Are you planning to start selling online but unsure whether a marketplace or your own store is the right choice? In 2025, having a digital presence is no longer optional. What truly makes the difference is how you choose to sell online. Understanding the difference between ecommerce and marketplace is key to making the right decisions regarding profitability, scalability, and brand positioning.
This article dives into both models, analyzes their pros and cons, and offers tailored advice depending on your company size and sector—all to help you build a sustainable and competitive strategy. You’ll also see why partnering with a specialized agency can be a game-changer for your digital business.
What Is the Difference Between a Marketplace and E-commerce?
The most obvious difference is who controls the platform. On a marketplace—like Amazon, AliExpress, or Miravia—you sell within a shared environment, following their rules, terms, and commissions.
On an ecommerce platform—like a store built with Shopify or WooCommerce—you control your own digital space, with full autonomy over design, strategy, and data.
In short: A marketplace is like renting a stall in a large shopping mall. Ecommerce is like owning your own store, on your own property, with your own rules.
Marketplace Advantages: Sell Without the Technical Hassle
Marketplaces can be the best option if you want to start selling online quickly, without having to build a digital infrastructure from scratch.
Marketplace advantages
Instant access to a massive customer base
One major benefit is that you don’t need to generate traffic from scratch. Platforms like Amazon have millions of active users daily. This drastically reduces initial acquisition costs and lets you validate products without a large advertising budget.
Simplified, automated sales process
You don’t need to worry about integrating payment methods, shipping logistics, or customer service. The marketplace provides all the necessary tools, allowing you to focus on your product and stock.
Low entry cost and fast setup
Anyone can start selling on a marketplace in just a few days. No need to hire designers, developers, or invest in early-stage marketing campaigns.
Ideal for early-stage businesses or product validation
If you’re just starting out and don’t have an audience yet, marketplaces can help test your offering without risking a major upfront investment.
Key Marketplace Disadvantages You Should Know
Fierce competition and price wars
Marketplaces group thousands of similar products. This drives prices down and forces sellers to compete on volume, reducing profit margins. Plus, your products will appear side by side with direct competitors, making differentiation difficult.
Loss of brand identity control
On a marketplace, all sellers share the same user interface. You can’t customize the experience or visually stand out. This limits your ability to build emotional connections with customers.
Sales commissions and hidden costs
While initial access may be inexpensive, marketplaces typically charge 10–20% commission per sale. Some also charge storage, logistics, or internal promotion fees.
No access to customer data
Most marketplaces don’t share buyer email addresses or allow direct loyalty campaigns. This prevents you from building a customer database or running CRM/retargeting strategies.
Ecommerce Advantages: Autonomy and Long-Term Brand Building
Launching your own ecommerce store may seem more complex, but it enables you to build a sustainable, scalable, and profitable brand.
Ecommerce advantages
Full control over user experience
From design to customer journey, everything is customizable. You can develop a strong visual identity, optimize navigation, introduce unique features, and deliver a differentiated experience that boosts perceived value.
Complete ownership of data and personalized loyalty efforts
Running your own store gives you detailed data on every customer: shopping habits, frequency, average cart size, favorite products… This allows you to segment email marketing campaigns, offer personalized discounts, and build long-term relationships.
Higher profit margins and financial independence
You don’t pay per-sale commissions. Though the initial investment is higher, you can set your own prices and keep the full profit. In the medium to long term, this results in sustainable profitability.
Scalable infrastructure without platform limits
You can integrate ERP systems, marketing automation tools, advanced payment gateways, or analytics plugins. As your business grows, your store scales with it—independent of external changes.
Stronger and more distinctive brand development
An ecommerce store doesn’t just sell: it communicates. Through your blog, testimonials, packaging, and design, you can tell stories, share values, and connect with audiences beyond price alone.
Ecommerce Disadvantages You Should Consider
Upfront investment in design and development
Unlike marketplaces, ecommerce stores need to be designed, optimized, and tested before launch. This involves working with developers, copywriters, designers, and UX/UI experts.
Need to generate your own traffic
Without a built-in user base, you’ll need to attract visitors through SEO, paid ads, social media, email marketing, or influencers. This takes time, skill, and budget.
Greater legal and technical responsibility
Managing your own store means handling GDPR compliance, terms of use, returns, payment systems, and cybersecurity.
Ecommerce or Marketplace: Which One Fits Your Industry?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Your choice depends on several factors. Here are some guidelines:
General retail and low-cost products
Ideal to start with marketplaces to scale volume and leverage high traffic. If margins allow, adding ecommerce helps capture and retain customers.
Fashion, lifestyle, and independent design
Ecommerce is the best way to build a strong, differentiated brand. The product and its story both matter here.
Sustainable, local, or purpose-driven brands
A standalone ecommerce store allows you to convey values and connect with like-minded audiences. Marketplaces often obscure this.
Industrial, B2B, or technical products
Ecommerce supports customization, closed catalogs, quote generation, and segmentation. Marketplaces aren’t designed for this level of sophistication.
What About Combining Both?
More and more brands are adopting hybrid strategies to benefit from both models:
Marketplaces drive volume and visibility.
Ecommerce builds loyalty, brand value, and higher margins.
Key recommendation: If using both, make sure prices, stock, and branding are clearly differentiated across channels to avoid cannibalization.
Which Platform Should You Choose for Your Ecommerce?
Choosing the right technology is crucial:
- Shopify: Perfect for mid-size stores, scalable, with Spanish-language support.
- WooCommerce: Ideal if you already use WordPress. More flexible and cost-effective, but needs regular maintenance.
- PrestaShop: Popular in Europe, with many customization options.
- Magento (Adobe Commerce): For large businesses with advanced needs and in-house tech teams.
No matter which you choose, working with a specialized agency makes all the difference between a store that merely runs and one that sells smartly.
Why Work With a Specialized Ecommerce Agency?
In an increasingly competitive environment, digital strategy can’t be improvised. A specialized agency like Expiey’s Ecommerce team offers:
- Strategic analysis to determine the best model for your business
- Professional, fast, and secure ecommerce development
- End-to-end campaign management for acquisition and retention
- Technical, legal, and operational support
- Ongoing guidance to scale your business while staying focused
Because selling online isn’t just about listing products. It’s about creating an ecosystem that turns visitors into loyal, recurring customers.
Don’t Follow Trends—Follow Strategy
The difference between ecommerce and marketplace is not just technical—it shapes your brand, your business model, and your future.
- Marketplace is fast, inexpensive, and comes with guaranteed traffic—but offers limited branding and loyalty tools.
- Ecommerce requires more resources upfront, but gives you control, data, and a solid foundation to grow.
In many cases, the best choice is to combine both, assigning them different roles.
Working with an agency like Expiey allows you to make smarter decisions—based on data, experience, and planning.
Your digital sales channel shouldn’t limit you. It should empower you. At Expiey, we design the model that best fits your business, industry, and brand—using strategy, customization, cutting-edge tech, and tangible results.