Shopify or WooCommerce?

Which one to build your store on in 2026. Prices and card fees in the EU, UK, US and UAE, real speed data, and the part every other comparison skips: tracking and follow-up.

The short answer

Pick Shopify if you want to sell, run ads and follow up without maintaining software: hosting, security, checkout and the Meta and Google connections come built in, and its stores pass Google's speed test about twice as often. Pick WooCommerce if you already run WordPress well, need custom logic, URLs or checkout that Shopify blocks or charges for, want the code and data on your own server, and have a developer and a host you trust. On cost, the two are closer than either vendor says.

By Yannis Spanenburg, founder of Proof of Pixel. Facts checked on 1 October 2026.

Side by side

	Shopify	WooCommerce
Software	Basic, Grow, Advanced: $39, $105 or $399 a month, or $29, $79, $299 billed yearly. In euros €32, €92, €384 monthly	Free to download and use. Hosting from $25 to $350 a month for most stores, says WooCommerce
Add-ons	Apps from the Shopify App Store, mostly billed monthly	Extensions at $29 to $299 a year each, for example Subscriptions at $279
Card fees, own processor	Shopify Payments on Basic: 2% + €0.25 in the EU, 2% + 25p in the UK, 2.9% + 30¢ in the US	WooPayments: 1.5% + €0.25 in Belgium, 1.5% + 25p in the UK, 2.9% + 30¢ in the US
Another payment provider	An extra 2%, 1%, 0.6% or 0.2% by plan, on top of the provider's own fee	No fee from WooCommerce; you pay the provider's rates
Bancontact	€0.39 flat per payment	1.4% + €0.25 per payment
Speed, real visitors	76.5% of stores pass Core Web Vitals on mobile (HTTP Archive, August 2026)	39.5% of stores pass on mobile, mostly down to hosting
Security and updates	Shopify runs and patches the platform; every store is PCI DSS Level 1	You or your developer update WordPress, the theme and every plugin
Meta Conversions API	Built into the Facebook & Instagram channel at Enhanced or Maximum data sharing	Meta's plugin, rated 2.1 of 5 on wordpress.org, or PixelYourSite, Pixel Manager or server-side GTM
Checkout tracking	Since 26 August 2026, no scripts on the checkout pages outside Plus; tracking runs through app pixels	Full control of every page, checkout included
URLs	Fixed /products/ and /collections/ prefixes	Any structure you like

Prices checked on 1 October 2026: euro prices on Shopify's page as shown in Belgium, US prices as archived on 30 September 2026, all before VAT. Card fees are for standard domestic cards; international cards cost more on both. Speed is the share of stores passing all three Core Web Vitals for real Chrome users, from the HTTP Archive technology report.

Who should pick which

Pick Shopify if

Nobody on your team is a developer, and you want it that way
You run Meta and Google ads and want the tracking built in, not built
Most of your Belgian customers pay with Bancontact
You want fast pages without choosing and managing hosting

Pick WooCommerce if

You already run WordPress well, and your content sells
You need custom checkout, pricing logic or URLs that Shopify blocks or keeps for Plus
You sell products that hosted platforms and their payment partners treat as high risk
You have a developer and a host you trust, and a budget to keep them

What it really costs

Shopify's bill is easy to read: the plan, the apps and the card fees. WooCommerce's software is free, but you pay for hosting, extensions and the developer time to keep them working together. Neither vendor's own cost comparison is neutral, so here is the arithmetic from their published rates.

A €60 order paid by Belgian card costs €1.45 to process on Shopify Basic and €1.15 on WooPayments. The same order paid with Bancontact costs €0.39 on Shopify and €1.09 on WooPayments. In the US, both charge 2.9% + 30¢, so a $60 order costs $2.04 either way. Your payment mix decides which is cheaper per order, more than the platform does.

The cost that moves the total most is the one nobody prints: on WooCommerce, developer hours and hosting quality; on Shopify, app subscriptions and the extra fee if you take payments through another provider.

Speed and search

The HTTP Archive measures real Chrome visitors on hundreds of thousands of stores. In August 2026, 76.5% of Shopify stores passed all three Core Web Vitals on mobile, against 39.5% of WooCommerce stores. The biggest gap is server response time, which is a hosting question: a well-hosted, well-built WooCommerce store can pass. The data shows how often the typical one does.

Both platforms rank in Google. WooCommerce gives you full control over URLs and sits on WordPress, still the stronger tool for a content-heavy site. Shopify forces /products/ and /collections/ into every product and category address, which matters mostly when you move: every old URL needs a redirect to its new one, or the rankings it built up are lost.

Tracking and follow-up

This is where we spend most of our time on client stores, and where the platforms differ most. Shopify's Facebook & Instagram channel sends purchases server to server through the Conversions API once data sharing is set to Enhanced or Maximum, and its Google & YouTube app sets up Google Ads conversions with enhanced conversions. Since 26 August 2026, scripts pasted into the checkout settings no longer run outside Shopify Plus, so any tracking left there has stopped firing and has to move into an app or a customer events pixel.

On WooCommerce you choose and maintain the stack yourself. Meta's own plugin has the Conversions API built in, but holds a 2.1 out of 5 rating on wordpress.org. The working alternatives are PixelYourSite Pro, from $199 a year, the Pixel Manager for WooCommerce, or server-side Google Tag Manager on a host such as Stape. Done well, it matches Shopify; done cheaply, it double-counts or misses sales.

Email follows the same pattern. Klaviyo's app holds 4.7 out of 5 on Shopify and 2.8 on WordPress. The big email tools connect more smoothly to Shopify, while on WooCommerce the quality of the connection depends on the plugin. Shopify also includes 10,000 emails a month on every plan.

Moving from WooCommerce to Shopify

Shopify's own migration app imports products from a WooCommerce export, is still in early access, and drops options beyond three per product. Customers and orders come across through CSV files or third-party apps. Subscriptions need their saved payment methods moved through the payment provider, which not every provider supports.

Plan the move as four jobs, not one: the catalogue, a redirect for every old URL, the tracking rebuilt in Shopify's pixel system, and the email flows reconnected to the new store. The first is the one everyone plans. The other three are where sales go missing in the weeks after launch.

We build stores on Shopify and on WooCommerce, and we have no commission from either.

Questions about Shopify vs WooCommerce

Which is better, Shopify or WooCommerce?

Shopify for most stores without a developer: hosting, security, checkout and the ad tracking come built in. WooCommerce for stores that already run WordPress well, need custom checkout or pricing logic, or want everything on their own server, and have a developer to keep it healthy.

Is WooCommerce cheaper than Shopify?

The software is free and Shopify's starts at $39 a month ($29 billed yearly, €32 in the EU). But WooCommerce needs hosting, which WooCommerce itself puts at $25 to $350 a month for most stores, plus paid extensions and developer time. For a store without a developer, the total is often close or higher.

Does Shopify charge transaction fees? Does WooCommerce?

Shopify charges no extra fee when you use Shopify Payments; you pay the card rate, for example 2% + €0.25 on Basic in the EU. If you use another provider, Shopify adds 2%, 1%, 0.6% or 0.2% depending on the plan. WooCommerce charges no fee of its own; you pay WooPayments or your provider's rates.

Should I switch from WooCommerce to Shopify?

Switch when maintenance and broken plugins cost you more than Shopify's apps and fees would, and you do not need anything Shopify blocks. Stay when your store depends on custom logic, your content drives sales on WordPress, or your developer and hosting already work. Plan the redirects, tracking and email flows before you move the products.

Will I lose SEO rankings if I move from WooCommerce to Shopify?

Not if every old URL redirects to its new address. Shopify puts /products/ and /collections/ in front of product and category URLs, so almost every address changes. Map them one to one, set the redirects in Shopify before launch, and check Search Console in the weeks after.

Which is better for SEO, Shopify or WooCommerce?

Both rank. WooCommerce gives full control over URLs and sits on WordPress, which is stronger for content. Shopify stores are faster on average for real visitors, which helps. What you publish, and how fast the pages load, matter more than the platform.

Which is faster, Shopify or WooCommerce?

On average, Shopify. In August 2026, 76.5% of Shopify stores passed Google's Core Web Vitals on mobile against 39.5% of WooCommerce stores, according to the HTTP Archive. A WooCommerce store on good hosting can be just as fast; most are not.

Which is more secure?

Shopify takes the platform's security off your plate, and every store is PCI DSS Level 1. WordPress core is solid, but Patchstack counted 11,334 new vulnerabilities in the WordPress ecosystem in 2025, 91% of them in plugins. On WooCommerce, security is as good as your updates.

Which is more popular?

WooCommerce runs more stores: 47.7% of the e-commerce sites W3Techs could identify on 1 October 2026, against 32.1% for Shopify. Many are small WordPress shops. Shopify is more common among higher-traffic stores.

Can Shopify shut my store down? Do I own my data?

Shopify can suspend a store that breaks its terms or acceptable use policy, so read it if you sell anything restricted. You can export your products, customers and orders. With WooCommerce the code and database sit on your own server, though your payment provider still has its own rules.

How do I set up the Meta Conversions API on each?

On Shopify, install the Facebook & Instagram channel and set data sharing to Enhanced or Maximum; purchases then go to Meta server to server. On WooCommerce, use Meta's plugin, PixelYourSite, the Pixel Manager or server-side Google Tag Manager, and check in Events Manager that browser and server events are deduplicated.

Which works better with Klaviyo or Brevo?

Both connect, but more smoothly to Shopify. Klaviyo's app holds 4.7 out of 5 on Shopify and 2.8 on wordpress.org. On WooCommerce, check that the plugin passes cart and browse events, or your abandoned-cart flow will not start.

Can I use Shopify with WordPress?

Yes. Shopify's Buy Button puts products and a checkout into any WordPress site, which suits a content-led site with a small catalogue. For a full store, pick one platform and run it properly.