Shopify or WooCommerce: which should a small business choose?
Both platforms run successful stores. The right choice depends on who will look after the store, how much control you need and your running budget.
The short answer
Choose Shopify if you want to spend your time selling rather than maintaining a website, and you are happy to work within the features Shopify and its apps provide.
Choose WooCommerce if you already run a WordPress site, want full control over how the store works, or need features that would be expensive or impossible on a hosted platform.
Both run thousands of successful stores. Neither is the wrong answer in general, only for a particular business. The rest of this article explains how to tell which is right for yours.
Hosted or self-hosted
The biggest difference is who runs the software. Shopify is a hosted service. Shopify looks after the servers, security updates and checkout, and you pay a monthly subscription. WooCommerce is a free plugin for WordPress that runs on hosting you choose, so you or your developer are responsible for updates, backups and security.
A hosted platform removes a category of work. A self-hosted one removes a category of limits. The question is which of those matters more to you.
A useful test: ask who will update the store software every month for the next three years. If there is no clear answer, a hosted platform is usually the safer choice.
How the costs differ
Shopify costs are predictable: a monthly plan, payment processing fees, and a monthly fee for each paid app you add. The apps are where costs grow, so it is worth checking early which of the features you need are built in and which need an app.
WooCommerce has no licence fee, but it is not free to run. You pay for hosting, some paid plugins, and developer time for updates and fixes. For a small store these costs can be lower than Shopify. For a busy one, good hosting and regular maintenance matter more than the licence.
Whichever you choose, compare the total cost over two or three years, not only the cost of the first build.
Side by side
| Shopify | WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Hosting | Included | You choose and pay for it |
| Updates and security | Handled by Shopify | Your responsibility or your developer’s |
| Running costs | Monthly plan plus apps | Hosting, plugins and maintenance |
| Customisation | Themes and apps, within limits | Almost anything, with a developer |
| Content and blog | Basic | Full WordPress |
| Best for | Teams that want to focus on selling | Stores that need control or already use WordPress |
Features that often decide it
- Product options. Complex configurable products, made-to-order items or unusual pricing rules are easier to build exactly as you want on WooCommerce.
- Content. If articles and guides bring in most of your customers, WordPress gives you a stronger publishing tool alongside the store.
- Staff and suppliers. Shopify’s admin is easier to learn for staff who are new to online stores.
- Selling in person. Shopify’s point of sale connects directly to the store, which helps if you also have a shop or market stall.
How to decide
Before choosing, write down three things:
- Who will run the store day to day, and how comfortable they are with technology.
- The features you need in the first year, and which of them are unusual.
- Your budget for monthly running costs, not only the initial build.
With those answers, the choice is usually clear. If it is not, send us your list and we will recommend one with the reasons in writing. You can also read more about how we build and migrate online stores.