Trustd and Ecwid are both aimed at small sellers who want to get products online without building a website from scratch. They approach the problem from opposite directions.
Ecwid was designed as an embeddable widget — a store you drop into an existing website, social page, or platform. Its strength is flexibility across channels — you can sell on Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, eBay, and TikTok from a single dashboard. Trustd was designed as a standalone storefront for boutique owners and social sellers, built specifically around the Instagram and WhatsApp selling model.
The right choice depends on where your selling happens and what you already have in place.
Ecwid at a Glance
Ecwid, short for “eCommerce widget,” started as a tool for adding a shopping cart to existing websites. It has since grown into a multichannel commerce platform with its own standalone storefront option. Its core strength is selling across multiple channels simultaneously — one product catalog, one inventory, multiple storefronts.
What Ecwid does well:
- Multichannel selling — Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Amazon, eBay, and more from a single dashboard
- Embeds into any existing website, WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or custom HTML
- No platform transaction fees on any plan
- Supports digital products on paid plans
- AI tools for product descriptions and SEO content
- POS integration for in-person selling at markets and pop-ups
- Global reach — multi-language and multi-currency support on higher plans
- Established platform — some sellers report running successfully on Ecwid for seven years or more
Where Ecwid falls short:
- The free plan was removed in early 2025. It now starts at $5/month (Starter), which limits you to 5 products with no custom domain and no app market access. A functional selling setup requires the Venture plan at $25–$30/month
- Steep jump from starter to functional. At $5/month you cannot track inventory, use discount codes, or connect to Instagram Shopping. The Venture plan unlocks these features but costs five to six times more
- No WhatsApp ordering. Ecwid has no built-in feature for connecting a WhatsApp Business storefront or generating pre-filled cart messages for customers
- No verified review system. There is no customer review feature with email verification or a public trust score
- India payment support is limited. Razorpay and UPI are not natively supported. Indian sellers using Ecwid typically rely on PayPal or Stripe, which are less familiar to domestic buyers
- Customer support is gated behind higher plans. Live chat is restricted to paid tiers, and users on lower plans report limited help even when they do access support
- Platform reliability concerns. Some users report that Ecwid experiences downtime — one long-term seller noted it “went down for us a lot,” which affects sales during outages
- Third-party integrations are shrinking. Several sellers report that apps connecting Ecwid to TikTok, Walmart, and other channels have ended their relationships with the platform, which directly affects its multichannel selling pitch
- Widget-first design means the standalone store experience is more limited than platforms built storefront-first. For sellers without an existing website, Ecwid’s Instant Site is functional but not its primary use case
Trustd at a Glance
Trustd is built for boutique owners and social sellers — people selling through Instagram and WhatsApp who need a proper storefront that connects to those channels from the start.
What Trustd offers:
- Free plan — unlimited products, a premium shop page, WhatsApp ordering, and review management. No transaction fee. No time limit.
- Pro plan — $25/year internationally (roughly $2/month) or ₹999/year in India. Includes online payments via Razorpay, Stripe, or Direct UPI, order management dashboard, categories and collections, coupons, analytics, and a Trustd Verified badge.
- WhatsApp ordering — customers tap a button on your storefront and a pre-filled WhatsApp message with their cart opens automatically. Available on the free plan.
- Verified reviews — customers confirm their review via email, earning a Verified badge. Your Trust Score combines rating, verification rate, recommendation rate, and review volume, and displays publicly on your store.
- Instagram and WhatsApp compatibility — your Trustd store link (trustd.shop/yourname) works as your Instagram bio link and as the external link in your WhatsApp Business catalog.
- Razorpay integration — Indian sellers connect their own Razorpay account to accept cards, UPI, netbanking, and wallets.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Trustd | Ecwid | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes — unlimited products | No (removed in 2025; Starter at $5/month) |
| Paid plan price | $25/year (~$2/month) | $25–$30/month (Venture) |
| Platform transaction fee | None | None |
| WhatsApp ordering | Yes — free plan | No |
| Verified customer reviews | Yes — with Trust Score | No |
| Instagram/Facebook selling | Yes | Yes (Venture+) |
| Razorpay / UPI payments | Yes (Pro) | No native support |
| Stripe payments | Yes (Pro) | Yes |
| Multichannel (Amazon, eBay, TikTok) | No | Yes (Business+, some integrations ending) |
| Digital products | No | Yes (Venture+) |
| Embed into existing website | No | Yes |
| POS / in-person selling | No | Yes (Venture+) |
| Order management | Yes (Pro) | Yes (all plans) |
| Custom domain | Yes (Pro) | Yes (Venture+) |
| Multi-language / multi-currency | No | Yes (Business+) |
Ecwid Is the Better Fit If…
You already have an existing website and want to add a store without rebuilding from scratch. Ecwid’s embed-anywhere architecture is the most practical way to add selling to a WordPress, Wix, or custom site without migrating to a new platform. It is also the stronger choice if you need multichannel selling across Amazon, eBay, and TikTok alongside Instagram and Facebook, or if you sell in person at markets and need POS functionality built in. One caveat worth noting: some sellers report that third-party apps connecting Ecwid to those channels have been ending their integrations, so it is worth verifying current availability for the specific channels you need before committing.
Trustd Is the Better Fit If…
You sell through Instagram and WhatsApp and need a storefront built around that model. The price difference alone is substantial: Ecwid’s Venture plan costs $300–$360 a year. Trustd Pro costs $25. For that difference, Trustd adds verified reviews, WhatsApp ordering, and Razorpay integration — features Ecwid does not offer. For an Indian boutique seller or a social-first seller who does not need multichannel marketplace integration, Trustd covers the essentials at a fraction of the cost.
Start your free Trustd store — unlimited products, WhatsApp ordering, and verified reviews from day one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Ecwid still have a free plan?
Ecwid removed its free plan in early 2025. It has been replaced by a Starter plan at $5/month, which limits you to 5 products, no custom domain, and no access to the app market. The Venture plan at $25–$30/month is the minimum tier for a functional selling setup. Trustd's free plan remains permanent with unlimited products, WhatsApp ordering, and review management.
Is Ecwid good for Instagram and WhatsApp sellers?
Ecwid supports Instagram and Facebook selling on its Venture plan, which means product tagging and a connected Facebook catalog. It does not have a built-in WhatsApp ordering feature. Trustd's WhatsApp ordering button, which generates a pre-filled cart message for customers, is included on the free plan and is built specifically for sellers whose primary channel is Instagram and WhatsApp.
Does Ecwid charge transaction fees?
Ecwid does not charge platform transaction fees on top of payment processing. You pay standard rates to your payment processor (Stripe, PayPal, etc.). Trustd also charges no platform transaction fees on any plan.
Can I use Ecwid without an existing website?
Yes. Ecwid has its own Instant Site, which is a standalone storefront you can set up without an existing website. However, Ecwid's primary design is as an embeddable widget for existing websites, so the standalone store experience is more limited than platforms built storefront-first. Trustd is built as a standalone storefront from the ground up.
Which is cheaper — Trustd or Ecwid?
Trustd's Pro plan costs $25/year (roughly $2/month) internationally, or ₹999/year in India. Ecwid's Venture plan, which is the minimum tier for a functional store, costs $25–$30/month. Over a year, Ecwid Venture costs $300–$360. Trustd Pro costs $25. For a small boutique seller, that difference is significant.