WooCommerce is a self-hosted WordPress plugin offering maximum customization and lower transaction fees (2%) but requires technical knowledge and server management, while Wix is an all-in-one hosted platform with no coding needed and built-in hosting but charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction and limits customization.
WooCommerce vs Wix — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Choose WooCommerce if you're technically capable, value lower long-term costs, need unlimited customization, or plan to scale significantly—ideal for established businesses and developers. Choose Wix if you want a no-setup solution, don't mind higher fees for convenience, need hosted reliability without management, or are starting a small business with minimal technical skills.
Open-source WordPress e-commerce plugin providing flexible, self-hosted commerce capabilities.
All-in-one SaaS website builder with integrated ecommerce, drag-and-drop editor, and managed hosting.
Structured comparison data for WooCommerce vs Wix with 192 attributes.
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Can I switch from Wix to WooCommerce later?
Switching from Wix to WooCommerce is difficult but possible. Wix provides limited export options—you can export product data as CSV, but customer information, orders, and design layouts are not easily exportable. You would need to manually recreate product pages and rebuild your SEO from scratch. WooCommerce allows free migration via plugins like All-in-One WP Migration, making future platform changes easy. This vendor lock-in is a significant disadvantage of Wix.
Which is cheaper for a small store making $5K/month?
WooCommerce is significantly cheaper. At $5K/month revenue: WooCommerce costs ~$150/year (hosting) + ~$100 (fees at 2%), totaling ~$250/year. Wix Business plan costs $324/year + ~$1,450 (fees at 2.9% + $0.30), totaling ~$1,774/year. That's a $1,524 annual savings with WooCommerce—7x cheaper. However, this assumes you can manage WordPress yourself; hiring a developer changes the equation.
Do I need coding skills for WooCommerce?
Not for basic setup. WooCommerce offers drag-and-drop product builders and one-click theme installation similar to Wix. However, you'll face coding needs for: advanced customizations, API integrations, custom payment gateways, or troubleshooting plugin conflicts. Wix requires zero coding skills for any standard feature. If you're non-technical, consider hiring a WooCommerce developer ($50-150/hour) or starting with Wix and migrating later.
Which has better built-in marketing tools?
Wix includes email marketing (10,000 contacts on Business plan), abandoned cart emails, and basic SEO tools built-in. WooCommerce requires separate plugins: Mailchimp (free email), Yoast SEO (free), and cart abandonment extensions. WooCommerce's approach is more flexible—you choose best-in-class tools and integrate them—but requires more setup. Wix is simpler out-of-box. For serious marketing, both require additional investment in tools like ConvertKit or ActiveCampaign.
What if my website gets 100,000+ monthly visitors?
WooCommerce scales better. You control hosting and can upgrade to high-performance servers ($50-200+/month) to handle traffic. Wix's infrastructure is shared; while it handles traffic automatically, you're paying 2.9% + $0.30 on every transaction—at high volume, this becomes expensive. A store doing $500K annual revenue pays $14,500+ in Wix fees versus $10,000 in WooCommerce fees. For high-traffic stores, WooCommerce's cost advantage becomes decisive.