Shopify vs WooCommerce: which should you actually use?

Most of this argument is conducted by people with something to sell. Here is the version without a referral link.

The actual difference

Shopify is a product you rent. Hosting, security, the checkout, PCI compliance and payment processing are all somebody else’s problem. You pay a monthly fee and, unless you use Shopify Payments, a cut of each transaction.

WooCommerce is software you run. It is a plugin for WordPress, it is free to download, and everything else is yours to arrange: hosting, security, updates, backups, performance, PCI scope. “Free” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

Everything else follows from that one difference.

When Shopify is the right answer

For most shops, which is why it is our default recommendation.

• You want to sell things, not administer a server
• Your products are reasonably conventional
• You would rather a specialist handled the checkout than own it yourself
• You want the thing live in weeks

The checkout is the strongest argument. Shopify’s converts well, works on every device, handles every payment method your customers expect, and is tested by hundreds of thousands of shops. You will not build a better one and you should not try.

When WooCommerce earns its place

Three genuine reasons, and “the site is already WordPress” is not one of them.

The content is doing the selling. If your guides, case studies and articles are what bring people in, and the basket is the last step, having the shop and the content in one system is a real advantage.

Your pricing rules are unusual. Trade pricing, quantity breaks, bundles, customer-specific rates. Shopify can do some of this, usually via apps. WooCommerce can model it directly.

Volume makes the fees bite. At a few hundred thousand a year in sales, Shopify’s transaction fees and app subscriptions can exceed what good hosting and a maintenance plan cost. Run the arithmetic rather than assuming.

The cost comparison nobody does properly

Shopify’s monthly fee is visible. WooCommerce’s costs are not, which is why it looks cheaper than it is.

A realistic WooCommerce shop needs proper hosting, a maintenance arrangement, a backup strategy, somebody responsible for updates, and usually several paid extensions. Add it up honestly and the gap narrows a long way.

The real difference is not the money. It is where the responsibility sits.

Our answer

Shopify, unless you have one of the three reasons above. If you do have one, WooCommerce is an excellent choice and we are happy to build it.

If you are weighing it up, the deciding question is usually: when a security patch lands at eleven at night, whose problem is that? If the honest answer is “nobody’s, and I would rather it stayed that way”, you want Shopify.

See how we build each: Shopify web design and WooCommerce web design.