Shopify vs WooCommerce

Updated October 2026 · AppBreakup editorial

Shopify

The leading hosted ecommerce platform, with themes, checkout, POS and a huge app store.

Paid

Visit Shopify Shopify profile

WooCommerce

Free, open-source ecommerce plugin that turns a WordPress site into a full store.

Open sourceSelf-hostable

Visit WooCommerce WooCommerce profile

The short answer

Pick Shopify if you want a hosted store where checkout, security, hosting and updates are handled for you, with a huge app store and built-in point of sale. Pick WooCommerce if you already use WordPress or want full control over code and data with no platform fee. The biggest difference is responsibility: Shopify runs the platform for you, while with WooCommerce you run it yourself.

Shopify or WooCommerce: our take

Shopify is a hosted platform: you choose a theme, add products and connect payments, and Shopify takes care of hosting, security, checkout and updates. Its checkout, including Shop Pay, is a major strength, along with an App Store of more than 21,000 apps, more than 200 pre-built themes, built-in point of sale for physical shops, and sales channels for marketplaces and social platforms. WooCommerce is an open-source WordPress plugin maintained by Automattic. It adds products, cart, checkout, orders, tax and shipping to any WordPress site, with free and paid extensions for subscriptions, bookings, memberships and payment gateways, and it sits alongside WordPress's content tools.

The costs are structured differently. Shopify charges monthly plan fees, adds transaction fees if you use a third-party payment provider, and many features come from paid apps; there is a 3-day free trial. WooCommerce is free under GPL-2.0 with no platform fee, but you pay for hosting, typically $25–$350/month for most stores, and for extensions at $29–$299/year each, which come with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

The practical trade-off is control against maintenance. With WooCommerce you own the code, hosting and data and can customise almost anything, but updates, plugin conflicts, security and performance fall on you or a developer, and large catalogues need good hosting. With Shopify you give up some control, and deep checkout customisation is reserved for higher plans, but the platform keeps running without your attention. Both offer iOS and Android apps for managing the store.

For most sellers who want to launch quickly and focus on selling, or who also sell in person, Shopify is the simpler route. For businesses with a WordPress site, content-heavy stores, unusual requirements, or a developer on hand, WooCommerce offers more freedom and can cost less.

Choose Shopify if…

Most merchants who want a reliable hosted store that can grow from first sale to enterprise
Fast, trusted checkout with Shop Pay
Largest ecommerce app and theme ecosystem

Choose WooCommerce if…

WordPress users and developers who want a fully controllable store with no platform fee
You want open-source software
You need to host it on your own servers
You want a free option (Shopify is paid only)
You need Self-hosted, which Shopify doesn't list

What is Shopify?

Shopify is a hosted platform for running an online store, and for many sellers the default starting point. You choose a theme, add products and connect payments, and Shopify handles hosting, security, checkout and updates. Its strengths are the checkout, including Shop Pay, a vast app store for nearly any feature, built-in point of sale for physical shops, and sales channels for marketplaces and social platforms. Larger brands move to Shopify Plus, and developers can build custom storefronts with its Hydrogen framework and APIs. The costs add up: monthly plan fees, extra transaction fees if you use a third-party payment provider, and paid apps for features some rivals include. Customising checkout and deeper logic needs higher plans or developers. Plans are billed monthly or yearly in local currency after a short trial. It runs in the browser with iOS and Android apps for managing the store.

What is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is the open-source ecommerce plugin for WordPress, maintained by Automattic. Installed on any WordPress site, it adds products, cart, checkout, orders, tax and shipping, with thousands of free and paid extensions for subscriptions, bookings, memberships and payment gateways. Because you host it yourself, you control the code and data, pay no platform fee, and can customise almost anything, which is why it powers a very large share of online stores. The real costs are hosting, premium extensions and the time to maintain WordPress: updates, plugin conflicts, security and performance tuning all fall on you or a developer. Stores with large catalogues need good hosting to stay fast. The plugin is free; WooCommerce sells extensions and themes on its marketplace. It runs on self-hosted WordPress with mobile apps for managing orders.

Side by side

Attribute	Shopify	WooCommerce
Pricing	Paid	Open source
Open source	No	Yes
Self-hostable	No	Yes
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, Self-hosted, iOS, Android
Best for	Most merchants who want a reliable hosted store that can grow from first sale to enterprise	WordPress users and developers who want a fully controllable store with no platform fee
Status	Active	Active