Shopify vs WooCommerce (2026): Costs, Control and Which to Choose

Which costs more to run?

Shopify’s costs are a monthly plan fee plus payment processing, plus any paid apps. Plan prices depend on your country and billing period; check shopify.com/pricing for your region. If you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments, Shopify adds a fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus.

WooCommerce itself is free, but you pay for hosting, a domain, any premium theme and extensions, and payment processing. The biggest cost is often maintenance: someone has to update WordPress, plugins and PHP, test the checkout after updates and handle security. Get a quote for hosting and maintenance before comparing totals.

What are the hidden costs on each?

On Shopify, app subscriptions add up: reviews, subscriptions, advanced filters and B2B features are often paid apps billed monthly. Transaction fees on non-Shopify payment providers are easy to overlook, and a custom theme or app costs developer time.

On WooCommerce, the hidden costs are hosting that can handle traffic peaks, premium extensions with yearly licences, and the time spent on updates, conflicts and fixes. A store that is never updated becomes a security risk.

Who is responsible for security?

Shopify runs the platform, hosting and checkout, so security patches and infrastructure are its job. You are still responsible for staff accounts, two-factor authentication and the apps you install.

With WooCommerce, you are responsible for everything: WordPress core, every plugin and theme, the PHP version and the server. 2026 saw serious vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins and in PHP itself, so a WooCommerce store needs a routine of updates, backups and monitoring. Our WordPress security guide covers what that involves.

When should you choose Shopify?

Choose Shopify when you want to launch quickly and spend your time on products and marketing, not on servers and updates. It suits stores with a standard catalogue and checkout, teams without a developer on hand, and businesses that also sell in person and want Shopify POS. Predictable monthly costs and a checkout you don’t have to maintain are its main advantages.

When should you choose WooCommerce?

Choose WooCommerce when you need full control: custom product types, unusual pricing rules, deep integration with your own systems, or content-heavy sites where the store is one part of a larger WordPress site. You own the code and data, can host anywhere, and aren’t tied to one company’s app ecosystem.

It is the better fit if you already have a WordPress site, or have a developer or maintenance partner to keep it updated.

How hard is it to switch between them?

Products, customers and orders can be exported and imported in both directions with CSV files or migration tools. The harder parts are themes, which must be rebuilt, apps and extensions, which need replacements, and URLs. Shopify uses fixed URL patterns such as /products/ and /collections/, so moving to or from it usually changes URLs. Set up 301 redirects for every product and category page to keep your search rankings.

Test the full checkout, emails, taxes and shipping on the new platform before switching DNS.