Shopify costs a fixed monthly plan fee plus payment processing, while WooCommerce costs nothing for the core plugin but requires you to buy hosting, a domain, any paid extensions and payment processing yourself. For a small shop with low sales, the monthly totals can be close, so the better question is how much you value having hosting and updates handled for you. At the time of writing (checked October 29, 2026), Shopify's Basic plan is listed at $39 per month, or $29 per month on yearly billing, and card rates on both platforms start around 2.9% + 30 cents.
Who this is for and what you will have at the end
This is for owners of small shops in the US who are choosing a platform for a new store or considering a move. By the end you will have a cost model covering the fixed costs, per-sale fees and the items that are easy to forget, plus a worked example you can adapt with your own numbers.
This article compares costs only. It does not rank features or design flexibility, and prices change, so verify the figures at the sources listed at the end.
What each platform is
Shopify is a hosted platform: you pay a subscription and Shopify runs the store software for you. WooCommerce is an ecommerce plugin for WordPress, developed and supported by Automattic and described on its WordPress.org page as open source. The core plugin is free, but its page notes that paid commercial upgrades and support exist, including Marketplace extensions, WooPayments, WooCommerce Shipping (U.S.-only) and WooCommerce Tax.
The practical difference for cost is who runs the infrastructure. With Shopify, the plan covers it. With WooCommerce you arrange hosting, and you are responsible for keeping WordPress, the plugin and extensions updated.
Shopify costs
Plan prices
From Shopify's pricing page, checked October 29, 2026 (USD per month):
| Plan | Monthly billing | Yearly billing (per month) | Staff accounts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39 | $29 | Additional accounts not included |
| Grow | $105 | $79 | 5 |
| Advanced | $399 | $299 | 15 |
| Plus | From $2,300 | Not listed | Unlimited |
The page advertises a 3-day free trial, with the FAQ saying plans start with a 3-day trial and no credit card required. It also shows a headline offer of "$1/month for 3 months" after the trial, which may apply to the standard plans. Check the current offer terms when you sign up.
Plus is aimed at large merchants, so for a small shop the realistic choices are Basic, Grow and Advanced.
Payment processing on Shopify
The same page lists these standard card rates:
| Plan | Online card rate | In-person card rate | Third-party gateway fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | 2.9% + 30 cents | 2.6% + 10 cents | 2% |
| Grow | 2.7% + 30 cents | 2.5% + 10 cents | 1% |
| Advanced | 2.5% + 30 cents | 2.4% + 10 cents | 0.6% |
| Plus | 2.25% + 30 cents | 2.3% + 10 cents | 0.2% |
The third-party gateway fee is the line that surprises people. Per the pricing page, it is an additional percentage when you use a payment provider other than Shopify's own. You also pay that provider's processing fees, so the combined cost is higher than the card rate alone. If you can use Shopify Payments, you avoid this fee.
Other Shopify costs to check
- Point of sale. The page lists POS Pro as a separate add-on at $89 per month per location. A shop selling only online does not need it.
- Apps and themes. Many stores add paid apps. Pricing varies by app, so total the ones you plan to use.
- Domain. A custom domain is an extra cost to check at checkout.
WooCommerce costs
The plugin
The WooCommerce plugin is free to use, per its WordPress.org page, and you keep ownership of your content and data and can export it.
The page lists these requirements: PHP 7.4 or later (8.0 or later recommended), MySQL 5.5.5 or later or MariaDB 10.1 or later, and WordPress 7.0 or later. It recommends a PHP memory limit of 256 MB or more and HTTPS support. Your host must meet them.
What you pay for separately
| Cost | Notes |
|---|---|
| Hosting | Your choice and your bill. Prices vary widely by host, so check your host's current pricing rather than assuming a figure. |
| Domain | Registered through a registrar. |
| Theme | A free theme may be enough; paid themes are an option. |
| Extensions | The WooCommerce Marketplace includes paid extensions, for example for subscriptions, bookings and memberships. |
| Payment processing | Depends on the gateway you choose. |
| Security, backups, maintenance | You are responsible for these on self-managed hosting, either with your time or a paid service. |
WooCommerce's own pages do not give a standard hosting price, so none is assumed here. Add your actual hosting quote when you do the cost model below.
WooPayments fees (US)
WooCommerce's own payment option, WooPayments, charges per transaction and has no setup cost or monthly fees on its overview page. The fees page for US merchants lists:
| Payment method | Base fee | International payment | Currency conversion | Dispute fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cards | 2.90% + $0.30 | +1.50% | +1.00% | $15.00 |
| In-person | 2.70% + $0.10 | +1.00% | +1.00% | $15.00 |
Other details from the same page: a $5.00 monthly fee per active card reader (active means 3 or more transaction attempts in a month, and Tap to Pay on a phone does not trigger it), an extra 1.00% on orders containing a subscription payment if the subscription uses the Stripe Billing engine, and 1.5% for instant payouts. Transaction fees are not refunded when you refund customers, while dispute fees are refunded automatically if you win.
WooCommerce supports 100+ gateways according to its WordPress.org page, including Stripe, PayPal and Square, so you are not limited to WooPayments. Each gateway has its own fee schedule.
Side-by-side cost summary
| Cost item | Shopify | WooCommerce |
|---|---|---|
| Software | $39, $105 or $399 per month (monthly billing; lower yearly) | Free core plugin |
| Hosting | Included in plan | You pay a host |
| Online card processing | 2.9% + 30 cents on Basic; lower on higher plans | 2.90% + $0.30 with WooPayments (US); other gateways differ |
| Using another gateway | Extra 2% / 1% / 0.6% by plan, plus the gateway's fees | Whatever the gateway charges |
| Extras | Apps, theme, domain | Extensions, theme, domain, security and backups |
| Maintenance | Handled by Shopify | Your responsibility |
Worked example
This example uses made-up sales figures to show the method, not a forecast. Assume a shop with $5,000 in monthly online sales across 100 orders, all paid by US cards.
Shopify Basic with Shopify's card rates, monthly billing:
- Plan: $39
- Card fees: 2.9% of $5,000 is $145, plus 100 orders at $0.30 is $30, for $175
- Total: $214, before apps and domain
On yearly billing the plan is $29, so the total is $204.
WooCommerce with WooPayments:
- Software: $0
- Card fees: 2.90% + $0.30 gives the same $175
- Hosting: your quote, call it H
- Total: $175 plus H, before extensions, domain and security
On these assumptions, WooCommerce is cheaper only if hosting plus extras come to less than $39 per month ($29 on yearly Shopify billing). Many stores will land near break-even, so the decision often turns on time and risk rather than dollars.
If you must use a different gateway on Shopify Basic: add 2% of $5,000, which is $100 per month, on top of the gateway's own fees. At that volume this is a bigger cost than the plan fee, and it argues for either using Shopify Payments or choosing a platform where your gateway has no platform surcharge.
How to build your own cost model
- Estimate monthly orders and average order value. Multiply to get monthly sales.
- Choose your payment provider first. Check whether it is supported without surcharge on each platform.
- Compute processing fees. Percentage of sales plus the fixed amount times orders.
- Add fixed costs. Shopify plan, or WooCommerce hosting, domain and extensions.
- Add apps and extensions you really need. Total their listed prices.
- Add the cost of your time. Updates, backups and troubleshooting on WooCommerce have a cost even if it is not a bill.
- Compare at two volumes. Run the model at your current sales and at double, since percentage fees scale and plan fees do not.
Checklist before you decide
- Confirm today's Shopify plan and processing rates on its pricing page.
- Confirm WooPayments fees on WooCommerce's fees page, or the fee schedule of the gateway you choose.
- Get a written hosting quote that meets WooCommerce's stated requirements.
- List every paid extension or app and its price.
- Check whether your preferred gateway triggers Shopify's third-party gateway fee.
- Decide who will handle updates, backups and security.
- Check shipping and sales tax needs, since WooCommerce Shipping is U.S.-only and tax tools are separate services.
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