Shopify vs WooCommerce — eCommerce Platform Comparison [2026]
In summary, Shopify is a hosted, all-in-one eCommerce platform: plans run from $25 to $399 per month on monthly billing, and Shopify runs the hosting, security and updates. WooCommerce is a free, open-source plugin for WordPress: there is no platform fee, but you pay for and manage hosting, which WooCommerce puts at $25 to $350 per month for most stores. Shopify is faster to launch and easier to run; WooCommerce gives full code-level control and suits teams that already run WordPress.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Fully hosted (included) | Self-hosted (you choose and manage it) |
| Ease of Setup | No server work; theme editor | WordPress knowledge needed |
| Published price | Basic $25 · Grow $65 · Advanced $399 per month (monthly billing) | Free plugin; hosting $25 – $350/month for most stores |
| Fee on third-party payment providers | 2% Basic · 1% Grow · 0.6% Advanced · 0.2% Plus | None from WooCommerce; your gateway charges its own fees |
| Customization | Liquid themes, apps, Shopify Functions | Full PHP/WordPress access (hooks and filters) |
| Payment Processing | Shopify Payments built in | WooPayments or other gateways |
| Security | Managed by Shopify, SSL included | You manage updates, SSL, backups and security |
| Scalability | Platform scales; Shopify Plus for enterprise | Depends on your hosting and caching |
What each costs
Shopify publishes three main plans: Basic at $25, Grow at $65 and Advanced at $399 per month on monthly billing ($19, $49 and $299 per month billed yearly), and Shopify Plus from $2,300 per month. If you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments, Shopify adds a fee of 2%, 1% or 0.6% on those plans, and 0.2% on Plus.
WooCommerce itself is free and open source. Your costs are hosting (WooCommerce puts it at $25 – $350 per month for most stores), paid extensions and themes, payment gateway fees, and the time to keep WordPress, plugins and the server updated. WooCommerce is cheaper when that upkeep is already covered; Shopify is more predictable when it is not.
Hosting, security and upkeep
Shopify runs the servers, applies security patches, provides SSL and handles traffic peaks at the platform level. On WooCommerce you choose the host and you are responsible for updates to WordPress, WooCommerce, the theme and every plugin, plus backups, a firewall and malware scanning. A well-run WooCommerce store on good hosting performs very well; an unmaintained one is the most common way stores get slow or compromised.
Customization and extensions
Shopify customization runs through Liquid themes, apps from the Shopify App Store and, for checkout and discount logic, Shopify Functions. WooCommerce exposes WordPress hooks and filters, so almost anything can be changed in code, and the WordPress plugin directory is far larger. The trade-off is quality control: Shopify reviews apps before listing them, while WordPress plugin quality varies, so each plugin needs vetting and maintenance.
SEO
Both can rank well. Shopify generates sitemaps, canonical tags and robots.txt for you, with some fixed URL patterns (for example /products/ and /collections/). WooCommerce inherits WordPress's full control of URLs, redirects and schema through plugins such as Yoast or Rank Math. For most stores the difference is small; content, speed and internal linking matter more than the platform.
Moving from WooCommerce to Shopify
A migration moves products, customers and order history, and must map every old URL to its new one with a 301 redirect so existing rankings and links keep working. Test the redirects, checkout and taxes on the new store before switching the domain.
- Export products, variants, customers and orders
- Map every product, category and page URL to its Shopify equivalent
- Recreate payment, shipping and tax settings, then test checkout
- Switch the domain and monitor search console for crawl errors
Our Verdict
For most businesses without a WordPress team, Shopify gets you selling faster and costs less to keep running. WooCommerce is the better choice for WordPress-native teams that want full control and already cover hosting and upkeep. ECOSIRE provides Shopify store setup and WooCommerce-to-Shopify migration.
Choose Shopify When
- You want a fully managed store with no servers to run
- You prioritize speed to market over code-level control
- You want built-in payment processing and managed security
- You plan to grow into Shopify Plus (B2B, expansion stores, checkout control)
Choose WooCommerce When
- You already run a WordPress website and want to add a store to it
- You need complete code-level control over your store
- You want to avoid a monthly platform fee
- You have a developer or host who can run WordPress securely
Frequently Asked Questions
Sources
Prices were read from the vendors' pages on 2026-09-25.
Need Help Implementing Shopify?
ECOSIRE provides expert implementation, customization, and migration services. Get a free consultation.
Get a Free Consultation