Pick Shopify if you want to sell online with one monthly bill that already covers hosting, security and 24/7 support, from $35 a month on Basic paid yearly as of October 2026. Pick WordPress with WooCommerce if you want to own your site, run a content-led store, and you're happy to choose a host and look after updates yourself, because the software is free but the hosting and extensions aren't.
When people search Shopify vs WordPress they're comparing two different kinds of thing. Shopify is one paid, all-in-one service. WordPress for a shop means the free WordPress software, plus WooCommerce for the store, plus a host you choose and pay for. I worked from Shopify's pricing page, WooCommerce's pricing page and WordPress.org's about and hosting pages, so the figures below are what those companies publish, as of October 2026.
Shopify and WordPress at a glance
Prices are in US dollars, as the pages show them.
| Shopify | WordPress with WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|
| Software | Plans from $35 a month paid yearly (Basic) | WordPress and WooCommerce are free to download |
| Hosting | Included, unlimited | You choose a host; WooCommerce quotes $25 to $350 a month for most stores |
| Extra features | Apps; every plan includes email campaigns, discount codes and abandoned checkout recovery | Extensions; WooCommerce quotes $29 to $299 a year each |
| Fee for using another payment provider | 2% Basic, 1% Grow, 0.6% Advanced, 0.2% Plus | None added by WooCommerce |
| Updates and security | Shopify looks after them | You or your host |
| Getting started | 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months | Free to install; costs start when you buy hosting |
What you get for your money on Shopify
The comparison table on Shopify's pricing page lists four plans. Basic is $39 a month paid monthly or $35 a month paid yearly, Grow is $105 or $95, Advanced is $399 or $359, and Plus starts at $2,300 a month. New stores get 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months.
Every plan includes unlimited web hosting, a custom domain connection, a free SSL certificate, unlimited products, 24/7 support, abandoned checkout recovery, discount codes, gift cards, email campaigns and Sidekick, Shopify's AI assistant. The plans mostly differ on people and scale: Grow gives you 5 staff accounts, Advanced 15 and Plus unlimited. Basic, Grow and Advanced each allow 10 inventory locations, and Plus allows 200. If you also sell face to face, POS Pro is an add-on at $89 a month per location.
What running WordPress with WooCommerce involves
WordPress.org describes WordPress as open source software. You install it on a host, and its hosting page lists recommended hosts if you're not sure where to start. For the shop you add WooCommerce, which says its core platform is free with no monthly subscription, no tiers and no revenue share, and unlimited products, orders and APIs.
The costs sit around the software. WooCommerce's own cost guide puts hosting at $25 to $350 a month for most stores, scaling with traffic, and extensions at $29 to $299 a year each. Those are WooCommerce's figures. For payments you pick the processor: WooCommerce lists its own WooPayments at roughly 2.50-2.90% plus 30 cents a card transaction, and it doesn't add a fee when you use a third-party gateway.
WooCommerce also publishes a comparison against Shopify. Read it as the seller's pitch, because it's WooCommerce's claim: it says Shopify includes 3 selling markets and then charges $59 a month per extra market, and limits a product to 2,048 variants and 3 option types, while WooCommerce lists unlimited variants.
The catch most store owners miss
Shopify's price is one bill, and hosting and security are inside it. WordPress is free software, but the cost that matters is everything you add: the host, the theme, the payments plug-in and the extensions. You also keep WordPress, WooCommerce and those plug-ins updated and backed up, or pay a host to. So compare Shopify's plan with WooCommerce's own hosting and extension ranges, not with zero.
The other one people get wrong is Shopify's transaction fee. The 2%, 1%, 0.6% or 0.2% only applies if you use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments. Use Shopify Payments and that extra fee doesn't apply.
Who should choose which
- You want to start selling without managing hosting or security: Shopify, where both are in the plan.
- Your business already runs on a blog or a content-heavy site and you want to add products: WordPress with WooCommerce.
- You sell in person as well as online: Shopify, with POS Pro at $89 a month per location.
- You want to choose your own payment processor with no platform fee on top: WooCommerce.
- You need several staff logins on a hosted plan: Shopify Grow with 5 or Advanced with 15.
- Your products come in lots of sizes, colours and options: check WooCommerce's unlimited variants against Shopify's limits before you commit.
If you're weighing up other builders too, I've compared Squarespace and WordPress and Wix and WordPress for a small business website, and if Shopify doesn't feel right there's a round-up of Shopify alternatives.
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Other shop builders to look at
If neither fits, these are the names I'd shortlist next: Wix, Squarespace, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce on managed hosting. Price each one the same way, the plan plus everything you'd need to add.
My advice for your shop
If you're starting a shop and want to sell rather than run a website, I'd go with Shopify and use Shopify Payments so the extra transaction fee never applies. If your business already lives on content, or you want full control and you're happy to pick a host and keep plug-ins updated, WordPress with WooCommerce is the stronger fit. Whichever you lean towards, add up the whole bill for your first year before you build anything.
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Frequently asked questions
Is WordPress free for an online shop?
The software is. WordPress is open source and WooCommerce says its core platform is free with no monthly subscription. You still pay for hosting, which WooCommerce puts at $25 to $350 a month for most stores, plus any paid extensions.
How much is Shopify a month?
Shopify's comparison table shows Basic at $39 a month paid monthly or $35 paid yearly, Grow at $105 or $95 and Advanced at $399 or $359, as of October 2026. Plus starts at $2,300 a month.
Does Shopify charge transaction fees?
Only if you use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify Payments: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus.
Is Shopify or WordPress easier to look after?
Shopify, because hosting, security and updates are part of the plan and every plan includes a free SSL certificate. On WordPress, you or your host keep the software, theme and plug-ins updated and backed up.
Can I sell in a physical shop with either?
Shopify offers POS Pro as an add-on at $89 a month per location for physical shops. With WooCommerce you pick your own payment processor, and WooCommerce doesn't add a fee for using a third-party gateway.
