WooCommerce or Shopify: Which is best for launching an eCommerce store?
Originally published: May 2025 – Last updated: June 2026
Article topics
- Which has the best pricing?
- Which has the lowest transaction fees?
- Which is easier to use?
- Which has the most functionality?
- Which is better for SEO?
- Which is faster?
- So… which is best?
Ecommerce success isn’t necessarily down to the products you sell. It can come down to the platform you use.
There are a wide range of eCommerce platforms out there, and it can be hard to choose the right one.
Two of the biggest platforms around are WooCommerce (an eCommerce plugin for WordPress) and Shopify.
Between them, they have a 46% share of the market!
But which one is the best choice for your online store? Let’s take a look.
Which has the best pricing?
WooCommerce and Shopify have different pricing models.
Shopify is software-as-a-service (SaaS), which means you pay a monthly or annual fee to access it. This covers the use of the platform, hosting, secure checkout, updates, and customer support.
Depending on the tier you choose and whether you pay monthly or yearly, this fee can vary from £19 to £344 a month.
This makes it an appealing option if you want something all-inclusive with no surprise fees.
On the other hand, WooCommerce is free to add to your WordPress site. However, you need to pay for your hosting, themes, and extensions. While it’s possible to do this on a budget, costs can quickly add up if you’re not careful.
Which has the lowest transaction fees?
When a customer buys something on your website, you need to pay a transaction fee.
With Shopify Payments, Shopify’s built-in payment gateway, rates vary depending on the tier you’re on. On the most basic tier, for businesses based in the UK, if someone buys online, you pay 2% of the fee, plus 25p. If you’re on a more expensive tier, you pay less.
On WooCommerce, you pay 1.5% of the fee, plus 25p regardless. While this is cheaper than the two lowest-cost Shopify tiers, it’s on the same level as the Advanced tier.
However, there are variables in play which can mean you end up paying more on both platforms. For example, if you accept an international payment or an alternative payment method like Klarna or Clearpay.
Which is easier to use?
If you want an eCommerce platform that you can dive into and start using straight away, Shopify is ideal. Add a page, hit the edit button, and customise to your liking. Job done!
The settings are fairly comprehensive too – it’s surprisingly hard to break your Shopify site! (Trust us, we’ve tried.)
WooCommerce can be trickier to set up. While creating and editing a page is relatively straightforward, it’s easy to damage your site if you click on the wrong box.
Another benefit of Shopify is the customer support. As part of the service, you can reach out to Shopify and get help anytime you need it. As WooCommerce is open source, you don’t get this assistance, but there’s a helpful community online if you get stuck!
Which has the most functionality?
A fantastic benefit of both WooCommerce and Shopify is that both platforms are extremely flexible. You can download a multitude of free and paid-for apps and extensions if you want to take advantage of additional functionality.
With both platforms and the right apps, you can build landing pages, create automated email campaigns, and integrate live chat into your site.
This makes both platforms fantastic for scaling – just add more features as your eCommerce store grows.
30 amazing Shopify apps to bring in the sales
30 incredible WooCommerce extensions to grow your store
Another benefit of WooCommerce is that it’s got a lot of extra capabilities if you know what you’re doing. For example, we helped Canvas Tent Shop migrate their site to WooCommerce, adding a range of hand-coded features.
If you have a great WordPress/WooCommerce developer on your side, the sky’s the limit!
Which is better for SEO?
WordPress, the platform WooCommerce uses, is designed with SEO in mind. There are a variety of tools, like Yoast SEO and RankMath, that make managing your SEO efforts as easy as possible.
Plus as you have more control over your website code, you can make significant changes that improve your site rankings.
While Shopify isn’t as powerful when it comes to SEO, it’s easy to make the changes that matter. You can easily amend your meta descriptions and page titles, and Shopify takes care of server maintenance and updates. This means you have peace of mind that your site performance is as good as it can be.
Remember that even if a platform is optimised for SEO, you need to put the work in with detailed keyword research, backlinking campaigns, and high-quality content.
Which is faster?
These platforms are two of the speediest eCommerce platforms around. WordPress has many customisation options that ensure your site loads as fast as possible, while Shopify manages server optimisation on your behalf.
However, it’s important to bear in mind that the speed of both WooCommerce and Shopify can vary depending on the number of apps and extensions you use. Too many can bloat your website, which means it runs more slowly.
Only download the apps and extensions you intend to use, keep an eye on your image size, and regularly test your page speed to make sure it isn’t driving customers away.
9 speedy solutions to improve your page loading time
So… which is best?
WooCommerce and Shopify have a lot in common. They’re fast, flexible, and the transaction fees are roughly the same.
But… which should you be using?
It ultimately depends on your goals and ambitions. If you want a site that’s easy to edit, you can get up and running with right away, and not have to worry about additional costs, Shopify is a great choice.
If you want something with a lot of functionality and you have the skills (or know someone with the skills) to set your site up the way you want, WooCommerce is perfect for you.
Still not sure? Get in touch, and we’d be happy to recommend which platform is right for you.
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