Shopify is a hosted commerce platform with a monthly plan. WooCommerce is a free, open-source plugin that turns a WordPress site into a store, on hosting you choose and pay for. That difference decides most of the comparison: who pays for hosting, who keeps the software updated, and which payment fees you pay.
We checked every price and fee below on 28 October 2026, on Shopify’s US pricing page, the Shopify Help Center and App Store, and on WooCommerce.com. All prices are in US dollars.
Key takeaways
- Shopify’s plans cost $19 (Basic), $49 (Grow) and $299 (Advanced) a month billed yearly, or $25, $65 and $399 on monthly billing. Shopify Plus is priced from $2,300 a month.
- The WooCommerce plugin is free. WooCommerce.com puts hosting at $25 to $350 a month for most stores, and paid extensions at $29 to $299 a year each.
- In the US, WooPayments charges 2.90% + $0.30 for each domestic card payment, with no monthly fee. Shopify Payments has no transaction fee; any other gateway on Shopify adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced or 0.2% on Plus.
- For subscriptions, Shopify’s own Shopify Subscriptions app is free. WooCommerce Subscriptions costs $279 for a one-year plan.
- WooCommerce suits a store that belongs to a WordPress site you want to keep, with a developer or host who maintains it. Shopify suits a store that wants hosting, platform updates and checkout handled by the platform.
Shopify vs WooCommerce: comparison table (2026)
| Item | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Hosted commerce platform | Open-source plugin for WordPress |
| Software cost | $19, $49 or $299 a month billed yearly ($25, $65 or $399 monthly); Plus from $2,300 a month | Free, with no revenue share |
| Hosting | Included in the plan | Paid separately; WooCommerce.com estimates $25 to $350 a month for most stores |
| Card payments (US) | Shopify Payments, with a card rate that depends on the plan and is listed per country | WooPayments: 2.90% + $0.30 domestic; 1.50% extra for international cards; 1% for currency conversion |
| Fee for using another gateway | 2% Basic, 1% Grow, 0.6% Advanced, 0.2% Plus; none with Shopify Payments | None from WooCommerce; you pay only the gateway’s own rate |
| Subscriptions | Shopify Subscriptions app, free | WooCommerce Subscriptions, $279 for a one-year plan |
| Variants per product | Up to 2,048, with up to 3 options | Listed as unlimited on WooCommerce.com |
| Staff accounts | None on Basic, 5 on Grow, 15 on Advanced, unlimited on Plus | WordPress user accounts |
| In-person selling | Shopify POS; POS Pro is $89 a month per location on Basic to Advanced, with 20 locations included on Plus | WooPayments card readers; $5 a month for each active reader |
| B2B | Built in: up to 3 catalogs on Basic to Advanced, unlimited on Plus | Through extensions |
| Updates and security | Run by Shopify | You or your host update WordPress, WooCommerce, the theme and each plugin |
| Payment disputes | Handled in the Shopify admin | WooPayments charges $15 per dispute, refunded if you win |
Shopify’s US pricing page also offers 3 days free, then $1 a month for the first 3 months on most plans, before the standard price applies.
What each platform costs to run
The plan price is the smallest part of either bill. A full cost has four parts on both platforms: the software or plan, hosting, paid apps or extensions, and payment fees. Development and maintenance sit on top.
Shopify
- Plan: $228 a year on Basic billed yearly, $588 on Grow and $3,588 on Advanced.
- Hosting: included.
- Apps: many are free or have a free plan; paid apps are billed on your Shopify invoice.
- Payments: Shopify Payments at your plan’s card rate, or another gateway plus the plan’s transaction fee.
WooCommerce
- Software: free.
- Hosting: $300 to $4,200 a year at WooCommerce.com’s own $25 to $350 monthly range.
- Extensions: $29 to $299 a year each; WooCommerce Subscriptions alone is $279.
- Payments: WooPayments at 2.90% + $0.30 in the US, or another gateway at its own rate.
- Upkeep: someone has to apply WordPress, WooCommerce, theme and plugin updates and test the checkout after each one.
For a small US store selling subscriptions, the list prices come out close. Shopify Basic with Shopify Subscriptions is $228 a year before payment fees. WooCommerce with WooCommerce Subscriptions is $579 to $4,479 a year before payment fees, depending on the hosting.
At larger sizes, development and maintenance decide the total. WooCommerce.com’s pricing page publishes three cost examples from an agency partner. The smallest is a European luxury boutique with $2 million in revenue: about $139,000 in the first year, including $70,000 of development, and about $89,500 a year after that.
How the payment fees work
On Shopify, the cheapest route is Shopify Payments, because it removes the third-party transaction fee. If you keep another card gateway, Shopify adds its fee on top of that gateway’s rate: 2% on Basic falls to 0.2% on Plus. When Shopify Payments is your main provider, PayPal orders are exempt from the fee.
On WooCommerce, there is no platform fee on any gateway. WooPayments, WooCommerce’s own processor, charges 2.90% + $0.30 per domestic card payment in the US, plus 1.50% for international cards and 1% when currency is converted. It has no setup or monthly fee for online payments.
Where Shopify is the stronger choice
- No hosting to manage. Hosting is in the plan, and Shopify runs platform updates.
- Retail and B2B in the same admin. Shopify POS for stores, POS Pro per location, and B2B catalogs on every plan from Basic.
- Subscriptions without an extra licence. Shopify Subscriptions is a free app built by Shopify.
- A path to Plus. A growing store moves up a plan on the same platform. Our Shopify Plus vs Shopify Advanced comparison covers that step.
Where WooCommerce is the stronger choice
- The store is part of a WordPress site. Content, pages and products live in one WordPress install.
- You choose the hosting. Server, location and performance budget are your decision.
- No platform fee on any gateway. You pay only the processor’s rate.
- Full code access. The software is open source, so a developer can change anything.
Moving from WooCommerce to Shopify
Products, customers and orders can move from WooCommerce to Shopify with Shopify’s Store Importer or a paid migration app; our list of the best Shopify migration tools compares them.
The step that protects rankings is the redirect map. Shopify uses fixed URL paths such as /products/ and /collections/, so most WooCommerce URLs change. Every old URL needs a 301 redirect to its new address on launch day. Our WooCommerce to Shopify migration guide lists what moves, what breaks and what to check after launch.
If you want the move done for you, our platform migration team maps every URL, moves the data and checks the store before and after launch.
Our rule of thumb
Stay on WooCommerce if your store is part of a WordPress site you want to keep, someone already maintains it, and the plugins you rely on have no matching Shopify app.
Choose Shopify if you want the platform to handle hosting and updates, you sell in person or to wholesale buyers as well as online, or you plan to grow into Shopify Plus.
FAQ
Is WooCommerce cheaper than Shopify?
The WooCommerce plugin is free, but hosting is separate: WooCommerce.com puts it at $25 to $350 a month for most stores, and paid extensions cost $29 to $299 a year each. Shopify starts at $19 a month billed yearly with hosting included. For a small store the totals are close; development and maintenance decide the bill at larger sizes.
Does Shopify charge transaction fees?
Not when you use Shopify Payments. With another payment gateway, Shopify adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus, on top of the gateway’s own rate. PayPal orders are exempt when Shopify Payments is your main provider.
What does WooPayments cost in the US?
2.90% + $0.30 for each domestic card payment, 1.50% more for international cards, 1% for currency conversion and $15 per dispute, refunded if you win. There is no setup or monthly fee for online payments.
Which is better for subscriptions, Shopify or WooCommerce?
On Shopify, the Shopify Subscriptions app is built by Shopify and free. On WooCommerce, WooCommerce Subscriptions is a paid extension at $279 for a one-year plan. Both sell recurring orders; on Shopify there is no extra licence to renew.
Will moving from WooCommerce to Shopify hurt my SEO?
Not if every old URL gets a 301 redirect to its new address on launch day. Shopify uses fixed paths such as /products/ and /collections/, so most WooCommerce URLs change, and the redirect map is what keeps rankings.
Sources: Shopify pricing, the Help Center pages on third-party transaction fees and adding variants, the Shopify Subscriptions App Store listing, WooCommerce pricing, WooPayments fees and WooCommerce Subscriptions, all checked 28 October 2026. Prices and fees change and some vary by country; confirm them for yours before you decide.
