As a business owner, choosing the best eCommerce platform for your online store can be a real struggle. It’s difficult to narrow down your choices from so many options, especially when you consider all the different factors to take into account.
Shopify and WooCommerce are two of the best options for today’s eCommerce merchants. Both platforms are incredibly popular, especially for small businesses and users with little technical knowledge. Let’s compare the two to help you decide which one will suit you best.
Shopify vs. WooCommerce at a Glance
Shopify and WooCommerce have a reputation for being the most beginner-friendly eCommerce platforms to use. You can easily use either one to build and maintain an online store that works for your brand, but there are a lot of differences between them that you should consider.
Shopify: Quick Overview
Shopify is an excellent platform for already established eСommerce businesses and those planning to build their first online shop. It has many intuitive tools and features, making it easy to set up and manage an attractive and functional storefront. The platform offers a premium plan, Shopify Plus, which is suitable for enterprise-level users.
Pros
- Shopify is relatively straightforward and easy to use, allowing even non-technical users to build an attractive store relatively quickly.
- The platform has a dedicated app store with over 1,200 apps and plugins to further customise your store.
- Shopify has a 24/7 support team that can attend to your needs any time of the day.
- Shopify is a self-sufficient platform that doesn’t require a separate web host.
Cons
- Shopify doesn’t have a free version, only a free 14-day trial.
- Despite having many apps and plugins available, the platform can be rigid and inflexible. This can be a limiting factor when developing custom or bespoke functionalities for your online store.
- Shopify does not support email hosting on its platform.
- Some merchants report difficulties when managing orders and inventory.
WooCommerce: QUICK OVERVIEW
WooCommerce is an open-source eCommerce platform designed to work with online stores on WordPress websites. It works as a plugin that integrates into your site’s backend, equipping it with basic and advanced eCommerce functionality.
Pros
- WooCommerce is free to use.
- It’s flexible, allowing business owners to use it for selling all kinds of products.
- It has a vast range of free plugins from the WordPress Plugin Directory that let you customise your store.
- It’s readily equipped with excellent security measures and supports secure payment options like PayPal or Stripe.
- It has a very engaged community of users and developers.
Cons
- It’s WordPress-specific. You can’t use it on sites that aren’t on WordPress.
- Many advanced features are locked behind paid plugins, which can limit the platform’s customisability.
- The costs of additional add-ons, themes, and web hosting, which are not included in the platform, can quickly add up.
Table Comparison
| Shopify | WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
|
Pricing |
3 plans with free trial available, with a separate plan for enterprise users |
Free to use |
|
Hosting |
Hosting is included in all plans and comes with a free myshopify.com subdomain |
Only works with WordPress, does not include hosting |
|
Product Limit |
Unlimited products |
Unlimited products |
|
Customisability |
Easy to customise but platform can be rigid for businesses with very specific needs |
Advanced customisation through plugins and extensions |
|
Scalability |
Able to meet the demands of most (but not all) businesses |
Flexible, allowing you to scale your business through custom development |
|
Support |
Available 24/7 from official channels |
Plenty of community resources, official support also provided |
|
Ease of Use |
Accessible to the everyday person and doesn’t require knowledge in coding |
Tailored to non-technical users, but development knowledge is helpful |
Detailed Comparisons of Shopify vs. WooCommerce
Let’s dive deeper into the key differences between Shopify and WooCommerce to help you make an informed decision on which of the two you should use for your eCommerce website.
Pricing & Costs
- Shopify only offers a 14-day free trial with basic and limited features.
- Shopify has three paid plans, each costing $29, $79, and $299 USD per month.
- Enterprise-level users can also opt for Shopify Plus, priced at $2000 USD per month.
- WooCommerce is open-source software and is free to use and customise.
- WooCommerce costs nothing upfront, but you will need to purchase and set up hosting on your own.
Plugins & Extensions
- Shopify supports a range of apps and plugins to assist you with accounting, customer service, inventory, reporting, shipping, and more. However, you will need to pay fees associated with using these apps.
- Shopify has a built-in app store with over 1,600 free and paid apps.
- WooCommerce arms users with hundreds of WooCommerce extensions, both free and premium, covering all of your logistical, technical, and marketing needs. However, you might need paid plugins and extensions for more advanced functionality and customisation.
- WooCommerce works with over 55,000 (free and paid) WordPress plugins and themes.
Security
- Shopify is a hosted platform, meaning security is handled for you. Shopify comes with an SSL certificate and is PCI-DSS compliant.
- Shopify takes care of security for you. Therefore, it is in charge of handling any security breaches and making sure your site is safe.
- With WooCommerce, you’ll need to source SSL and ensure PCI-DSS compliance yourself.
- WooCommerce’s developers update the platform regularly to prevent cyber attacks. However, the plugin doesn’t come with backups to help restore data if an attack succeeds.
Business Scalability
- Shopify is incredibly scalable with its tiered plans and app store, but it can be rather rigid in terms of customisation. If you need bespoke functions to scale up, you might not have the freedom to implement these on Shopify.
- WooCommerce is very scalable in the long run because you have ultimate control over how you customise your site. However, it may be more costly than Shopify.
Ease of Use
- Shopify is accessible to the average person who does not have knowledge in coding. Most updates happen in the background.
- Shopify is a hosted eCommerce platform, which means it takes care of many of the technical aspects of operating a store. This also means you don’t have to go through a complicated setup process.
- WooCommerce can be used by beginners but is a technical platform that requires a little knowledge or a willingness to spend some time learning.
- WooCommerce has a more complicated setup process, but it’s perfect for those who have an affinity for open-source software and want to customise every aspect of their eCommerce store.
Support
- Shopify provides 24/7 support over the phone, live chat, and email. There are four hotlines, each designated to different regions.
- If your region does not fall under the hotline zones, Shopify has a community where users interact with one another and get answers to their questions.
- The developers behind WooCommerce offer support through a help desk for their users, where merchants can ask for support from the community.
Shopify vs WooCommerce: Which Platform Is Right for You?
Each platform has unique strengths and weaknesses and caters to different customers’ needs.
Both Shopify and WooCommerce are great solutions for most eCommerce brands. However, if you want an easy-to-use but powerful platform with reliable 24/7 customer support, Shopify is best for you. On the other hand, WooCommerce allows greater customisation and can help you turn your WordPress site into a highly tailored eCommerce experience. It’s also the best option if you’re set on using WordPress.
eCommerce Experts at Your Service
If you need help building an effective eCommerce store for your business, we’re here to help. We’re a leading Shopify agency with extensive experience in WooCommerce development as well. Our experts are more than happy to assist you in choosing the right platform for your business. Talk to us to get started.