Shopify vs WooCommerce: Which Is Right for Your Store?
Shopify is a hosted store you rent by the month; WooCommerce is a free plugin that turns a WordPress site into a store you run yourself. The trade is convenience against control.
- Shopify
- Choose Shopify if you want a store that just works, with hosting, security and updates handled for you.
- WooCommerce
- Choose WooCommerce if you want full control of your site, content and checkout, and have someone to look after WordPress.
Prices checked September 2026, from the vendors' own pages.
Shopify or WooCommerce: Which Fits You?
Who will look after the site?
How much do you rely on content and blog traffic?
Do you need full control of URLs and checkout?
Shopify vs WooCommerce at a Glance
| Compared | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hosted store, monthly plan | Free WordPress plugin, you choose the hosting |
| Plans | Basic $29, Grow $79, Advanced $299 a month billed yearly | Plugin $0; you pay hosting, domain and any paid extensions |
| Card fees | Shopify Payments, by plan; extra 2% to 0.6% fee with other providers | WooPayments 2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment, or another provider |
| Upkeep | Handled by Shopify | Yours: updates, backups and security |
Shopify vs WooCommerce Pricing
Shopify is one monthly bill. WooCommerce is free software, so the bill is hosting, extensions and whoever maintains it.
Shopify
- Basic$39 billed monthly. 2% fee on payments through a provider other than Shopify Payments$29 a month billed yearly
- Grow$105 billed monthly. 1% fee with other providers$79 a month billed yearly
- Advanced$399 billed monthly. 0.6% fee with other providers$299 a month billed yearly
- PlusFor high-volume brandsFrom $2,300 a month
WooCommerce
- WooCommerce pluginFree and open source$0
- WooPaymentsPlus 1.5% for international cards and 1% for currency conversion2.9% + $0.30 per US card
- Hosting, for example WordPress.com CommerceOr any WordPress host you choose$45 a month billed yearly
Platform cost for one year, before payment fees
Shopify: Basic: $29 x 12 = $348. Grow: $79 x 12 = $948.
WooCommerce: Plugin $0. Hosting on WordPress.com Commerce: $45 x 12 = $540, plus any paid extensions and maintenance.
Checked September 2026: Shopify pricing, WooPayments fees, WordPress.com pricing. Prices change; check the vendor before you buy.
Shopify vs WooCommerce Features
What each gives you as standard.
| Feature | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting and security included | Yes | No, from your host |
| Theme and app marketplace | Yes | Yes, WordPress plugins and themes |
| Blog and content | Yes, basic | Yes, full WordPress |
| Free choice of URL structure | No, /products/ and /collections/ are fixed | Yes |
| Checkout changes | Partial, more on Plus | Yes |
| In-person point of sale | Yes, Shopify POS | Partial, through extensions |
| Selling in several currencies | Yes, Shopify Markets | Partial, through extensions |
| Own the code | No | Yes |
The Differences That Matter
What you really pay
Shopify Basic is $348 a year billed yearly, and using another payment provider adds a 2% fee on Basic. WooCommerce's plugin is free, but you pay for hosting, any paid extensions and someone to keep WordPress updated, which often costs more than the hosting.
SEO
Both can rank well. WooCommerce gives you full control of URLs and a first-class blog. Shopify fixes some URL patterns, such as /products/ and /collections/, but its product pages are fast and well structured out of the box.
Upkeep and risk
Shopify patches and hosts everything. With WooCommerce, updates, backups and plugin conflicts are yours to manage, which is fine with a good developer and painful without one.
Which Should You Choose?
Choose Shopify if
- You want to sell this month without technical help
- You want hosting and security handled
- You sell in person as well as online
Choose WooCommerce if
- Content and blog traffic drive your sales
- You want full control of URLs and checkout
- You have a developer or agency for WordPress
What we see in practice
Our flower and gift store client runs on Shopify and took 1,713 orders in the year we measured while we ran its SEO. We do ecommerce SEO on either platform; the platform matters less than category pages, product data and seasonal planning.
Ecommerce SEO: For Shopify or WooCommerce: $5,000 a month on a 12-month plan with the $25,000 setup waived, or an ecommerce SEO audit for $1,500.
Related Comparisons
More side-by-side comparisons with checked prices.
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Read the comparisonNext.js vs WordPress
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Read the comparisonShopify vs WooCommerce: Questions
Is WooCommerce cheaper than Shopify?
Which is better for SEO?
Does Shopify charge transaction fees?
Can I move from WooCommerce to Shopify, or back?
Not Sure Which Fits?
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