Consider Shopify when…
Shortlist Shopify when you want hosting and platform updates handled for you and no one on the team wants to look after a website.
Explore Shopify alternativesFIND YOUR FIT
Shopify vs WooCommerce
Shopify vs WooCommerce: compare a hosted commerce platform with a free, open-source WordPress plugin by total cost, control, and upkeep.
The decision in brief
The trade-off is convenience against control. Shopify hosts the store and checkout for a monthly plan, with a third-party transaction fee if you use a provider other than Shopify Payments. WooCommerce is a free GPL-licensed plugin with no platform fee or revenue share, but you choose and pay for hosting, extensions, and payment processing, and someone has to maintain the WordPress site.
A focused editorial selection based on the linked official documentation. Fit notes are our judgment, rather than firsthand benchmark results or a universal ranking. How we select and verify information.
Compare the working details
| Decision factor | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Main focus | Merchants selling physical or digital products online, on social channels and marketplaces, and in person, without managing hosting. | Stores that want control over their code, data, and hosting, or that already run on WordPress. |
| Working setup | Start a trial, pick a theme or generate a store from a prompt, add products and inventory, set up payments, shipping, and tax, then connect a domain and launch. | Install the plugin on a WordPress site, run the setup wizard, connect a payment gateway such as WooPayments, Stripe, or PayPal, add products, then add extensions for anything else you need. |
| Pricing model | A free 3-day trial with no card required, then Basic, Grow, Advanced, and Plus plans billed monthly or yearly. Card rates fall on higher plans, and a third-party transaction fee applies when you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments. Hosting is included, and selling digital products carries no extra fee. | The core plugin is free under the GPL-2.0 licence, with no monthly subscription, platform fee, or revenue share. You pay for WordPress hosting, any paid extensions, and your payment provider's processing fees. |
| What to verify | Shopify Payments is available only in some countries; if you cannot or will not use it, add your plan's third-party transaction fee to your payment provider's own fees. | You choose and pay for hosting, so decide who will keep WordPress, WooCommerce, and your extensions updated, backed up, and secure before comparing costs with a hosted platform. |
Which belongs on your shortlist?
Consider WooCommerce when…
Shortlist WooCommerce when you already run WordPress, want to own the code and data, or need custom behaviour a hosted platform does not allow.
Run the same evaluation in both
- Build the same three-product store on a Shopify trial and on a WooCommerce test site with the host you would use.
- Add the apps or extensions each needs for your requirements, such as subscriptions or bookings, and note which are paid.
- Compare twelve months of total cost and write down who would handle updates, backups, and support for each.
Try the same task before you choose
Launch one small shop and take test orders
Use the same fictional shop in each candidate. 'Fernhollow Ceramics' sells three items: a mug in two glaze colours with five of each in stock, a set of four plates that weighs 3 kg, and a downloadable PDF glaze guide. It ships at a flat domestic rate and to one international zone. Use each platform's test or sandbox payment mode and made-up customer details only; never take a real payment.
Every check starts as Not run. Record your own observations; these are evaluation criteria, rather than completed product tests. Your worksheet stays in this page and can be downloaded.
| Task and expected observation | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Add the three products The mug shows both colours with separate stock counts, and the PDF is set up as a digital product with no shipping. | ||
| Buy the PDF guide as a test customer The download arrives by email or on the order page; record any limit on downloads or file size. | ||
| Set up domestic and international shipping The plates cost more to ship than the mug, and the international rate applies only to addresses in that zone. | ||
| Turn on tax for the shop's home country Prices and the test receipt show tax as expected; note whether the platform calculates it automatically. | ||
| Place a test order with a 10% discount code The order completes in test mode, the code applies, stock drops by one, and the confirmation email arrives. | ||
| Refund part of the test order The refund is recorded against the order, and stock is restored if you chose to restock. | ||
| Price the shop for a year Record the plan needed, apps or extensions, payment processing, and any transaction fee at a fictional 200 orders a month. |
0 of 14 checks have an observation. An observation does not imply a passed test.
Sources and check dates
Provider documentation supports the product and billing descriptions. Confirm current limits and terms before choosing a plan.
ShowMeYourSaaS also offers commercial product coverage. These guides follow our editorial selection criteria; placement is not a purchased ranking. Send a correction with the page and a supporting source.