| Ease of Use |
Requires WordPress knowledge; steeper curve |
Extremely beginner-friendly (no code needed) |
Shopify |
| Pricing (2025) |
Free plugin + hosting $5–$500/mo + 2–3% transaction fees (if not Stripe/PayPal) |
$39–$2,300+/mo (Shopify Plus); 0% fees with Shopify Payments |
WooCommerce (low revenue), Shopify (predictable) |
| Hosting |
You choose & manage hosting (SiteGround, Kinsta, WP Engine) |
Fully hosted by Shopify (CDN, unlimited bandwidth) |
Shopify |
| Ownership & Lock-in |
100% ownership – you control everything |
Locked into Shopify ecosystem |
WooCommerce |
| Customization |
Unlimited (PHP, custom code, any theme/plugin) |
Limited (Liquid, theme editor, apps) |
WooCommerce |
| Themes & Design |
1,000s of themes; fully customizable |
~170 official themes; less flexible |
Tie (Woo = flexibility, Shopify = speed) |
| Scalability |
Scales to $100M+ with strong hosting |
Scales to $500M+ on Shopify Plus |
Shopify Plus |
| Speed & Performance |
Depends on hosting & optimization |
Fast out-of-the-box performance |
Shopify |
| App/Plugin Ecosystem |
60,000+ WP plugins + Woo extensions |
8,000+ Shopify apps |
WooCommerce (quantity & free options) |
| Security & PCI Compliance |
Your responsibility or hosting provider |
Shopify handles all PCI & security |
Shopify |
| Built-in Features |
Needs plugins for many core features |
Many features built-in (POS, checkout, abandoned cart) |
Shopify |
| Transaction Fees |
Only payment gateway fees |
0.5–2% extra if not using Shopify Payments |
WooCommerce |
| B2B / Wholesale |
Strong via plugins (Wholesale Suite, B2B plugins) |
Native B2B only on Shopify Plus |
Tie |
| Headless Commerce |
Excellent with Woo + Next.js/Gatsby |
Excellent with Hydrogen + Oxygen |
Tie |
| Multi-store |
Possible with multisite or multiple installs |
Native multi-store on all plans |
Shopify |
| Development Cost |
$3k–$100k+ |
$5k–$150k+ |
WooCommerce (usually cheaper) |
| Best For |
Agencies, developers, full control businesses |
Brands wanting speed, simplicity, support |
Depends |
