When searching for the best platform for your ecommerce store, you’ll undoubtedly be faced with WooCommerce vs. Shopify. These are the two most popular options for anyone looking to start an ecommerce business in 2024.
To work out which one will deliver the most success to your ecommerce business, you need to understand the differences between them That’s why we’ve created this detailed comparison guide explainingWooCommerce vs. Shopify so you know which is better for your store. Keep reading to learn our verdicts on ease of use, pricing, features, customer support, and everything you need to know about these popular ecommerce platforms.
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WooCommerce is the leading ecommerce platform on the entire web. This is undoubtedly driven by the popularity of WordPress, the open-source content management system it’s built for.
However, when considering WooCommerce vs. Shopify, Shopify leads the pack when looking at the top 10k, 100k, and 1 million sites. In fact, when looking at the top one million sites, 4.6% of websites are using Shopify compared to just over 4% for WooCommerce.
Based on Omnisend’s 15 ecommerce statistics, it’s reasonable to conclude that online businesses using Shopify are more active than those using WooCommerce. Keep this in mind when creating your ecommerce business.
Although adoption rates may help you appreciate the value of each platform, it shouldn’t be the primary basis of your decision. Instead, you should choose between WooCommerce and Shopify based on the features they offer that will help you maximize the potential of your online business and marketing strategy.
Any ecommerce platform you choose to use will have its pros and cons, with WooCommerce and Shopify being no different. Below, we outline the advantages and disadvantages of these ecommerce platforms so you’ll know exactly what to expect when you open your online store.
WooCommerce
These are the pros that come with using WooCommerce:
Enhanced functionality: You can use plugins and extensions to create any functionality you want for your WooCommerce store
Design flexibility: Lots of themes are available that help you design your online WooCommerce store in a way that matches your market niche and products
User-friendly interface: When you activate your WooCommerce account, you can easily navigate the interface to create your store
Community support: Your WooCommerce account comes with a range of support through forums, tutorials, and other resources
Customization options: There are many tools available for your WooCommerce store that help you sell a range of products and ensure your store is mobile-friendly
Here are some challenges you may have with this ecommerce platform:
Technical knowledge: You need to have some technical knowledge if you want to effectively use WooCommerce, as it’s a plugin for WordPress that requires coding experience
Performance issues: Updating and optimizing your WooCommerce store is your responsibility, and you need to make sure the plugins and extensions you choose are compatible with the platform
Customer support: Although you’ll have access to a vast community of people who use WooCommerce, there’s not much in the way of customer support from the company itself
Shopify
Shopify users will appreciate these features:
Complete service: Much of the technical work of building and operating an online store is already taken care of for you with Shopify
Intuitive website builder: Customization options are limited compared to WooCommerce, but it’s generally easier and faster to set up online stores on Shopify than WooCommerce
User-friendly: Your Shopify store has a dashboard with a clear layout that’s easy to navigate and understand
Customer support: Shopify offers 24/7 customer support to help you any time you need it, no matter where you are
Smooth performance: With Shopify, you’ll never have to worry about updates, security, or performance, as the platform takes care of all these details so you can focus on your business
A few downsides of using the Shopify ecommerce platform include:
Limited customization: You won’t have the ability to customize your online store as much with Shopify because you’re limited to the themes and add-ons they offer
Migration challenges: If you decide to move your online store to another ecommerce platform later, it can be time-consuming to migrate everything you’ve done on Shopify
Additional costs: With subscription fees, paid themes, and other fees associated with using Shopify, the cost to run your online store can get expensive, which can be a barrier for businesses just getting started
Although WooCommerce offers better customization and design flexibility, it’s the same freedom that makes it more difficult for the average person to use. Shopify makes it easy to get started and run your online store, but it can get expensive.
Verdict
Shopify wins the WooCommerce vs. Shopify ease of use contest in the development stage. If you’re keen on building your store all by yourself and don’t have any programming experience, you might have a better experience on Shopify.
Pricing
WooCommerce
WooCommerce is an open-source platform that works with WordPress. As such, it istechnically free to use. However, you’ll still need to pay for:
Domain name
Hosting
Themes
Extensions and plugins
SSL certification
This gives you the freedom to control your costs because you only pay for the services you actually need. The problem with this is that costs can quickly pile up if you aren’t able to foresee all the needs of your ecommerce store.
Unlike WooCommerce, Shopify is a subscription product. You’ll need to select a plan and commit to monthly payments to build and maintain your online store.
Upgrading your Shopify plan means you’ll unlock advanced features. For instance, the Advanced plan includes:
Enhanced 24/7 support
Custom reports and analytics
15 additional staff accounts
Localized global selling in three markets
Up to 10 inventory locations
Apart from these Advanced plan offerings, Shopify Plus is available for enterprises with large sales volumes. This is a customized, all-in-one solution that includes:
When it comes to WooCommerce vs. Shopify pricing, it all depends on the needs of your store. WooCommerce is free, but you’ll have to pay for plugins, security, and other features. If you don’t want to have to keep paying for add-ons and decide to opt for Shopify, you’ll need to pay for a monthly subscription.
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Building an online store with Shopify is generally easier than with WooCommerce. However, there are good things and bad things about the website builder features of both of these platforms.
Shopify is simple to use because you can:
Select a theme and populate your store with the products or services you want to offer
Personalize the look of your store with drag-and-drop tools that make it quick to set up
Add your branding to your store’s theme to keep it consistent across all your marketing channels
Shopify can make building your store difficult if:
You prefer to work with code to truly customize the features of your store
You want your store to be completely unique, as Shopify only has so many themes to choose from
You want the autonomy that comes with having full control over your store
You get more creative freedom in building and designing your store for the best shopping experience for your customers
You can customize the look of your store to include better branding and an improved shopping experience
You’ll have more flexibility in creating an online store that fits your audience and looks completely unique
The downsides of building a WooCommerce store include:
WooCommerce requires you to know how to use WordPress and to have a WordPress website
Starting a WooCommerce store isn’t as quick and easy as it is with Shopify, as there aren’t drag-and-drop features available
Technical knowledge is a must to create a functional and attractive WooCommerce store
Verdict
Building your ecommerce store is easier with Shopify, no doubt. But with WooCommerce, you get more flexibility and creative control.
Ecommerce features
The ecommerce features of Shopify vs. WooCommerce are key factors to consider when choosing the ideal platform for your store. While both options have some great features, they aren’t equal.
Let’s explore the differences between their product catalogs, order management systems, analytics and reporting, and other features so you can decide which one offers better ecommerce features for your store.
Product catalog
The product catalogs on Shopify and WooCommerce allow you to add both physical and digital goods to your store. By grouping your products into collections or categories, you make it easier for customers to find what they’re looking for.
To make the most of your product catalog on either of these platforms, ensure you include clear product descriptions and high-quality images that make your offerings look appealing. The more you can customize your catalog to your brand and audience, the more success you’ll have in increasing sales and conversions.
With Shopify, you can add the following to your catalog:
Images
Videos
3D models
And while every Shopify store allows you to build a product catalog, you may want to add an app or extension with tools for customization. Shopify also offers bulk editing features and lets you access product analytics on your dashboard.
With WooCommerce, you can choose to show a product as an:
Upsell
Related product
Featured product
Category or subcategory
This helps your customers navigate your store with ease. You can preview how these features function before you publish your catalog.
The downside to creating user-friendly catalogs with WooCommerce is that the process can be time-consuming to get right, especially if you’re a beginner.
With both WooCommerce and Shopify, orders can populate automatically, or you can enter them manually. Both platforms let you view orders and their statuses on the admin screen.
WooCommerce has a clear order status screen that, once you learn to navigate, is straightforward and simple to understand. For more advanced order management features, WooCommerce requires extensions.
These extensions cost extra, but you’ll probably want to consider using at least one to make the ordering process smooth for you and your customers.
Shopify provides built-in advanced features, such as:
Real-time visibility of the status of customer orders
The ability to create draft orders for your customers
Options to send invoices and edit customer information
An option to add notes to orders for customers
Triggers that automatically hold and release orders
The biggest issue people have with order management through Shopify is with customer returns. If you receive a return request, you have to look up the order manually and then go through the process of accepting the return, refunding the customer, and restocking the return yourself.
Mobile-friendliness
Having an online store that works across any device is key to successful businesses in today’s world. Pew Research reports that 76% of adults in the United States have made an online purchase using a smartphone, and you don’t want to miss an opportunity to sell because customers can’t navigate your store on a mobile device.
Shopify’s themes are already optimized for mobile devices. There’s also a mobile Shopify app for iOS and Android devices that makes your site mobile-friendly with no effort from you.
Unfortunately, you can’t customize how your site looks on a mobile phone, but Shopify offers plenty of themes that can help you create a beautiful site.
The mobile-friendliness of WooCommerce depends on the theme you choose, and you’ll have to ensure it looks good across mobile devices on your own. However, you have more control over how your site looks on a mobile device with WooCommerce.
Like Shopify, there’s also a WooCommerce App for iOS and Android. When you choose the right theme and optimize your site, your customers can easily place their orders online using their smartphones.
Analytics and reporting
Tracking sales data, customer statistics, and marketing campaign success guides you in improving your business. WooCommerce and Shopify both have analytics and reporting features that help you understand your business and customer needs.
The reporting feature on WooCommerce shows you the performance metrics of your store. You can view the reports in your preferred date range and export them to CSV for additional analysis.
You can customize your dashboard to show you the metrics that matter most to your business, including:
Customer downloads
Customer vs. guest users
Sales reports
Tax revenue reports
Be aware that you’ll have to add extensions if you want additional reporting or analytics tools. These may come with added costs.
Shopify offers live view reports on the activity of your store and sales coming in from all channels. This platform provides reports for:
Product performance
Taxes
Payments
If you want additional analytics features, you have to upgrade to a higher tier. Starting at the Shopify Plus level, you get access to custom reporting and analytics features.
Multichannel selling
Advertising your products or services across multiple channels is the best way to boost your online presence so you stand out. But when comparing Shopify vs. WooCommerce, which one is best for multichannel selling?
Shopify and WooCommerce both let you sync your store with various online channels. This allows you to create ads, offer coupons, and provide content to your customers from a variety of sources.
Shopify has a built-in feature that lets you sell directly from:
The Shop tab on your Facebook page
Tagging your products in your Instagram posts
A handshake with the wholesale marketplace
The Shopify app
To sell on platforms like eBay and Amazon Fulfillment, you’ll need to include extensions on your Shopify store.
With WooCommerce, there’s no built-in multichannel capability, so it’s only possible through integrations. However, you have thousands of options for customizing your multichannel marketing strategy with WooCommerce.
Verdict
Based on our analysis, Shopify offers more built-in and ready-to-use ecommerce features that make it simple for beginners. You may find it challenging to get all the extensions and plugins necessary for a solid ecommerce site if you go with WooCommerce.
One of the most effective ways to drive sales is through abandoned cart recovery workflows, which Shopify offers natively.
On WooCommerce, you can run similar workflows through plugins like Omnisend. You can also use Omnisend for many other automated email marketing workflows like reactivation, birthday greetings, welcome emails, and more — and yes, Omnisend also integrates with Shopify.
You can also offer incentives to encourage purchases.
Shopify lets you generate discount codes, while WooCommerce lets you create coupons.
With WooCommerce, customers can leave product reviews, and you can even enable a star rating review option.
The same applies to Shopify. You can opt in or out of receiving customer reviews. But if you’re selling through the Shop app, product reviews are mandatory.
Advanced built-in marketing features like SMS marketing and push notifications are missing in both tools. The capability to add multiple channels in your marketing automations would make a great addition.
Drive traffic to your ecommerce store and boost sales with Omnisend’s marketing automation workflows
Given that built-in marketing features are limited for both tools, you can expect to require the use of third-party apps on both WooCommerce and Shopify.
Omnisend, for instance, is an effective email and SMS marketing solution that can power the marketing efforts of both WooCommerce and Shopify users.
Themes and templates
Themes are another necessity that can contribute significantly to the total cost of building your ecommerce store.
Consider looking for a theme you want to use before you commit to either Shopify or WooCommerce. Depending on the nature of your business, these can range from free to several hundred dollars.
Both tools offer free and paid themes but WooCommerce has significantly more themes and templates from which to choose.
The Shopify Themes store currently has over 200 options, but only 13 are free to use.
Image via Shopify
Premium options can cost anywhere from $150 to $350, but that buys you professionally designed templates that are easy to populate and customize. They also have built-in features that will help with engagement and sales generation.
The WooCommerce Themes Store has only 72 themes. All are created by the company, so that you can be assured of each one’s functionality.
Image via WooCommerce
If you don’t find what you want there, you can also go through the 2,000+ free WordPress themes designed specifically for ecommerce.
You can also go through theme marketplaces like Template Monster and ThemeForest to find additional themes and templates for both tools. Although the best WooCommerce themes in these marketplaces can be quite expensive, you’ll find some that are free to use or at least affordable — at less than $50.
Although the themes provided by Shopify are customizable to some extent, they’re limited compared to WooCommerce.
Verdict
WooCommerce offers more themes and templates. It also provides more customization and personalization options than Shopify.
Shipping features
Image via WooCommerce
Order fulfillment features are built-in on Shopify. On WooCommerce, you can use extensions like WooCommerce Shipping. Both will enable you to print labels and manage the entire process on the same admin panel as your website.
Additionally, both platforms will allow you to ship orders through DHL Express and USPS. Shopify offers the additional option of UPS shipments.
Apart from convenience, running your order fulfillment process through your ecommerce platform gives you access to lower courier fees. WooCommerce promises a discount of up to 67% on DHL shipping, while shipping discounts go up to 88% on Shopify.
With both Shopify and WooCommerce, you can show the real-time calculation of the cost of shipping using the different options you offer. For Shopify, this is an integrated feature but WooCommerce requires an extension to get this functionality.
Let’s compare the pros and cons of both.
WooCommerce
Shopify
Pros
– Flexibility for adding shipping options – Easy integration with shipping providers, fulfillment services, and order management platforms
– Setting up and managing your shipping options is easy – Automatically calculates and displays shipping rates during checkout
Cons
– Additional costs to access advanced shipping functions – Requires programming knowledge to configure shipping rules and methods
– It’s hard to set up highly customized shipping rules or rates
Verdict
Shopify offers more built-in functionality to create your shipping options. With WooCommerce, you have flexibility, but you’ll need extensions to make shipping more viable.
Shopify plans come with a built-in payment processor, while WooCommerce sites can be integrated with an extension such as WooCommerce Payments.
Both enable you to accept a wide variety of payment types, including credit cards, debit cards, Apple Pay, and several local payment options.
Both Shopify Payments and WooCommerce Payments charge pay-as-you-go fees. Rates are similar between the two, which is a $0.30 flat fee + 2.9% per credit card transaction.
WooCommerce differs in its non-US cards, which is $0.30 flat fee + 1.5% per transaction. These cards would also pay an additional 1% charge for currency conversion each time a non-USD payment is made.
Shopify doesn’t have any additional fees. In fact, your store’s transactions can be subjected to lower fees depending on the Shopify plan you select. Although the flat fee per transaction remains at $0.30, the variable rate is lowered to 2.6% for the standard Shopify plan and even lower to 2.4% for the Advanced plan.
Verdict
Shopify has lower fees, and there are no additional fees for non-U.S. users. Its payment system is integrated into your Shopify account.
Scalability and growth
Scalability is an important factor to consider when picking an ecommerce platform.
It’s crucial to choose a tool that can handle the increase in traffic, orders, and size of your catalog.
Both Shopify and WooCommerce can handle the increased demand caused by your store’s growth.
Scalability on WooCommerce
With WooCommerce, you’re in full control of your site, so it’s up to you to maintain the following:
Updates
Backups
Security
Managing scalability is also in your hands and you need to pick a hosting that can support your store’s growth.
A starter WooCommerce hosting plan may be sufficient at first, but it won’t provide enough resources to handle the increased demand.
But the best part is that as you upgrade to a higher plan, you’ll be paying for the extra resources that meet your current needs.
You can also take some trouble scaling your store off your hands by going with managed WordPress hosting.
Scalability on Shopify
As a fully hosted platform, Shopify handles all the technical aspects of your store. They have enough infrastructure to handle the growth of your business — all you have to do is upgrade your Shopify plan.
There’s the option to go for the Shopify Plus plan where you get enterprise-grade infrastructure to handle any level of growth.
Although all these come at an increased cost, downtimes, backups, security, and updates will be off your hands. And you won’t have to incur the cost of a technical team.
Verdict
Shopify wins in scalability because it has the ability to help you grow your revenue. You don’t have to worry about the technical details of this platform.
Apps, plugins, and integrations
Building your online store on the WooCommerce platform will make you more reliant on apps and third-party integrations than if you were to get a Shopify subscription. Even so, there are significantly fewer apps on the WooCommerce Extensions Store than on the Shopify App Store.
There are over 850 extensions available for WooCommerce sites, and 69 of them have been developed by WooCommerce itself. Of all these extensions, only 94 are free to use, but several are considered essential WooCommerce plugins for any type of ecommerce store.
In contrast, the Shopify App Store has over 8,000 plugins available, and around 59% of them are free. Some of the best Shopify apps are critical to sales optimization and order fulfillment.
Shopify apps outnumber WooCommerce extensions not only in total but in every category.
For example, Shopify offers 2,634 customer service apps, while WooCommerce offers only 30. Additionally, there are only 166 WooCommerce extensions for marketing, while Shopify offers 1,913 apps in this category.
Although Shopify undoubtedly has more integrations available than WooCommerce, the more popular services are, thankfully, available on both.
For example, you can run omnichannel campaigns and automate your marketing through Omnisend, which is available both as a WooCommerce plugin and a Shopify app.
Verdict
Our analysis shows that Shopify apps, plugins, and integrations are significantly more in number, making it the clear winner.
Customer support
Both platforms offer a range of support options to help users build and manage their stores. This support can make a big difference in the success of your business venture.
With Shopify, you’ll get access to a 24/7 virtual assistant. Depending on your Shopify plan, you can also get help from someone over the phone who can assist with troubleshooting and problem-solving to resolve issues.
WooCommerce has a range of community support options. This includes forums where you’ll find discussions on common problems and their solutions and blogs and documentation that provide tips, tricks, and details about how to use the features of the platform.
Verdict
Shopify offers a lot of support options, including one-on-one support from Shopify staff. This makes it the better one among the two.
Security
In terms of built-in security features, there is no Shopify vs. WooCommerce contest. Shopify is the clear winner in this regard.
Every Shopify subscription is already hosted, and the platform meets all the security features needed to protect against fraud and data theft.
Among the most critical security features of an ecommerce site are PCI-DSS Compliance and an SSL Certificate. Shopify has both, while WooCommerce has neither.
Building your store on Shopify ensures that it’s compliant with the stringent standards required to process debit and credit cards safely. Shopify is also subject to annual compliance checks, so websites built on the platform are always covered by the latest cybersecurity technologies.
Although WooCommerce doesn’t have these security features out of the box, you can ensure that your website is just as safe.
For an SSL certificate, you’ll just need to select a hosting plan that guarantees this. WooCommerce has made it easier for users by listing six secure hosting providers on their website.
Shopify offers excellent security features natively, WooCommerce has plenty of security options available but you’ll need to implement them manually.
WooCommerce vs. Shopify: Which is better?
The discussion on WooCommerce vs. Shopify isn’t about which is the best platform overall but which is better suited to meet the unique needs of your business.
A lot of your decision may come down to whether you want a completely managed solution or if you would prefer to have complete control over the site.
Whichever one you choose, you can easily install Omnisend and enjoy an ecommerce-first email marketing platform that will help you build relationships and drive revenue.
Decide between WooCommerce vs Shopify & pair your store with Omnisend to drive more sales
If you’re still considering between WooCommerce vs. Shopify, read through some of the frequently asked questions and make an informed decision.
Is it better to use Shopify or WooCommerce?
Shopify is often the best solution for those without much technical knowledge who want to start an ecommerce store. WooCommerce ultimately gives you more control over your online store, but it can take more time and effort to get started.
Is it worth moving from WooCommerce to Shopify?
The process of moving from WooCommerce to Shopify, or vice-versa is not a smooth one. Make sure you’re prepared for the process before making the choice to migrate from one platform to the other.
Is WooCommerce really free?
WooCommerce is technically free, but in reality, there are costs associated with starting an ecommerce store through this platform. Familiarize yourself with the fees that go along with using WooCommerce for your store, so you don’t get any surprises down the line!
Bernard is the Sr. Director of Communications & Creative at Omnisend, with a passion for good research, helping ecommerce businesses with their marketing automation needs, and beating absolutely everyone in Mario Kart 64.
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