If you’re looking for a platform to start or grow your online store, you might be wondering which one is better:
WooCommerce or Shopify. Both are popular and powerful options, but they have different features, advantages, and disadvantages.
In this blog post, we’ll compare WooCommerce and Shopify in terms of pricing, ease of use, customization, security, and support. We’ll also give you some tips on how to choose the best one for your needs and goals.
Whether you’re a beginner or an expert in web development services Canada, this guide will help you make an informed decision.
Features Comparison
They differ in how they provide these features and how easy they are to use. Let’s compare some of the most important features of both platforms.
Product Management
Both WooCommerce and Shopify allow you to add unlimited products to your store, with multiple variations, options, images, and descriptions.
However, WooCommerce has more flexibility in how you can organize and display your products.
You can use custom fields, taxonomies, attributes, filters, and plugins to create complex product catalogs and layouts.
Shopify has a simpler product management system that is easier to use but less customizable.
Inventory Management
Both WooCommerce and Shopify allow you to track your inventory levels and automatically hide out-of-stock products from your store.
However, Shopify has more built-in features for inventory management than WooCommerce.
You can use Shopify to manage multiple warehouses or locations, transfer stock between them, generate inventory reports, set up low-stock alerts, and more.
WooCommerce has a basic inventory management system that only lets you track stock levels per product or variation.
Order Management
Both WooCommerce and Shopify allow you to manage your orders from your dashboard.
You can view order details, edit order status, print invoices or packing slips, issue refunds or cancellations, etc.
However, Shopify has more advanced order management features than WooCommerce.
You can use Shopify to create draft orders or custom orders for customers manually; fulfill orders using third-party services such as dropshipping or print-on-demand; create automated workflows for order processing; etc.
Shipping Options
Both WooCommerce and Shopify allow you to set up shipping options for your store such as flat rates; free shipping; weight-based rates; etc. However, Shopify has more shipping features than WooCommerce.
You can use Shopify to calculate real-time shipping rates from major carriers such as USPS; FedEx; UPS; etc.; print shipping labels and packing slips directly from your dashboard; offer local pickup or delivery options; etc.
WooCommerce has a basic shipping system that only lets you set up shipping zones and methods.
You need to use plugins or extensions to add more shipping features such as real-time shipping rates; shipping labels and packing slips; local pickup or delivery options; etc.
Pricing Comparison
Let’s compare the total cost of ownership of both platforms.
WooCommerce Pricing
WooCommerce is a free plugin that you can download from the WordPress repository or install directly from your WordPress dashboard.
However, this does not mean that running a WooCommerce store is completely free. You still need to pay for the following expenses:
- Hosting: This is where your website files are stored on the internet. Bluehost, one of the recommended hosting providers for WordPress sites, offers plans starting from $2.95 per month for shared hosting.
- Domain name: This is the address of your website on the internet. GoDaddy, one of the popular domain name registrars, offers domains starting from $0.99 per year for some extensions.
- SSL certificate: This is a security feature that encrypts the data between your website and your visitors’ browsers. Let’s Encrypt, one of the free SSL certificate providers, offers certificates for free for 90 days.
- Theme: This is the design and layout of your website. ThemeForest, one of the largest theme marketplaces, offers themes starting from $13 for some categories.
- Plugins: These are the extensions that add more functionality and features to your website. WooCommerce.com, the official marketplace for WooCommerce extensions, offers plugins starting from $0 for some categories.
- Transaction fees: These are the fees that you pay to the payment gateway or processor for processing your customers’ payments. PayPal, one of the most popular payment gateways, charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction for US merchants.
A rough estimate of the minimum cost of running a WooCommerce store for one year is:
- Hosting: $35.40 ($2.95 x 12 months)
- Domain name: $0.99
- SSL certificate: $0
- Theme: $13
- Plugins: $0
- Transaction fees: $29 (assuming 100 sales at $10 each)
Total: $78.39
Shopify Pricing
The monthly fee is not the only cost of running a Shopify store. You also need to pay for the following expenses:
- Domain name: Shopify offers you the option to buy a domain name directly from them for $14 per year.
- SSL certificate: Shopify also offers you a free SSL certificate for your store that is automatically activated when you add a domain name to your store.
- Theme: Shopify also offers you over 70 free themes that you can use for your store.
- Apps: These are the same as plugins for WooCommerce. Shopify also offers you over 6,000 free and paid apps that you can install from their app store.
- Transaction fees: Shopify also charges you additional transaction fees for using payment gateways other than Shopify Payments (which is not available in all countries). These fees range from 0.5% to 2% depending on your plan.
A rough estimate of the minimum cost of running a Shopify store for one year is:
- Plan: $348 ($29 x 12 months)
- Domain name: $14
- SSL certificate: $0
- Theme: $0
- Apps: $0
- Transaction fees: $58 (assuming 100 sales at $10 each using Shopify Payments)
Total: $420
