WooCommerce vs Shopify: which should run your store
The short answer
Pick Shopify if you want to sell this week and never touch a server: Basic is $29 a month billed yearly with hosting included. Pick WooCommerce if you already run WordPress or want to own the code: the plugin is free, but you pay for hosting, $25 to $350 a month for most stores, and keep it updated. Card fees match at 2.9% + 30¢.
Price, hosting and fees, side by side
Shopify charges one plan price. WooCommerce is free software you host and extend yourself.
Shopify
Basic
- Software
- $29 a month billed yearly, $39 a month billed monthly
- Hosting
- Hosting, a free SSL certificate and a custom domain on every plan
- Setup
- Sign up and pick a theme; 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months
- Card processing
- 2.9% + 30¢
- Fee for another payment provider
- 2% on Basic
- Apps and extensions
- Thousands of apps, many with monthly plans
- Themes
- 24 free themes, plus paid ones
- Updates and security
- Shopify runs them
- Keeps from fifty $20 sales
- $927
WooCommerce
with WooPayments
- Software
- Free, no monthly subscription
- Hosting
- You pick a host: $25 to $350 a month for most stores
- Setup
- Install WordPress, then the plugin, on your host
- Card processing
- WooPayments, 2.9% + 30¢
- Fee for another payment provider
- None
- Apps and extensions
- Paid extensions, $29 to $299 a year per extension
- Themes
- Any WordPress theme built for WooCommerce
- Updates and security
- You or your host run them
- Keeps from fifty $20 sales
- $931 on $25 a month hosting
Keeps: fifty $20 sales in a month, minus the plan billed yearly and each fee on the vendor's own pricing page. Shipping, taxes, apps and ads not included. WooCommerce counts the low end of its own hosting range.
Shopify lists one price per plan; WooCommerce lists four costs you add up yourself.
One small store's month on each
One store: 100 orders a month at $40, so $4,000 in sales, paid by US cards.
Shopify
Basic
- Plan or hosting
- $29 a month
- Card fees on 100 orders
- $146
- Total a month
- $175
- Cards from abroad
- 1% extra on cards from outside the US
WooCommerce
with WooPayments
- Plan or hosting
- $25 to $350 a month in hosting
- Card fees on 100 orders
- $146
- Total a month
- $171 to $496
- Cards from abroad
- 1.5% extra on cards from outside the US
Plans billed yearly. Shipping, taxes, ads and paid apps or extensions not included; every fee from the vendor's own pricing page.
Card fees are the same on both, so hosting decides which store costs less.
Who each one is for
Best for selling without a server
Shopify
Hosting, checkout, updates and security handled, so you only run the store.
Where it loses
A 2% fee on Basic if you use another payment provider, and app bills add up.
Best for a WordPress site you already run
WooCommerce
Free, open-source and yours to change, with the blog and pages you already have.
Where it loses
You pay for hosting and keep WordPress, plugins and security updated yourself.
Best for pages for your ads
Replo
Builds pages on your brand whose buy buttons send buyers to your store's checkout.
Where it loses
It isn't a store platform; catalog, stock and shipping stay in Shopify or WooCommerce.
Whichever store you pick, add the pages
Replo builds the landing pages your ads send people to, with buy buttons that go to your Shopify cart or WooCommerce checkout.
Selling sizes or subscriptions? Switch to Shopify checkout and every buy button uses your Shopify cart.
Frequently asked questions
- Is WooCommerce cheaper than Shopify?
- Only if your hosting is cheap. The plugin is free and WooPayments charges the same 2.9% + 30¢ as Shopify. A store with $4,000 in monthly sales pays about $171 a month on $25 a month hosting, against $175 on Shopify Basic. At $350 a month hosting it's $496.
- Is Shopify or WooCommerce better for a beginner?
- Shopify. You sign up, pick a theme and sell, with hosting and security handled. WooCommerce asks you to choose a host, install WordPress and the plugin, and keep all three updated. If you already run a WordPress site, adding WooCommerce is the shorter path.
- Can I move from WooCommerce to Shopify?
- Yes. Export products from WooCommerce's built-in CSV exporter, match the columns to Shopify's product CSV template, and import. Pages, blog posts and redirects need moving by hand. Replo can rebuild landing pages from your old site's links, on your brand.
- Which is better for SEO?
- Neither wins on its own. Both let you edit page titles and descriptions, and both run a blog. WooCommerce sits on WordPress, so SEO plugins add more control. Rankings come from your content and page speed more than the platform you pick.
- Does Replo work with WooCommerce?
- Yes. Replo builds landing pages on your brand, and each buy button can link to a WooCommerce product or add-to-cart link, so checkout, shipping and orders stay in WooCommerce. See all store comparisons.
We read every price from the vendor's own pricing page and recheck them. Spot one that changed? Send us a correction.