Shopify vs WooCommerce
Shopify scores 9,0/10, WooCommerce 7,6/10. Where each one wins, what they cost and who should pick which, side by side.
The short answer
Shopify scores 9,0/10 and WooCommerce scores 7,6/10 on our rubric. Shopify is the stronger all-round pick.
Shopify leads on ease of use, design and support. WooCommerce leads on flexibility and value.
Shopify starts at US$29/mo with no free plan; WooCommerce starts at US$0/mo and has a free plan. WooCommerce is the cheaper way in.
Two numbers usually settle it
Shopify and WooCommerce can run the same store; the difference is who operates it. Shopify is hosted: checkout, security, updates and uptime are its job, for $29 to $399 a month plus apps. WooCommerce is a free plugin on your own WordPress site: no subscription and no revenue share, but hosting, updates, backups and security are yours.
First, payment fees. Outside the countries where Shopify Payments works, Shopify adds 2% on Basic to every order, while WooCommerce adds nothing whatever provider you use. On $10,000 a month of sales that is $2,400 a year. Second, the checkout. Shopify only lets you change the checkout steps on Plus, while WooCommerce lets you change anything. Shopify is the easier life for someone who wants to sell and never think about servers. WooCommerce wins for anyone already on WordPress, selling where Shopify charges extra, or needing an unusual checkout.
| Shopify | WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 9,0 | 7,6 |
| From | US$29 | US$0 |
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Sells online | Yes | Yes |
| Code export | Yes | Yes |
| Ease of use | 8,4 | 5,8 |
| Design | 8,2 | 7,2 |
| Flexibility | 9,2 | 9,4 |
| Value | 8,0 | 8,8 |
| Support | 9,4 | 6,6 |
What Shopify does well
- Deepest commerce feature set anywhere
- App ecosystem handles every edge case
- Scales from first sale to enterprise
What WooCommerce does well
- Free core, you own everything
- Endless plugins
- No transaction fees
Who each one is for
Shopify. Anyone whose primary activity is selling physical or digital goods and who wants the commerce infrastructure to be someone else's problem. It is the right answer from the first sale up to very large volumes, and the point at which you outgrow it is far enough away that most merchants never reach it.
WooCommerce. Merchants already running WordPress, stores needing unusual logic a hosted platform will not allow, and anyone determined to own the whole stack. At high volume with good hosting, the economics can beat hosted platforms decisively.
Pricing side by side
Shopify
| Basic | $29/mo yearly · $39 monthly | 2% fee on third-party gateways, 10 inventory locations |
|---|---|---|
| Grow | $79/mo yearly · $105 monthly | 1% third-party fee, 5 staff accounts |
| Advanced | $299/mo yearly · $399 monthly | 0.6% third-party fee, 15 staff accounts, third-party shipping rates |
| Plus | from $2,300/mo | 0.2% third-party fee, full checkout customisation, unlimited staff |
WooCommerce
| WooCommerce core | Free | no subscription, no revenue share, unlimited products and orders |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | $25–$350/mo | WooCommerce's own range for most stores; scales with traffic |
| Extensions | $29–$299/year each | subscriptions, bookings, advanced shipping and similar add-ons |
| WooPayments | ~2.5–2.9% + 30¢ | card processing; any other gateway works with no extra platform fee |
What a year costs
Shopify
The prices on the plan cards are yearly prices. Pay month to month and Basic is $39 rather than $29, Grow is $105 rather than $79 and Advanced is $399 rather than $299, so the monthly option costs about a third more. If you are confident enough to launch, the annual plan is the obvious saving.
Subscription, billed yearlyShopify's third-party transaction fee
WooCommerce
WooCommerce publishes its own cost model, and it is open about where the money goes. The core platform costs nothing. Hosting runs from about $25 to $350 a month for most stores, depending on traffic and how much performance you need. Extensions, which is where features like subscriptions, bookings or advanced shipping live, cost $29 to $299 a year each. Payment processing is whatever your chosen provider charges, with no extra fee from WooCommerce on top.
HostingPaid extensions
Who should skip each one
Shopify
A content site with a small shop attached. If you have ten products and two hundred articles, you are paying commerce pricing for a blog. It is also the wrong pick if you need an unconventional checkout, since the checkout is the part Shopify guards most closely.
WooCommerce
A first store with no technical support. Every problem a hosted platform absorbs silently becomes yours, and commerce failures cost money while you fix them.
The bottom line
Shopify
For most people starting a store, Shopify is the safe choice and the right one. Buy the annual plan, start on Basic, and move to Grow once you are selling more than about $5,000 a month and cannot use Shopify Payments, or once you need staff accounts.
WooCommerce
Choose WooCommerce if you already run WordPress, want to own the store completely, or sell in a country where hosted platforms charge you extra for your payment provider. Budget for good hosting and a handful of extensions, and for someone to keep it updated.
Questions people ask
Is Shopify better than WooCommerce?
Shopify scores 9,0/10 and WooCommerce scores 7,6/10 on our rubric. Shopify is the stronger all-round pick. Shopify leads on ease of use, design and support. WooCommerce leads on flexibility and value.
Which is cheaper, Shopify or WooCommerce?
Shopify starts at US$29/mo with no free plan; WooCommerce starts at US$0/mo and has a free plan. WooCommerce is the cheaper way in.
Which is easier to use, Shopify or WooCommerce?
Shopify scores 8,4/10 for ease of use against WooCommerce at 5,8/10.
Do Shopify and WooCommerce have a free plan?
Shopify has no free plan; WooCommerce has a free plan.
Can you sell online with Shopify and WooCommerce?
Both Shopify and WooCommerce can take payments and run a store.
Can you move your site off Shopify or WooCommerce?
Both Shopify and WooCommerce let you export your code.
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