, which has a pretty cool AI-builder that’ll turn your social media into a website with a coordinating color palette and pre-populated photos. If you run a bookings-based business, or a music business, then there are features in the Wix stores that are definitely worth checking out. It’s also one of the cheapest options, though if you’re picking your ecommerce platform by price alone, we need to have a side conversation about how you need to get your head in the game. There are some flaws I discuss further down in the in-depth reviews you should take into account — and see if they’re dealbreakers for you during your free-trial period.

Side note: No matter which website builder you pick, you should use the free-trial period as a test run. What features are missing and can you live without them? What’s it like to actually run your business from that platform?

I also reviewed WooCommerce which is an open-source, subscription-free way to sell things through your WordPress store. If you’re running a content site, I wholeheartedly recommend building your site with WordPress; it just wins in the content management space. Simple as that.

Finally, Weebly, which was recently acquired by payments processor Square, is fine, but not impressive. The standards set by Shopify, Squarespace and the other contenders are just too high for Weebly to hit them. I’ll keep an eye out though.

The top 5 ecommerce website builders compared

Shopify

• Best ecommerce platform for most businesses
• Drag-and-drop store builder
• 70 themes: 10 free + 60 paid
• Competitive pricing

Shopify is my favorite ecommerce software — and the one I recommend to just about everyone. It’s the leader in the industry and rightfully so. The most important ecommerce features are ready to go without any customization, and Shopify makes it easy to customize anything else with its super robust app store. If you run into any issues, there’s 24/7 support.

The worst thing about Shopify is the price point — and it’s generally competitive. The subscription, which starts at $29/month is right in line with what you’d pay with any hosted option, and so are the payment processing fees, which start at 2.9% + 30¢ credit card rates and only get better from there. I just don’t like the 2% additional fee for non-Shopify payment processors. I get that Shopify wants you to stay in the Shopify ecosystem, but offering multiple payment options is better for customers and one of our 8 quick wins for ecommerce sites.

Pros

• Robust app store
• Clean, modern themes
• Intuitive product pages
• Easy-to-use drag-and-drop store builder
• Competitive payment processing rates
• Safety and security
• Speed
• Can create landing pages
• Optimized for SEO
• 24/7 Support

Cons

• Additional fee for payments from non-Shopify payment processors, like PayPal for example
• Blog feature is minimal — it’s technically there, but it’s not enough to run a content site on
• Majority of the apps in the Shopify app store aren’t free, so you could also increase your monthly spend there
• Liquid set up, not PHP
• Lock-in feature — it can be challenging to move your store away from Shopify. It’ll export as a CSV file, but it’ll be time-consuming to rebuild where you go next

Shopify pricing

It’s competitive, but like I said charges an kind of annoying fee for external payment processors. All in all, I think the price is worth it.

• $29/mo for Basic Shopify — 2.9% + 30¢ credit card rates + 2% for non-Shopify payment processors
• $79/mo for Shopify — 2.6% + 30¢ + 1% for non-Shopify payment processors
• $299/mo for Advanced Shopify  — 2.4% + 30¢ + 0.5% for non-Shopify payment processors

The difference between these packages:

• Increase in number of staff accounts: 2, 5, 15
• Unlock gift cards, reporting, and advanced reporting
• Unlock third-party shipping calculations
• Better rates on shipping and payment processing as you increase in the plans

Shopify themes

When choosing a theme, I suggest skipping filtering by price point. None of the themes on Shopify are going to break the bank — the most expensive themes are $180. If a theme has what you want, that’s the theme for you. Go to the all themes and ask yourself a few questions.

The first question is the most important:

• How many products are you selling? Just one? A few? A lot? If you are selling one item your site will be very different than another online store that’s selling hundreds. In fact, set this filter and see if that’s enough to bring the templates down to a reasonable number.

If the number is still large, then you can filter even further:

• Do you need a size chart?
• What social media do you want integrated? Instagram? Twitter? Pop-up email form?
• Would you like a “related products” feature?
• Do you need video capabilities?
• What layout and menu option will be easiest for your user to navigate?
• What’s your store’s style? What’s your business like? Which theme reflects your business and creates the feeling or idea in your customer that you’re looking for? If you don’t have a clue where to start with this question, I recommend filtering by Industry. You’ll get a sense of the types of designs Shopify considers in line with most businesses like yours.
• How are you going to tell your brand story? Is it in video? Writing? Photos? Are you running a crowdfunding campaign and the goal tracker is part of that story?

Find one you think you like? Check the theme reviews.

If other people have this theme and are frustrated, that’s a little peek into the future for you too.

Back away from themes with frustrated customers who haven’t had good luck with customer service.

Take a look at the demo sites both mobile and desktop versions. Then take a look at the actual stores using the theme. Are these in line with what you want to make?

If everything checks out, choose your theme. Don’t worry — you don’t have to buy it now. You’ll pay for it later, after you have a chance to test it out. Do check out the different versions of the theme — these will control the overall look and feel of your site, and you’ll want to decide which one you like best at this point. It can be hard to tell which one is best when you have only template content to look at.

I went through this process with a hypothetical business that sells one, and found a theme I like for this business. I chose the Showcase theme because I like the full-page photography. I picked the theme, answered a few questions from Shopify and then got to my dashboard.

From here, I can add merchandise, or I can customize my theme. I’ll do a little bit of both, of course.

Key changes to make:

• Change the font — this ensures your store will look different than other stores, even stores with the same theme
• Layout, content blocks — you’ll drag and drop these in the menu on the left side and the preview will update to the right
• Attach your social media feeds
• Customize the cart experience

Shopify app store

If there’s anything your theme doesn’t have, like customer reviews, there’s the Shopify app store. Basically the apps are little snippets of code that will add a feature to your Shopify store. It’s like having a dev build something for you, but because Shopify is a huge ecosystem, you don’t have to pay them the real price of custom building you something. They’re going to sell this same code to thousands of other stores. I love this about Shopify. According to the Shopify app store, more than 80% of stores use apps — and I’ll bet if you filtered that number by the number of live, active stores that are really making sales, then the percentage would be really really close to 100%.

Squarespace

• Stunning templates
• Professional look
• Ideal for portfolio sites
• Has a learning curve

Squarespace has a reputation for beautifully designed templates. That reputation applies to its ecommerce store themes as well. They’re handsome, I must admit it. There are a few things you should know going in: I recommend Squarespace more for professional portfolio sites than true ecommerce stores. It’s just set up for those kinds of stores better.

It’s not a bad idea to run your online store with Squarespace; Shopify is just easier when it comes to managing inventory and customizing every little nuance of your store. The Squarespace builder is a module-based builder. It’s not drag-and-drop — but you can get the hang of it pretty easy. Don’t get frustrated by the “demo” content or “sample” pages. You’ll have to copy the page before you can customize it, a silly step but not one to deter you from getting your work done.

Pros

• Gorgeous templates
• Incredible looking result
• 24/7 support
• 15-day free trial

Cons

• Tabbed interface that’s not super intuitive
• Design requires high-quality photography (which you should get)
• Only integrates with Stripe, PayPal, and Apple Pay
• No app marketplace

Squarespace pricing

• Basic online store: $26/month billed annually
• Advanced online store: $40/month billed annually

What’s the difference between these plans?

The Advanced plan includes flexible coupons, subscriptions, abandoned cart auto recovery, gift cards, and advanced shipping. Unless you want one of these features, you’ll be good with the Basic online store. There are also two other plans that aren’t aimed at ecommerce stores — Personal website for $12/month billed annually, and Business website for $18/month billed annually. With the Personal plan you can’t sell anything. With the Business plan you can, but you’ll pay a 3% transaction fee. If you’re doing more than $275 in sales each month, there’s no question between the two plans — you’d be paying in fees the difference in the price without unlocking any of the online store features like inventory, tax, coupons, and shipping labels.

You can also upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time. Unless you know you want one of the Advanced features, I’d start with the Basic online store and go from there.

Squarespace templates

All of them are beautiful. Let’s start there. To find one that fits your store, I’d start by sorting into Online Stores. You’ll see your options are narrowed to 11 templates. Then ask yourself:

• How many products do I want featured on the homepage?
• What amazing photography do I have?
• Do I want to use video backgrounds?
• Does the quality of my images stand up to the quality of the Squarespace design?
• Do I have much to say in words? Do I want those words over the top of my images or beside them?
• What kind of menu do I want?
• Do I want anything specific: Grid layout? Scrolling features? On-hover effects?

I suggest you preview the theme and notice what it’s like to use the example layout. To be honest, your site is going to be at best like this one, so if there’s anything you don’t like, take note. It’ll likely annoy you even worse in your own store.

Once you find a layout you like, click Start with “Theme Name.” You’ll create an account at this point. Don’t worry, you don’t have to pay yet — you have a 15-day free trial to customize the store and make sure it’s what you want.

To make changes to the pages, you’ll need to make copies of the sample pages. The interface is minimal and soothing, but not very helpful. Just get in a meditative mindset and keep clicking to figure things out. There are a lot of tabbed sections, which I don’t love. But it’s not challenging.

I wouldn’t call the builder drag-and-drop — it’s more of a module based style to build and go. You’ll get use to it the more time you spend with the system. Though, I’ve gotta say, if you’re using Squarespace, I suggest you take your cues from the design that’s ready-made. It’s one of the things you’re paying for.

Wix

• 500 templates
• Drag-and-drop without limitations
• Quick-start with the help of an AI designer
• Unique templates for booking, music, events and restaurants

I really like the way Wix has used AI to automate the design decisions. It’s the exact opposite of the Weebly approach of making you pick a theme based on your first glance. If you already have some web presence — maybe in your Instagram or Facebook — Wix will take the work you’ve already done and create a website to match. You can also start from scratch. That’s one of the things I like most about Wix. It’s pretty much down to help you build your online store the way you want to: with help or without, from scratch or from a template, in the drag-and-drop builder or deep in the code.

Pros

• Cheapest website builder in this list
• Dozens of payment gateways including Square, Stripe, and 2Checkout
• VIP Priority Callback support option

Cons

• Limited reporting and analytics
• No way to automate or integrate tracking numbers
• Product pages don’t have a sort filter

The biggest drawbacks for Wix are its store features. Some very basic things you’ll want to do if you’re actually shipping products may become very irritating. I’m talking things like attaching tracking numbers to orders or downloading your reports.

If you’re making the choice on which ecommerce website builder to use simply on price, I implore you to stop using that as your methodology. There is a false logic at play. The $6 you’d save by choosing one website builder over the other will not be worth it when you’re wasting time trying to make the software do something it’s simply not built to do. Give the website builder you do select a thorough test run during your trial. This is the software you are using to run your business — don’t let a few bucks stand in the way of getting software that’ll really support you.

Wix pricing

• Business Basic for $20/month
• Business Unlimited for $25/month
• Business VIP for $30/month

What’s the difference between these plans?

• Storage: 20GB, 35GB, 50GB
• Video hours: 5 hours, 10 hours, unlimited
• VIP plan also gets VIP support with Priority Response
• There are also 4 non-ecommerce plans that won’t allow you to accept payments

If you’re interested in learning how to make a Wix website for your online store, I have a whole tutorial on it, so I won’t repeat myself here.

WordPress with WooCommerce

• Complete control over your ecommerce site
• No subscription fees
• 1 theme, with variations and customizations

WooCommerce is a little bit different than the other ecommerce options we’ve looked at so far. It’s a self-hosted option, which is the more DIY version. A website builder like Shopify is like living in a hotel where everything is already included: there’s a coffee maker and coffee grinds, clean towels, and shampoo. If anything breaks you know you’ll have help. But it’s also more expensive and you have less control and ownership. You can’t take the towels from the hotel home with you, for example. With WooCommerce, you’ll build your own site on WordPress and use the free WooCommerce Storefront theme. It’s not a drag-and-drop website builder, but you can customize the look and feel.

Pros

• Free theme
• Works with WordPress blog
• Great for content-heavy sites
• Easy to customize with add-ons

Cons

• Not a drag-and-drop builder
• Not an all-in-one solution

WooCommerce pricing

• Free
• Common add-ons range from $10–$60 a year

With WooCommerce you can get started for free. You’ll need to buy a domain name and set up web hosting. We have a how-to guide on all those steps here in How to Start a Blog. When you get to Step 6, choose a theme, you’ll choose the WooCommerce Storefront theme. There are a few different “child themes” to choose from — these change the look of the theme the way a new coat of paint changes the look of a room. Some child themes are free; others are $39.

I recommend also checking out the WooCommerce extensions. Most sites will benefit from the customizer bundle. You may also need features like the pricing table, a contact section (yes, you definitely want this), and maybe a hamburger menu. Some extensions are free, others are paid. The price points are reasonable.

Weebly

• 35 ecommerce themes
• 348 apps

Weebly was bought by Square in 2018, and though Weebly is run as a separate business, it’s clear to me that Square is attempting to bolster it’s full-service suite of offerings for small businesses — with the cornerstone of that suite being in-person POS systems and payment processing. The drag-and-drop builder is intuitive, but the set-up and guidance isn’t all there for me. For the price point — $4/month less than Shopify — I don’t think it’s worth going with Weebly.  

Pros

• Intuitive drag-and-drop builder
• Includes memberships, forums, support

Cons

• Not very useful in helping pick a theme
• No way to sort themes by feature
• Cluttered page system that’s not good for more than 10 pages
• You’ll need to manually copy blog posts if you migrate

If you’re launching an online store, you can skip right over the Starter and Pro plans — you’ll be pay a premium of 3% on every transaction and you’ll be limited in a lot of ways. You won’t be able to modify your cart, for example. For the price, I think you’ll get a better store from Shopify’s $29/month plan.

• Starter $8/month annually
• Pro $12/month billed annually
• Business $25/month billed annually
• Performance $38/month billed annually

What’s the difference between these plans?

• Weebly transaction fee: 3% on Starter and Pro, 0% on Business and Performance
• Number of products: 10, 25, unlimited, unlimited
• Features only available on Business and Performance: Shopping cart, digital goods, product reviews, coupons, inventory manager, shipping calculator, among others

Weebly themes

When you create a store, Weebly will ask what you’re selling and if it’s online or offline, or both. After just two questions, it’ll pop you into a store for you. This seems kind of curt, and it is. When you click customize your store, you’ll be able to choose a new theme. How will you decide? Weebly doesn’t make it easy — there’s a page of themes offered, but you can only sort them by the top-of-the-fold look and feel.

Weebly pricing

The first few options are pretty and white.

Take note of a few things:

• How large are the photos?
• Is there a border?
• Is there text on the photos?
• Is there a CTA?
• Where is the menu?
• How many products are featured in that first view?

Since there’s no filtering, your best hope is to choose one you think looks like your store should look.

It’s pretty intuitive to add products and personalize your store. Keep checking back with the preview and you should do fine.

In sum: How to choose the right ecommerce platform for your online store

For an online store, you can’t go wrong with Shopify. It’s the industry leader, easily one of the best ecommerce website builders, and it’s well worth the price point. I like it a lot — particularly how much you can customize it with the app store. It’s got the analytics you need to run a real ecommerce shop. I also like the designs from Squarespace. They really do make it possible for a total beginner to create a professional looking site.

The other contenders for all-in-one builders are Wix and Weebly. I found them to have limitations, so they’re not my top picks. I did like the Wix AI creator and the features it boasts for booking businesses and other speciality stores, like music or video creators. It’s worth checking out (there’s a free trial period) if one of those things intrigues you. I’ll keep tabs on Weebly. However, right now it doesn’t come close to competing with Shopify and Squarespace.

If you want to run a WordPress site, then look into WooCommerce. You’ll find it is very familiar and has all the things that are great about any WordPress site: nearly limitless customization, great content management, excellent SEO, all subscription-free and open source. Granted, you’ll probably end up spending some on customizations and will need to throw down for your domain name and your web host. But if you’re the type that’s curious about building a self-hosted site, you already knew all that.

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