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Shopify vs WooCommerce: store platforms and operational responsibility?

By Official AppDuo editorial team · Updated

Shopify logoShopify7.4/10Free trial · $25.00/mo (business plan)WooCommerce logoWooCommerce7.2/10Open source · Free

Quick verdict

Shopify vs WooCommerce: store platforms and operational responsibility.

Shopify: Sellers who want to launch a store quickly without coding or running a server.

WooCommerce: WordPress site owners who want to add a store without switching platform.

Choose for your main task, existing devices and plan limits; the overall score cannot replace your requirements.

Head-to-head

Shopify leads on 2, WooCommerce on 4, 3 even

FeatureShopifyWooCommerce
Minimum platform cost[1],[12]Basic plan $25 per month, or $19 per month billed yearly; no permanent free plan.Plugin is free, no monthly subscription, 0% revenue share.
→ Sellers who want to avoid a fixed subscription save with WooCommerce, though other costs still apply.
Additional running costs[1],[12]Hosting included; 0.2% to 2% fee on third-party payment providers depending on plan, plus paid apps.Hosting about $25 to $350 per month, extensions $29 to $299 per year each, WooPayments about 2.50–2.90% + 30 cents per card transaction.
→ Total cost on both grows with scale and add-on choices, so you need to estimate it for your own store.
Trial and refunds[1],[3],[14]3-day trial, then $1 per month for the first 3 months; terms state fees are not refunded.Extensions and themes bought on WooCommerce.com get a full refund within 30 days.
→ Buyers who want to try paid add-ons risk-free are better protected by WooCommerce's 30-day refund.
Hosting and operational responsibility[5],[12],[13]Shopify runs the infrastructure; sellers have no servers to manage.You choose hosting; sellers handle updates, backups, security and speed.
→ Non-technical sellers carry less burden on Shopify, while WooCommerce needs technical skills.
Control over code and data[2],[3],[15]Closed platform; Shopify needs a licence to host materials and keeps store data two years after closure.Open source; store data sits in a database you control.
→ Businesses needing deep customisation or self-held data are better served by WooCommerce.
Payments outside Shopify Payments countries[1],[7],[12]Shopify Payments covers only 41 countries and regions (Vietnam is not one); elsewhere, third-party gateways carry an extra 0.2% to 2% fee.You pick your own payment providers, with no platform revenue share.
→ Sellers in countries without Shopify Payments, such as Vietnam, avoid Shopify's extra gateway fee by using local gateways with WooCommerce.
App ecosystem and sales channels[5],[13]21,000+ apps; sells across web, POS, social and marketplaces with synced inventory.Hundreds of Marketplace extensions; many advanced features need paid extensions.
→ Brands selling on many channels at once get more ready-made options on Shopify.
Customer support[10],[13],[16]Docs, chat, email, community; Trustpilot 1.3/5 from 5,295 reviews, many complaints about support and billing.Docs, forums, email; no single team covering hosting, plugin and extensions.
→ Both have support weaknesses, so small sellers should be ready to solve issues themselves.
Mobile app ratings[8],[9],[17]US App Store 4.7/5 (43,446 ratings); Vietnam App Store 4.8/5 (485 ratings).US App Store 4.8/5 (7,868 ratings); Vietnam App Store 4.8/5 (344 ratings).
→ Both store-management apps are highly rated, so this is not a deciding factor.

Choose Shopify if…

  • Sellers who want to launch a store quickly without coding or running a server.
  • Brands selling on a website, in physical stores (POS), on social media and on marketplaces at the same time.
  • Larger businesses that need Plus for higher API limits, up to 200 inventory locations and unlimited staff accounts.

Choose WooCommerce if…

  • WordPress site owners who want to add a store without switching platform.
  • Anyone who needs deep customisation and has a developer or technical partner.

How the products differ

Shopify: Shopify suits sellers who want a store that works out of the box, selling across web, POS, social and marketplaces, with a large app ecosystem and no servers to manage. The trade-off is that subscription, app and transaction fees add up quickly, and Shopify Payments covers only 41 countries and regions (Vietnam is not one), so sellers elsewhere pay extra for a third-party gateway.

WooCommerce: WooCommerce suits people who already use or are willing to use WordPress and want full control over code, data, hosting and payment providers without a monthly platform fee. The trade-off is that you handle hosting, updates, security and performance yourself, and extension costs can add up.

Choose around your use case

Shopify: Fits Sellers who want to launch a store quickly without coding or running a server.; Brands selling on a website, in physical stores (POS), on social media and on marketplaces at the same time.. Strengths: The Shopify App Store lists 21,000+ apps to extend a store, per Shopify's homepage.; Sells across the online store, POS, social media, marketplaces and AI chats, with inventory and orders synced between them..

WooCommerce: Fits WordPress site owners who want to add a store without switching platform.; Anyone who needs deep customisation and has a developer or technical partner.. Strengths: The core plugin is free and open source, with no revenue share per the official pricing page.; You pick your own hosting, payment providers and extensions..

Costs and limits to check

Shopify: Basic: 25 USD/month, as recorded in the review. Trade-off: Subscription fees are non-refundable under the terms, and cancelling goes through support..

WooCommerce: Paid prices depend on plan and purchase channel; see the product review. Trade-off: Hosting and extension costs add up; the pricing page cites $25 to $350 per month for hosting and $29 to $299 per year per extension.. Prices retain the currency and billing units recorded in the source profiles; no currency conversion or plan equivalence is assumed. Check official prices, limits and terms before payment.

When to consider another option

Shopify is not aimed at: Sellers who need a built-in local payment gateway and want to avoid third-party gateway fees.; Anyone who wants full ownership of the source code and self-hosted data..

Consider alternatives to WooCommerce if you are: Sellers who want an all-in-one hosted platform without managing hosting and security.. Read these limitations alongside the feature table before deciding; a single strength cannot compensate for a missing requirement.

Frequently asked questions

Should I choose Shopify or WooCommerce?

Shopify vs WooCommerce: store platforms and operational responsibility. Shopify: Sellers who want to launch a store quickly without coding or running a server. WooCommerce: WordPress site owners who want to add a store without switching platform. Choose for your main task, existing devices and plan limits; the overall score cannot replace your requirements.

Does a higher score always mean a better fit?

No. Overall scores are editorial judgements across several criteria. Your task, allowance and existing ecosystem may matter more; the table separates those differences so you can decide.

Where do prices and limits come from?

From each product’s researched profile, with source links and check dates in the review. This comparison reuses that evidence; its compilation date does not mean every price was rechecked that day.

Sources

Numbers in the table refer to these sources, read on the dates shown.

  1. 1.Shopify pricing page · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  2. 2.Shopify privacy policy · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  3. 3.Shopify Terms of Service · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  4. 4.Shopify About page · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  5. 5.Shopify homepage · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  6. 6.Shopify Help Center: admin languages · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  7. 7.Shopify Help Center: Shopify Payments supported countries · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  8. 8.App Store listing (US) · store · Nov 10, 2026
  9. 9.App Store listing (Việt Nam) · store · Nov 10, 2026
  10. 10.Trustpilot: shopify.com · review-site · Nov 10, 2026
  11. 11.Wikipedia: Shopify · Community-reported · Nov 10, 2026
  12. 12.WooCommerce pricing page · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  13. 13.WooCommerce homepage · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  14. 14.WooCommerce refund policy · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  15. 15.Automattic privacy policy · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  16. 16.WordPress.org plugin directory: WooCommerce · Vendor-provided · Nov 10, 2026
  17. 17.App Store listing (US) · store · Nov 10, 2026
  18. 18.App Store listing (Việt Nam) · store · Nov 10, 2026
  19. 19.Wikipedia: WooCommerce · Community-reported · Nov 10, 2026

Prepared by the AppDuo Editorial Team from the sources cited in this article. AI assists with organising and cross-checking data; editorial responsibility remains with AppDuo.

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