WooCommerce vs Shopify: the honest comparison
We build on both, so we have no horse in this race. One is an operating system for your store that you own; the other is a managed service you rent. Which is right depends on your team, your region, and how much control you actually want.
WooCommerce: an operating system
Open-source, running on hosting you control. You own the code, the database, and the customer records. Every workflow is customizable - checkout logic, B2B pricing, ERP sync - and you choose your own payment gateways with their native rates. The trade: you are responsible for updates, security, and performance, which means either capable staff or a partner managing it.
Shopify: a managed service
Hosted, secured, and updated by the platform. Launch is fast, uptime is their problem, and the app ecosystem covers most needs. The trade: you rent rather than own - monthly fees, transaction fees unless you use their payments, deeper checkout customization reserved for Plus, and a store that is harder to walk away with intact.
The comparison that matters
| Dimension | WooCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Cost model | Free plugin + hosting + chosen extensions | Monthly plan + apps + transaction fees (unless Shopify Payments) |
| Ownership | You own code, data, hosting | You rent; export is possible but the platform sets terms |
| Customization | Unlimited - it is your codebase | Strong app ecosystem; checkout customization limited below Plus |
| Maintenance | Yours: updates, security, performance | Theirs: updates and uptime handled |
| Payments | Any gateway at its native rates - UPI, COD plugins, local acquirers | Shopify Payments where offered; other gateways carry a 0.2%-2% Shopify fee |
| Speed ceiling | As fast as your engineering makes it | Good by default; bounded by the platform |
What Shopify costs in India, fees included
Shopify's India prices as listed on 16 Oct 2026. Basic is ₹1,994 a month if you pay monthly instead of yearly. Because Shopify Payments is not offered in India, card and UPI payments go through a third-party provider, and Shopify adds its fee to each of those sales.
| Plan | Per month, billed yearly | Shopify fee on third-party gateway sales | Shopify fee on ₹5,00,000 of sales | Plan + Shopify fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | ₹1,800 | 2% | ₹10,000 | ₹11,800 |
| Grow | ₹6,700 | 1% | ₹5,000 | ₹11,700 |
| Advanced | ₹27,100 | 0.6% | ₹3,000 | ₹30,100 |
The gateway charges on top, whichever platform you use: Razorpay's standard rate is 2% plus GST, or ₹10,000 plus GST on ₹5,00,000. On WooCommerce that gateway fee is the only per-sale charge; the plugin itself is free, and a 2 GB cloud server to run it starts at US$12 a month at DigitalOcean.
Check with Shopify how your cash-on-delivery orders are treated before you budget: its help pages confirm that manual payment methods are fee-free for stores using Shopify Payments, but do not say so for stores without it.
Payments by region
- India: no Shopify Payments, so the Shopify fee applies to every online payment through Razorpay or another provider. WooCommerce pays only the gateway. If many orders are cash on delivery, size your returns problem with our COD & RTO Loss Calculator before choosing.
- UAE and USA: Shopify Payments is available, and sales through it carry no third-party fee. Using a different gateway alongside it brings the fee back on those sales.
- Tanzania: no Shopify Payments. Mobile money (M-Pesa, Mixx by Yas, Airtel Money) comes through local gateways; see our mobile money payments guide.
Where each one clearly wins
Choose WooCommerce when
- You sell in markets with local payment rails - UPI and COD in India, regional acquirers in the Gulf and Africa - and want their native rates.
- Your workflows are unusual: B2B pricing, quoting, subscriptions with custom logic, ERP or inventory sync.
- You want the store to be an owned asset - code and customer data under your control, portable hosting.
- Order volume makes per-transaction platform fees add up to real money.
Choose Shopify when
- Speed to launch beats everything - a seasonal window, a first validation, a hard deadline.
- Nobody on your team will touch hosting, updates, or security, and you accept renting for that peace of mind.
- Your catalog and checkout are standard retail, served by mainstream apps.
- You are in a market where Shopify Payments serves you well and the fee math stays simple.
And skip both when you only need to take service bookings or a handful of payments - a lightweight site with gateway payment links costs a fraction of either platform. We tell clients this more often than you would expect.
Sources
- Shopify pricing (India), Shopify, checked 16 Oct 2026
- Supported countries for Shopify Payments, Shopify Help Center, checked 16 Oct 2026
- Third-party payment providers, Shopify Help Center, checked 16 Oct 2026
- WooCommerce plugin, WordPress.org, checked 16 Oct 2026
- Payment gateway pricing (India), Razorpay, checked 16 Oct 2026
- Droplet pricing, DigitalOcean, checked 16 Oct 2026
Every number in this guide links to one of these sources or comes from our own work. Read how we research and update guides.
What changed
- : Added Shopify's India plan prices and third-party gateway fees (read on 16 Oct 2026), a worked fee example for an Indian store, where Shopify Payments is and is not available, and the sources list.