Choosing between Shopify and WooCommerce for your e-commerce store isn’t just about features—it’s about understanding the true cost of ownership. After helping dozens of businesses launch and scale their online stores, I’ve seen firsthand how hidden costs can derail budgets and growth plans.

Let’s break down the real numbers so you can make an informed decision for your business.

The Upfront Investment: What You’ll Pay to Launch

Shopify’s Transparent Pricing

Shopify operates on a subscription model with clear monthly fees: – Basic Shopify: £25/month – Shopify: £65/month – Advanced Shopify: £384/month

You’ll also need a domain (£10-15/year) and potentially a premium theme (£0-180 one-time). Total first-year cost: £315-4,800+.

WooCommerce’s “Free” Reality

WooCommerce itself is free, but you’ll need: – WordPress hosting: £5-50/month (quality matters for speed and security) – Domain name: £10-15/year – SSL certificate: £0-70/year (often included with hosting) – Premium theme: £30-100 one-time – Essential plugins: £50-300/year

Total first-year cost: £150-1,000+ for a basic setup.

The Verdict: WooCommerce appears cheaper initially, but the gap narrows when you factor in quality hosting and necessary plugins.

Monthly Operating Costs: The Long-Term Reality

Shopify’s Predictable Expenses

• Monthly subscription: £25-384
• Transaction fees: 0.5-2% (unless using Shopify Payments)
• Apps/plugins: £0-300/month average
• Monthly average: £50-700+

WooCommerce’s Variable Costs

• Hosting: £5-50/month (scales with traffic)
• Security & maintenance: £20-100/month (or DIY time)
• Plugin renewals: £10-50/month
• Payment gateway fees: 1.4-2.9% + 20p per transaction
• Monthly average: £35-200+

The Hidden Truth: WooCommerce costs grow with your traffic and complexity. Shopify’s fees are more predictable but can spike with premium apps.

Transaction Fees: The Silent Profit Killer

This is where many businesses get blindsided.

Shopify Transaction Fees: – Using Shopify Payments: 1.6-2.2% + 20p per transaction (no additional fees) – Using third-party gateways: Add 0.5-2% to standard payment processing fees

On £10,000 monthly revenue: £160-440 in fees

WooCommerce Transaction Fees: – Payment gateway only: 1.4-2.9% + 20p (Stripe, PayPal) – No platform transaction fees

On £10,000 monthly revenue: £140-310 in fees

The Math: WooCommerce saves £20-130/month on transaction fees alone at this revenue level. Scale that to £50,000/month, and you’re saving £100-650/month.

Customisation & Development Costs

Shopify Limitations: – Theme customization: £500-2,000 – Custom app development: £2,000-10,000+ – Platform restrictions can increase costs for unique requirements

WooCommerce Flexibility: – Theme customization: £300-1,500 – Custom functionality: £1,000-8,000+ – Complete control means lower long-term costs for complex needs

The Reality: If you need heavy customisation, WooCommerce typically costs 20-40% less in development fees.

Scaling Costs: What Happens as You Grow

Shopify Scaling: – Upgrade to higher plans for better features – Transaction fees remain consistent – Apps and integrations multiply – Cost increase: Predictable but significant

WooCommerce Scaling: – Hosting upgrades required (£50-200+/month for high traffic) – May need managed WordPress hosting or dedicated servers – Plugin costs increase with features – Cost increase: Variable but manageable with planning

At £100,000+ monthly revenue, both platforms cost roughly £1,000-3,000/month all-in, but WooCommerce offers more control over where that money goes.

Time Investment: The Cost Nobody Calculates

Shopify Time Requirements: – Setup: 10-20 hours – Monthly maintenance: 2-5 hours – Updates: Automatic – Best for: Business owners who want to focus on sales, not tech

WooCommerce Time Requirements: – Setup: 20-40 hours (or hire a developer) – Monthly maintenance: 5-10 hours – Updates: Manual (plugins, themes, WordPress core) – Best for: Tech-savvy owners or those with development resources

The Hidden Cost: If your time is worth £50/hour, WooCommerce costs an extra £150-300/month in time investment.

The Real Winner? It Depends on Your Business

Choose Shopify if: – You want predictable, all-in-one pricing – You’re launching quickly without technical skills – You value 24/7 support and automatic updates – You’re selling physical products with standard requirements – Your monthly revenue is under £50,000

Choose WooCommerce if: – You want complete control and ownership – You have technical skills or a development partner – You need heavy customisation or unique functionality – You’re processing high transaction volumes (saves on fees) – You’re building a content-heavy site alongside your store.

The Bottom Line: Total Cost of Ownership

Year 1 Comparison (£20,000 revenue/month):

Shopify: – Platform: £780-4,608 – Transaction fees: £1,920-5,280 – Apps/themes: £600-3,600 – Total: £3,300-13,488

WooCommerce: – Hosting: £240-600 – Plugins/themes: £200-1,200 – Transaction fees: £1,680-3,720 – Development: £500-2,000 – Total: £2,620-7,520

Potential savings with WooCommerce: £680-5,968 in Year 1

However, this doesn’t account for time investment, which can tip the scales back toward Shopify for non-technical owners.

My Professional Recommendation

After building e-commerce stores for nearly three decades, here’s my honest take:

For most SMEs launching their first store: Start with Shopify. The speed to market, ease of use, and predictable costs outweigh the savings, especially when you factor in your time.

For businesses with technical resources or unique needs: WooCommerce offers better long-term value and flexibility. You’ll save significantly on transaction fees as you scale, and you’ll own your entire platform.

The hybrid approach: Some of our most successful clients start on Shopify to validate their business model, then migrate to WooCommerce once they hit £30-50K/month in revenue. This maximises early-stage speed while capturing long-term savings.

Need Help Deciding?

Every business is different. Your product type, technical skills, growth plans, and budget all factor into the right choice.

At Webxcell Digital, we’re platform-agnostic—we build on Shopify, WooCommerce, Magento, and more. Our job is to recommend what’s genuinely best for your business, not what’s easiest for us.

Book a free 30-minute consultation and we’ll analyse your specific situation, run the numbers, and give you a clear recommendation with no obligation.

📞 +44 7774 804076 | +44 800 195 7512 |
📧 contact@webxcell.com
🌐 www.webxcell.com

What’s been your experience with Shopify or WooCommerce? Drop an email or WhatsApp (+44 (0) 7774 804076) with your comment —I’d love to hear what surprised you most about the costs (or savings) you discovered.

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