Best E-commerce Platforms 2025: Shopify vs Amazon vs TikTok Shop. Which platform is better for sellers? Fees, features, and seller horror stories.
Which brand leads in AI visibility and mentions.
Brands most often recommended by AI models
Top Choice
Models Agree
Overall ranking based on AI brand mentions
Rank #1
Total Analyzed Answers
Recent shifts in AI model responses
Rising Star
Growth Rate
Analysis of brand presence in AI-generated responses.
Brands ranked by share of AI mentions in answers
Visibility share trends over time across compared brands
Key insights from AI Apps comparisons across major topics
Shopify generally has lower total fees compared to most marketplace platforms, as perceived by the majority of models due to its transparent pricing structure and customizable plans.
Gemini shows a slight preference for Shopify with a visibility share of 3.1%, equal to top marketplace platforms like Etsy and AWS, suggesting comparable attention but leans toward Shopify for lower fees due to direct control over pricing without hefty marketplace commissions. Sentiment tone is neutral, focusing on balanced visibility without strong bias.
Perplexity favors Shopify slightly with a 2.8% visibility share compared to Etsy at 2.6%, indicating a perception of lower fees through Shopify’s subscription model versus marketplace transaction cuts. Sentiment tone is neutral, with no explicit critique of either side but a subtle tilt toward Shopify’s cost structure.
ChatGPT significantly favors Shopify, eBay, and AWS equally at 9.2% visibility share, but leans toward Shopify for lower total fees due to fewer transaction layers compared to marketplace platforms like eBay or Etsy (8.7%). Sentiment tone is positive toward Shopify, reflecting strong confidence in its fee advantage.
DeepSeek perceives Shopify, eBay, AWS, and Etsy equally at 2.8% visibility share, showing no clear preference but implies Shopify might have lower fees due to its independent platform model avoiding marketplace percentage cuts. Sentiment tone is neutral, focusing on visibility parity without emotional bias.
Grok equally ranks Shopify, eBay, AWS, and Etsy at 2.8% visibility share, with a neutral stance but a slight lean toward Shopify for lower fees due to its direct-to-consumer focus over marketplace commission structures. Sentiment tone remains neutral, prioritizing factual visibility data over strong opinions.
Self-hosted platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce are generally perceived as treating sellers better due to greater control and customization, though marketplaces like Etsy and eBay are valued for built-in traffic and ease of use.
ChatGPT shows a slight favoritism toward self-hosted platforms like Shopify (9%) and WooCommerce (7.9%), likely due to their flexibility and seller autonomy, while marketplaces like Etsy (7.9%) and eBay (7.4%) are also prominent for their community and traffic benefits. Its tone is neutral, balancing both options without strong bias.
Deepseek leans toward self-hosted platforms like Shopify and AWS (both at 3.3%) for their control and scalability, while marketplaces like Etsy (3.1%) and eBay (2.6%) are seen as accessible but less empowering. Its tone is slightly positive toward self-hosted options, emphasizing seller independence.
Perplexity distributes visibility more evenly but slightly favors Shopify, TikTok, and AWS (all at 2.1%), hinting at a preference for platforms offering innovation and direct seller tools over traditional marketplaces. Its tone is neutral, with a focus on ecosystem potential rather than a definitive stance on seller treatment.
Gemini equally highlights Shopify, WooCommerce, eBay, AWS, and Etsy (all at 3.3%), suggesting both self-hosted and marketplace platforms have merits—control for the former and audience reach for the latter. Its tone is positive, reflecting optimism about seller options across both categories.
Building your brand on platforms like Shopify holds a slight edge over selling on marketplaces like eBay or Etsy across the models, primarily due to the emphasis on long-term control and customer loyalty over immediate reach.
ChatGPT favors building a brand through platforms like Shopify (7.2% visibility) over marketplaces like eBay (7.2%) or Etsy (7.9%), emphasizing Shopify's strength in enabling direct customer relationships and customization. Its tone is positive toward brand-building, highlighting control and scalability as key benefits.
Gemini shows a balanced view but leans slightly toward brand-building with Shopify (2.8%) over marketplaces like eBay (2.8%) or Etsy (2.8%), focusing on Shopify’s ecosystem for personalized customer engagement. Its tone is neutral, acknowledging the accessibility of marketplaces but prioritizing long-term brand value.
DeepSeek appears neutral, with comparable visibility for Shopify (2.6%) and marketplaces like eBay (2.3%) or ETSY (2.1%), suggesting no strong preference but noting brand-building offers independence while marketplaces provide instant audience access. Its tone is neutral, presenting a pragmatic trade-off between control and reach.
Grok slightly favors marketplaces like eBay (3.1%) and Etsy (3.1%) over Shopify (2.8%), pointing to the immediate customer base and lower entry barriers of marketplaces as advantages for quick sales. Its tone is positive toward marketplaces, focusing on adoption patterns and ease of scaling.
Perplexity leans toward brand-building with Shopify (2.1%) over marketplaces like eBay (1.8%) or Etsy (1.8%), valuing the ability to create a unique user experience and retain customer data. Its tone is positive, stressing innovation and ecosystem benefits for long-term growth.
Shopify emerges as the leading platform for both beginners and experienced sellers due to its higher visibility share across multiple models and perceived ease of use for varying skill levels.
Gemini shows a slight favor towards Shopify and WooCommerce, both with a 2.3% visibility share, over WordPress at 2.1%, likely due to their user-friendly setup for beginners and scalability for experienced sellers. Its tone is neutral, reflecting balanced visibility without strong sentiment.
ChatGPT strongly favors Shopify with an 8.5% visibility share, alongside high visibility for eBay, AWS, and Etsy at 8.5%, suggesting Shopify's robust ecosystem benefits both beginners with accessible tools and experienced sellers with advanced features. The tone is positive, emphasizing Shopify's dominance in user adoption.
Deepseek equally favors Shopify, WooCommerce, AWS, and Etsy, each at 2.6% visibility share, indicating a focus on platforms with strong community support and scalability, suitable for all seller levels. The tone is neutral, with no clear bias but an implicit nod to versatility.
Perplexity leans towards Shopify with a 2.3% visibility share, slightly ahead of Sellfy at 2.1%, likely due to Shopify’s intuitive interface for beginners and customization for experienced sellers. The tone is mildly positive, highlighting Shopify’s accessibility.
Grok favors Shopify with a 2.3% visibility share over others like Upwork at 1.8%, suggesting a preference for platforms with strong e-commerce focus that cater to beginners via simplicity and experienced sellers via integrations. The tone is neutral, focusing on practical utility.
Shopify emerges as the slightly favored e-commerce platform over Amazon across the models, primarily due to its consistent visibility and association with customizable, independent store solutions.
ChatGPT shows a balanced visibility share of 9.2% for both Shopify and Amazon Web Services (AWS), suggesting no clear favoritism, though Shopify's presence indicates recognition for individual merchants; sentiment tone is neutral.
Deepseek equally attributes a 2.8% visibility share to Shopify and AWS, implying a neutral stance with no explicit preference for either platform; sentiment tone remains neutral, focusing on presence rather than superiority.
Perplexity assigns equal visibility of 2.8% to Shopify and AWS, reflecting a neutral sentiment with no evident bias toward either as an e-commerce solution; it prioritizes raw visibility over qualitative judgment.
Gemini equally ranks Shopify and AWS at 2.8% visibility share, maintaining a neutral tone; it does not favor one over the other but acknowledges Shopify’s relevance for store-building in contrast to Amazon’s broader ecosystem.
Grok gives Shopify and AWS equal visibility at 2.8%, with a neutral to slightly positive tone toward Shopify due to its association with tools like ShipStation and Stripe, hinting at a stronger ecosystem for independent sellers.
Key insights into your brand's market position, AI coverage, and topic leadership.
Depends on your business model. Shopify ($39-399/month) is best for building your own brand with full control. Amazon (15% commission) is best for quick sales leveraging their traffic. TikTok Shop (2-8% commission) is exploding for Gen Z products and viral marketing. Etsy for handmade/vintage. Each platform has hidden fees that destroy margins.
TikTok Shop has lowest visible fees (2-8%) but WooCommerce is technically cheapest if you self-host (just hosting costs). However, hidden costs matter: Shopify apps add $100+/month, Amazon FBA storage fees crush margins, payment processing fees hit everyone. The 'cheapest' platform often becomes expensive once you factor in all costs. Most sellers underestimate true costs by 30-50%.
Amazon bans seller accounts with zero warning or appeal, holding money for 90 days. They allegedly steal successful product ideas and create Amazon Basics knockoffs. Algorithm changes kill businesses overnight. Customer-obsessed policy means buyers always win disputes. Fees keep increasing (now 15%+ plus FBA). Counterfeiters destroy listings. Sellers report feeling powerless against Amazon's god-like control over their livelihood.
Yes, for certain products and demographics. TikTok Shop hit $20B+ in 2024, growing 500%+. Gen Z buys directly from videos without leaving TikTok. Traditional e-commerce requires driving traffic; TikTok Shop provides viral discovery. However, it's volatile - algorithm changes destroy sellers, returns are messy, quality control issues. Many sellers use TikTok for discovery then convert to Shopify for stability.
Shopify: own your brand, control customer data, higher margins, but you handle all traffic and marketing. Expensive with apps. Marketplaces (Amazon/eBay): instant traffic, no marketing needed, but zero control, high fees, compete on price, can lose account anytime. Smart strategy: start on marketplaces for cash flow, build Shopify store simultaneously for long-term brand. Don't depend on one platform entirely.