Shopify vs WooCommerce: Which Should You Use?

Choose Shopify if you want one company running hosting, checkout, and updates for a fixed monthly fee. Choose WooCommerce if you already run WordPress, or want full control of your hosting and code, and don't mind assembling the pieces yourself. The two aren't priced the same way, so "which is cheaper" depends entirely on how much you build versus buy. This comparison checks each vendor's own pages, checked September 2026.

What's the basic difference?

Shopify is a hosted platform: you pay Shopify monthly, and Shopify runs the servers, the checkout, and the updates. WooCommerce is a free, open-source plugin for WordPress — Shopify's own equivalent would be the store software, not the hosting. WooCommerce's own plugin listing describes it plainly: "WooCommerce is the open-source ecommerce platform for WordPress" (WordPress.org, WooCommerce plugin page, checked September 2026). Installing it costs nothing, but it needs a WordPress site to run on, and a WordPress site needs a host — a separate bill that doesn't exist with Shopify.

What does each cost?

Shopify's published plans, billed yearly, are Basic at $29/mo, Grow at $79/mo, and Advanced at $299/mo, with a Plus tier starting "from $2,300/mo" for larger businesses (Shopify Pricing, checked September 2026). Shopify also lists a "3 days free" trial followed by an introductory "$1/month for 3 months" offer on its pricing page — a limited-time rate, not the standing price, so budget for the plan price above once it ends.

WooCommerce itself has no plan or subscription: "It costs nothing to add Woo to a WordPress site," per WooCommerce's own site (WooCommerce, features, checked September 2026). What you actually pay for instead:

• A WordPress host. WooCommerce doesn't sell hosting directly — its own hosting page recommends third-party hosts (Bluehost, Hostinger, SiteGround, Pressable, WordPress VIP, and WordPress.com's Commerce plan) without listing a price for any of them. Check your chosen host's own pricing; it isn't a WooCommerce number to quote.
• Paid extensions, when the free plugin ecosystem doesn't cover what you need. As one real example, WooCommerce's own official Subscriptions extension is a "paid annual extension" listed at "$279" for a 1-year plan (equivalent to "$23.25" per month billed annually), with a "30-day money-back guarantee" (WooCommerce, WooCommerce Subscriptions, checked September 2026). Other extensions are priced independently; the Woo Marketplace's own description calls it "hundreds of free and paid extensions."

Because WooCommerce's total cost is really hosting plus optional extensions, it can come in well under Shopify's floor for a small, simple store, or well over it for a store that needs several paid extensions plus premium hosting. There's no single number to compare directly — you have to price your own stack.

How do payments and transaction fees work?

Shopify runs its own payments system (Shopify Payments) with rates that improve at higher plans: online standard card rates run "2.9% + 30¢" on Basic, "2.7% + 30¢" on Grow, "2.5% + 30¢" on Advanced, and "2.25% + 30¢" on Plus, all plus "1%" for international cards (Shopify Pricing, checked September 2026). If you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments instead, Shopify adds its own extra fee on top — 2% on Basic down to 0.2% on Plus (same page).

WooCommerce takes no cut of its own: "There is no fee on transactions beyond that of the payment service provider," per WooCommerce's features page (WooCommerce, checked September 2026). WooCommerce's own payment option, WooPayments, doesn't publish one flat rate — its fee documentation states plainly that "the exact fees we charge differ based on" the business's country, the customer's country, the currency paid, and the payment method used (WooCommerce, WooPayments: Fees, checked September 2026). You can also connect Stripe, PayPal, or another gateway directly, each with its own separate rate — WooCommerce itself never adds a markup on top.

What can I extend the store with?

Shopify's app ecosystem is built into the platform and reachable from every plan; app pricing is set by each app's developer, not Shopify, so check an app's own listing before installing it.

WooCommerce's extensibility is the plugin's whole design: any of the thousands of plugins in the WordPress.org directory can run alongside it, plus the curated Woo Marketplace for store-specific tools (payments, subscriptions, bookings, and more). WooCommerce's own plugin page states "PHP 7.4 or greater is required (PHP 8.0 or greater is recommended)," on top of "WordPress 7.0 or greater" (WordPress.org, WooCommerce plugin page) — your host needs to meet those, which is one more thing Shopify handles for you automatically.

Capability matrix

Who is each one not for?

Shopify is not a fit if you want to avoid an ongoing platform subscription entirely, or you already run a WordPress site and don't want a second, separate system to maintain.

WooCommerce is not a fit if you don't want to choose a host, apply updates, or troubleshoot plugin conflicts yourself — none of that goes away because the plugin is free. It shifts from a subscription to your own time and a hosting bill.

Where does Figment fit in?

Neither directly. Figment publishes a Figma design as a live website through its Figma plugin — it has no store, no cart, and no checkout, so it isn't a substitute for either platform when selling products is the actual job. It fits a different need: a marketing site, landing page, or portfolio built with full design control, sometimes linked out to a Shopify or WooCommerce store for the buying part. If AI-assisted editing on an existing WordPress site (WooCommerce or not) is what you're actually after, see Can ChatGPT or Claude edit your WordPress site? for what WordPress.com's and self-hosted WordPress's own AI and API routes currently support. For a closer look at Shopify's plans on their own, see our Shopify pricing guide.

Which should I actually pick?

• Pick Shopify if you want one bill, one vendor to call, and nothing to patch yourself.
• Pick WooCommerce if you already run WordPress, want full control over hosting and code, and are comfortable managing (or paying someone to manage) updates and plugin compatibility yourself.

Bottom line: Shopify prices itself as a subscription with built-in payments and hosting; WooCommerce prices itself as free software that shifts the real cost to your host and any extensions you add. Compare your own total stack, not just the sticker price of either one.