WooCommerce vs Shopify - an honest comparison for store owners, not developers
You type "woocommerce vs shopify" into Google and get posts from Shopify agencies that end by recommending Shopify, posts from WordPress agencies that end by recommending WooCommerce, and a few tables whose numbers differ from source to source. Some of them predate pricing changes, so it is hard to put together a single calculation from all that.
A disclaimer up front: I build stores on WooCommerce, so I have a stake in this. I know Shopify from its documentation and from brief hands-on time in the admin panel - I configured a few things there, but I have not run a project on that platform. So I will not tell you how Shopify "works on the inside". I will rely on its pricing page and on what can be checked in the admin, and add what I can judge honestly myself: cost over time, choosing a contractor, and the moment when a ready-made platform stops being enough.
The short answer (for the impatient)
Shopify is a ready-made platform on a subscription: hosting, updates and security are the provider's job, getting started is fast, and you extend the store with apps from the app store. The cost grows with the plan, the apps and the transaction fees, and you never get the platform's code. WooCommerce is your own store on WordPress: more work at the start, but full control over the code, the integrations and the cost over time.
This is not a question of which software is better. It is a question of who takes responsibility for the infrastructure, and at what price. Shopify wins when you want to launch fast, the store is meant to be standard and nobody in the company wants to deal with updates. WooCommerce wins when the store has to sell in a non-standard way, live on content or grow without a ceiling imposed by the platform.
Where this comparison comes from - the UK market
The UK shows nicely how much depends on how you count. According to ShopRank (June 2026), among verified active stores with physical delivery Shopify holds about 47% of the market, WooCommerce about 25%, custom-built stores about 14% and Wix about 7%. In the broader dataset of all domains with e-commerce signals the order flips: WooCommerce about 33.5%, Shopify about 29%, Wix about 16% and Squarespace about 10%. So in the UK these are two equally strong players, not a leader and a niche.
These numbers do not prove that either platform is better. They show one practical thing: on a market this size you will find a contractor, and a replacement when the current one disappears, for either platform. The question that matters is not "who has more stores", but whether you will depend on one contractor or one platform provider, and I come back to it in the checklist at the end. If you are also considering other platforms, I compared WooCommerce with PrestaShop and with the Polish SaaS platform Shoper.
Two models of responsibility, not two programs
Shopify is SaaS. You pay a subscription, and hosting, updates, backups and security are on the provider's side. The store runs in a closed environment: ready-made themes, extensions through apps from the official app store, limited access to the platform's code.
WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin. Hosting, updates and security are on your side or your contractor's. In return you get full access to the code - every integration and every functional change is possible, it just costs time or money.
In short: in the SaaS model you pay a subscription for someone else looking after the infrastructure. In the own-store model you pay for the work on changes, but nobody imposes a ceiling on you.
WooCommerce vs Shopify - a table without a verdict
| Criterion | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Billing model | Monthly or yearly subscription, four plans | No software subscription; cost of hosting and the contractor's work |
| Hosting, updates, security | On the provider's side | On the store owner's or the contractor's side |
| Access to code | Limited to the theme and apps | Full |
| Extending the store | Apps from the app store, often with a monthly fee | Plugins or custom code |
| Platform fee on sales | None with Shopify Payments; 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow), 0.5% (Advanced) with a third-party gateway | None |
| Payments in Poland | Przelewy24 and BLIK can be enabled in Shopify Payments | Through a payment provider (e.g. Przelewy24, BLIK, Stripe) |
| InPost parcel lockers | Usually through an app | Plugins available on the market |
| URLs | Fixed prefixes, e.g. /products/ and /collections/ | Full control over the structure |
| Blog and SEO content | Built in, simpler | Full WordPress, the best tool for content |
| Ownership of code and data | The store lives in the provider's infrastructure | Code and data are fully yours |
| Starting price | From PLN 79 (yearly) or PLN 109 (monthly) for the Basic plan | Hosting and implementation, no software fee |
I give Shopify's plan prices in the next section. Always check them on Shopify's current pricing page, because SaaS platforms change tiers and promotions more often than comparison posts get updated. The table above reflects October 2026.
What it costs after 2 years
The most common mistake in comparisons: they count the price on launch day, not the cost over time. I did the same math for a template vs a custom theme and the conclusion is similar - the option that looks cheap at the start can turn out more expensive after two years, because you pay for things you cannot see at the beginning.
The Shopify subscription
Plan prices from Shopify's pricing page for Poland (as of 05.10.2026). Shopify bills Polish stores in PLN, so I quote the prices as they are:
| Plan | Paid yearly (per month) | Paid monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | PLN 79 | PLN 109 |
| Grow | PLN 239 | PLN 319 |
| Advanced | PLN 1,220 | PLN 1,630 |
| Plus | from €2,100 | from €2,100 |
The pricing page does not say whether these amounts are net or gross, so check that - the difference is about 23% of the bill (Polish VAT). Over 24 months the Basic plan costs PLN 1,896 paid yearly and PLN 2,616 paid monthly. The Grow plan, which includes up to 5 staff accounts, comes to PLN 5,736 or PLN 7,656.
Transaction fees, the part the ads forget
In Shopify a card payment through Shopify Payments costs from 1.95% + PLN 1.20 on the Basic plan, from 1.8% + PLN 1.20 on Grow and from 1.65% + PLN 1.20 on Advanced. That is the payment provider's rate, comparable to what you would pay Przelewy24, Stripe or another provider in WooCommerce.
The difference appears when you use a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments. Then you pay two separate fees: the provider's commission and an additional Shopify fee on every transaction - 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.5% on Advanced. WooCommerce has no such platform fee.
An illustrative calculation, to show the scale. Assumptions: the store sells PLN 40,000 a month, that is 200 orders, on the Basic plan. With a third-party gateway the additional Shopify fee is 2% of PLN 40,000, so PLN 800 a month. Over 24 months that is PLN 19,200 - an amount that does not exist in WooCommerce at all, because the provider's fee is the same on both sides. If you stay with Shopify Payments, you avoid this fee, but you tie yourself to a single payment provider, and that is a business decision, not a technical one. This is a model, not a quote: with different revenue and a different plan the numbers will differ, and it does not include any extra apps.
Apps and what the pricing page does not show
The rest of the Shopify cost is apps: shipping integrations, invoicing, advanced filters, extra fields. Many of them have their own monthly subscription. I am not giving amounts here, because they depend on the app you choose and they change, but the principle is simple: once you add everything you need, the bill grows beyond the price of the plan. Make a list of the features the store will need a year from now and check what each of them costs in the app store.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce has no software subscription and no platform fee. You pay for hosting and for the contractor's work on the build and on changes. What that really comes to, I broke down in the post how much a WooCommerce store costs. I am not repeating the numbers here, so they do not drift apart from that post's updates.
The Polish reality - payments, parcel lockers, invoices
I work in Poland, so this section is about the local details I deal with every day. The principle carries over to other markets: check how each platform handles the payment and shipping methods your customers actually use.
Payments. You can enable Przelewy24 and BLIK in Shopify Payments in the admin: Settings, Payments, Shopify Payments, Manage, Manage payment methods, Local payment methods. In WooCommerce you connect payment methods through a payment provider. In this respect the platforms are close to each other today.
InPost parcel lockers. In Shopify, InPost support usually requires a separate app, which may have its own subscription. In WooCommerce plugins are available. Check in the app store what the variant your store needs costs.
Invoices and KSeF. Neither platform handles invoices and KSeF (the Polish national e-invoicing system) "out of the box". On both sides you need an integration with an invoicing system. It is not a differentiator for either Shopify or WooCommerce.
Selling to the EU. Settling VAT OSS requires configuration on both sides and a consultation with your accountant.
When Shopify is the better choice (and when it is a good choice)
No catch. Shopify is a good choice when:
- the store is standard - a simple catalog, one purchase path, no non-standard sales processes;
- nobody in the company will look after updates, backups and security - SaaS takes that off your plate, and that is real value, not just a slogan;
- you want to launch in days, not weeks, and you do not have the budget for a contractor right now;
- you are testing an idea - one product, quick validation, minimal commitment;
- you plan to sell abroad in markets where the Shopify ecosystem is mature.
If you recognise yourself in these points, Shopify will do the job and you do not need to look further.
When WooCommerce makes sense (and when Shopify starts getting in the way)
The mirror image. WooCommerce is the better choice when:
- you sell in a non-standard way - a WooCommerce product configurator, individual B2B price lists, quote-based orders, a non-standard checkout. In builds like Creator a ready-made plugin or an app from the store stops being enough;
- the store is meant to be part of a bigger site with content, not a separate silo - a blog, guides, SEO;
- the cost of apps and fees starts to exceed the cost of your own solution - especially with a third-party payment gateway;
- you care about owning the code and the data, and about being able to change contractors without depending on a single platform provider.
What to watch out for, since this is my platform: moving to WooCommerce with dozens of plugins instead of a dedicated solution often ends in a slow WooCommerce store. Changing platforms guarantees nothing if the build on the other side is just as haphazard. What a good build looks like, I described on the process page.
Switching platforms - in both directions
This is not a migration post. I described the full process in the post on rebuilding a store without losing SEO. Here is just a summary, because switching works in both directions: from WooCommerce to Shopify and from Shopify to WooCommerce.
Products, content and images move relatively easily. URLs need attention. Shopify imposes prefixes such as /products/ and /collections/, so moving a store from another platform requires a 301 redirect map. Without it you lose your Google rankings. Order history and customer data need to be planned separately - exporting and importing them depends on the source platform.
The practical conclusion: switching platforms is a project, not a click. It is worth choosing once, with an eye on where the store will be in two years, not in two months.
Checklist - how to decide without guessing
Ask yourself these questions before you choose a platform:
- Who will update and look after the store six months from now? If nobody, Shopify takes that off you.
- Do I sell in a standard way, or do I need a non-standard process: a configurator, B2B prices, quote-based orders?
- Is the store also supposed to bring in traffic from content, or only be a place to buy?
- Do I have a budget for a contractor now, or only once the store starts making money?
- How much will the apps I will need a year from now cost, once I add all of them to the plan?
- Do I care about owning the code and being free to change contractors?
- Which payment and shipping methods are key for my customers, and what does supporting them cost on each side?
No answer is wrong. These are questions about the stage of your business, not about one technology being superior to the other.
Summary
This is a choice of a responsibility model, not a technological verdict. Shopify wins with a fast start and a simple store with no plans to grow it. WooCommerce wins with non-standard sales, content, and costs that in SaaS grow with every add-on.
If you already know you need more than a ready-made store template, book a free consultation. I will tell you straight whether WooCommerce will actually help you, or whether you are better off staying with what you have.
FAQ
At the start usually Shopify, because you do not need a contractor or hosting. Over time the numbers even out, because Shopify adds apps and, with a third-party payment gateway, a platform fee, while WooCommerce has no software subscription. The real cost depends on the plan, the revenue and the number of features you need.
Yes, if the store is standard and does not need integrations outside the app store. Przelewy24 and BLIK can be enabled in Shopify Payments, while InPost parcel lockers usually require a separate app. Invoices and KSeF require an integration on both platforms.
Yes, provided you plan a 301 redirect map from the old URLs to the new ones. Shopify imposes fixed URL prefixes, so the URL structure changes. Products, content and images move relatively easily, while order history needs a separate plan.
WooCommerce has the edge with content, because WordPress sits underneath, the best tool for a blog and guides. Shopify has a built-in blog, but a simpler one with an imposed URL structure. If the store does not plan any content, the difference practically disappears.
If you use Shopify Payments, Shopify does not charge an additional transaction fee. With a third-party payment gateway it charges a separate fee, 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.5% on Advanced, on top of the payment provider's fee.
At the start yes, because you need to set up hosting and the build, which Shopify does not require. In day-to-day use the difference is smaller, as long as the store has a dedicated theme rather than a pile of plugins.
I broke it down in the post on the cost of a WooCommerce store. Instead of repeating ranges that may go out of date, I point you straight there.