WooCommerce vs Shopify
WooCommerce is a free, open source plugin that runs inside WordPress on hosting you arrange, with no revenue share, but the updates and security are yours. Shopify is a rented service from 28 euros a month that adds up to 2% when you bypass Shopify Payments. One suits a technical team, the other an owner in a hurry.
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Choose WooCommerce ifyou already run WordPress, have someone technical who will apply updates and look after security, and want full ownership of the store with no platform fee on revenue.
Choose Shopify ifyou want a working store this month, value a checkout that converts, and would rather pay a plan, apps and payment fees than maintain hosting yourself.
WooCommerce and Shopify side by side
| WooCommerce | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Our ecommerce platform rank | #1 of 14 | #9 of 14 |
| Established in | United States | Canada |
| Pricing | Free plugin; you pay for hosting and extensions | Per month by plan, published; 0.6% to 2% fee outside Shopify Payments |
| List price, 30 September 2026 | Free plugin; Woo's own estimate for hosting is $25 to $350 per month for most stores | Basic: €28 per month billed monthly, or €21 per month billed yearly |
| Free tier | Yes | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | A team that already runs WordPress and has someone technical | A store that wants to sell this month rather than build all quarter |
| Not for | A non-technical owner who wants no maintenance | A B2B seller who needs more than three price catalogues without paying for Plus |
Both are reviewed in full in our ecommerce platform ranking: WooCommerce and Shopify.
Where they differ
WooCommerce 1 · Shopify 2 · open 2- 01
Who applies the security patch
WooCommerce leaves hosting, updates and the security posture with you, which in practice means a named technical person or a paid agency. Shopify is a hosted service, so that work is not yours to do. For an owner with no developer on hand this is the round that decides the whole comparison.
Edge: Shopify
- 02
What you actually pay
The WooCommerce plugin is free with a 0% revenue share; Woo's own estimate is 25 to 350 dollars a month for hosting and 29 to 299 dollars a year per extension. Shopify lists Basic at 28 euros a month, 21 on yearly billing, Grow at 78 and Advanced at 384, plus apps. Which total is lower depends on how many extensions or apps your store needs.
Depends on the buyer
- 03
Time to a first order
Shopify is the fastest route from nothing to a working store: themes, checkout and hosting come with the plan, and its pricing page offers three free days followed by three months at one euro. WooCommerce has to be assembled: choose hosting, install the plugin, then add extensions. If WordPress is already running that gap narrows, but it does not close.
Edge: Shopify
- 04
Control of data and fees on revenue
WooCommerce is open source, which Woo describes as complete ownership of your store, and it takes no share of turnover whichever of its 140 regional payment gateways you use. Shopify charges 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced for orders paid through a third-party provider, a fee that only disappears when Shopify Payments is activated.
Edge: WooCommerce
- 05
Wholesale and B2B pricing
Shopify's pricing page lists Shopify B2B on every plan, with up to three catalogues on Basic, Grow and Advanced and unlimited catalogues on Plus, which starts at 2,100 euros a month. WooCommerce has no B2B module in the free plugin; the Woo Marketplace sells B2B for WooCommerce by Addify at 156 euros a year, covering role-based and customer-specific prices, quotes and catalogue visibility.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
If you want a self-hosted store where commerce is the core rather than a WordPress plugin, PrestaShop fits better than either. If you want a hosted service with customer groups and product filtering in the plan rather than in apps, BigCommerce is the one to price against Shopify.
WooCommerce or Shopify: questions
4 answersIs WooCommerce cheaper than Shopify?
Not reliably. WooCommerce has no licence cost and a 0% revenue share, but Woo itself puts hosting at 25 to 350 dollars a month and extensions at 29 to 299 dollars a year each.
Shopify starts at 28 euros a month plus apps. WooCommerce is the wrong answer if saving money is the only aim.
Should a non-technical owner pick WooCommerce or Shopify?
Shopify. With WooCommerce the hosting, updates and security stay with you, so it is a poor fit for an owner who wants no maintenance.
Shopify is hosted and built to get a store working quickly without a developer, with themes and checkout included in every plan.
Which is better for complex B2B pricing, WooCommerce or Shopify?
Shopify includes B2B on all plans but caps Basic, Grow and Advanced at three catalogues; unlimited catalogues need Plus.
WooCommerce relies on a paid extension such as B2B for WooCommerce at 156 euros a year, which adds customer-specific prices, role-based pricing and quote requests without a catalogue cap stated.
What payment fees apply on WooCommerce and Shopify?
Woo lists WooPayments at roughly 2.5 to 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction and adds no fee of its own for other gateways.
Shopify's online card rate on Basic is 1.9% plus 25 euro cents through Shopify Payments, and a 2% fee applies to orders taken through another provider.
Sources
Checked 30 September 2026- WooCommerce pricing page: WooCommerce 0% revenue share, hosting and extension cost estimates, WooPayments rates.
- WooCommerce features page: open source ownership claim and 140 regional gateways.
- WooCommerce Marketplace: B2B for WooCommerce: price and features of the B2B for WooCommerce extension.
- Shopify pricing page: Shopify plan prices, card rates, third-party fees, B2B catalogue limits and trial offer.
- Shopify help: third-party transaction fees: third-party fee applies only when Shopify Payments is not activated.