Shopify vs. WooCommerce: Which One Is the Best for Ecommerce Store?

Shopify vs. WooCommerce, basically both are ecommerce platforms. These are two famous and easy-to-use platforms available in the market.  Both are great options to build an ecommerce store. Moreover, you won’t need any professional designers for help. You can do it all by yourself.

But there are many things you need to figure out before selecting between both platforms. Like which one is better for your ecommerce store? Which platform is more feature-rich? Which is cheaper and flexible?

To answer this question, we have an in-depth comparison of Shopify vs. WooCommerce. After reading it, you can choose easily according to your needs. So let’s begin the comparison to determine a better platform.

Table of Content

  • Shopify vs. WooCommerce: Pros and Cons
  • Shopify vs. WooCommerce: differences
  • Pricing
  • Sales Features
  • Ease of use
  • Conclusion

1.     Shopify vs. WooCommerce: Pros and Cons

Let’s begin with essential elements that you can expect from the platforms. As we know everything has advantages and disadvantages both. Similarly, Shopify and WooCommerce both have some good and bad features. Let’s see which platforms serve more benefits compared to others.

Shopify Pros

  • Besides, pricing is quite reasonable. In Shopify, you know how much you have to pay every month for your ecommerce store. It’s a good choice for startups and small businesses.
  • Shopify offers tons of themes and designs to their customers. The themes and designs are beautiful and unique.
  • Shopify is accessible to many apps to extend your ecommerce store.
  • With the Shopify platform, you can launch your store in few minutes.
  • Shopify is a platform that handles everything. It’s responsible for hosting the security department.
  • In Shopify, dropshipping is simple than any other ecommerce platform.

Shopify Cons

  • As Shopify handles everything, you don’t have much control over the site.
  • Similarly, customization is least expected in Shopify. You can explore customization in a better way on other ecommerce platforms.
  • You have to pay a monthly fee every month. There are chances that it may increase with time.

WooCommerce Pros

  • WooCommerce allows customization and other control over your site. It doesn’t operate everything by itself.
  • With WooCommerce, you can configure it simply on WordPress.
  • Woocommerce offers plugins that are free to use.
  • When it comes to themes and designs, WooCommerce offers plenty of them since anyone can make them and then sell them online.
  • It has a vast community online.

WooCommerce Cons

  • Woocommerce is a bit expensive. It’s because of different plugins, themes, and hosting.
  • You are stuck to do everything by yourself. It can be challenging to task dealing with all the departments.
  • Some people find WooCommerce a bit of a learning curve.

2.     Shopify vs. WooCommerce: Differences

While searching reviews on Shopify vs. WooCommerce, you will find different opinions. However, these opinions are insightful. It helps to understand the difference between Shopify and WooCommerce. To select a better option for your ecommerce store.

The main difference is that Shopify is an all-in-one ecommerce platform. It is designed in a way to provide you everything in one go.  It eliminates complicated aspects and replaces them with easy-to-use tools. You can quickly launch your ecommerce store in few minutes. This shows that you have less control over your site.

On the other hand, in WooCommerce, you have the option to customize your eCommerce store. Basically, it’s a self-hosted platform. It means you can tap on the code to access any part of the store.  It gives you the freedom to build your store. Even you can run your business with a WordPress blog.

While comparing Shopify vs. WooCommerce, we can say that you can choose Shopify if you need a hosting web service. Or you want an all-in-one package. But if you know and can handle the technical side, then WoocCommerce is a great option.

3.     Pricing

With Shopify, the prices are fixed. In contrast, WooCommerce is more flexible and reliable. The Shopify prices range from $29 to$299 per month. By unlocking advanced features, the prices are raised. Whereas in WooCommerce, the platform is free to use. But you have to pay for hosting, domain and security.

In Shopify, you can track your expenditures. But WooCommerce is an open-source platform. It means it’s free to download. But you need to pay for;

  • Hosting ($35 – $50/month)
  • Security ($0 – $200/year)
  • Domain ($10 – £20/year)
  • Extension fees ($0 – $100/month)

I want to highlight that these fees are already included in the Shopify plan. For better results, we will compare Shopify vs. WooCommerce (powered by Bluehost) pricing plans.

Shopify

  • Shopify Basic: $29/month
  • Shopify : $79/month
  • Advanced Shopify: $299/month

WooCommerce (powered by Bluehost)

  • Starter: $13.99/month
  • Plus: $17.99/month
  • Pro: $31.99/month

Shopify provides a 14-day free trial. At the same time, WooCommerce offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. I guess these are great offers to avail. In my opinion, WooCommerce is better in terms of pricing. It’s free to avail. Moreover, its extension cost just $39 each on average.

4.     Sales Features

In a comparison of Shopify vs. WooCommerce, both platforms provide great features to build an ecommerce store. If you want to sell products online or have a small business, both are great options. But for better understanding, here is a detailed comparison.

●        Abandoned cart recovery

Shopify has an abandoned cart recovery feature that is missing in WooCommerce. It’s a major fallback for WooCommerce. As its an important feature for an ecommerce store. It allows customers to abandoned orders without filling in details again. It also invites customers to finish the sale by sending an email.

●        Multichannel selling

Both the platforms allow you to sell on multichannel. It includes eBay, Instagram, Facebook, Amazon, and many more. But in WooCommerce, you have to pay $79 to install all except Facebook, as it’s free. While Shopify allows free integration.

●        Shipping

In Shopify vs. WooCommerce, both the platforms offer free shipping and international sales. It can do wonders for your ecommerce store reputation. But Shopify has partnerships with USPS, DHL Express, UPS, and Canada Post. It can save your time and effort in sourcing your courier.

Besides, Shopify has in-built tools. By signing up with Basic Shopify, you can avail;

  • Abandoned cart recovery
  • Discount codes
  • Unlimited products
  • Over 100 payment options

Key WooCommerce features:

  • It offers a built-in blogging feature.
  • It offers a one-click refund option to customers.
  • It has an “unrestricted customization” feature. It allows for editing from homepage layout to buy button.

5.     Ease of Use

In comparison to Shopify vs. WooCommerce, Shopify is winning. Both platforms are powerful platforms to set up an ecommerce store. But Shopify is fully hosted software. In this, you don’t have to worry about anything. It manages all the aspects of ecommerce development.

On the other hand, WooCommerce is not hosting software. In that platform, you have to decide on your ecommerce store development. You have to manage, update and keep track of your work. It can be a challenging task for a beginner.

That’s why according to me, Shopify is a better option than WooCommerce. The major fallback is that it comes with a learning curve. It requires hands-on management for website development.

Conclusion

Shopify vs. WooCommerce are both powerful platforms to build your ecommerce store. It somehow depends on your skills and needs. If you are looking for better customization options and want complete control over your store, WooCommerce is your choice.

But if you are looking for hassle free solution, then Shopify is a better option.

I hoped you liked and enjoyed the article.

One Reply to “Shopify vs. WooCommerce: Which One Is the Best for Ecommerce Store?”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *