Are you a new or existing brand?
Have you decided to embark on the ecommerce bandwagon or redesign your existing online store?
You don’t know which platform to turn to?
Of course, during your research and discussions, you’ve heard about several platforms comparisons such as WooCommerce vs Shopify.
Users generally prefer a rich feature set, flexibility, and simple pricing while choosing an ecommerce platform. It is also established that each platform has its own set of complexities.
But what are the differences between ecommerce platforms? Is it better to choose Shopify or WooCommerce for your business?
The answer lies in the features you think you need for your ecommerce store. Once you have a clear idea of what you need and what’s best for your particular business model, your choice becomes obvious.
In this article, I won’t tell you to choose this or that platform. My aim is to give you a brief overview of WooCommerce and Shopify so you can have the answer you are looking for.
WooCommerce vs Shopify: An Overview
WordPress is an open-source CMS designed for content publishing. Launched in 2011, WooCommerce is a free WordPress ecommerce plugin that turns your website into a powerful ecommerce store.
What is WooCommerce?
So WooCommerce is not really an ecommerce platform. It is an open source plugin that turns your WordPress application into a fully functioning ecommerce store. All you have to do is install the WooCommerce plugin on your WordPress and your store will be up and running.
Launched in 2011, WooCommerce quickly gained popularity within the ecommerce industry and today it is the most popular ecommerce solution around with more than 3.8 million users. Most of WooCommerce’s success is due to its user friendliness, powerful features, and unlimited customization options. But most importantly because it allows you to use WordPress, the most popular CMS in the world, to run your online store.
According to BuiltWith, more than 3.8 million WordPress websites use WooCommerce, making it the most popular platform in the ecommerce industry. A success that is due to the ease of use, powerful features, and unlimited customization options.
What is Shopify?
Unlike WooCommerce, Shopify is not an open source platform but it offers a variety of features that caters to a range of different needs. Shopify is a little older than WooCommerce (it was launched in 2004). This platform of Canadian origin has more than 1 million merchants and offers a host of up-to-date features, thanks to the regular updates.
Shopify is not free nor it has a one time fee rather you pay a monthly fee along with a commission on every sale. The platform makes it very easy to build an online store from scratch and it especially caters to beginners with limited or no coding skill. However, if you do decide to customize your shopify store, you might need professional assistance. Shopify is a highly intuitive platform and is considered the benchmark to which all other platforms in the ecommerce industry are compared today.
WooCommerce vs Shopify: Comparison
| Points of Difference (PoD) | WooCommerce | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Users | 3,300,000+ (Source: BuiltWith) |
1,300,000+ (Source: BuiltWith) |
| Number of Themes | Unlimited (free and paid) |
60+ (free and paid) |
| Getting Started/Installation | Intermediate | Very easy |
| Features | ||
| Blog | Yes | Yes, but limited |
| Mobile Version | Depends on the theme | Yes |
| Email Newsletters | Yes, but with a plugin | Yes |
| HTML Compatibility | Yes | Yes |
| Help and Support | Very active community (forums and blogs), variable support from themes and plugins editors |
Phone, chat, email, documentation, forum |
| SEO | Yes | Yes |
| Product Editor | WordPress Editor/Blocks | WordPress-type editor |
| Storage Space | Depends on server size | Unlimited |
| Ecommerce | ||
| CSV Catalog Import | Yes | Yes |
| Payment Gateways | Yes | Yes |
| Offline Payments Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Marketplaces Connection | Yes | Yes |
| Catalog Size | Yes | Yes |
| Inventory Management | Yes | Yes |
| Prices | ||
| Trial Version | No | 14-day trial (without a credit card) |
| Sales Commissions | No | From 0.5% to 2% |
| Paid Offers (monthly price) | WooCommerce is a free plugin | Shopify Lite: $9/mo Basic Shopify: $29/mo Shopify: $79/mo Advanced Shopify: $299/mo |