Shopify vs. WooCommerce: Which Is Right for Your Business?

An ecommerce platform comparison guide.

Shopify vs WooCommerce: it’s a comparison many merchants explore as they seek to grow sales and revenue. Use this side-by-side comparison of the popular ecommerce platforms to decide which one is right for your online store.

Get to Know the Platforms

Shopify is a hosted ecommerce platform that allows you to easily create an online store without coding expertise. WooCommerce is an open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress websites that is popular for ecommerce businesses that use WordPress and have developer expertise close at hand.

Shopify vs. WooCommerce: Which Is Right for Your Business?

Shopify vs WooCommerce Pricing and Costs

First things first, how much can merchants expect to pay for each platform?

Shopify Cost and Prices

You can choose a monthly plan with Shopify or you can pay annually for a discount. Shopify’s pricing plans start at $29 and go up to $299.

Costlier plans unlock more features, such as reporting, international domains and pricing, and reduced transaction fees from both Shopify payments and third-party payment solutions.

Shopify is self-hosted, so you won’t need to factor in hosting costs.

WooCommerce Cost and Prices

WooCommerce is completely free. It won’t charge you any transaction fees. But don’t forget that WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin. That means you’ll need to purchase hosting from about $12 a month, a domain name from as little as $10 or as much as $500, and an SSL certificate (about $50 a year).

You’ll probably need some plug-ins to get your store set up too. So yes, WooCommerce is ‘free’, but it does have associated costs.

Which is Better?

Shopify may be best for merchants who don’t already have a website, want simpler, all-inclusive pricing and don’t want to rely on a developer.

WooCommerce is an attractive option for merchants who want to keep a lid on transaction fee expenses and who want the flexibility to develop and customize their ecommerce store in WordPress.

Accept cross-border payments with Rapyd’s Shopify and WooCommerce plugins.

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User Experience: Shopify vs WooCommerce Comparison

Both platforms offer merchants a positive user experience — but there are some key differences that may sway you towards one platform above the other.

Using Shopify as a Merchant

Shopify will host your online store for you. And they will maintain your site, ensuring that it runs smoothly and with limited downtime. Two-factor authentication will provide you with security.

Shopify offers many templates for your store. The customization steps are simple to follow, with Shopify’s guidance. And you can easily navigate from your store’s front-end and back-end, to make little adjustments to get the store’s look, feel, and performance just right.

Using WooCommerce as a Merchant

On the flip side, going with WooCommerces means you must take care of almost everything. The WordPress dashboard is not known for its ease of use. Customizing your store or creating new products can be difficult without a developer or experience. You’re responsible for managing updates, keeping backups, and making sure your site is secured.

Customer Support for Merchants

You can get Shopify support by phone, email, or live chat. And you can ask questions in the active Shopify community. WooCommerce doesn’t provide any support. That’s understandable because it’s a free plugin. However, they do have a robust online user group. A Google search will return an answer for most issues.

Cross-Border and International Sales

With both platforms, you’ll need to localize your customers’ checkout experience with the payment options they prefer. A payments plugin will do this for you and help you to satisfy cross-border customers. Rapyd provides a payment plugin for Shopify and WooCommerce, and Magento, to help merchants grow in the U.K., Europe and beyond.

Shopify vs WooCommerce: Which Supports Languages Best?

Shopify only supports English. You must install a paid app to support other languages. WooCommerce can make use of the WordPress MultiLingual (WPML) plugin, which can translate pages, posts, menus, and more.

Which eCommerce Platform is Right For You?

WooCommerce and Shopify are both excellent options for building ecommerce stores. Shopify really is easy to use for those without development knowledge. WooCommerce is a solid platform for those who want an affordable platform and have the confidence to manage its upkeep.

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Mark Stiltner

Mark Stiltner is a finance and fintech writer. From educating independent investment advisors on retirement plan management to helping families maximize their savings to educating businesses on global payment preferences, Mark has spent over a decade researching and educating audiences on complex financial topics. Mark has been a contributing author on blog articles and educational content for the Bank of Colorado, Pinnacle Bank, TD Ameritrade, First Data and Rapyd.