Showit vs Format: Comprehensive comparison guide for 2024

Final verdict

Showit and Format both cater to creative professionals, but they excel in different areas, making them suitable for different user needs.

Showit (Overall Grade: 6.4/10)

is the better choice for users seeking unparalleled design flexibility and customization. Its unique dual canvas interface for independent mobile and desktop design, along with deep WordPress integration for blogging, makes it ideal for photographers, designers, and bloggers who prioritize design and content management. Showit’s higher scores in design functionalities, ease of use, website editors, hosting quality, and security highlight its strengths in providing a robust platform for creatives who need a highly customizable web presence.
Format (Overall Grade: 5.8/10)

, while slightly trailing behind Showit in the overall score, stands out for its focus on showcasing portfolios. It offers a streamlined solution for photographers, artists, and designers with features like client proofing, an integrated online store, and blogging tools. Format’s superior customer support and its emphasis on portfolio presentation make it a strong contender for creatives looking to showcase their work and connect with clients.

	Overall grade: 6.4	Overall grade: 5.8
Design functionalities & templates	8.5	7.0
Ease of use	8.6	8.3
Ecommerce	4.8	5.2
Website Editors	8.0	7.5
Product testing options	8.3	8.3
Price	7.9	7.9
Hosting quality	7.3	5.0
Website speed optimization	5.4	5.0
Plugins and integrations	5.8	4.9
Marketing features	7.2	5.3
Customer support	6.4	7.0
Security	8.3	7.4
AI capabilities	0	0.0
User Management	6.7	2.8
Overall	6.4	5.8

Best for ecommerce

4.8

5.2

Verdict

: While both Showit and Format cater to creative professionals with basic ecommerce functionalities, Format slightly edges out with better ecommerce features and payment options, making it more suitable for artists and designers looking to sell their work online.

Showit

: Offers basic ecommerce through integrations with platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce, focusing on design flexibility rather than built-in ecommerce strength. Ideal for those who prioritize website design over ecommerce functionality.
Format

: Provides more comprehensive ecommerce tools such as inventory management and multiple currency options, along with a straightforward approach to payment processing. Its slightly higher ecommerce score reflects its better alignment with the needs of creatives looking to monetize their work directly through their website.

Best for informational & business websites

8.7

7.2

Verdict

: Showit stands out as the superior choice for informational and business websites, especially for creative professionals seeking high customization and integration capabilities.

Showit

: With a score of 8.7, Showit excels in providing a highly customizable platform that caters to the unique needs of creative professionals. Its dual canvas interface for independent mobile and desktop design, along with seamless WordPress integration for blogging, makes it an ideal choice for those who prioritize design flexibility and content management.
Format

: Scoring 7.2, Format is also designed with creatives in mind, offering customizable templates and features like online stores and client proofing. However, it falls short in terms of design flexibility and broader website needs compared to Showit, making it a less favorable option for those looking to create more complex informational sites.

Detailed comparison

8.5

7.0

🏆

Winner: Showit.

Showit offers a wider variety of templates and designs, greater customization flexibility, and more creative design possibilities than Format.

Showit offers a wide variety of templates and designs, catering to diverse aesthetic preferences and business needs. Users can choose from an extensive collection that ranges from minimalist and sleek to bold and artistic, ensuring there’s something for every brand identity. The platform is known for its flexibility and user-friendly interface, allowing for easy customization of templates.

Showit Themes

On the other hand, Format is a website builder specifically designed for creatives, offering nearly 100 customizable templates tailored for various artistic disciplines. It emphasizes high-quality imagery and mobile-friendly designs, ensuring portfolios look professional on any device. However, some users find its interface less intuitive and its feature set somewhat limited for broader website needs.

Format Themes

Get a head start on website creation with AI

Create a custom website tailored to your business needs 10X faster with 10Web AI Website Builder!

Generate Your Website

No credit card required

8.6

8.3

🏆 Winner: Showit

. With a score of 8.6, Showit edges out Format, which scored 8.3. Showit’s drag-and-drop interface and high degree of customization make it a user-friendly choice for creative professionals.

Learning Resources

🏆 Winner: Showit

. Showit offers a comprehensive training course, a visual learning hub, help documents, a dedicated support team, and a private Facebook group for community advice and peer support. Format, on the other hand, provides a help center and a YouTube channel with tutorials and updates.

Learn Showit

Learn Format

4.8

5.2

Showit and Format are both primarily designed for creative professionals, and their ecommerce offerings reflect this focus. Neither platform is a dedicated ecommerce solution like Shopify or WooCommerce, but both offer basic ecommerce functionalities.


Ecommerce themes and templates	2.0	4.0
Product page customization	2.5	5.5
Payment processing and commissions	4.0	4.5
POS capabilities	1.0	0.0
Payment gateways	4.5	6.5
Product numbers	3.0	5.0
Additional ecommerce features	3.5	3.5

Showit ecommerce features:

Shopify and WooCommerce integration

Format ecommerce features:

Inventory management and tracking
Discounts
Multiple currency options

Showit does not have any ecommerce-specific templates, and neither does Format. Both platforms focus on providing visually appealing designs for creative professionals, rather than templates tailored for online stores.

When it comes to product page customization, Showit has very basic ecommerce capabilities, primarily through its integration with WooCommerce and Shopify. Format, on the other hand, offers limited specific details on product page customization directly, but its ecommerce features suggest a focus on showcasing products through high-quality imagery and detailed descriptions. You can manage product specifics like shipping, availability, and pricing, with customization likely extending to layout and presentation styles to highlight products effectively.

In terms of payment processing, Showit supports ecommerce by allowing integration with third-party platforms like Shopify Lite, ThriveCart, WooCommerce, and Podia, rather than offering direct payment processing or POS capabilities. Users can add ecommerce functionalities to their Showit sites using embed codes for “Buy Buttons” or similar features from these platforms. The choice of platform depends on the user’s specific needs, including product type, store size, and budget, as each platform has its own pricing and transaction fee structures. Additionally, the platform supports integration of a PayPal pay button, allowing users to pay directly through their PayPal account.

Format, on the other hand, offers integration with major payment gateways, including Paypal and Stripe. It charges a 15% commission on the Pro plan and 5% on the Pro Plus plan. However, the platform does not have built-in POS (Point of Sale) capabilities.

Format website builder add a product

In conclusion, both Showit and Format offer basic ecommerce functionalities suitable for creative professionals who want to sell their work online. However, they may not be the best choice for businesses looking for robust ecommerce features or a broad range of website types.

8.0

7.5

🏆

Winner: Showit

. Showit, with a score of 8.0, is designed for creating custom, responsive websites with a focus on ease of use, especially for photographers and creative professionals. It allows users to design their website visually with a drag-and-drop interface, eliminating the need for coding knowledge. Users can create highly customized pages by adjusting layouts, fonts, and colors, and can also incorporate multimedia elements like videos and images directly into their designs. Additionally, Showit offers deep integration with WordPress for blogging, enabling users to manage and publish blog posts within the same platform, providing a seamless experience from website design to content management.

Showit editor

Format’s editor, scoring 7.5, offers a variety of features for creating online portfolios. It provides nearly 100 professionally designed templates and thousands of design variations without requiring any coding. Users can express creativity with custom pages, incorporating unique gallery layouts, colors, text formatting, and custom code embeds. The templates and pages are fully responsive, ensuring a mobile-first experience. Format also supports direct video hosting, high-quality image rendering, and easy template switching to give sites a new look. Additionally, it includes studio management tools, e-commerce capabilities, and SEO tools.

Format editor

Mobile editor/app

4.0

🏆

Winner: Format

. Both Showit and Format do not offer a dedicated mobile app for editing websites. However, Format allows for some level of editing through a mobile browser, albeit with the same interface as the desktop version, which can be challenging to use on a smartphone. On the other hand, Showit does not support editing through a mobile browser, making it less flexible for on-the-go adjustments.

Therefore, Format has a slight advantage in this category, despite its limitations.

8.3

Overall Result

:

Tie

. Both Showit and Format score 8.3 in product testing options. They both offer a 14-day free trial and allow users to test all premium features during this period. Additionally, both builders provide a 30-day money back guarantee, ensuring customer satisfaction.


Free Plan	No	No
Trial Duration	14 days	14 days
Testing Premium Features	All features during free trial	All features during free trial
Money Back Guarantee	30 days	30 days

7.9

Showit and Format have similar pricing scores, indicating comparable value for money. However, Showit offers a custom plan for high-traffic blogs, while Format does not have an enterprise plan. Both platforms offer discounts for annual subscriptions.

	Offerings	Offerings
$10-$20	No offering at this amount.	Basic ($12.00/month): Offers core services like mobile-optimized site, up to 10 web pages, and up to 70 high-resolution images. 3 client galleries, up to 2GB file transfers. No video uploads or custom code editor. Value for price: 5.0
$20-$25	Showit ($24/month): Ideal for sites without a blog. Includes 20GB storage and secure certificate. Regular design backups stored for 7 days. Value for price: 6.0	Pro ($24.00/month): Includes all from Basic, plus unlimited web pages, 1500 high-resolution images,15 mins video hosting, 100GB cloud storage, a free custom domain, Online Store with up to 15 products, 50 client galleries and up to 5GB file transfers. Value for price: 7.5
$25-$30	Showit + Basic Starter Blog ($29/month): For new blogs. Includes everything in the Showit plan, plus blog-specific features. 20GB storage, up to 10k monthly visitors, daily backups stored for 30 days, pre-installed plugins (no additional plugins are permitted), 1 WordPress user. Value for price: 7.0	No offering at this amount.
$30-$40	Showit + Advanced Blog ($39/month): For migrating or high-traffic blogs with custom plugin needs. Includes everything in the Basic Starter Blog plan, plus up to 25k monthly visits, unlimited number of plugins, unlimited number of WordPress users, Free advanced blog migration from WordPress or Squarespace and FTP access. Value for price: 8.0	Pro Plus ($36.00/month): Adds on Pro features with priority support, unlimited pages and high-res images, 120 mins video hosting, and 1TB cloud storage. Online Store with up to 1000 products, 250 client galleries and 10GB file transfers. Value for price: 8.5
$60-$70	Showit + Advanced Blog 50k ($69/month): Includes everything in the Showit + Advanced Blog plan, with possibility to install custom WordPress plugins, 30 GB storage, up to 50k visitors monthly, and possibility to migrate Squarespace and WordPress blog posts. Value for price: 8.5	No offering at this amount.
$100+	Showit + Advanced Blog 100k ($129/month): Includes everything in the Showit + Advanced Blog plan, with possibility to install custom WordPress plugins, 50 GB storage, up to 100k visitors monthly, and possibility to migrate Squarespace and WordPress blog posts. Value for price: 9.0	No offering at this amount.

In some cases companies have different prices based on various components like a
location. As a result in rare cases the prices displayed here can differ from the ones you see on their
websites.

7.3

5.0

Winner: Showit

. Showit offers managed WordPress hosting with a 99.9% uptime guarantee, daily backups, and 20GB storage. On the other hand, Format does not provide detailed information about its hosting type, uptime, or data centers. This lack of transparency results in a lower hosting quality score for Format.


Do they offer hosting?	Yes, Managed WordPress hosting with daily backups and 20GB storage.	Yes, but does not provide detailed information
Type of hosting:	Managed WordPress hosting	Not specified
Uptime:	99.9%	Not specified
Uptime Guarantee:	Yes, 99%	Not specified
Data Centers:	Not disclosed	Not disclosed

5.4

5.0

🏆 Winner: Showit

Both Showit and Format have similar website speed optimization scores, but Showit slightly outperforms Format.


Focus	Optimization plugins, Caching	Image and video optimization
Performance Tools	Not disclosed	Not disclosed
Key Strategies	Optimization plugins, Caching	Image and video optimization
Load Times	Varies depending on optimization and website complexity	Varies depending on optimization and website complexity
Page Speed Scores Range	Not disclosed	Not disclosed
Core Web Vitals Improvement	Not disclosed	Not disclosed

Showit, a drag-and-drop website builder designed primarily for creative professionals, uses optimization plugins and caching as its key strategies for speed optimization. However, the platform does not disclose any information on their Core Web Vitals improvements, load times, or PageSpeed scores range, which are said to vary depending on optimization and website complexity.

Format, a website builder specifically designed for creative professionals, focuses on image and video optimization for speed optimization. Similar to Showit, Format does not disclose any information on their Core Web Vitals improvements, load times, or PageSpeed scores range, which are also said to vary depending on optimization and website complexity.

Get a head start on website creation with AI

Create a custom website tailored to your business needs 10X faster with 10Web AI Website Builder!

Generate Your Website

No credit card required

5.8

4.9

🏆 Winner: Showit.

Showit scores 5.8, offering a variety of plugins primarily for users with the Advanced Blog plan, enhancing website functionality across SEO, spam protection, and more. Format, with a score of 4.9, offers support for a limited selection of plugins/integrations, including Adobe Lightroom, Mailchimp, and Google Analytics. However, Showit’s broader plugin compatibility and additional features give it the upper hand.

It is worth mentioning that the availability and use of these plugins in Showit are contingent upon the subscription tier, with higher tiers required for broader plugin compatibility and additional features. On the other hand, Format’s overall capabilities for expansion through plugins and integrations are notably limited, posing a challenge for users looking for a more extensive suite of tools to customize and enhance their website’s functionality.

7.2

5.3

🏆

Overall Winner: Showit

. Showit stands out for its more advanced marketing tools, especially in SEO and email marketing. Format is strong in blogging and social media integration, ideal for content-driven strategies.

Marketing Features
SEO Tools
Email Marketing	✓ (through third-party integrations)	✓ (through professional email addresses powered by Google Workspace and email subscriber forms)
Blogging
Social Media Integration
Analytics and Reporting	✓ (through integration of Google Analytics)	✓ (through Google Analytics integrations)
Ads and Promotions	✓ (through third-party integrations)

6.4

7.0

🏆 Winner: Format

. Format takes the lead in this category with a customer support score of 7.0, compared to Showit’s 6.4. Format offers 24/7 customer support through email and live chat, ensuring that users can get help whenever they need it. The support team is distributed across different countries, which allows for round-the-clock availability.

On the other hand, Showit provides customer support via email and chat from Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 11 PM Arizona Time, with limited support coverage on weekends. While Showit does offer an enterprise-level custom plan, there’s no specific information on enterprise-level support. Format does not provide customer support for enterprises.

8.3

7.4

🏆

Winner: Showit

. Showit’s security measures are comprehensive, with a focus on data privacy and protection. They adhere to GDPR guidelines, employ Amazon’s S3 for secure data storage, and provide daily backups for blog data. Their websites are equipped with free SSL certificates for secure connections, automated backups, and additional protections for WordPress-integrated sites.

Format also prioritizes user data security, with encrypted data storage and strict access controls. They comply with GDPR and provide resources for account security. However, their website security measures are not as detailed as Showit’s, which gives Showit the edge in this category.

0.0


Personalized Design
SEO Optimization
Customer Behavior Analysis
Sales Predictions
Inventory Management
Content Generation

🏆 Winner: None

. Neither Showit nor Format have AI capabilities. Both platforms focus on providing intuitive, drag-and-drop website builders for creative professionals, but they do not incorporate AI features into their platforms.

6.7

2.8

🏆 Winner: Showit

. Showit and Format take different approaches to user management.

Showit allows only one user on lower plans, but on its Showit + Advanced Blog plan, the platform allows an unlimited number of users with different access levels.
Format, on the other hand, allows only one user to manage and edit websites.

Showit User Roles and Access Levels:

Role	Description	Access Highlights
Administrator	Users with full access to all administration features, including Elementor settings.	Can edit all content, Access to Elementor settings, Can install plugins and themes, Can manage users
Editor	Users who can manage and publish content including pages and posts.	Can edit pages/posts created with Elementor, Cannot access Elementor settings, Can manage categories, tags, and links, Can moderate comments
Author	Users who can publish and manage their own posts.	Can create posts with Elementor, Cannot edit pages, Limited access to media library, Cannot access Elementor settings
Contributor	Users who can write and manage their own posts but cannot publish them.	Can create content with Elementor, Cannot publish or edit pages, No access to Elementor settings, Submissions require review by higher-level roles

Format does not provide information about user roles and access levels.

Additional Features


SSL Certificate
Custom Domain
Free Custom Domain Included
International Domains
Mobile Responsive
Page Speed
Website Builder Mobile App
Convert a Website To An App
Website Analytics
Multilingual Sites
Multiple Users

User Feedback

Showit

0 reviews

0 out of 5 stars

Format

24 reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars

Unfortunately, there is no user feedback available for Showit on the G2 platform, so we cannot provide a comparison based on user reviews.

On the other hand, Format is highly praised by its users for its user-friendly website builder, particularly noting the ease of adding images and the effectiveness of customer service. Many reviewers appreciate the variety of modern templates and the platform’s suitability for users without technical expertise, especially photographers. Format’s mobile app and proofing section receive special mentions for their convenience and functionality. However, some users desire more customization options, particularly for mobile views, and mention minor limitations in template flexibility and SEO functionality. Overall, Format is celebrated for its ability to provide a professional online presence easily and efficiently, solving users’ needs for showcasing work and attracting new clients.

The making of this blog

We followed a clear, step-by-step process to write and research this article.

Our Ranking Criteria

FAQ

Which platform is better for creative professionals, Showit or Format?

Showit is the better choice for users seeking unparalleled design flexibility and customization, especially for photographers, designers, and bloggers who prioritize design and content management. Format, while also catering to creative professionals, is more focused on portfolio presentation and offers features like client proofing and an integrated online store.

Can I sell products on both Showit and Format?

Yes, both platforms offer ecommerce functionalities, but with different strengths. Format slightly edges out with better ecommerce features and payment options, making it more suitable for artists and designers looking to sell their work online. Showit offers basic ecommerce through integrations with platforms like Shopify and WooCommerce.

How do Showit and Format compare in terms of ease of use?

Showit scores higher in ease of use, offering a drag-and-drop interface and a high degree of customization, making it a user-friendly choice for creative professionals. Format also provides an intuitive drag-and-drop interface but is perceived as slightly less intuitive compared to Showit.

Which platform offers better customer support?

Format takes the lead in customer support with a score of 7.0, offering 24/7 customer support through email and live chat. Showit provides customer support via email and chat with limited weekend coverage.

Are Showit and Format suitable for blogging?

Both platforms support blogging, but Showit offers deep integration with WordPress, making it ideal for users who prioritize blogging alongside design flexibility. Format includes blogging tools but may not offer the same level of integration as Showit.

Which platform is more secure?

Showit’s security measures are more comprehensive, focusing on data privacy and protection, and providing daily backups for blog data. Format also prioritizes user data security but does not detail its security measures as extensively as Showit.

Do Showit and Format offer AI capabilities?

Neither Showit nor Format incorporate AI features into their platforms. Both focus on providing intuitive, drag-and-drop website builders for creative professionals without AI capabilities.

How do the platforms handle user management?

Showit allows an unlimited number of users with different access levels on its Showit + Advanced Blog plan, while Format allows only one user to manage and edit websites, making Showit more flexible in terms of user management.

What are the main differences in additional features between Showit and Format?

Showit offers managed WordPress hosting, a 99.9% uptime guarantee, and is known for its design flexibility. Format focuses on portfolio presentation with features like client proofing and an integrated online store but lacks in hosting transparency compared to Showit.

Based on user feedback, which platform is preferred?

Format is praised for its user-friendly website builder and effective customer service, especially by photographers. Showit, while not having user feedback available on G2, is known for its design flexibility and deep WordPress integration. Preferences may vary based on specific needs for design, ecommerce, and blogging capabilities.