Platform comparison
Shopify vs WooCommerce
Shopify and WooCommerce are the two most popular e-commerce platforms on the planet, with combined market share above 50%. We have shipped 30+ projects on each. The choice comes down to team, scale, and tolerance for maintenance. Here is the honest comparison.
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Time to launch | 1–3 weeks | 4–8 weeks (hosting + setup + plugins) |
| Monthly platform cost | $39–$2,300 (Shopify Plus) | $0 (plugin) + $25–$200 hosting |
| Average Lighthouse Performance | 60–80 (theme-dependent) | 50–70 (plugin-dependent) |
| Headless option | Yes (Hydrogen, React, Next.js) | Yes (headless WordPress) |
| Payment fees (own gateway) | 0% (Shopify Payments) / 2% + 30¢ (third-party) | 0% (any gateway) |
| Plugin/app ecosystem | 8,000+ in App Store | 50,000+ WordPress plugins (variable quality) |
| Maintenance burden | Zero (managed) | High (plugins break, security updates) |
| Code ownership | Theme code (limited export) | 100% yours |
| Checkout customization | Shopify Plus: full (Shopify Functions, Checkout Extensibility) | Unlimited (it's just PHP) |
| AI / LLM citability | Medium (need Liquid customization for full schema) | Medium (need plugin for full schema) |
| Best for | Most brands, especially if you want to focus on growth | Developers, agencies, brands with strict data residency |
Best for
Shopify
- Most DTC and B2B brands
- Founders without technical co-founders
- Brands that want to focus on growth
- Stores doing <$10M GMV
WooCommerce
- Agencies that want to white-label
- Brands with strict data residency needs
- Developers who want complete control
- Stores with very custom checkout flows
The verdict
Pick Shopify if you want to focus on the business, not the technology. Pick WooCommerce if you need complete ownership of your data, checkout, and code, and you have a developer (or budget for one) to maintain it. For most brands under $5M GMV, Shopify is the right call. Above $5M, the calculus shifts to headless Shopify (Hydrogen) or WooCommerce + custom stack.
Frequently asked questions
- 01Is Shopify better than WooCommerce?
- For most brands, yes. Shopify is managed, secure, fast to set up, and has a mature app ecosystem. WooCommerce is open-source, fully customizable, but requires ongoing maintenance, security updates, and a developer. The choice depends on your team and tolerance for technical work.
- 02Can I migrate from WooCommerce to Shopify?
- Yes, and we do this regularly. Tools like Shopify's free migration app and LitExtension handle products, customers, and orders. URLs need 301 redirects (Shopify enforces /products/ and /collections/ paths). A typical migration takes 3–6 weeks.
- 03What about headless commerce?
- Both platforms support headless. Shopify Hydrogen is a React-based framework for headless Shopify. Headless WordPress + Next.js is the equivalent for Woo. Headless gives you sub-second load times, full design control, and better SEO — at 3–5x the engineering cost. We recommend headless only for stores doing $1M+ GMV.