Shopify vs WooCommerce: Full E-commerce Comparison

Shopify and WooCommerce power millions of online stores. Shopify is a hosted, all-in-one platform. WooCommerce is a self-hosted plugin that turns WordPress into an e-commerce site. The choice affects your costs, flexibility, and daily operations for years. This guide compares both across every dimension that matters so you can choose the right platform in 2026.

Quick Overview

| Factor | Shopify | WooCommerce | |--------|---------|-------------| | Type | Hosted SaaS | Self-hosted (WordPress plugin) | | Setup | Instant | Requires WordPress + hosting | | Monthly cost | $29-$2,300+ | Hosting only ($10-$200/mo) | | Transaction fees | 0% (Shopify Payments) or 2%+ | None (pay processor only) | | Customization | Themes + Liquid | Full code access | | Maintenance | Handled by Shopify | You manage updates, security | | Scalability | Built-in | Depends on hosting | | Best for | Quick launch, less technical | Maximum control, WordPress users |

Both can run successful stores. The right choice depends on your technical capacity, budget, and growth trajectory.

Pricing and Total Cost of Ownership

Sticker price is misleading. Total cost of ownership (TCO) over 2-3 years tells the real story.

Shopify Pricing Tiers

| Plan | Monthly | Transaction Fee (if not Shopify Payments) | Key Features | |------|---------|------------------------------------------|--------------| | Basic | $29 | 2.9% + 30¢ | 1,000 SKUs, 2 staff, basic reports | | Shopify | $79 | 2.6% + 30¢ | 10,000 SKUs, 5 staff, standard reports | | Advanced | $299 | 2.4% + 30¢ | 10,000 SKUs, 15 staff, advanced reports | | Plus | $2,300+ | Negotiated | Enterprise, Script Editor, Launchpad |

Using Shopify Payments removes transaction fees. If you use a third-party gateway (PayPal, Stripe directly), you pay the listed percentage on top of processor fees.

WooCommerce "Pricing"

| Cost | Typical Range | |------|---------------| | WordPress | Free | | WooCommerce plugin | Free | | Hosting | $120-$2,400/year | | Theme | $0-$200 (one-time) | | Plugins | $0-$500/year | | Payment processing | 2.9% + 30¢ (Stripe/PayPal) | | Maintenance | $500-$3,000/year (or your time) | | SSL | Often included with hosting | | Developer (setup) | $2,000-$15,000 (one-time) |

WooCommerce has no platform fee. You pay hosting, plugins, and labor. At scale, this can be cheaper than Shopify — but you shoulder more operational responsibility.

3-Year TCO Comparison (Small Store, $200K Annual Revenue)

| Cost Category | Shopify | WooCommerce | |---------------|---------|-------------| | Year 1 platform/setup | $348 + $2,000 setup | $1,200 hosting + $5,000 setup | | Years 2-3 platform | $696 | $2,400 | | Transaction fees (2.9%) | $0 (Shopify Payments) | $0 (Stripe) | | Apps/plugins | $600 | $800 | | Maintenance | $0 | $3,000 | | 3-Year Total | ~$3,644 | ~$12,400 |

For a small store, Shopify wins on simplicity and total cost when you factor in maintenance. WooCommerce has higher setup and ongoing costs unless you self-maintain.

3-Year TCO Comparison (Growing Store, $2M Annual Revenue)

| Cost Category | Shopify ($299/mo) | WooCommerce | |---------------|-------------------|-------------| | Years 1-3 platform | $10,764 | $7,200 hosting | | Transaction fees | $0 (Shopify Payments) | ~$174,000 (2.9% on $2M) — same for both if using same processor | | Apps/plugins | $3,600 | $2,400 | | Maintenance | $0 | $9,000 | | 3-Year Total | ~$14,364 | ~$18,600 |

At higher volumes, WooCommerce's lack of platform fees can help — but only if you use a low-fee processor and your hosting scales efficiently. Shopify's predictability appeals to many growing brands. Use our website cost calculator for estimates tailored to your numbers.

Ease of Use

Day-to-day experience matters for store owners and staff.

Shopify Ease of Use

| Strength | Detail | |----------|--------| | Onboarding | Guided setup; store live in hours | | Admin | Clean, consistent; non-technical users adapt quickly | | Inventory | Simple product management; bulk edits | | Orders | Streamlined workflow; fulfillment integrations | | Help | 24/7 support on paid plans; extensive docs | | Updates | Automatic; no maintenance |

Shopify is optimized for non-developers. You can run a store without touching code. Design changes happen through the theme editor and apps.

WooCommerce Ease of Use

| Strength | Detail | |----------|--------| | Familiarity | WordPress users feel at home | | Flexibility | Full access to code and database | | Content | Blog and shop in one place | | Customization | No platform limits |

| Weakness | Detail | |----------|--------| | Learning curve | WordPress + WooCommerce concepts | | Maintenance | You manage updates, backups, security | | Conflicts | Plugins can conflict; debugging required | | Support | Community and plugin developers; no single vendor |

WooCommerce demands more technical comfort. If you are comfortable with WordPress, it feels natural. If not, the learning curve is steeper than Shopify.

Ease of Use Verdict

| User Type | Better Fit | |-----------|------------| | Non-technical | Shopify | | WordPress expert | WooCommerce | | Wants zero maintenance | Shopify | | Wants full control | WooCommerce | | Small team, no developer | Shopify | | Developer on staff | Either |

Customization

How much can you tailor the experience to your brand and business?

Shopify Customization

| Level | What You Can Do | |-------|-----------------| | Theme editor | Sections, blocks, colors, fonts — no code | | Liquid | Edit theme files; add custom sections | | Apps | 8,000+ apps for features | | Checkout | Limited (Plus allows more) | | Backend | No server access | | Custom code | Theme + Shopify Functions (Plus) |

Shopify offers strong customization within its model. You cannot change the core platform or checkout flow (except on Plus). For most stores, themes and apps are sufficient. For unique requirements, you hit limits. Our Shopify Plus vs custom enterprise guide covers when to step beyond standard Shopify.

WooCommerce Customization

| Level | What You Can Do | |-------|-----------------| | Themes | Any WordPress theme; edit PHP, CSS, JS | | Plugins | 6,000+ WooCommerce extensions | | Checkout | Full control | | Database | Full access | | Backend | Your server | | Custom code | Unlimited |

WooCommerce wins on flexibility. You own the code and data. Custom payment flows, checkout modifications, and unique business logic are all possible. The tradeoff is complexity and maintenance.

Customization Comparison

| Need | Shopify | WooCommerce | |------|---------|-------------| | Change colors, layout | Easy (theme editor) | Easy (theme) | | Add custom fields | Apps or Liquid | Plugins or code | | Modify checkout | Limited | Full control | | Custom reporting | Apps or export | Plugins, custom queries | | Unique product logic | Apps, Scripts (Plus) | Code | | Integrate with legacy systems | APIs, apps | Full integration |

Payment Processing

How you collect money affects fees and flexibility.

Shopify Payments

| Aspect | Detail | |--------|--------| | Availability | US, Canada, UK, and 20+ countries | | Fees | 2.9% + 30¢ (Basic); lower on higher plans | | Transaction fee | 0% when using Shopify Payments | | Third-party gateways | 2% fee on Basic/Shopify; 1% on Advanced; 0.25% on Plus | | Setup | Built-in; no separate merchant account for many |

Shopify Payments simplifies setup. If your country and business type are supported, it is often the best option. For unsupported regions or specific gateways, you pay the platform fee on top of processor fees.

WooCommerce Payments

| Aspect | Detail | |--------|--------| | Gateways | Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, and 100+ | | Fees | Processor only (e.g., Stripe 2.9% + 30¢) | | No platform fee | Keep full control of payment setup | | Flexibility | Use multiple gateways; custom flows | | Setup | Each gateway configured separately |

WooCommerce does not charge platform fees. You pay your processor directly. More setup work, but no additional fee layer. For high-volume stores, this can save significant money.

Payment Comparison

| Factor | Shopify | WooCommerce | |--------|---------|-------------| | Ease of setup | Easier | More configuration | | Fees (supported countries) | Competitive | Processor only | | Third-party gateways | Possible, often with fee | Full freedom | | Subscription payments | Shopify Pay or apps | WooCommerce Subscriptions | | B2B/Net terms | Third-party apps | Plugins available |

SEO

Both platforms can rank. Implementation and control differ.

Shopify SEO

| Strength | Detail | |----------|--------| | Technical base | Clean URLs, sitemaps, SSL | | Speed | CDN, optimized hosting | | Meta tags | Per-product, collection, page | | Structured data | Automatic for products | | Blog | Built-in; basic |

| Weakness | Detail | |----------|--------| | URL structure | /products/product-handle (can be verbose) | | Content flexibility | Limited compared to WordPress | | Image optimization | Good; less control than custom | | Hreflang | Manual or app |

Shopify handles SEO basics well. Most stores rank without technical work. Advanced SEO (programmatic meta, complex structured data) requires apps or developers.

WooCommerce SEO

| Strength | Detail | |----------|--------| | WordPress foundation | Mature SEO plugins (Yoast, RankMath) | | Content | Blog and products integrated | | URL control | Full control | | Plugins | Schema, redirects, XML sitemaps | | Flexibility | Custom implementation possible |

| Weakness | Detail | |----------|--------| | Speed | Depends on hosting and optimization | | Maintenance | Plugin updates; conflicts can break SEO |

WooCommerce on WordPress benefits from years of SEO plugin development. With good hosting and optimization, it can match or exceed Shopify. Without maintenance, it can degrade. For advanced architectures, see our headless commerce guide.

SEO Verdict

| Scenario | Better Fit | |----------|------------| | Want SEO with minimal effort | Shopify | | Content-heavy (blog + shop) | WooCommerce | | Need advanced technical SEO | WooCommerce (or custom) | | Want speed out of the box | Shopify |

Performance

Speed affects conversions and SEO. Both can perform well with proper setup.

Shopify Performance

| Factor | Rating | |--------|--------| | Hosting | Optimized; global CDN | | Default speed | Good (70-90 Lighthouse typical) | | Image optimization | Built-in; CDN delivery | | Caching | Handled by platform | | Scaling | Automatic |

Shopify stores are fast by default. You rarely worry about infrastructure. Theme choice and app bloat can slow things down — but the platform handles the heavy lifting.

WooCommerce Performance

| Factor | Rating | |--------|--------| | Hosting | Your choice — critical | | Default speed | Varies (50-85 Lighthouse typical) | | Image optimization | Plugins needed | | Caching | Plugin or server config | | Scaling | Your responsibility |

WooCommerce performance depends heavily on hosting, theme, and plugins. On quality managed WordPress hosting (WP Engine, Kinsta, etc.), you can achieve excellent speeds. On cheap shared hosting, performance suffers.

Performance Comparison

| Metric | Shopify | WooCommerce | |--------|---------|-------------| | Out-of-box speed | Good | Varies | | With optimization | Very good | Excellent possible | | LCP (typical) | 2-3.5s | 1.5-4s (hosting-dependent) | | Effort to optimize | Low | Higher | | Consistency | High | Variable |

Scalability

Can the platform grow with your business?

Shopify Scalability

| Aspect | Detail | |--------|--------| | Traffic | Handles millions of visitors | | Products | 10,000+ on standard plans; unlimited on Plus | | Orders | No practical limit | | Bandwidth | Unlimited | | Upgrades | Plan changes; Plus for enterprise |

Shopify scales without intervention. You pay more as you grow (plan upgrades, Plus at scale), but infrastructure is not your concern.

WooCommerce Scalability

| Aspect | Detail | |--------|--------| | Traffic | Depends on hosting | | Products | No hard limit | | Orders | Database and hosting dependent | | Bandwidth | Hosting plan dependent | | Upgrades | Migrate to better hosting; possible architecture changes |

WooCommerce scales with your hosting and architecture. On managed WooCommerce or VPS hosting, stores handle high volume. On shared hosting, you will need to migrate as you grow. Planning ahead avoids painful moves.

Scalability Verdict

| Growth Stage | Shopify | WooCommerce | |--------------|---------|-------------| | Startup | Easy | Moderate (hosting choice matters) | | Growth | Seamless plan upgrades | May need hosting migration | | Enterprise | Plus or headless | Custom or headless | | Unpredictable spikes | Handled | Need scalable hosting |

B2B Features

B2B sellers have different needs: wholesale pricing, quotes, purchase orders, net terms.

Shopify B2B

| Feature | Support | |---------|---------| | Wholesale pricing | B2B channel, customer groups | | Quote requests | Apps (e.g., Request a Quote) | | Purchase orders | Apps | | Net terms | Third-party apps | | Approval workflows | Limited | | Custom pricing tiers | Customer-specific (Plus) |

Shopify's B2B features have improved. Basic wholesale needs are met. Complex B2B (approval workflows, custom contracts, ERP integration) often requires apps and customization. Plus extends possibilities.

WooCommerce B2B

| Feature | Support | |---------|---------| | Wholesale pricing | Plugins (e.g., Wholesale Suite) | | Quote requests | Plugins | | Purchase orders | Plugins | | Net terms | Plugins | | Approval workflows | Custom or plugins | | Custom pricing tiers | Plugins or custom |

WooCommerce has a robust B2B plugin ecosystem. You can build complex B2B flows. The tradeoff is plugin management and potential conflicts.

B2B Verdict

| B2B Complexity | Shopify | WooCommerce | |-----------------|---------|-------------| | Simple wholesale | Both work | Both work | | Moderate (quotes, POs) | Apps | Plugins | | Complex (approvals, ERP) | Plus + custom | Custom development |

For complex B2B, consider our e-commerce development services — we build custom B2B solutions on both platforms and beyond.

When to Choose Shopify

| Scenario | Why Shopify | |----------|-------------| | Quick launch | Store live in days | | No technical team | Platform handles hosting, updates, security | | Predictable costs | Monthly fee; no surprises | | Want zero maintenance | No updates, backups, or server management | | Need reliable support | 24/7 on paid plans | | Standard D2C store | Fits the model well | | Multi-channel (POS, marketplaces) | Native integrations | | Growing fast | Scales without infrastructure work |

When to Choose WooCommerce

| Scenario | Why WooCommerce | |----------|-----------------| | Already on WordPress | Blog, content, and shop in one place | | Need maximum flexibility | Full code and data access | | Want to minimize platform fees | Pay only hosting and processor | | Complex product or pricing logic | Custom development possible | | Content-heavy site | WordPress strengths | | Have developer resources | Can maintain and extend | | Unique integrations | No platform constraints | | Long-term cost control | No per-transaction platform fee |

Migration Tips

Moving between platforms is a major project. Plan carefully.

Shopify to WooCommerce

| Phase | Considerations | |-------|----------------| | Data export | Products, customers, orders — use CSV or migration tools | | URL mapping | 301 redirects for SEO | | Theme | Recreate design or adapt WordPress theme | | Apps to plugins | Find WooCommerce equivalents | | Testing | Thorough checkout and order flow testing |

WooCommerce to Shopify

| Phase | Considerations | |-------|----------------| | Data import | Shopify CSV or migration apps (Cart2Cart, etc.) | | URL mapping | 301 redirects | | Theme | Choose or customize Shopify theme | | Plugins to apps | Find Shopify app alternatives | | Hosting | No longer your concern |

Migration typically costs $5,000-$25,000 depending on data volume and complexity. Do it when the benefits clearly outweigh the cost and disruption.

Summary Matrix

| Factor | Shopify | WooCommerce | |--------|---------|-------------| | Upfront cost | Lower | Variable (hosting + setup) | | Ongoing cost | Predictable monthly | Hosting + maintenance | | Ease of use | Higher | Lower (steeper learning) | | Customization | Good (bounded) | Excellent (unlimited) | | Payment flexibility | Good | Excellent | | SEO | Good out of box | Excellent with plugins | | Performance | Consistent | Depends on hosting | | Scalability | Built-in | Hosting-dependent | | B2B | Improving | Strong via plugins | | Maintenance | None | You manage it | | Best for | Quick launch, less technical | Control, WordPress users, cost-conscious |

Next Steps

Choose based on your technical capacity, budget, and growth plans. Shopify suits teams that want to focus on selling, not infrastructure. WooCommerce suits teams that want maximum control and are willing to manage the complexity.

For custom e-commerce that goes beyond both platforms — headless architecture, custom B2B, or unique business logic — our e-commerce development team builds solutions tailored to your needs. We work with Shopify, WooCommerce, and fully custom stacks.

Ready to build or migrate your store?

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