Shopify vs WooCommerce
We give Shopify a 2.8 GPA and WooCommerce a 2.2, out of 4.0. Shopify grades higher on features and ease of use. WooCommerce grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Shopify
Hosted commerce platform for online, in-person and social selling
WooCommerce
Free, open-source store plugin for WordPress that you host yourself
How we grade them
| 2.8GPAShopifyGood | 2.2GPAWooCommerceFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CBasic is $29 a month on yearly billing ($39 monthly), with your own domain and unlimited products. That's right at this category's middle. Shopify takes no extra cut if you use Shopify Payments, but adds 2% to each sale on Basic if you use another payment provider. | CThe plugin is free, but a store needs hosting, which Woo puts at $25 to $350 a month, plus paid extensions at $29 to $299 a year each. So call it $25 a month and up, the ordinary middle here. Woo takes no fee on sales, whichever payment provider you use. |
| Free plan and trial | DNo free plan, and the trial is just 3 days, though it needs no card. After that it's $1 a month for 3 months, which is a cheap start rather than a free one. | BThe whole plugin is free and open source, with unlimited products and orders and no revenue share, so one person could run a shop on it for years. It isn't an A because a live store can't run without paid hosting. |
| Features | AThe whole job and then some: themes, checkout, stock across up to 10 locations, discounted labels, email campaigns, selling at pop-ups from your phone, marketplace and social sync, even listing products in AI chats. More than 13,000 apps cover the rest. | CProducts, carts, checkout and orders are all in the free core, any payment provider works, and the app takes payments in person. But a lot sits in extensions, many of them paid, and shipping labels come through outside services such as ShipStation or Shippo. |
| Ease of use | A4.7 from about 42,800 App Store ratings, far more than any other store here. A theme or a written prompt gets the storefront going, and Sidekick answers questions and does jobs in the admin. | DYou host it yourself: WordPress, a web host, and updates, backups and security on you or your host. The phone app's 4.75 from about 7,800 App Store ratings is for running orders once the store is up, not for getting it up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Amazon, eBay, Walmart, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Google and YouTube, plus APIs for custom apps. There's no desktop app, which keeps it off an A. | BWeb, plus a free iPhone and Android app, with Stripe, ShipStation, Shippo, Easyship, Klaviyo, Google, TikTok and Pinterest, and no cap on API use. No desktop app, so B is the ceiling. |
| Best for | stores selling online, in person and on social | adding a store to a WordPress site |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Shopify and WooCommerce. How we grade
Where they differ
- WooCommerce has a free plan. Shopify does not, though it has a free trial.
- WooCommerce is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Shopify also covers email campaigns, inventory and shipping labels.
At a glance
| Shopify | WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | The WooCommerce plugin is free and open source, with unlimited products and orders and no revenue share. Hosting, paid extensions and payment processing cost extra. |
| Free trial | 3-day free trial, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Shopify | WooCommerce, Inc. |
| Price read from | shopify.com | woocommerce.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Shopify
- Brands that sell online and in person from one stock count
- Growing stores that want to add staff and channels without moving platforms
- Sellers who will use Shopify Payments and its shipping discounts
WooCommerce
- WordPress sites that want to add a store
- Sellers who want to own their code and data and pick their own host
- Developers and agencies building custom stores for clients
Worth knowing
Shopify
- Using a payment provider other than Shopify Payments adds a fee of 2% per sale on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus.
- The free trial lasts 3 days; Basic, Grow and Advanced then cost $1 a month for 3 months before the regular price.
- POS Pro for physical shops costs $89 a month per location, and syncing more than 50 marketplace orders a month costs 1%, up to $99 a month.
- Plus is sold only on a 1- or 3-year term, starting at $2,300 a month on the 3-year term.
WooCommerce
- You need WordPress and web hosting from a provider you choose; Woo puts hosting for most stores at $25 to $350 a month.
- Many features come as paid extensions, which Woo says cost $29 to $299 a year each.
- Card fees depend on the processor; Woo gives about 2.5% to 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction for its own WooPayments.
- Because the store runs on your own hosting, updates, backups and security fall to you or your host.
Key features
Shopify
- Store builder and themes
- Build the storefront from a theme (Shopify lists more than 200) or from a written prompt, with hosting, SSL and a custom domain on every plan and no cap on products.
- Checkout and Shopify Payments
- Shopify's own checkout and payment processing are built in, with fraud analysis, local currencies and local payment methods where Shopify Payments is offered.
- Inventory, orders and shipping
- Track stock across up to 10 locations (200 on Plus), buy and print discounted shipping labels, with live third-party carrier rates included from Advanced up.
- Selling in person and on other channels
- Sell at pop-ups from the mobile app or a card reader, and sync products to marketplaces and social channels. A separate $0 Agentic plan lists products in AI chats.
- Marketing email and automations
- Email campaigns, customer segments, abandoned checkout recovery, discount codes and gift cards come with every plan; SMS campaigns are paid per send.
- Sidekick AI assistant and apps
- Sidekick answers questions and takes actions in the admin, and the Shopify App Store lists more than 13,000 apps for features the core plans lack.
WooCommerce
- Open-source WordPress plugin
- Adds a store to a WordPress site. The code is open source, so the store can be changed freely, and products, orders and API use are not capped.
- Any payment provider
- Use Woo's own WooPayments or any other gateway or buy-now-pay-later service, run several at once, and pay no extra fee to Woo for using a third-party processor.
- Extensions and themes
- Hundreds of extensions and themes in Woo's marketplace add features such as subscriptions, wholesale pricing and marketing tools, many of them paid.
- Shipping integrations
- Live carrier rates, label printing, tracking and returns come through integrations such as ShipStation, Shippo and Easyship, which are free to download.
- Mobile app and in-person sales
- The free WooCommerce app for iOS and Android manages products and orders and takes payments in person with Tap to Pay or a Woo card reader.
Plans
Shopify
Basic$29
per month, billed yearly ($39 billed monthly)
For solo sellers: online and in-person sales, card rates from 2.9% + 30¢ online, and a 2% fee on sales taken through another payment provider.
Grow$79
per month, billed yearly ($105 billed monthly)
Up to 5 staff accounts, card rates from 2.7% + 30¢ online and a 1% fee on sales through other payment providers.
Advanced$299
per month, billed yearly ($399 billed monthly)
Up to 15 staff accounts, live third-party shipping rates, card rates from 2.5% + 30¢ and a 0.6% fee with other payment providers.
Plus$2,300
per month and up, billed yearly on a 3-year term
On a 1- or 3-year term: unlimited staff, a fully customizable checkout, card rates from 2.25% + 30¢ and a 0.2% fee with other providers.
WooCommerce
WooCommerce$0
The free, open-source WordPress plugin, which you host yourself on a provider you choose. No monthly subscription, platform fee or revenue share.
Ways to pay less
Shopify
- Annual discount
Pay yearly to save about 25%
Basic costs $29 a month billed yearly against $39 billed monthly, Grow $79 against $105, and Advanced $299 against $399.
- Other savings
$1 a month for the first 3 months
After the 3-day free trial, the Basic, Grow and Advanced plans cost $1 a month for the first 3 months, then the regular price.
WooCommerce
No public discounts listed.
