WooCommerce or Shopify? Compare Features & Pick the Best

The number of eCommerce websites is growing as more consumers choose to shop online. Studies reveal that the number of eCommerce websites worldwide is somewhere between 12 million to 24 million. However, not even one million among them manage to sell products worth more than USD 1,000 per annum. Choosing the right eCommerce platform is thus crucial for your business’ success. Among the various available options, WooCommerce and Shopify are popular choices. Both are powerful platforms loaded with essential features and user-friendly tools. They allow sellers to set up online stores without a web developer’s assistance. This makes it difficult for sellers to choose between the two.

This article gives you a detailed comparison between WooCommerce and Shopify. You will learn about their features, benefits and other important information related to them. The aim is to help you make an informed decision between them.

WooCommerce VS Shopify: Overview

Research shows that WooCommerce is the most trusted eCommerce platform, followed by Shopify. Before we go any further with an in-depth comparison between WooCommerce and Shopify, let’s cover some basics about both platforms.

WooCommerce

Launched in 2011, WooCommerce is a free WordPress plugin. When added to WordPress, it adds several functionalities to the online store. You can turn your WordPress website into a fully functional website with just a few clicks. It is open-source in nature and therefore, you can customise all the aspects of your online store. WooCommerce reportedly leads the global market with a 39% share as of 2024.

Shopify

An all-in-one eCommerce platform, Shopify makes it pretty easy for retailers to create an online store, manage their inventory, and accept payments from customers—all of these from one platform. The online retailers don’t have to worry about the technical aspects of the website, such as web hosting, caching, and security. This is the reason why so many sellers use Shopify. Reports suggest that it has around 4 million eCommerce sites.

Pros and Cons of WooCommerce and Shopify

When you compare Shopify VS WooCommerce, it is evident that both of them have their respective strengths and weaknesses. 

WooCommerce Strengths

• It has a big online community.
• It offers customisation and full control over the website.
• It works with a wide range of WordPress themes.
• The WooCommerce plugin (software) is free of cost and is simple to configure on WordPress.

WooCommerce Weaknesses

• Though WooCommerce is a free plugin, you are required to pay for the hosting plan, themes and additional things like payment plugins. The platform charges a minimum of $11 per month for the hosting plan. On average, a paid plugin can cost around $50, and a paid theme can range anywhere between $30 and $300. This can increase the cost substantially. 
• The sellers need to take care of technical aspects such as maintenance and database optimisation.

Shopify Strengths

• The pricing is fair for Shopify. Besides, you would always know the price that you need to pay at the end of the month as it is an all-inclusive package.
• It only takes a few minutes to launch your Shopify powered online store.
• There are a number of beautiful themes that you can choose from.
• You can access a vast collection of apps to enhance your online store.
• You don’t need to handle anything – Shopify handles everything for you, from security to hosting.
• Dropshipping business model is simpler and easier to run with Shopify.

Shopify Weaknesses

• You don’t get a lot of control over your Shopify store. You get better customization options with WooCommerce. 
• The online platform charges a monthly subscription fee. Sellers may also need to pay for themes and extra features. This can add to the overall cost.

Shopify VS WooCommerce: The Difference

The main difference between Shopify and WooCommerce is that Shopify is an all-in-one eCommerce solution, while WooCommerce is an open-source WordPress plugin.

Shopify takes all the complicated technical aspects into account and offers easy-to-use tools. You can set up an online store in minutes. On the other hand, WooCommerce is the best option for online sellers who like customisation. You can set up the store as per your preferences. It gives you the freedom to build things as per your choice. However, setting up and managing a WooCommerce store requires technical knowledge. You need to handle hosting, security, and website maintenance on your own.

If you are a beginner and cannot manage technical tasks such as hosting, Shopify is a good choice.

It gives you an all-in-one package that includes setting up a store and running it with a lot of features and apps.

You may go for WooCommerce if you want customisation options. It is your go-to option if you already run a WordPress website and wish to take control of the store.

Design

• WooCommerce: It is a plugin created by WooThemes developers. It doesn’t have any designs of its own. WooCommerce, basically, just provides a means of selling products online. The design of the website depends on the WordPress theme. WooCommerce cooperates with current themes in the market, provided that they follow the best practices. So, you choose your favourite WordPress theme and make it work with WooCommerce.
  • WooCommerce offers many themes designed for online stores. You may browse through them to select one that matches your preference. 

• Shopify: Shopify offers a range of beautiful themes. It provides more than 100 free e-commerce templates. They are known for their speed and features. Moreover, they are responsive and, thus, ensure a smooth shopping experience across all devices.

Price

• WooCommerce: WooCommerce is a free, open-source plugin. You don’t have to pay anything to get the plugin. But, as mentioned above, there some additional costs associated with it to make your store go online. This includes charges for a domain name, hosting, themes, additional plugins and SSL certificate. This can increase the overall cost substantially.

• Shopify: It is a single solution for all your requirements as it offers – hosting, SSL certificate, and subdomain in a single pricing package. You sign up, choose the theme and package, and everything is set up and good-to-go. You can choose from different Shopify plans that are designed to match different shopping needs. The basic Shopify plan starts from $39 per month.

Notably, there is a transaction fee, which is charged for processing payments and delivering it to your account. It is usually 2-3% per transaction.

Features

• WooCommerce: It is an open-source software plugin that offers a lot of additions. You will be able to do everything on WooCommerce – whether you want to sell on Facebook, edit aesthetics, or understand the user behaviour. Here’s what else you get with WooCommerce:
  • Works well with WordPress theme
  • Mobile friendly website structure
  • Free Facebook store
  • Upload unlimited products and product categories
  • Stock level controls
  • Control over data
  • Payments via PayPal – a range of payment gateways are available but at an extra cost
  • Hundreds of plugins available 

• Shopify: Here you would still be required to install Shopify Apps to get the most of the eCommerce platform. But it offers some free options as well: 
  • Unlimited product listing and product importing via CSV files
  • Unlimited file storage and daily backups
  • SEO-friendly website structure and unlimited traffic
  • Fully-featured mobile App
  • Manual order creation
  • Discount codes
  • Free SSL certificate
  • Blog module
  • Editable HTML and CSS
  • Mobile commerce optimisation
  • Multiple languages
  • Credit card payments
  • Customer profiles
  • Facebook selling module
  • Social media integration
  • Site statistics and product reports
  • Inventory management
  • Gift cards
  • Abandoned cart recovery
  • Print orders
  • Reports
  • Automatic fraud analysis

Conlusion

In the end, we would say that all eCommerce platforms have specific advantages and weaknesses. Which one will work best for you depends on your needs and specifications. If you value ownership and flexibility, WooCommerce is your best bet. If you love the simplicity and one-stop solutions, Shopify is the best option.