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E-Commerce · head to head

Ecwid vs Heartland Retail

Ecwid logo

Ecwid

E-Commerce

Sell anywhere ecommerce platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Heartland Retail logo

Heartland Retail

E-Commerce

Cloud point of sale and inventory management sold alongside Heartland card processing

From
$150/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Ecwid has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Ecwid the $5 a month Starter plan caps the catalogue at 10 products; Heartland Retail the software is sold as part of a card processing relationship, so the monthly licence understates the real cost and the processing rate is the number that determines what you pay over a year.
  • They diverge on capability: Ecwid covers Omnichannel selling, Heartland Retail covers Multi-store inventory.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ecwid and Heartland Retail actually diverge.

Attributes where Ecwid and Heartland Retail differ
AttributeEcwidHeartland Retail
Starting priceFree$150/month
Free tierYesNo
Founded20091997

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Ecwid

  • Omnichannel selling
  • Product catalog
  • Payment processing
  • Inventory management
  • Email marketing
  • Analytics
  • Mobile app
  • API access

Only in Heartland Retail

  • Multi-store inventory
  • Cloud point of sale
  • Purchasing and receiving
  • Customer records
  • Sales and stock reporting
  • Integrated card processing
  • E-commerce integrations

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Ecwid

  • E-commerce store setup with no transaction fees charged by Ecwidnot Heartland Retail
  • Multi-channel selling across Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Pinterestnot Heartland Retail
  • Automated email marketing with abandoned cart recovery campaignsnot Heartland Retail
  • Inventory management and order tracking across all sales channelsnot Heartland Retail
  • AI-powered product photo background removal and enhancementnot Heartland Retail

Heartland Retail

  • A specialty retailer opening a third or fourth site that needs one stock position across all of themnot Ecwid
  • Replacing a legacy on-premise till system that requires a server in the back office of every storenot Ecwid
  • A retailer whose buying team needs purchase orders and receiving rather than just a cash registernot Ecwid
  • An existing Heartland processing customer consolidating software and payments under one suppliernot Ecwid

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Ecwid

  • The $5 a month Starter plan caps the catalogue at 10 products
  • Staff accounts start at the Business plan, and are limited to 2 until the Unlimited plan
  • Abandoned cart recovery requires the Business plan at $65 a month
  • In person selling through POS integration is Unlimited only, at $149 a month
  • The Venture plan at $35 a month still caps products at 100

Heartland Retail

  • The software is sold as part of a card processing relationship, so the monthly licence understates the real cost and the processing rate is the number that determines what you pay over a year.
  • Leaving means changing till software and merchant account together, and since the payment terminals, the reporting history and the staff training are all tied to the same supplier, the switching cost is far higher than a software migration alone.
  • It is not an online store platform, so a merchant selling on the web still buys and maintains a separate e-commerce platform, and the stock and order integration between the two is an ongoing operational dependency rather than a one-off setup.
  • Historical sales and customer purchase history rarely migrate cleanly out of a point of sale system, so a retailer who switches typically starts with an empty history and keeps the old system read-only, paying for it, for years.
  • Heartland sits within Global Payments, a group that has repeatedly restructured its portfolio through acquisitions and divestitures, so which entity owns and invests in this specific product is not stable over a long contract term.

Pricing, plan by plan

Ecwid

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Up to 10 products
    • Basic storefront
    • Standard payment methods
  • Unlimited$99.08/month
    • Unlimited products
    • Advanced features
    • Priority support

Heartland Retail

$150/month
  • Core$150/month
    • POS system
    • Inventory management
    • Customer management
  • Professional$350/month
    • All Core features
    • Omnichannel
    • Advanced analytics

Which should you pick?

Choose Ecwid if

  • You need omnichannel selling.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want product catalog.
Ecwid review

Choose Heartland Retail if

  • You need multi-store inventory.
  • You also want cloud point of sale.
Heartland Retail review

Questions people ask

Is Ecwid or Heartland Retail better?
Neither clearly leads. Ecwid starts at Free and Heartland Retail at $150/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Ecwid or Heartland Retail?
Ecwid has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Ecwid and $150/month for Heartland Retail.
Does Ecwid or Heartland Retail run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Ecwid for free?
Yes. Ecwid has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Heartland Retail starts at $150/month.
What is Ecwid best used for?
Ecwid is most often used for e-commerce store setup with no transaction fees charged by ecwid, multi-channel selling across instagram, facebook, tiktok, and pinterest, automated email marketing with abandoned cart recovery campaigns, inventory management and order tracking across all sales channels. Of those, e-commerce store setup with no transaction fees charged by ecwid and multi-channel selling across instagram, facebook, tiktok, and pinterest are not what Heartland Retail is typically brought in for.
What can Ecwid do that Heartland Retail cannot?
Ecwid covers Omnichannel selling, Product catalog, Payment processing, Inventory management. Heartland Retail covers Multi-store inventory, Cloud point of sale, Purchasing and receiving, Customer records.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ecwid: Does Ecwid charge transaction fees?

Ecwid states on its site: no transaction fees. However, pricing tiers and their specific features are not disclosed on the vendor's public pages.

Source
Heartland Retail: Can I use it as my online store?

No. It manages the shop floor and stock. Selling online means a separate e-commerce platform and an integration to keep the catalogue and stock aligned.

Ecwid: Is there a free version of Ecwid?

Ecwid offers a free tier to launch a store and start selling. Specific upgrade tiers and costs are not listed on the vendor's website.

Source
Heartland Retail: Do I have to use Heartland for card processing?

The product is sold as part of a payments relationship, and that is where the supplier's margin sits. Ask explicitly what the software costs standalone before assuming you have a choice.

Ecwid: How much does Ecwid cost?

Ecwid does not publish pricing details on its website. The vendor directs users to contact sales or view pricing, but specific rates are not displayed publicly.

Source
Heartland Retail: What should I negotiate hardest on?

The card processing rate and the contract term, not the software subscription. Ask for interchange-plus pricing in writing rather than a blended rate.

Heartland Retail: What happens to my sales history if I leave?

Assume products and current stock export cleanly and that years of transaction history do not. Budget for keeping the old system available read-only during any transition.

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