WordPress is a self-hosted, highly customizable platform requiring technical management, while Shopify is a fully managed SaaS solution with built-in payment processing and hosting. WordPress costs $100-500/year for hosting but demands more maintenance, while Shopify charges $29-299/month with all features included.
WordPress vs Shopify — Side-by-side comparison on A Versus B
Choose WordPress if you need maximum flexibility, lower costs, and full technical control—ideal for developers, agencies, and complex multi-purpose sites. Choose Shopify if you prioritize ease of use, quick launch, integrated payment processing, and prefer a managed platform with 24/7 support—best for entrepreneurs with limited technical skills.
Open-source CMS powering 43% of websites with 58,000+ plugins and themes
Fully managed cloud-based e-commerce platform with integrated payments and hosting.
Structured comparison data for WordPress vs Shopify with 180 attributes.
Reported Security Vulnerabilities (2024)
Typical Seller Monthly Revenue Threshold
Base Monthly Subscription (Starter Plan)
Monthly Active Buyers (Marketplace Access)
WordPress vs Shopify — Attribute Category Vocabulary
Taxonomy of attribute categories used to classify comparison data for WordPress vs Shopify.
How much does each platform actually cost over 5 years?
WordPress with managed hosting (like WP Engine at $115/month) costs approximately $6,900 over 5 years. Shopify's basic plan ($29/month) costs $1,740, mid-tier ($79/month) costs $4,740, and advanced ($299/month) costs $17,940. However, WordPress self-hosting with budget hosts costs $300-500 total. So WordPress has lower minimum costs but higher ongoing management needs, while Shopify has predictable monthly expenses.
WordPress offers superior SEO control with complete access to meta tags, robots.txt, sitemap configuration, and custom code via plugins like Yoast. Shopify provides good built-in SEO tools but restricts some advanced customization. For complex SEO strategies, WordPress wins. For basic e-commerce SEO, Shopify is adequate and requires less technical knowledge.
Can I migrate from one platform to another?
Migrating from WordPress to Shopify is moderate difficulty—content transfers but requires data mapping. Migrating from Shopify to WordPress is more complex due to Shopify's proprietary architecture, though tools like Matrixify exist. Both migrations require technical expertise and typically result in some data loss or reformatting needs.
Which requires more technical knowledge?
Shopify requires minimal technical knowledge—most setup is point-and-click. WordPress requires moderate technical skills for installation, theme customization, plugin management, and security updates. However, WordPress has larger learning community resources. Non-technical users should choose Shopify; technical users prefer WordPress flexibility.
Shopify handles all security, PCI compliance, SSL certificates, and backups automatically. WordPress requires the user to manage these—hosting provider handles some, but users must maintain plugins, core updates, and configurations. Shopify eliminates security responsibility; WordPress puts it on the user. For risk-averse businesses, Shopify is safer.