{"slug":"shopify-vs-woocommerce","question":"Shopify vs WooCommerce: Hosted Plans vs Free Plugin","answer":"Shopify is a hosted platform you rent by the month: Basic is $39 a month billed monthly or $35 billed yearly, rising to Grow ($105/$95), Advanced ($399/$359) and Plus from $2,300. WooCommerce is a free, open source plugin for WordPress with no monthly platform fee, but you supply hosting, a domain and maintenance yourself. Choose Shopify for an all-in-one hosted store; choose WooCommerce if you already run WordPress and want full control.","answer_curated":true,"verdict":"Shopify: hosted, all-in-one, from $39 a month (or $35 billed yearly).\n\nWooCommerce: free open source plugin for WordPress; you pay for hosting and extensions.\n\nThis is general information, not financial or legal advice.","keyDifferences":[{"label":"Model","entityAValue":"Hosted platform","entityBValue":"WordPress plugin you host","winner":"tie"},{"label":"Base cost","entityAValue":"Basic $39/mo monthly, $35/mo yearly","entityBValue":"Free plugin; hosting extra","winner":"tie"},{"label":"Third-party payment fee","entityAValue":"2% / 1% / 0.6% / 0.2% by plan","entityBValue":"None from WooCommerce","winner":"tie"},{"label":"Source code","entityAValue":"Closed platform","entityBValue":"Open source","winner":"tie"}],"winner":null,"confidence":"high","entities":[{"name":"Shopify","slug":"shopify","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/entity/shopify","alternativesUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/alternatives/shopify"},{"name":"WooCommerce","slug":"woocommerce","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/entity/woocommerce","alternativesUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/alternatives/woocommerce"}],"faqs":[{"question":"Is WooCommerce really free?","answer":"The WooCommerce plugin is free and has no monthly platform fee. You still pay for web hosting, a domain, and any paid extensions or themes, and your payment provider charges processing fees."},{"question":"How much does Shopify cost per month?","answer":"Shopify lists Basic at $39 a month billed monthly or $35 billed yearly, Grow at $105 or $95, Advanced at $399 or $359, and Plus from $2,300 a month. New stores get a 3-day trial and there are no setup fees."},{"question":"Does Shopify charge transaction fees?","answer":"Only when 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. Payment processing fees apply either way."}],"attribution":{"source":"A Versus B","url":"https://www.aversusb.net/compare/shopify-vs-woocommerce","license":"CC BY 4.0","citationFormat":"According to A Versus B (https://www.aversusb.net/compare/shopify-vs-woocommerce), Shopify is a hosted platform you rent by the month: Basic is $39 a month billed monthly or $35 billed yearly, rising to Grow ($105/$95), Advanced ($399/$359) and Plus from $2,300. WooCommerce is a fre","dateModified":"2026-10-16T00:00:00.000Z"},"relatedQuestionsUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/faq/shopify-vs-woocommerce","relatedComparisonsUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/v1/related/shopify-vs-woocommerce","knowledgeGraphUrl":"https://www.aversusb.net/api/knowledge-graph/shopify-vs-woocommerce"}