In short: Shopify is a subscription service with a ready-made shop, and the platform takes care of maintenance. WooCommerce is a WordPress extension with no licence fee that you host yourself: more freedom and more responsibility. The choice depends on who maintains the shop, how unusual your sales rules are, which connections you need and the total cost over a year.
Shopify and WooCommerce do the same job: they get your products to a customer who pays. What differs is how. Shopify is a subscription service that hands you a shop that already works. WooCommerce is a WordPress extension, with no licence fee, that you install on your own hosting and can adapt in almost any way you like.
The differences that really matter
Maintenance
With Shopify, updates, security and servers are the platform's job. With WooCommerce they are yours (or the job of whoever runs the shop for you): updating WordPress, the theme and plugins, taking backups and keeping an eye on security. That is not a flaw. It is the price of freedom and you need to budget for it.
Costs
Shopify charges a monthly fee, plus any transaction fees on sales and the cost of apps. WooCommerce has no fee but does have hosting, paid plugins and maintenance. Compare the total cost over a year, not just the starting price.
Customisation
On Shopify you can change a lot with themes and apps, but within the platform's limits. On WooCommerce you can go as far as you want: products with unusual rules, customer-specific price lists, out-of-the-ordinary order flows. The more you customise, the more maintenance work there is.
Payments and shipping
Both support the main payment methods and carriers. On Shopify some features depend on the country and the plan. Check that the method your customers use is available, and on what terms.
Content and blogging
WordPress started life as a publishing tool and is very convenient for a content-heavy site. Shopify has a blog that does the job but is more basic.
Your data and the way out
With WooCommerce your data sits on your server. With Shopify you can export products, customers and orders, but the platform still belongs to another company. Ask yourself how much it matters to you to be in control of everything.
When Shopify makes sense
- You want to launch quickly and would rather not deal with servers and updates.
- You sell a catalogue with fairly standard rules.
- You have few technical resources in-house.
- You also sell on other channels (social media, marketplaces, a physical shop) and want to keep them in one place.
When WooCommerce makes sense
- You already have a WordPress site and want to start selling on it.
- You need pricing rules, B2B sales or unusual flows.
- You want full control of data, hosting and code.
- You have someone to handle maintenance, or you hand it to a supplier.
Five questions to help you decide
- Who will update and check the shop every month?
- Does the way I sell fit standard rules, or is it unusual?
- Which connections do I need (management software, warehouse, carriers, invoicing)?
- How much will I spend in a year on fees, apps or plugins and maintenance?
- How much does depending on an outside platform bother me?
Further reading: Shopify e-commerce · WooCommerce e-commerce · migrating from Magento or PrestaShop
Frequently asked questions
Shopify or WooCommerce: which costs less?
It depends. Shopify has a monthly fee plus any transaction fees and apps. WooCommerce has no fee but has hosting, paid plugins and maintenance. Compare the total cost over a year.
Which platform is easier to manage?
Shopify. Updates, security and servers are the platform's job. With WooCommerce you have to look after WordPress, the theme, plugins, backups and security.
Which allows more customisation?
WooCommerce: you can go as far as pricing rules, customer-specific price lists and unusual order flows. Shopify allows a lot of customisation, but within the platform's limits.