WooCommerce vs. Shopify: differences, pros and cons in 2024

We evaluated WooCommerce and Shopify to determine the best use cases for each and how each stacks up against the other based on features, pricing, customer support, user interface and security. In the end, we declared a winner based on which best meets current common small business needs for the right price. 

WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Overview

WooCommerce and Shopify are robust e-commerce platforms with distinct strengths. When choosing between them for your business, consider your needs and priorities. In this guide, we review each platform’s price, design and user interface, features, security, payment options and customer support to showcase the best use cases for each.

What is WooCommerce?

WooCommerce is an open-source e-commerce platform by the company Automattic. Built on one of the most popular website building platforms, WordPress, WooCommerce has been used to create almost four million online stores.

A WooCommerce site provides a business with powerful tools. It offers more than 50,000 plugins available for WordPress, as well as hundreds of WooCommerce-specific plugins (called extensions). Together, these optional tools allow companies to create any website functionality they need. 

You can use WooCommerce either through a plugin on a self-hosted WordPress site (WordPress.org) or through an all-in-one hosted WordPress.com site. Further, for the WordPress.com route, you can set it up through a WordPress.com plan. In this guide, we will focus primarily on the WooCommerce plugin based on a self-hosted WordPress site. 

What is Shopify?

Shopify is an e-commerce platform used by millions of businesses to sell products online and through brick-and-mortar locations. It allows businesses to take care of all the tasks necessary for a successful retail operation, including:

• Building an online store.
• Marketing products to customers.
• Payment processing.
• Inventory management.
• Shipping integrations.

With an easy-to-use interface and many helpful standard features such as one-click checkout and AI and automation capabilities, Shopify is an intriguing option for retail businesses looking for a comprehensive e-commerce platform. 

WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Pricing

Winner: WooCommerce

Winner: WooCommerce

The WooCommerce plugin is completely free to use, as is the open-source WordPress software that it relies on. That said, you will need to sign up for a hosting service. Hosting fees vary, but some start at a few dollars per month.

Shopify has a wide range of pricing. With Shopify’s Basic plan, you can get your e-commerce business up and running for under $30 per month when paying annually. On the other end of the spectrum is Shopify’s Advanced plan, which is a steep $299 per month when paid annually and $399 per month when paid monthly.

When paying on a monthly basis, Shopify’s first-tier Basic plan costs $39 per month. It offers: 

• An online store. 
• Two staff accounts.
• Payment processing.
• The ability to sell an unlimited number of products. 
• Up to 1,000 inventory locations.
• An SSL certificate.
• Sales tax calculations. 
• Marketing tools.
• E-commerce automation capabilities. 

The competition gets more interesting for businesses with consistently high monthly revenue. One of the primary benefits of Shopify’s higher-tiered plans is discounts on transaction fees and shipping costs. 

For example, the per-transaction fee for its highest-tier plan is 2.4% plus $0.30, while WooCommerce charges 2.9% plus $0.30 on all transactions. Although the highest-tier Shopify plan is quite pricey, if you have sufficiently high sales figures, it may turn out to be more cost-effective.

When considering the potential cost savings at the higher end, Shopify gets the pricing crown for businesses with high transaction volumes. In contrast, WooCommerce has the edge for smaller businesses looking for the lowest monthly cost and unlimited products.

WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Design and user interface

Winner: Shopify

Shopify is the clear winner in design and user interface. Matthew Cranfield, IT and tech expert and small business owner, said, “Shopify… just makes selling stuff online so much easier from the get-go. The dashboard is super user-friendly rather than overly technical. It’s like Shopify wants you to focus on your business, not get bogged down learning complex controls.”

Echoing that sentiment, Priyanka Swamy, CEO of Perfect Locks says Shopify is a “one-stop shop with an easy-to-use interface. It’s ideal for small business owners who value simplicity and productivity.”

Shopify provides a drag-and-drop website builder with built-in SEO tools, stock photos, an image resizer and free as well as premium paid themes. If design and ease of use are a priority for your e-commerce business, you will want to seriously consider Shopify. 

However, WooCommerce is an easier option for businesses that already have a WordPress website and would like to begin selling their products online. You only need to install the WordPress plugin and start setting up your existing site. There is no coding required. It even walks you through the setup process using a setup wizard.

WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Features

Winner: WooCommerce

Shopify and WooCommerce are both feature-rich e-commerce platforms. Both offer built-in site-building capabilities, marketing assistance and automations, integrated payment processing and inventory and shipping tools. 

Optional add-ons to Shopify plans include:

• Access to influencers to help market your brand.
• Pop-up chat marketing features.
• Integration of multiple sales channels including TikTok, Instagram and Etsy.

But with access to a vast amount of WordPress plugins, WooCommerce simply cannot be beat on features. With these free and paid plugin options, WooCommerce gives you plenty of options for customizing your e-commerce store, such as:

• Customer support ticketing system.
• A points and rewards program.
• Wish lists.
• Cart-sharing.

Shopify has its own app store with many third-party apps to add functionality to your online store. However, the amount and variety do not match what you can get for WooCommerce. 

Another downside with Shopify is the limited number of staff accounts for each of its plans. If you have or plan to have a large staff, you will appreciate WooCommerce’s offering of unlimited staff accounts. 

While many businesses would be more than satisfied with either platform’s features, those who are looking to maximize their functionality options should choose WooCommerce. 

However, those who need more customer support to launch and maintain an e-commerce site may be better off with Shopify, given its 24/7 customer support offering with paid plans.

WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Security

Winner: WooCommerce

Shopify offers built-in basic security features, including two-factor authentication, SSL certificates and payment processing that is PCI compliant for fraud prevention. WooCommerce, as part of WordPress.org, does not have much security built in. That said, WooCommerce’s native payment processing does indeed implement fraud protection.

In addition, plug-ins and extensions are available to add functionality such as:

• Anti-spam protection.
• Malware scanning.
• Two-factor authentication.
• Brute-force attack prevention.

The availability of other security features will depend on the hosting service you use. Although it may involve a few more hoops to jump through to get more advanced security features, the fact that they are available makes WooCommerce the better option when security is a high priority.

WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Payment integrations

Winner: Shopify

WooCommerce and Shopify both provide native payment processing as well as the option to use third-party payment processors. Both in-house options accept various payment methods, including major credit card networks like Visa and Mastercard, as well as Apple Pay and Google Pay.

One major difference between the two platforms is that Shopify charges additional fees if you use an outside payment processor, while WordPress does not for some plans when using the WooCommerce plugin. These extra fees are not cheap, adding between 0.5% to 2% to the standard transaction fees, depending on the Shopify plan.

That said, it may make the most sense to use Shopify’s in-house payment options. The standard online credit card transaction fees for the Basic plan are 2.9% plus $0.30, which matches that of WooCommerce’s WooPayments and many other standard processors, including Stripe and Amazon Pay.

Transaction fees are discounted with the higher-tier Shopify plans, down to 2.4% plus $0.30 for the Advanced plan. The option for significantly discounted transaction fees gives Shopify the win on payment integrations.

WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Customer support

Winner: Shopify

You can hardly call either WooCommerce or Shopify a winner in customer support. Both companies’ Trustpilot reviews are subpar with poor customer service being a major factor.

Shopify’s standard plans do not offer support by phone, only email and live chat. But if you really need phone support, you can shell out for Shopify Plus, starting at $2,000 per month. 

WooCommerce, as a free service, does not offer support other than through its documentation and support forums. The support forums can be quite helpful, since you may find many other people dealing with similar issues as you. Still, this usually does not substitute for directly contacting a support agent.

While both companies have quite a bit of room for improvement in the support department, if we have to pick a winner, it’s Shopify. 

Which is best for your business?

Winner: Shopify

It’s a close call when choosing between Shopify and WooCommerce, but we believe Shopify may be the best choice for many e-commerce businesses. Shopify gives businesses a lot to like. It has a number of advantages, including:

• Ease of use: Shopify is generally easier to use than WooCommerce, especially for those with fewer technical skills.
• Discounted transaction costs: At the higher end, high-revenue businesses could potentially see some savings with Shopify’s discounted transaction fees and shipping discounts.
• Advanced marketing features: Given its relationships with influencers and focus on social media tools like the link-in-bio feature, these could greatly help boost your brand.

On the other hand, WooCommerce is for you if you prioritize: 

• Pricing: The fact that WooCommerce is free is a big help to businesses that don’t have a large budget.
• Flexibility and customization: WooCommerce is more customizable and extensible than Shopify due to its access to the vast library of WordPress plugins.
• Unlimited staff accounts: WooCommerce provides unlimited staff accounts on both of its plans, while even Shopify’s highest-tier plan only allows for 15 staff accounts. 
• Security: WooCommerce has the capacity for more advanced security features than Shopify.

Ultimately, which is the better e-commerce platform for your business depends on your current needs as well as your future plans. Shopify is probably best for newer entrepreneurs who want a quick and easy way to get selling. 

In comparison, WooCommerce will likely involve spending much more time getting up to speed on how to use the plugin and finding appropriate extensions. And unless you are already familiar with the underlying WordPress platform and how self-hosting works, these steps will add even more time to the process.

That said, if you want to spend as little money as possible and are willing to put in the time, WooCommerce may be your best choice. Of course, you could pay someone else to help get set up on WooCommerce, but this will cost much more than a Shopify plan. But if maximizing functionality and control is a priority, you may want to consider this route.

Due to the significant savings in time and effort, most small businesses will want to opt for Shopify over WooCommerce. Shopify also may be the choice for higher-grossing businesses that can take advantage of discounted transaction costs.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Is Shopify an open-source platform?

No, Shopify is not open-source, unlike WooCommerce.

Is WooCommerce best for an online store?

WooCommerce may be best for those looking to build an online store with maximum customization and flexibility due to its access to the vast marketplace of WordPress plugins. It is also a great option if a business wants to transform its current WordPress site into an e-commerce store without starting a new site.

Does WooCommerce take a cut of sales?

WooCommerce does not take a cut of sales other than the standard transaction fees for accepting credit cards. For sales processed through WooPayments, transaction fees are 2.9% plus $0.30.

Who is Shopify best for?

Shopify is best for e-commerce businesses that want to get started selling online quickly and easily or those that want a very low-cost option. It may also be best for those who have high monthly revenue and can take advantage of cost savings from Shopify’s discounted transaction costs through its higher-tier plans.